Steele’s Outlook on 2019

“Change”. There’s no better word to describe 2018 in the classic car world than “change”. One of the biggest changes that took place is the greater interest, involvement and ownership of classic vehicles by Gen Xers (born 1961-81) and Millennials (born 1981-96).

According to Hagerty, in the next five years Millennials will become the hobby’s single largest interest group. The same survey found that for the first time ever, a greater percentage of Millennials (81%) “like, love or are passionate about” driving more than Baby Boomers (79%) (born 1946-61).

What are the preferred vehicles of Millennials and Gen Xers? Hagerty says some of their favorites include the cars of the late 60’s- the Mustang, Camaro and Corvette. At Steele Rubber Products we’ve noticed the impact of this growing group of enthusiasts as these 3 cars are among the top ten most searched vehicles on our website.

But the ripple effect in the marketplace from the tastes of these new consumers doesn’t stop at late 60’s model cars. While Camaros, Mustangs and Corvettes seem like obvious favorites, they’re also asking for top dollar in the classifieds. This opens up market space for post-cars, trucks, vans and economic imports. These are much more affordable alternatives with their own cult followings.

Here at Steele, our data shows an ever-growing interest in pickup trucks than in the past; currently trucks make up more than half of our top 30 website queries. Another growing interest- vans of the 60’s and 70’s. We’ve also seen an increase in import vehicle owners reaching out to us about our universal parts and we’re extremely happy to help them!

So, what do all these changes in the hobby mean to you? They could very well impact the appraisal value of the vehicle(s) that you own or may want to own. It could also mean changes in pricing for replacement parts because of supply and demand within the market.

Our advice to you, stay in the loop with all of these changes because, like Bob Dylan said, “the times they are a changin’,” and so are we.

Steele not only has all the products you need but all the knowledge you need to get the job done right, too. If you have questions about Rubber Parts or Weatherstripping on your Classic Car, Truck, Hot Rod or even your boat, trailer or RV, feel free to reach out to us! You can call us at 800-650-4482, contact us through our website or comment on this post and we’ll get you answers as quickly as possible. Check out our YouTube channel for our full library of how-to/installation videos.