Back in December of 2019, Hagerty Insurance, that well-known collector-car insurance company, published their self-named “Bull Market List” for 2020. In it, they predict the 10 collector cars most likely to rise in value over the next 12 months.

This was the third year in a row that Hagerty published their picks, based on market trends. But it’s a fool’s game to try to predict which cars will increase in value. The so-called experts have been swinging away at this for decades, and for all the years I’ve been following their prognostications, no one correctly predicted the rise in Porsche 911 values, to name a recent trend that was missed.

Nevertheless, it’s fun to gander at what someone else thinks will happen, and to Hagerty’s credit, they are not beyond self-deprecation, as they also perform their own pass/fail grading on the previous year’s choices.

If you can’t be bothered reading the article, or even if you have and you want a quick reference, below are their 11 picks for 2020 (10 vehicles plus 1 motorcycle), arranged here in model year order.

1.      1970–76 Porsche 914

2.      1970–95 Land Rover Range Rover

3.      1971–80 International Harvester Scout

4.      1984–2001 Jeep Cherokee

5.      1988–91 Honda CRX Si

6.      1990–95 Volkswagen Corrado

7.      1994–98 Ducati 916

8.      1996–2002 Dodge Viper GTS

9.      1997–2001 Acura Integra Type R

10.  1998–2002 BMW M Roadster

11.  1999–2005 Ferrari 360

Trucks make a strong showing, with the Jeep Cherokee, the Range Rover, and the International Scout on the list. Twenty-five years ago, almost no one thought of trucks as collectible. But go past these models, and you’ll see that many of the remaining vehicles are pure two-seaters like the Ferrari, the Dodge Viper, the Porsche 914, and the BMW M roadster. The new car market has been trying to tell us that cars are no longer desirable, but the collector side of things thinks otherwise.

Whether you prefer cars or trucks, performance vehicles are always collectible. The Ferrari and the Viper may epitomize traditional performance, but the 4-cylinder Integra Type R and the Civic Si were strong performers in their classes, and deserve to be mentioned in the same breath.

Next, let’s note the percentage of newer vehicles on this list. When the full model year range is included, nine of eleven vehicles are from the 1990s and newer. I’m a Baby Boomer, and I can recall when every vehicle on the Bull Market List was new. For me, it can be a stretch to think of any vehicles from the 21^st century as belonging on this list. But as Gen Xers and Millennials enter the collector market, they are seeking out the vehicles of their youth. These so-called Youngtimer’s cars are the ones they covet, which will push their value upward as demand outpaces supply.

Note the tremendous diversity in this list: 3 domestic vehicles, 6 Europeans, and 2 Asians. Hatchbacks, two-seaters, convertibles, trucks, and a bike. Front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive, and front- and mid-engine placements. There is no one “type” of collector car. (Speaking of being unable to predict the future, I clearly recall well-versed writers stating “trucks will never become collectible”; and “Japanese cars will never become collectible”.)

As the hobby matures and as the collectors themselves grow old and pull their progeny along, almost anything becomes collectible. Given the explosive revolution and segmentation in the new car market over the last 50 years, this diversity does not surprise at all.

In spite of some recent downward trends witnessed at the high-end auctions (most likely temporary), the overall collector car hobby remains strong, in my opinion. A glance at activities outside of 7-figure auction results attests to that. Once spring hits, you will have a difficult time counting up the number of cruise nights, cars & coffees, rallies, club tours, and old-fashioned parking-lot car shows within a half-day drive of your domicile on any given weekend.

The predicted autonomy ain’t here yet. Cooler heads have now correctly surmised that we are one or two decades away, at best, from self-driving vehicles representing the majority of highway vehicles. In the meantime, even as more semi-autonomous features are brought to market, we still drive our cars. Most people own at least one car, and most families have more than one. Cars bring out peoples’ passions, and folks like to collect what they are passionate about. Cars remind people of their youth, so the passion and the desire to collect go hand-in-hand.

My friends and I have truly lived by this rule: if you’re going to be in the collector-car hobby, buy what you like. Don’t worry about future values. Buy the car because you plan to enjoy it, whether that’s driving it, working on it, or showing it. When it comes time to sell, if you make some money, great, if you break even, you had your fun at no cost, and if you lose some money, well, show me a hobby that doesn’t cost money! Have you priced a good set of golf clubs lately?

Take the Hagerty 2020 Bull Market List for what it is: an attempted dispassionate look at car values. I could never recommend using it as a primary deciding factor; but if it helps you choose one old car over another, do me a favor, and let me know how that works out for you.