Car enthusiasts aged 40 and under are only interested in stuff from the ’80s and ’90s, right? Not according to the insurance quotes they’re shopping
But that was five years ago, and Millennials’ influence in the collector-car market has grown considerably, a change you can track via skyrocketing values on 30- and 40-year-old classic cars that barely ever cross Boomers’ or Gen-Xers’ radars.
What’s more, there’s a new generation of enthusiast entering the classic-car scene: Generation Z, a.k.a. those currently aged 27 down through 12. Have Millennials’ tastes changed in the past half-decade? And is Gen Z as big into American classics as their Millennial cohorts were?
To find out, we hit up Hagerty once again for the latest data (as of August 2024) on what younger enthusiasts were looking to insure. We’ll run down the list of Millennial faves from bottom to top, then do the same for Generation Z.
Millennials
Generation Z
But if you want a summary now, prepare yourself for a pair of lists crammed with Mustangs, Corvettes, and pickups. (Some things never change, huh?)
Millennials
10. 1968-1972 Chevrolet Chevelle
Back in 2019, the venerable Chevy Chevelle sat at #3 on the Millennials’-faves list; its new position at the bottom of the totem pole suggests the iconic muscle car has been supplanted by new darlings. It was the ’69 and ’70 models – spanning a significant facelift for Chevelle – that drew the most attention back then, not only among Millennials, but among Boomers and Gen Xers, too.
9. 2008-2023 Dodge Challenger
8. 1968-1979 Volkswagen Beetle
7. 1987 to 1993 Ford Mustang
While perhaps derided by some as a rolling-in-my-five-point-oh punchline some 20 years ago, the Fox-body Ford Mustang has long been a favourite of drag-racing nuts, tuners, and those in the know generally. Add in nostalgia for the period seeing its upswing, and it just makes sense Millennials are seeking these things out in bigger numbers than ever.
6. 1973-1979 Ford F-Series
5. 1967-1972 Chevrolet C/K Series Pickup
Everything we just said about the Ford F-Series above? Much of it tracks to the old Chev C/K, too, even if the preferred model years are a generation behind the Blue Oval trugs. These second-gen Chevy trucks, like the C10 or Cheyenne, are admittedly a handsome bunch, while plenty capable, too.
4. 1968-1982 Chevrolet Corvette
3. 1994-2004 Ford Mustang
2. 1981-1987 Chevrolet C/K Series Pickup
You thought you’d seen the last of the vintage pickups on this list? Think again. This generation of the classic square-body Chevrolet truck was actually the #1 vehicle on the 2019 list of Millennial faves—it’s just traded places with the then-runner-up, is all. It also makes for another notch in the Millennials-love-modern-cars tally—four out of our top 10 now hail from the 1980s or newer. Even if it’s the second-place fave for now, it still feels like a pickup from the ’80s perhaps best defines Millennial enthusiasts’ tastes in classic cars.
1. 1965-1966 Ford Mustang
The ’65 Ford Mustang has practically ingrained itself in North American car culture, becoming the default collector car most people think of when they think “classic.” Like the Beetle, it doesn’t hurt that a healthy production run means they’re still found in just about every corner of the country and at every price point.
Generation Z
10. 2015-2023 Ford Mustang
9. 1968-1979 Volkswagen Beetle
The Beetle’s not the only old Volkswagen that younger enthusiasts dig—Hagerty has seen them demonstrate interest in Rabbits, GTIs, and Sciroccos, too. But it’s the Bug that’s fair and away got the most charm for the next generation of car nuts.
8. 1987-1993 Ford Mustang
7. 1965-1966 Ford Mustang
Boom! Second Mustang in a row. The very first pony cars may be Millennials’ faves, but they fall in the back half of the top 10 for Generation Z. Makes us wonder if we’re going to have to start running out of first-gen Mustangs before we run out of younger and younger enthusiasts who really dig them.
6. 1973-1979 Ford F-Series
Though to a lesser extent that their Millennial forebears, Generation Z enthusiasts are also big into classic trucks. It seems they’re even into the same types of classic trucks, particularly old Fords and Chevies – can’t a Dodge pickup get some love? – from the same eras. All that increasing demand is slowly driving prices up, but for now, plenty of deals can still be hard on these old Blue-Oval-badged workhorses.
5. 1994-2004 Ford Mustang
And then it’s back to Mustangs once again. (Don’t worry, this is the last one on the list.) SN95-gen ‘Stangs were mostly used cars when Generation Z was growing up, but that still lines it up roughly to the era many of them may be starting to feel nostalgia for, if you can feel nostalgia at so young an age.
In the past, Hagerty has surmised that Gen Z is more into practical classics than older generations and so may lean toward slightly more modern vintage vehicles for that reason—the entries on this list generally bear that out.
4. 1973-1980 Chevrolet C/K Series Pickup
Well, isn’t this kismet? Millennials love old Chevrolet trucks, especially the second-generation ones (1967 through 1972) and, even more so, those from the back half of the third generation (particularly 1981 through 1987). Generation Z? Their favourite old Bowties are the pre-facelift early third-gen C/K trucks right in between the two gens that Millennials love.
3. 1968-1982 Chevrolet Corvette
That’s not to say the Disco-era Stingray is not without its charms. The styling is still absolutely wild, and while horsepower was down, enthusiasts generally don’t get into these things to go racing.
2. 1984-1996 Chevrolet Corvette
1. 1990-1998 Mazda MX-5 Miata (NA)
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