GN Vs. T

[Gary Wells]

FWIW & IMHO:
The variation in value between the GN & Turbo-T is not "Supply & Demand" related. If it was, Turbo-T's would be worth more than GN's, as they are rarer. Same would be true for WE4's, Limiteds, & Turbo Trans Ams. The theory of "Supply & Demand" is based upon demand exceeding supply. "Supply & Demand" theory would explain the value of GN's & Turbo-T's, but not the variation in value and the fact that the GN is worth more than the Turbo-T's.

 

[VADER]

I think its simply more demand for the GN, which is due to reputation/looks, etc, supply is limited for both.

 

[Gary Wells]

There is definitely more demand for the GN.

 

[pontiac69fb]

There is definitely more demand for the GN.

I agree. For 1 alot of people don't even know what a grand national is, and for those who have heard of grand nationals they probably have no idea what a t type, we4, or wh1 are. Its possible for an average car lover to say the grand national is one of his favorite cars, but I doubt outside of us tr people you will hear someone say they've always wanted a we4 or a regal limited. The t type and other turbo regals with exception to the gnx just simply do not have enough reputation.

 

[corsair231]

It is called perceived value. The common man does not know what a T-type is but the all black paint is a recognizable trait and the name Grand National is familiar because it was always the one mentioned in the press, therefore it is perceived as something special and thus it must be worth more. In other words the GN's reputation and notoriety is what makes it worth more. When talking about my car to people I always use the Mustang GT, LX 5.0 example. Even the simpletons know that they are the same cars but one is just dressed different. But since I have a WE4 most people assume it is a GN and often instead of correcting them I just agree with them and sometimes I even tell them I have a GN so I don't have to explain. That's also why TTA's don't have the resell either. People look at it and they don't know what it is and they don't realize that it was the engine that made them special. To the uninformed it was still just a six and they could/can get a V-8 for less. To most people who's butt dyno doesn't know what fast is, the v-8 was fast and it was the bigger so it must have been better. If the Regal had been available with a TPI 350 then maybe the GN might be thought of as just a six.

To show you how ignorant about these cars many people can be: Today I had a man come into the store where I work part time. He knows me from seeing my T and other cars around town so he started talking to me. I didn't drive the T due to my wiped cam, (see my other post: dmn cam ) so he asked me if I still had that "International". I didn't feel like correcting him so I said I did. He then asked about an old Nova I had way back and about how it ran. I told him it was a BB 402 and it ran 13.60 @ 101. He then claimed to always have been a big block man and asked me if it was faster than my International. I told him it was then but not now. He started telling me how he had almost bought himself an International. He said, "I could have gotten it for $400 dollars. The guy had blown the motor in it and put a v-8 in there and was racing it and blew that one up and he wanted to sell it."

You would think that a man that was going to buy one, no matter what the shape of the car was, would at least know what the name of the car was. All he knew was that those black Internationals were supposed to be rare. ( At least he didn't say, "You still got that Monte Carlo") The GN is a rare car compared with the production numbers of most cars and thanks to us enthusiasts, there have probably been a higher percentage of them well maintained compared to many of the "muscle cars". Right now they are still fairly available and still some what of a niche car, so the market may not climb as rapidly as the older iron but they will, barring a major market crash, continue to rise and one day little brother T and cousin TTA will get to come along and play.

 

[Gary Wells]

Interesting viewpoints, Corsair231, but I have found that taking a different approach to the people that continue to call the turbo Buicks "Montes or Monte Carlos". It is best to "one up" and cough a bigger fib, and they gfenerally get sucker punched. At a open to all cars car show about a year ago, a reasonably respectable early '40's series 2 door sedan pulled up behind me and parked. Driver and his friend riding shotgun got out and the driver remarked to his friend purposedly loud enough for me to hear, "hey, nice monte Carlo". Figuring that this guy knew the difference, I thought for a minute and replied, "Thanks for the prop, dude, Aerocoupe, 1 year run only, exceptionally rare". With that exchange of words, he looked at his friend with a very quizical look on his face, walked over, looked closely at the car, looked at me, and rather sarcastically stated, "hey, that's a turbo Buick". I queried "Say, you're not just now figuring that out, are you?". With that, knowing that he had been taken in a fair game, he looked at his friend and said, "Come on, let's go." My guess would be that about 9 out of 10 of these people know the the difference between a Monte and turbo Buick, but more importantly, they know that most of the turbo Buick clan resent their cars being called something else. Never let one of these schmucks get your goat. Never.

 

[GNandGS]

Ahh but see, when we talk about unusual combos remember that the "Ts" dont have unusual combos.

What I mean is if you could buy a T for $xxx but found another identical one with special wheels, special interior, spoiler, blackout trim, etc etc etc would you pay more? You might, many would. Granted, others consider lighter wheels to be an "upgrade".

For the right situation, I like the T's better but dont kid yourselves. Part of the demand is based on it being the GN... equipped in a way no other car would be.

Buick nuts, and not just fair weather Buick guys dont care. We like them all. I too might be willing to pay a premium for a T equipped the way *I* want. The public probably would not. Look at how some go ga-ga over the turbo'd limited.

 

[strikeeagle]

And when I go to the Nats the first thing I do, the last thing I do, is look at Ts. Ts, Ts, Ts...

strike

 

[Gary Wells]

I hope that nobody took my posts/responses as being a GN person only. For my personal situation, a Turbo-T suits my needs just fine. Out of 5 turbo Buicks that I have owned, 1 was a GN, 1 was a T-type, and 3 have been turbo-t's.