There are as broad a variety of approaches to long hood ownership as there are folks who own them. For some, they are investments. For some, fun driving toys. And everything in-between. There is no "right" or "wrong" or even "indifferent". We all "pays our money and makes our choices". My choices are no better than yours, yours are no better than mine. I do not enjoy my car more than you, nor you more than me, based upon those choices. The one clear thing in all of this is that if you are not enjoying your chosen niche in this great hobby, it might be time to admit that to yourself and get out. No harm no foul, no judgement. They are, really, "just cars", no matter what anyone says. If they no longer bring enjoyment, for whatever reason, find something that does. The good thing, at least right now, is that they are valuable enough to be able to trade them for lots of other things that might bring back that enjoyment.
I've made my decision. I made it long ago. Mine isn't going anywhere, at any price. One of my kids will inherit it. For now, I'll keep driving it as much as possible. I've personally rolled the odometer over twice in just over 20 years of ownership. It sees a dozen track days every year, gets driven halfway across the country every year, and is driven with a combination of pure joy and reckless abandon. There is literally not a single piece of it that I have not held separately in my own two hands, some of them many, many times.
I have been deeply involved in R Gruppe for over 20 years, and have served as our Pac West region "Chaptermeister" for 18 of those years. A couple of years ago I stepped up a bit more, accepting the position of Vice President of the club. After many years in the motorcycle club scene, the car club scene, I truly found my home with my R Gruppe family. My car was the gateway into that family, long before anyone thought these cars were "worth" anything. In it, I am accompanied by like minded enthusiasts who continue to absolutely drive the schitt outa these cars, their "value" be damned. Their "value", to us, is purely that they are the means to the end, the vehicle through which we have found one another. That, to us, is a "value" we cannot measure.
In the words of one of our late, great members, we are just going to continue to "drive these pigs!!!" and enjoy them. Everyone else can enjoy them as they like as well. It's a big hobby, with lots of room for everyone to do what brings them the greatest enjoyment.
