Can anyone explain why my 2 of favorite classics are so badly received by other 'collectors' ?

The car that should have been a Merc beater ..... Triumph Stag. everyone loves the Tr's and MGs but the Stag........





And our very own XJS. This car should be out there with the E type. But.....

 

Can only agree with your last line. To me the E Type has little visual appeal apart from the front end.

 

Steve, you forgot the sarc

 

Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder, I think is the saying.

Works for me.

I simply dont care what others think.

The Stag has its following, and those owners accept the shortcomings/issues of the Marque, just as we "Special" people accept the V12 in XJ-S guise, with all its issues, without too much fuss.

 

The Stag - a beautiful car - has iirc the largest enthusiasts group by percentage of the production figures. I think something like 95% of all Stags that survived are in clubs...

The XJ-S is a future classic yet to be discovered. We here know it already but others, like those who think the engine bay of the 'troublesome' V12 is a bottomless pit, won't understand it. They think the E-Type is THE Jag to have followed but the massproduced Mark II... The XJ Series I-III is not really heading upwards yet but I think the following is getting larger...

We can't ever expect the XJ-S to rrach prices of the E-Type due to the amount built BUT REALLY good cars are fetching high 5 figures prices here...

 

The XJS is slowly rising, even the forum moved it from modern to classic.

 

i dont care what anyone else thinks. i took mine out a few weeks ago and i had so many admirers, if i werent happily married i could have had some serious
"followers". Screw what the classic car bores say about the xjs. mine looks great if you stand about 40 yards away and screw your eyes up so your sight is blurred and you cant see the bits falling off:

 

Cars are like anything else. Everyone else is wrong. I'm right.

What I do know from experience is that the xj-s elicits conversation. A 7 series bummer? Nope. No one cares. New Lexus? Meh. Old jag? People talk to you. They say "that is a beautiful car!", "nice car!", "beautiful!" On and on...

Car heads can blow it off. Not rare enough for them or too old or not old enough or whatever.

I could not care less. I drive a car that was designed by men not focus groups or computers. It makes me happy. Why would I want others to validate that? It's valid because I say so. Impenetrable to slings and barbs and opinion.

And bad *** beautiful.

 

Both cars were beautiful and elegant, but very badly made.The Stag's engine in particular was terrible. That reputation for poor quality has continued to damn these cars.Of course the later XJS convertibles were a lot better. They had to be !!

 

FWIW, my 1990 XJS actually HAS gone up in value, per the insurance company. I bought her three years ago, and have seen a 30% rise in the stated value. Now, I've seen more than a 30% rise in the "annoying problems" area, but she's 26 years old, so.....

 

Indeed, that "Stag' is a beauty. marred only by the awful Targa top.
Neither a true convertible nor a coupe,


Way back when, a TR2 "graced' our garage. Much battered, had survived a frond end crunch and a transmission failure. I got the
wings closer to 'straight" and swapped in some used gears into the transmission. The little four roared nicely on a true dual straight pipe exhaust....


Succumbed to an offer far in excess of what I paid for it...


Carl

 

Not that familiar with the Stag, but, regarding our XJS's, what do I care if some other car snobs don't like them, to hell with those morons! We have one of the most bitchin cars available, and thanks to guys like that, they are out there on a Corolla budget. What a beautiful world!

See ya, E

 

I believe that if you own a classic car in hopes of getting others approvable, your missing the point. I spend a lot of time maintaining my V12, but when I drive it I'm all smiles. This XJS is a blast and I don't care what it's worth money wise, I know what it's worth to me.
Cheers...Jimmy

 

my XJS was given to me, NO cost, with signed title!!

but $30,000. dollars and 2 1/2 years of loving rebuild, JUST LOOK AT ME NOW??

 

@ Ronbros

You live in the States and have a RHD Jag? That is cool! Or are the pictures mirrored?

 

.


YUP, RHD ,last time registered in KENT UK. 1986!

 

How does that work over there? Wasn't there a law only allowing imports over 25 years? Like the Skyline/GTRs which are crushed because they were imported earlier than allowed...!?

 

Cheers to that!

 

I got tired of buying $30-40,000 cars and watching them depreciate (my 04 GTO, 09 LS3 GXP, then 11 Camaro SS). I also considered buying an old classic, like a GTO, but the cost would be the same (40k), plus I'd be afraid to drive it or modify it.

But with the XJS, I got a beautiful, stunning car for rock bottom prices, that I can fix or modify at my leisure. My 94 driver AJ6, I got for $5600. My motorless 91, for $999. I'm in for several $k on the LS1 swap, and in the end I'll have another driver for around $6k. If worse comes to worse, I can always sell one for what I'm into it for. I know I won't be able to add much value to either, but in the end, I'll have several years of enjoyment without a $500 monthly car payment money pit.

So I'm unconcerned about the monetary value. Fun and affordable is my primary motivation.

Padre

 

I'm of the same opinion as what was said above. I love the car to death, I love working on it, and I love the looks of it. I love the feeling I get when driving it. That's all that matters. I have lots of car friends and they all appreciate it but none love it as much as I do, but again, that's not the point. It's what you think that matters!