Last week my son and I ran across a collector car "shopper" type publication from the early 1980s. You know the kind . . . printed on pulp paper with grainy photos you can hardly make sense of. Reading the prices in the old ads is enough to make you find the nearest mirror, see your reflection and voice the single word, "stupid!" You wonder why you passed up a 54,000-mile 1958 Buick Special for $1,900, an "A-1" 1941 Ford Tudor for the same price or a '36 Pontiac coupe for $2,700.

However, what's even more amazing, if you know the current hobby marketplace, is how much Mopar models have gone up in value. Need some examples? Let's go back to the 1983 edition of AUTO BUYER magazine and see what we can find. How about a 1978 Dodge Lil Red Express for $4,400? Or even better, what do you think about a 1967 Imperial convertible for $4,800? And, if you really want to cry, here's the kicker . . . a 71,000-mile 1970 Plymouth Superbird of the 440 6-pack four-speed variety for $7,500! Holy cow!

If you really think about it, the shopper publications on the magazine racks today are probably filled with cars that you should be buying right now. But it sure is hard to predict what vehicles people will want 25 years from now, isn't it? Twenty-five years ago, no one would have guessed that Mopar would be the big winner.