PREWAR DODGES AND 4-4-2s

Yesterday we talked about the trend I saw with big collectors and collector car dealers buying cars while prices are low.

This weekend I am at the Atlantic City Classic Car Auction (www.acclassiccars.com) and as I walk around the Convention Center today, two very different types of cars leap out at me as new trends in collecting.

For one reason or another, this auction is loaded with prewar Dodges. Most of them are 1936 and 1937 models, but there was also an earlier model from the 1920s. Dodge isn't a brand you see a lot of at auctions and to see so many this weekend stood out in my mind.

Last year, the high-dollar car at Atlantic City was an Olds 4-4-2 convertible that Grant Miller of Central Pennsylvania Auto Auctions (www.cpaautoauction.com) bought. One reason for so many 4-4-2s at Atlantic City is a company named Thornton Muscle Cars (www.tntmusclecars.com), based in the Philadelphia area, that specializes in muscle cars and especially 4-4-2s.

I do not know if interest in Dodges and Oldsmobiles will be an ongoing trend, but these cars are certainly popular here in Atlantic City.