I speak with several people each week about buying or selling Panteras. I have noticed a trend amongst the buyers based on age. The older buyers want narrow body versions, and the younger buyers prefer the wide bodies. There are buyers who are exceptions to this of course, this is just a "trend" I have noticed.
Here's my explanation for that. The older guys fell in love with the Pantera back in the 1970's, when the only Pantera's seen in the US were the narrow bodies. The younger buyers, who are members of generation X, grew up in the 1980's, when the Panteras seen in magazines, advertisements and on posters were the wide body versions, the GT5 & GT5-S. Plus in the 1980's, many sports cars and sporty sedans were equipped by their makers with bulging fender flares and ground effects bodywork. So the gen-X buyers have learned to prefer that "look".
The problem is, there aren't enough wide body versions to go around, and to get into a wide body at a narrow body price means the car will have problems.
Eventually the gen-X buyers are going to have to accept the possibility that they will have to buy a narrow body (there's plenty of them) and glue on a GT5 kit, purchase the proper wheels and tires, and spring for the price of a new paint job.
A smart vendor wanting to capitalize on this trend would offer "package deals" for the conversion. Install the fiberglass bodywork, provide the wheels and tires and repaint the car for a discount price. The delta wing would be an option. As time goes on this will be more in demand. The vendors who want their businesses to prosper must change to meet the needs of the new owners.
Comments? Agree or disagree? Am I full of "it" as usual?
cowboy from hell
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