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I've seen relatively popular models, go from being seen everywhere on the street, to being a staple on used car lots, to laying around in driveways and backyards as projects that morphed into parts cars. After that, they're off to the scrap yards, and are gone forever. And all this happens in relatively short period of ten or fifteen years. Think of it like the boa constrictor that swallows a pig. Our cars have a seven year production run that is moving through the boa. Within seven years, the every model produced has passed the same static benchmark point. All along the way, an ever increasing percentage of cars is being lost to accidents, corrosion, mechanical failures etc. This dynamic is compounded by time. The more a model ages, the greater it's loss factor. Once a car is twenty years old, the ratio between running driving cars and those destined for the scrap yard increases rapidly. The tipping point occurs when a car is off the road, when its likelihood of ever running again is next to zero. At that point, even if the car still exists, it's no longer counted as part of the survivors. I image it like a melting iceberg, with the overall numbers of relatively nice cars at the top shrinking; while the numbers of beaters, projects and parts cars underneath the surface increasing at a faster rate. When a car like ours gains a new found popularity with enthusiasts, buyers are not looking to purchase projects or beaters; they are only interested in the tip of the iceberg: The survivor cars that look good; ones that run and drive without major issues. This means the real market for a resurgent Z32 is not the total numbers of those cars left, but rather only those floating above water. And, once the low mileage collector cream is skimmed off the top, those remaining in serviceable condition become evermore scarce and valuable. And this happens quickly, not slowly. Anything else doesn't matter, because when the bulk of Z32s are considered so far gone that they're not part of the market considered by investors or enthusiast; then they don't calculate into the cost factors. Nobody wants them except as parts cars; and only someone like you or I would even consider saving them. IMO We're already at the stage where its common to see as many listings for parts cars, as those for running driving cars.
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