TMCP #638: Ask Rick! Mecum Kissimmee Shockers — Is the Muscle Car Market Hot or Cooling?
The MuscleCar Place
Robert Kibbe
4.5 • 702 Ratings
🗓️ 6 February 2026
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It’s the month of love and football, and Rick Schmidt is back with another edition of Ask Rick to break down what’s happening right now in the automotive world. Rick weighs in on recent comments from Ford CEO Jim Farley about the future of sedans, noting that American automakers have largely abandoned the affordable sedan market—leaving foreign manufacturers, especially Korean brands, to quietly dominate the segment. With early signs pointing toward low-cost electric sedans on the horizon, Rick believes Detroit may yet have an opportunity to re-enter a market it once owned.
Rick also reviews the eye-opening results from January’s major car auctions, calling it a market that “blew the doors off.” Unexpected vehicles crossed the $100K mark, classic ’50s cars held strong, and certain sporty models like the Thunderbird remain undervalued despite high-dollar restorations. The episode wraps with a real-world Mecum challenge: three cars bought under $60K—can one be enjoyed for a year, untouched, and sold at Mecum January 2027 for a win? Rick breaks down the strategy and the risks behind the picks.
The post TMCP #638: Ask Rick! Mecum Kissimmee Shockers — Is the Muscle Car Market Hot or Cooling? first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Muscle Car Place online podcast episode number 638. This week, Rick Schmidt is here to break down the month that was of the big January car auctions. You know, Meekum, Berrick Jackson, all the biggies. And friends, there's something going on right now in this market because these auctions were kind of bonkers. Now, the big ticket cars at Nekam and Barrethe, that's one thing. |
| 0:22.4 | But that's not what we're here to talk about. |
| 0:24.1 | We're talking about stuff in our lane, like affordable 50s-era T-birds and 80s performance cars |
| 0:30.1 | and late-60s Broncos that are selling for less than they cost to build right now. |
| 0:36.2 | All vehicles that maybe, just maybe there's a window of opportunity on if you've been |
| 0:39.9 | holding one. |
| 0:40.9 | Won't work for everything, and no one knows it will happen in the future, but that's not |
| 0:44.1 | going to stop us from guessing anyway. |
| 0:46.2 | And Rixie's promise. |
| 0:47.3 | Paying $130, $140,000 for a $375 horse, 396-4-speed hardtop chival. |
| 0:54.0 | That's new. |
| 0:55.1 | I saw it an awful lot of strength in the market. |
| 0:58.6 | And not just with 60s stuff and 70s stuff. |
| 1:01.2 | And of course, the 80s and 90s performance stuff has gone through the roof. |
| 1:08.3 | This is the Muscle Car Place Online podcast, brought you by National Parks Depot. |
| 1:15.0 | This is the weekly show dedicated to people worldwide who love American muscle cars. |
| 1:21.3 | If you're buying, selling, restoring, even racing them, this is the place for you. |
| 1:27.6 | Now here's your host, Rob Kibby. |
| 1:31.3 | Yes, indeed, I am Rob Kibby, and welcome to the Muscle Car Place podcast. |
| 1:35.5 | Well, here we are, the first show of February. |
| 1:37.4 | So first, happy Valentine's Day next week. |
| 1:40.7 | Rick is here to break down, this week, to break down the auctions that were last week, |
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