Chevrolet Say what you want about Gen Z, but this youthful cohort has pretty good taste in cars, at least according to classic car insurer Hagerty. The company has been digging through its insurance quote data to find generational trends, this time looking at cars that were disproportionately popular among Gen Z (here defined as people born between 1997 and 2012). Gen Z represents the next generation of collector-car buyers, so this provides a bit of insight into where the future of the hobby might go. What Hagerty found is that Gen Z has similar tastes to Millennials—specifically, in its preference for Japanese cars. That makes sense, as both generations came of age when the Japanese auto industry was at the height of its powers. Nostalgia for the cars that were new and exciting when you were growing up is usually the strongest strain of the car bug. Honda Acura Based on Hagerty’s data, four out of the five most popular cars among Gen Z enthusiasts are Japanese. Three are JDM models that weren’t sold in the United States when new, but are now importable under the 25-year rule. However, they aren’t the usual suspects. Sure, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI shares Gran Turismo stardom and a motorsports pedigree with other JDM idols like the Nissan Skyline GT-R. But according to Hagerty, Gen Z also loves the Toyota Celsior (as the Lexus LS was known in its home market for a time) and the Honda Beat more than the traditional sports cars and homologation specials that are usually thought of as the bedrock of JDM fandom. Toyota Mitsubishi The other two cars are even more unusual. The Acura RSX is generally overlooked by older Honda fans, even if it sits in the same nostalgic sweet spot for both Millennials and Gen Z. The same is also true of the only car on the list that isn’t Japanese—the Chevrolet Cobalt SS. Both of these early 2000s sport compacts deserve more love, and perhaps Gen Z will give it to them. Hagerty notes that some of these cars are likely getting more attention from Gen Z enthusiasts because they’re cheap to buy right now, and that Gen Z might move on to bigger and better things as they accumulate more disposable income. Of course, that may take some time. Hagerty estimates that Gen Z makes up only 10% of the collector-car market, while Millennials make up 20%. Boomers and Gen X make up nearly two-thirds of the market, so muscle cars will continue to dominate auction catalogs for the time being.
