“The word ‘classic’ car gets misused a lot,” says Greer. “Classic cars are defined by the Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) and there’s a list of those cars that are considered classics. Most cars that are defined as classics are 1948 and earlier.
“The ’55, ’56 and ’57 Chevrolets get the word classic assigned to them by some groups, and so do the early Mustangs,” says Greer. “In our organization, we call them milestone cars, because they were a significant influence into the market at the time when they were introduced, but they’re not really classics. So it depends which organization you’re talking to and how they use the terminology.”
According to the CCCA, classic cars were typically expensive to begin with, and produced in limited quantities.
An antique vehicle, adds Greer, is generally at least 30 years old, which is the minimum age for historic or vintage plates in many provinces. “If it’s between 30 and 20 years old – which most clubs recognize those cars, the class they fall into is called late-model production,” says Greer.
A “collector” car isn’t necessarily old. “One of the most glaring examples of a modern-day collector car is the Ford GT, which was 2006 era. Ford made it to pay homage to their ’60s GT sporty race cars, and they’re very, very collectable,” says Jeff Hill, president of Okotoks Collector Car Auction. “There’s also a Porsche Carrera GT, made in the same ’04-to-’06 timeline, and they’re also extremely collectable cars.”

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