On the clear coat surface, that the 1989 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z on the left has an asking price some twenty-two-thousand dollars more than the 1989 Chevrolet Corvette on the right is a mind-bender. More like a fender-bender, actually. Both are in similarly stellar condition although, honestly, the IROC is in better shape overall. Lower mileage too, just twenty-four thousand or so on its thirty-four-year-old analog ticker compared to some forty-three thousand on the Corvette. That enough to warrant the $33,000 asking price for the IROC compared to the relatively scant $12,000 for the Corvette? Oh, hell no. Well, not in my book anyway.
I'd be hard pressed to find anyone, an automobile enthusiast or not, who'd find the IROC superior to the Corvette. The Corvette is more comfortable, has a better ride, handles better, accelerates faster and has a higher top speed. In general, it's tons more fun to drive. I didn't mention anything about appearances either.
Subjectively, through my foggy goggles, any fourth-generation Corvette in convertible guise is vastly more handsome than any Camaro too, even a top-dog IROC-Z. If the Corvette wasn't a convertible, I'd say they were dead-even in styling; both double battered and deep-fried in 1980's day-glow, fastback\hatchback cheese. If the Corvette was a coupe, tip of the chin spoiler would go to the IROC-Z but not enough to out weigh the superior driving dynamics of the plastic-fantastic.
But the proof is in the actual numbers - third generation Camaro Z28's and IROC's are worth more and, in many cases significantly more than C4 Corvettes. This IROC here doesn't even have an L98 engine; it's has the 5.0-liter, LB9, Tuned-Port-Injection engine. Again, my opinion, this is akin to sacrilege. How in the name of Madonna, Wham! and Michael Jackson is this remotely possible?
Well, it's not unusual for cars that were less expensive when new to appreciate more than more expensive ones. For example, a 1970 Cadillac Coupe deVille convertible in good condition has an average retail value of $16,500 and a Chevelle SS in just "fair" shape is worth around $55,000. Chevelles in "concours" or pristine condition, especially if they're original and unrestored, can go for well north of a hundred-grand, you'd be hard pressed to fine a museum quality Cadillac worth $50,000. Meanwhile, the typical Chevelle SS probably went out the door when new for under five-thousand and the Cadillac for more than sixty-five-hundred.
Meanwhile, our '89 IROC here stickered for a tad under $25,000 and the Corvette for around $40,000; that's roughly the same cost differential between the 1970 Cadillac and Chevelle. In any event, again, what in the name of leg warmers is going on here?
Much in the same way the '70 Chevelle shreds the '70 at the 2023 box office, it's the market that drives these values regardless of what your opinion of the vehicles is. The bottom line is "Gen-X", or those born between 1965 and 1981, value third-generation Camaros more than they do fourth-gen or "C4" Corvettes. Don't take my word for it, either. According to Haggerty Insurance, Gen-X'ers make up thirty-two percent of Haggerty's customers, and they have more than half of the third generation Camaros they insure. Meanwhile, more than half of the C4's they insure belong to "Boomers" or those born between 1946 and 1964.
Makes sense, on paper, especially if we look at this technically if not clinically. The Camaro IROC-Z was the aspirational car of Gen X they could, at least in theory, afford. And back-in-the-day. many a "kid" drove one plowing every penny they made into paying for them, the gas they inhaled and insuring them. Unless they were lucky enough to have parents who footed the bill. Never discount how powerful a part nostalgia plays in this as well. Meanwhile fourth-gen Corvettes were not only way more expensive, they were driven by older folks as well.
In the end, while I find third-generation Camaros, especially IROC-Z', flinty, crude and cheap, not that C4's are by any means bastions of refinement, I'm fixing to get me the performance buy of a lifetime, one of these days when I trade up to a C4 convertible. For my money, it's a whole lot more car than an IROC for not much money.
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