A classical gas

Rough Notes, Apr 2003 by Boone, Elisabeth

* Battery jump-starts or delivery of a new battery if necessary

* Tire service to install an inflated spare or deliver a replacement tire

* Fuel delivery if the vehicle runs out of gas

* Lockout service, including assistance to replace lost keys

Another key feature of the Hagerty Protection Network is complete online policy management. Using Hagerty's agent Web site, agents can obtain an immediate premium quote, submit applications, download forms, upload photos and documents, submit endorsements, adjust coverage levels, review account information, submit claims, print policies and declaration pages, and print customer ID cards. Live help is available online. A content section of the Web site includes market news, business building tips, and an "Agent Talk" area that features other agents' successes.

The Hagerty Protection Network also maintains a legislative and consumer protection bureau. Hagerty actively supports the collector car hobby and works with its customers as an advocate for collectors. The agency assists with legislative support and in areas of consumer protection that affect collectors and hobbyists. Surveys conducted on the agency's Web site help catalog and report hobbyists' interests and experiences.

Through its Web site and quarterly newsletter, Hagerty plans a number of innovations, including:

* Discussion forums where consumers can rate and comment on repair and restoration facilities and exchange information about services

* Feature articles by noted automotive journalists, auctioneers, and restorers on topics like "Tips on Buying and Selling at Auction," "Guidelines for Choosing a Good Restoration Shop," and "How to Improve Garage Safety"

* A Protection Tips area where customers can get updates on pending legislation, auto protection guidelines, and a mixture of serious and humorous articles on relevant topics

What's hot?

Collector cars aren't necessarily rare, antique, or incredibly expensive-and collectors' tastes change as time passes and more vehicles achieve collectible status. What are the hot trends in car collecting today?

"We see several trends," Hagerty says. "First and foremost, the muscle car era is just exploding in popularity. Those are mostly late '60s and early '70s cars like Mustangs, GTOs, Camaros, Firebirds, Barracudas-high powered, virtually all domestic. They were considered pretty barbaric by the traditional car collectors of 10 or 15 years ago. Today the most collected, fastest appreciating segment of the collector market is muscle cars. At an auction recently I saw a hemi 'Cuda sell for $350,000. That's at the extreme high end, because it's rare, super high performance, right out of the factory-- everything collectors look for."

Also avidly pursued by collectors today, Hagerty says, are street rods and modified custom cars. "This trend has been going strong for a number of years, and it's reaching the point where a lot of seasoned collectors are including a street rod in their collection. You're probably picturing cars with flames on the sides, women in bikinis-but it's really not like that," Hagerty laughs. "It's a much more sophisticated crowd; a lot of people with gray hair are collecting them, and it's becoming more conventional. Collectors are buying already restored or pre-built roadster-style street rods. These cars used to cost $30,000, $40,000, or $50,000; now people are putting $200,000 or $300,000 into building these super-duper street rods, with incredible attention to detail and fascinating technology. The original street rods were built for drag racing; collectors today wouldn't drag race these cars if their lives depended on it; it's way too hard on the vehicle."