The rich are not collectors as such, a box doesn't interest them, that'll be dumped, it's solely the rarity.
Perished tyres, degraded plastic, and more dry joints than my gran.
Everything deteriorates with time whether it be a painting or a C5.
In the 70s and 80s you could find loads of Merc 190SLs in fairly good nick in the scrap yards, until one day a Mag noticed that they were becoming quite rare. Then the price started to soar, within one year the price had quadrupled.
but I'll dare you to show me one Lada in a museum
Sorry but I don't find this to be a good example, I can give you a list a couple of miles long of things that are not shown in a museum.
I don't know about the UK but here the price for a Beetle is soaring, in Holland the Fiat 500, and yet a lot of super machines rot away. It seems to be a case of what tickles your fancy.
I've been collecting photos of the Fairey Rotodyne for years, not what one could call a beautiful or spectacular aircraft, and for a long time I never paid over £10 for a photo, now they are going for over £200. The same goes for plastic model A/C, I've seen bids for over €2,600 for a kit.
A Vincent Black Shadow should be ridden, not used as a piece of furniture
In a few years time there'll be no more Shadows on the road, the price is reaching the stage whereby no one will risk driving one.
Mind you, you may be right. If Chas keeps up the good work of stopping the rot the C5 wont become so rare.