Why Do E-bodies Command High Auction Prices?

The June 2018 issue of Muscle Machines ran an interesting article about the history of MOPAR E-body cars. Here are some excerpts:

"By the time the performance wars really took off in the early 1960s, Chrysler was well armed for the fight, even if it lagged in packaging branded supercar models. When it did, the company's Plymouth and Dodge divisions pulled out the stops. Saturday morning cartoon characters as mascots, fiberglass hood, Hemi engines, etc.

As Mustang grew in both sales and size over time, Chrysler engineers felt restricted by their A-Body. It was tough enough getting a big-block 383 in there, and slightly more challenging to follow up with a 440, but dropping a Hemi would require major fabrication work., as the Hurst-built 1968 Hemi Darts and Barracuda demonstrated. For 1970, Chrysler debuted the E-body siblings: the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda. The E-body was really Chrysler's long-standing B-body platform with a few inches taken out of the middle to tighten things up: The 117-inch wheelbase Charger begat the 110-inch Challenger and the 116-inch Road runner begat the 108-inch Barracuda. Width was not reduced and the entire range of Chrysler engines were available, from the unkillable slant-six to the legendary Hemi. New shapes, endless option sheets, 9 engine choices and bold colors meant that they could be anything you wanted, from a Challenger SE to a Challenger T/A or 'Cuda AAR, modeled after the cars seen in SCAA Tans Am competition: rev-happy 340s with aluminum Edelbrock intakes and six hungry carbs and firm Rallye suspension, front and rear anti-roll bars, fast-ratio steering, big-n-little white letter rubber on 15-inch wheels. There was even a side-exiting exhaust and blacked-out cold-air hoods made of fiberglass. Of course, if you were a hardcore quarter-mile fan, you could order a 4-speed Hemi with a Super Track Pak and 4.10 gears for your R/T or 'Cuda.

Such choice meant that Challenger bolted out of the gate hard with 83,032 built for 1970- Barracudas sold 55,499 cars. Despite this, muscle cars were breathing their last hurrah and, in 1971, Challenger sales fell to 29,883 and Barracuda sales to 18,690. By 1972, the biggest engine that you could order was a de-tuned 340. Challenger sales were 26,658 and Barracuda sales were 18,450. In 1973, sales were 32,596 for the Challenger 22,213 for the Barracuda. In 1974, their final year, Challenger sales were 16,437 and Barracuda sales were 11,734. Overall, 188,606 Challengers and 126,586 Barracuda were made from 1970-1974.

But sometimes, yesterday's sales slump means today's sought after rarity. Consider this, while 315,192 Challengers and Barracuda were built in 5 years, Mustangs topped an incredible 416,000 units in their first 18 months of production! Remember this next time you wonder how E-bodies continue to sniff around the six-figure threshold at the classic-car auctions."