When it comes to classics and collectables, arguably design is the single-most important characteristic.

While performance may be a factor as well, to make a variant of the line “You can sell an old person a young person’s car but you can’t sell a young person and old person’s car,” “A car is a collectable if it has an extraordinary design and ordinary performance, but it isn’t a collectable if it has extraordinary performance and ordinary design.”

Which brings us to the fact that Hagerty Insurance, a firm that specializes in classic cars, has announced that it believes the 2012 Buick Regal GS will be a future collectable.

Hard on the heels of the 2012 Hagerty Hot List with the Regal, the folks at Buick collaborated with the insurer to determine the top 10 collectable Buicks.

And here’s the list:

2012 Buick Regal GS

1932 Model 90 sport phaeton

1937 66C Century convertible coupe

1940 Super Model 59 Wood Estate Wagon

1947 Roadmaster Woody Wagon

1949 Roadmaster Convertible

1953 Skylark

1963 Riviera

1970 GSX Stage 1 Hardtop Coupe

1987 GNX

Here’s priceless comment from GM North America president Mark Reuss related to the Regal GS, “As someone who drove a classic Skylark to prom and owned other incredible Buicks like an ’87 GNX, I can say it deserves to be viewed among the best Buick has built.”

Given that today is Valentine’s, we wonder how his prom date liked the Skylark. . . .