Most Significant Cars in American History
06-05-2011, 09:58 AM
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Most Significant Cars in American History
Most significant cars in (American) history - not in any order
A good friend and I were arguing about cars as usual and somehow came up with the idea to create our own list of "significant" car throughout the years. I think it is a pretty complete list but if you feel something else should be on here lets hear it.
-Ford Mustang - Not the original muscle car, but in my opinion, the most important. The Mustang is the only muscle car that has never missed a year of production. Had a few rough years but has been the car most judge others against. This one will be argued for sure.
-Mazda Miata - The Japanese “British Roadster” that made way for many many cars. Cheap, light, reliable, and one hell of a good time to drive.
-Dodge Viper - Some may argue this selection. An 8L V-10 that produces a mere 400hp. Today, they have Mustangs that create more from the factory. However, in 1992, 400hp was pretty serious. It made the rest of the world wake up and see that America still has a few tricks.
-Ford Model T - Made the car available to the normal man due to out of the box thinking and quick/cheap production.
-Honda Civic / Toyota Corolla - Life savers during the 1970’s gas crunch. Although appliance type cars, the Civic made quite the statement in the street tuning scene as well.
-Hyundai Genesis Coupe - Yet another I feel some heated debating starting over. Hyundai has a bleak past, but in the past 5 years…Oh my. The Genesis Coupe is making people look at Hyundai entirely different. Great styling, great options/engines, great warranty, and fun to drive.
-Honda Insight / Toyota Prius - The Honda Insight started the Hybrid craze being the first production hybrid in 2000. Toyota just marketed a better car.
-Datsun 240Z - The first successful Japanese “sports car” to be sold in the USA. There were many others, this one just did it right.
-Ford Tauras - America’s best selling car from 92-95. Seemed like everyone and their sister owned one. You may laugh now, but this car saved the Ford sedan.
-Porche 911 - 50 years of damn near perfect cars. Not sure what to say.
-Vw Bug - Do we need a reason for this car? Well if you think we do come up with one.
-Mclaren F1 - The ultimate Super car. Damn near 20 years old and it is still hard to beat. Built with no compromises, no driver aids, and wonderful BMW V-12.
-Honda CR-V - The first small passenger SUV. Broke the big nasty V-8 standard. Sold like a champion and still does.
-Ford F-Series - The best selling truck for the past 30+ years. I would say they set the standard for how a truck should be made.
-Chrysler Vans - Saved Chrysler and were one hell of a Van back in the day. Started the "minivan" craze and also the van on which all other were judged.
-Willy’s Jeep - Ultimate badass SUV and the one that I think started it all. Also helped prevent tyranny
-Hummer H1 / Humvee - Created in the mid 80’s and is STILL used in today’s military. Same chassis but the weight has been bumped from about 6000lbs to well over 15k and sometimes up to 20k... This truck has been made into every type of truck imaginable and has seen more countries then any President.
Cars that were not originally on the list will be added due to new knowledge:
--Corvette
--1912 Caddy
Honorable Mentions:
-Fiat 500 (classic)
-Ford Explorer
-BMW 3-Series
-Mini Cooper (classic)
-Bugatti Veyron
A good friend and I were arguing about cars as usual and somehow came up with the idea to create our own list of "significant" car throughout the years. I think it is a pretty complete list but if you feel something else should be on here lets hear it.
-Ford Mustang - Not the original muscle car, but in my opinion, the most important. The Mustang is the only muscle car that has never missed a year of production. Had a few rough years but has been the car most judge others against. This one will be argued for sure.
-Mazda Miata - The Japanese “British Roadster” that made way for many many cars. Cheap, light, reliable, and one hell of a good time to drive.
-Dodge Viper - Some may argue this selection. An 8L V-10 that produces a mere 400hp. Today, they have Mustangs that create more from the factory. However, in 1992, 400hp was pretty serious. It made the rest of the world wake up and see that America still has a few tricks.
-Ford Model T - Made the car available to the normal man due to out of the box thinking and quick/cheap production.
-Honda Civic / Toyota Corolla - Life savers during the 1970’s gas crunch. Although appliance type cars, the Civic made quite the statement in the street tuning scene as well.
-Hyundai Genesis Coupe - Yet another I feel some heated debating starting over. Hyundai has a bleak past, but in the past 5 years…Oh my. The Genesis Coupe is making people look at Hyundai entirely different. Great styling, great options/engines, great warranty, and fun to drive.
-Honda Insight / Toyota Prius - The Honda Insight started the Hybrid craze being the first production hybrid in 2000. Toyota just marketed a better car.
-Datsun 240Z - The first successful Japanese “sports car” to be sold in the USA. There were many others, this one just did it right.
-Ford Tauras - America’s best selling car from 92-95. Seemed like everyone and their sister owned one. You may laugh now, but this car saved the Ford sedan.
-Porche 911 - 50 years of damn near perfect cars. Not sure what to say.
-Vw Bug - Do we need a reason for this car? Well if you think we do come up with one.
-Mclaren F1 - The ultimate Super car. Damn near 20 years old and it is still hard to beat. Built with no compromises, no driver aids, and wonderful BMW V-12.
-Honda CR-V - The first small passenger SUV. Broke the big nasty V-8 standard. Sold like a champion and still does.
-Ford F-Series - The best selling truck for the past 30+ years. I would say they set the standard for how a truck should be made.
-Chrysler Vans - Saved Chrysler and were one hell of a Van back in the day. Started the "minivan" craze and also the van on which all other were judged.
-Willy’s Jeep - Ultimate badass SUV and the one that I think started it all. Also helped prevent tyranny
-Hummer H1 / Humvee - Created in the mid 80’s and is STILL used in today’s military. Same chassis but the weight has been bumped from about 6000lbs to well over 15k and sometimes up to 20k... This truck has been made into every type of truck imaginable and has seen more countries then any President.
Cars that were not originally on the list will be added due to new knowledge:
--Corvette
--1912 Caddy
Honorable Mentions:
-Fiat 500 (classic)
-Ford Explorer
-BMW 3-Series
-Mini Cooper (classic)
-Bugatti Veyron
06-05-2011, 10:16 AM
#3
I dont think the Honda insight belongs on that list but the prius definitely does. Agreed with above, the viper is a crazy fast muscles car but i think there were always better cars out there to purchase instead.
06-05-2011, 10:39 AM
#6
Viper, Genesis, & Hummer do not belong on the list.
The BMW 3series should be on the list, as should the Corvette.
The BMW 3series should be on the list, as should the Corvette.
06-05-2011, 10:44 AM
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06-05-2011, 10:48 AM
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The 3-Series was a heavily debated one, same with the Vette.
Give me a good reason why the Viper, Genesis, and Hummer don't belong. Especially the Hummer. Have you ever been deployed to a war zone? If not... I would love to hear your reason for excluding the Hummer.
06-05-2011, 10:55 AM
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Didn't the RAV-4 come out before the CRV? I recall Toyota claiming the RAV4 was the first SUV with IRS. I think that was only kind of true. The H1 and Lm002 both had IRS but I would be willing to allow the omission of those very low volume non-main stream SUVs.
Most of the cars on that list would be influential in the US market. Some are nothings outside of the US. I would argue the Ford Explorer and Jeep Cherokee are more significant as far as SUVs go. They were the ones that brought SUVs to the forefront. The F1 is hard to say. Icon of a car but I'm not sure how much influence it had on other cars. For instance, the Chrysler vans showed the rest of the companies how to package a mini-van. The F1 was awesome but it's not like every Ferrari afterwards was just an F1 on the cheap. On the other hand cars like the F50 and Enzo did live in the F1's shadow.
The Hyundai would not have made my list. The Genesis sedan perhaps but not the coupe. The coupe just isn't that good. The Sedan puts people on notice the same way the LS400 put people on notice. The coupe isn't on the same level. Hyundai is becoming a big player but really they aren't doing much more than following the Japanese. The Japanese were the ones that rocked the market in the US and in most parts of the world. The Koreans are simply doing a good job of following the lead of the Japanese (and avoiding some of the mistakes). The playbook is there, they just have to follow it. The Japanese had to write it.
I suspect there are a number of other very influential cars that we don't think about because they were influential a long time ago. Perhaps the early Chevys because they were the fist cars to sell to the masses based on passion, not just utility. Ever since car sales to the masses have been a mix of filling a utilitarian need with appealing to wants at some level.
We could also cite the Ford flat head V8 in the Model A (IIRC) and the Chevy small block V8 in the 55 sedans and coupes. They helped define the V8 and the American engine. The F150 or some other pickup needs to be on the US list. The Corvette and 911 are a toss up. In the US, the Corvette beats out the 911. Outside the US the 911 wins.
We also need to mention cars like the original Mini. As with the Chrysler vans it showed how things would be (FWD, transverse engine). I might even claim the 2-1/2 ton truck since it was a critical part of the US war effort. Even the Russians loved them and the Germans probably wished they had them. It was without a doubt the best military truck in WW2.
Most of the cars on that list would be influential in the US market. Some are nothings outside of the US. I would argue the Ford Explorer and Jeep Cherokee are more significant as far as SUVs go. They were the ones that brought SUVs to the forefront. The F1 is hard to say. Icon of a car but I'm not sure how much influence it had on other cars. For instance, the Chrysler vans showed the rest of the companies how to package a mini-van. The F1 was awesome but it's not like every Ferrari afterwards was just an F1 on the cheap. On the other hand cars like the F50 and Enzo did live in the F1's shadow.
The Hyundai would not have made my list. The Genesis sedan perhaps but not the coupe. The coupe just isn't that good. The Sedan puts people on notice the same way the LS400 put people on notice. The coupe isn't on the same level. Hyundai is becoming a big player but really they aren't doing much more than following the Japanese. The Japanese were the ones that rocked the market in the US and in most parts of the world. The Koreans are simply doing a good job of following the lead of the Japanese (and avoiding some of the mistakes). The playbook is there, they just have to follow it. The Japanese had to write it.
I suspect there are a number of other very influential cars that we don't think about because they were influential a long time ago. Perhaps the early Chevys because they were the fist cars to sell to the masses based on passion, not just utility. Ever since car sales to the masses have been a mix of filling a utilitarian need with appealing to wants at some level.
We could also cite the Ford flat head V8 in the Model A (IIRC) and the Chevy small block V8 in the 55 sedans and coupes. They helped define the V8 and the American engine. The F150 or some other pickup needs to be on the US list. The Corvette and 911 are a toss up. In the US, the Corvette beats out the 911. Outside the US the 911 wins.
We also need to mention cars like the original Mini. As with the Chrysler vans it showed how things would be (FWD, transverse engine). I might even claim the 2-1/2 ton truck since it was a critical part of the US war effort. Even the Russians loved them and the Germans probably wished they had them. It was without a doubt the best military truck in WW2.
06-05-2011, 10:59 AM
#10
I would add 427 Shelby/AC Cobra and/or Ford GT40.
I get the point about the Hyundai, but don't think it was that model that is changing broad public perception, so would remove it. But I do understand your including it.
I agree that the H1 should be kept. The list is for significant vehicles.
I would add Ford Explorer.
And maybe remove the Viper.
What about the Veyron?
(Edited to add this was a great idea. Good list; good idea!)
I get the point about the Hyundai, but don't think it was that model that is changing broad public perception, so would remove it. But I do understand your including it.
I agree that the H1 should be kept. The list is for significant vehicles.
I would add Ford Explorer.
And maybe remove the Viper.
What about the Veyron?
(Edited to add this was a great idea. Good list; good idea!)