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The Best Cars From The '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s
hpmctorque
Member Posts: 4,600
Considering prices and positioning in the marketplace, which three cars or brands excelled, in your opinion?
My choices for the '50s would be Chevrolet, VW Beetle and Chrysler.
For the '60s Ford (Falcon, Fairlane and Mustang were strong entries in new segments, and the '55-'58 Galaxies and LTDs competed well with Chevy and Mopar), Pontiac (affordable performance) and Lincoln (beginning with the '61, it featured elegant design over glitz).
For the '70s, Toyota, Nissan and Honda were the most significant new entries, squeezing the domestics and VW. The Japanese demonstrated that quality and reliability didn't have to be sacrificed for price in economy cars. It was a new business model, or, maybe, one that the automotive world had forgotten. GM deserves credit for their excellent downsized '77 and '78 models, but I'd still give the trophy to the Japanese for this decade.
In the '80s, BMW and Mercedes as the new standards of the luxury market. In the mid-priced field, Volvo made strong inroads with safety features. Chrysler Corp. deserves credit for reinventing the minivan, but important as this was, if forced to choose I think that the dethroning of Cadillac and Lincoln were more significant events.
For the decade of the '90s, Acura (introduced in the '80s), Lexus and, to a lesser degree, Infiniti, took the wind out of the European luxury brands, by excelling in quality, reliabiliy and value. They also delivered a hard punch to Detroit's most profitable models.
My choices for the '50s would be Chevrolet, VW Beetle and Chrysler.
For the '60s Ford (Falcon, Fairlane and Mustang were strong entries in new segments, and the '55-'58 Galaxies and LTDs competed well with Chevy and Mopar), Pontiac (affordable performance) and Lincoln (beginning with the '61, it featured elegant design over glitz).
For the '70s, Toyota, Nissan and Honda were the most significant new entries, squeezing the domestics and VW. The Japanese demonstrated that quality and reliability didn't have to be sacrificed for price in economy cars. It was a new business model, or, maybe, one that the automotive world had forgotten. GM deserves credit for their excellent downsized '77 and '78 models, but I'd still give the trophy to the Japanese for this decade.
In the '80s, BMW and Mercedes as the new standards of the luxury market. In the mid-priced field, Volvo made strong inroads with safety features. Chrysler Corp. deserves credit for reinventing the minivan, but important as this was, if forced to choose I think that the dethroning of Cadillac and Lincoln were more significant events.
For the decade of the '90s, Acura (introduced in the '80s), Lexus and, to a lesser degree, Infiniti, took the wind out of the European luxury brands, by excelling in quality, reliabiliy and value. They also delivered a hard punch to Detroit's most profitable models.
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The standard of the world, the ultimate red head and icon of style, baby.
60s: 1. GM 2. Jaguar E-type 3. Ford GT40 MkII 4. Honorable mention to Chrysler. Thanks for the Hemis.
In the market place the General was in command, so much so that the feds were dragging them off to court with anti-trust actions. We should have such worries today. Jaguar E-type. Ultimate love gun in movies, myth and real life? Shag-uar...In racing, Ford beat Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans when no other domestic could. But racing at home on the drag strip? Mopar put everything else on the trailer.
'70s: 1. GM 2.Mercedes 3. A distant blip on the radar called Japan.
Detroit would never find itself building so many cars in the face of so much competition again. But again, it was mostly the GM Show in the market place. GM stuff from that era is still collectible and a few are considered "classic." Early 70s big block muscle cars and Vettes, etc. still bring heavy hammer prices. Even a '74 Trans Am SD455 will draw crazy bids. Later bandit Trans Ams get minor-collectible attention. And Chevy will never sell as many Corvettes as they did in the late 70s.
The mother of all 70s imports was Mercedes Benz. Priced for the affluent and positioned in the coveted market once seen as Cadillac's gated community, Mercedes showed the Japanese that they had much to learn about taking it to the house.
Japanese imports from that era were reinventing themselves as they went along and in later decades became bigger, better and more like the nameplates we recognize today. Toyota stretched and reinvented products and market positions better than others. People collect FJ40s and mock the Celica Supras (with plastic hubcaps) from the same 70s era.
80s: 1. The domestic SUV. 2. Voluntary restraint widgets from Japan imported in staggering numbers regardless. 3. Honorable mention Honda.
Aside from healthy German brands in the 80s, I remember when Detroit began swallowing up all manner of sick, aging, cash-poor euro marques for reasons I never fully understood. And then the news was official: Japan Inc was a world-beater at entry level, family sedans, and positioned to crack into the luxury market. Domestic news? GM wanted to build Saab, Ford wanted to build Jaguar, and Chrysler want to build Lamborghini...WTF?! Where in the name of William Crapo Durant did Detroit get this kind of cash to burn anyway? The SUV affliction had begun...Honda starts building Accords in Marysville, Ohio.
90s: Japan.
If you are what you eat, then...Turns out that rebuilding old, euro luxury marques is not fun and unprofitable at the same time. The era of voluntary restraints was over and "all your (market) base are belonging to us." German brands reformulated their "Old World" image to reflect a "New Order" of hip hop influence. It wasn't and still isn't pretty. But Germans did become very adept at packaging their products in attractive leasing terms. Japan became shockingly accurate in hitting more price/product tiers with bull's eyes. pwnage.
70s Europe slowly enters the luxo class, but GM retains the lead, albeit slipping away, for reliability the Japanese make themselves known.
Best car of the 80s - MB W126. It enabled Lexus to exist. In drier climates, the Japanese start owning the mass market.
90s Toyota took over, but lost their soul at the same time.
I put Chrysler in the '50s because the first generation hemi was introduced in '51, and by '53 it was used in Chrysler, Imperial, DeSoto and Dodge. Chryslers were also the first to offer power steering. Then there was torsion bar suspensions and push-button automatic transmission controls. As for styling, all Chrysler Corp. cars featured new, advanced styling for '55. Finally, dramatic, all-new styling was introduced for the '57 model year, and Torque-Flyte was also introduced that year. The styling was so striking that it stole the leadership from GM, and prompted GM, mainly, to rush to restyle its cars.
I think all those reasons trump the introduction of Chrysler's second generation hemi, in the '60s, mighty as it was.
I agree with you regarding the Mini. It set the standard for configuration efficiency that still stands.
I'd have to throw in the original Datsun 510 as a remarkable car. It is STILL out there on the race tracks, competing in SCCA, so that tells you something.
Yes and no. I know what you're saying, and even agree with you, but there's another side to the Z story. Here's my take on it:
The Z began going soft and straying from its original roots with the 280s (the 260s didn't run well). However, sales of the third generation, the ZX300 ('84-'89), were the highest ever attained for Datsun/Nissan Zs. While it was no longer true to the spirit of the 240, since it was softened and transformed into more of a cruiser, it was a good cruiser. Comfortable, reliable, well constructed. I've got a '88 2+2 with 190,000 miles that runs great. It'll never be worth more than old car value, even though it's been well maintained, but it's been a low maintenance, nice driver. Kind of like a Japanese 4-passenger Thunderbird. And like the 'Birds, the '55-'57s are the most desireable collectibles, but the '58 and later 4-passengers outsold the 2-seaters by huge margins.
The all-new '90 300Z was a terrific car for its day. I think it was an attempt to return to the original, sporty roots of the original 240, except that it was no longer low priced.
-Cadillac 1949-56, after '56 like many cars they became parodies of themselves.
-Corvette C1 1955-61, a strong success in arcing and a moderate one in the market.
-Chevrolet 1955-57, hugely influential particularly for the small block V8
-Volkswagen Beetle, the basis of the Porsche and Corvair lines and influenced an entire generation of rear-motored Euro cars.
-Jaguar XK-120, another fabulous motor in a hugely successful sports car.
-Austin/Morris Mini, the car that popularized small FWD sedans.
-Mercedes-Benz 300SL, way ahead of it's time but not without it's quirks.
The Sixties were heavily influenced by European designs even as the Euros were copying American styling themes.
-Jaguar E-Type, fabulous performance and looks.
-Corvette C2, the 'Vette comes of age
-Ferrari 250GT/GTL/GT Lusso/GTE, another fabulous engine on road and track combined with superb styling
-Ford Mustang, most successful introduction in history, spawned a generation of pony cars.
-Pontiac GTO, similarly birthed a generation of muscle cars and muscle pony cars.
--Porsche 911, need I say more.
-Toyota Corona built the brand on the world's biggest car market
-Datsun 510, something for everyone and outsold Toyota and Honda in it's day.
The Seventies were heavily influenced by fuel shortages and produced only a handful of great cars.
-Mercedes Benz S-Class (W109, W116) the cars that put Daimler-Benz at the top of the automobile pecking order for two decades.
-Honda Civic CVCC, Honda Accord CVCC, Front-wheel drive comes to America in a big way
-Porsche 911/930 Turbo, forced induction comes to stay.
I'll comment on the 80s and 90s later.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I also had a '95 300ZX, one of my favorite cars ever.
To their credit, they built the best transmission in those years. a Torqueflight was hard to break. GM struggled with Roto Hydramatics, Turboglides, Dual Paths and other troublesome transmissions.
The slant sixes and the small block V-8's were tough and strong.
Poor workmanship was another sore point. Ford wasn't much better in that department in those years.
Well, yeah, I'd agree that Datsun/Nissan discontinued its hugely successful sports car and replaced it with a near-luxury coupe. In so doing, they sacrificed the value seeking driving enthusiast for a larger niche. This product change yielded higher sales.
"Lots of the most mediocre cars in the world sold in big numbers."
That's certainly true. The Renault Dauphine and Chevy Vega are two examples that come immediately to mind.
"I put Chrysler in the '50s because the first generation hemi was introduced in '51, and by '53 it was used in Chrysler, Imperial, DeSoto and Dodge. Chryslers were also the first to offer power steering. Then there was torsion bar suspensions and push-button automatic transmission controls. As for styling, all Chrysler Corp. cars featured new, advanced styling for '55. Finally, dramatic, all-new styling was introduced for the '57 model year, and Torque-Flyte was also introduced that year. The styling was so striking that it stole the leadership from GM, and prompted GM, mainly, to rush to restyle its cars."
Now, as the 50's wore on into the 60's, maybe GM and Ford improved their handling, but I was always under the impression that the torsion bar setup with leaf springs in the back made the Mopars good handling cars. The only thing it couldn't really do very well was give a good luxury car ride. So cars like the New Yorker and Imperial wouldn't give you that nice, cushy ride that a Lincoln, Caddy, Electra, etc could, and if they tried to hard to do it, they sacrificed handling too much, without a big enough gain in ride/cushiness.
I had a '67 Chrysler Newport for a few months, and also had my '67 Catalina convertible back then. The Catalina was definitely a better riding, performing, and handling car. However, it had also had a lot of work done to it before I bought it, whereas the Newport was pretty original, and I think was still riding on bias-ply tires! So, not the fairest comparison in the world.
That's absolutely true. No GM or Ford car, except the Corvette, could keep up with the '57-'59 Mopars on curvy roads.
"Now, as the 50's wore on into the 60's, maybe GM and Ford improved their handling..."
Eh, if they improved, it was modest, at best.
"...I was always under the impression that the torsion bar setup with leaf springs in the back made the Mopars good handling cars. The only thing it couldn't really do very well was give a good luxury car ride. So cars like the New Yorker and Imperial wouldn't give you that nice, cushy ride that a Lincoln, Caddy, Electra, etc could..."
All true.
"...if they tried to hard to do it, they sacrificed handling too much, without a big enough gain in ride/cushiness."
Probably accurate. I think Chrysler did soften its torsion bar suspension some in the '60s models.
By the way, the '60-'62 Valiant was the best handling of the domestic compacts, by a wide margin. In fact, it was the best all-around of the Big 3 by a wide margin. It was dead last in fit and finish, but it was the only one with a 3-speed automatic, and was untouchable in terms of durability.
I'm not sure which was the firest year for power steering in Chryslers but I know 1952 was the first year for GM.
I can't think of anything great about torsion bar suspension but it was certainly unique.
All of the Big Three cars had new, advanced styling for 1955. I will agree that Chrysler took things a step farther in 1957.
" Suddenly, it's 1960!" Yep, GM had to scramble!
The push button automatics were, again, unique but not without problems. By 1965 they were used no longer.
Totally agree on the Valients. Head and shoulders over a Falcon or a Corvair but workmanship did suffer.
I believe the 1960 Valient was the first cars to have alternators.
It had the best velour seat fabric I ever saw on ANY car - thick and plush.
The driver seat was uber-comfortable, to the point where people were TAKING THE SEAT with them to their next car if they totaled the Cressida.
It was at it's prime in 1985-1986, selling 87,000+ in the USA, but the nicest version of the car IMEO was the 1989-1992 models.
I owned ( at different times ) a 1987 and a 1992, and I loved them both. I traded the 1992 for an Infiniti Q45 and that was a HUGE mistake. I should have kept the Cressida.
Then Lexus came around and there was so much overlap that they decided to kill the Cressida. the Avalon is the "technical" replacement model for the Cressida, but it will never be as "cult-inducing" as the Cressida was.
RIP, Cressida !!!
I never met a SAVVY owner who did anything but praise their Cressida.
Plus, it was quiet and VERY reliable.
As for the 60's decade I think you've got to throw in a van like the Econoline.
In the 70's the decade really popularized midsized or intermediates (e.g. Cutlass passed up Impala), while the 80's was the surge in Japanese models and their move (and buyer acceptance) up the models beyond primarily econoboxes. The 90's - I dunno?
I think we have to differentiate between steering feel and handling. Chrysler's power steering was extremely light, and provided no feedback. It provided more boost than GM's and Ford's. That amount of boost would be considered aweful today, but Chrysler advertised it as an attribute then. Maybe the idea was that it provided the most contrast to earlier cars without power steering. Chrysler's steering also provided less on-center play than GM's and Ford's, so that particular characteristic was a plus.
Regarding handling and road holding ability, Chrysler corp. suspensions were noticeably firmed up for '57, so they differed to a degree from the stereotypical domestic ride/handling proposition. As a result Chrysler cars didn't glide over small bumps and road irregularities as smoothly as the typical Detroit iron of the day. Andre described the difference accurately, in my opinion. It's quite possible that the differentiation was due more to suspension tuning and steering design than the torsion bars.
Chrysler introduced the first commercially available power steering on a passenger car in 1951.
True, but perception is reality, as they say, and Chrysler's advertising played up the term "torsion bar suspension" to positively differentiate their cars' suspension performance.
50s/60s Images/Public Perceptions: (or my perception of the perception) :P
GM -- styling, performance
Chrysler--"engineering" (a status formerly held by Packard)
Studebaker/AMC --- thriftiness
Ford -- value
That is very true and it may account for much of the varied choices for the "Best" of anything in life. That's not a bad thing either.
I put Cadillac, Ferrari and the Mini at the top of my list for the 50s because to me they exemplified: "The standard of the world, the ultimate red head and icon of style, baby." For better or worse and richer or poorer, the car biz will never be married to consumers like that again!
By the 90s a good sampling of Detroit luxury, sports car performance, and mini car efficiency was getting baked into a lot of modern car package across the board. But that successful recipe boiled off a lot of flavor which I like about the old cars. Don't get me wrong, I'm not glossing over the history of industry flops which made consumers frustrated and left stranded on the road side. My own perception is that a "race to sameness" also grinds down the rough edges we used to know as "character" and "choices."
For an example of "sameness" in this decade, recall the Top Gear Lambo vs Evo episode. When C&D tried this sort of "Ferrari GTO vs Tempest GTO" comparison in 1964, it was a lot of bluff and bluster. But today an econobox engineered with techno-steroids really can produce amazing results...even though you still can't get Ferrari experience out of a Tempest parts bin. Computer chips haven't produced moguls such as Henry Ford or Howard Hughes either.
No disrespect intended, I wish Steve Jobs all the best of luck with his life. I also hope kids today understand that despite all the imagery of Jobs holding an iphone, Jobs didn't invent the telephone. He invented the way to hold the phone so it doesn't drop your call. :P I guess that could be either a perception or reception thing. Oh well it's lunch time...
If all cars are reliable, then design becomes a more important differentiator. Could that mean that, in addition to Hyundai, Toyota should also be concerned with brands they didn't worry about, like Fiat?
Back in the 50s, for instance, American luxury was Cadillac. That was it...everyone else was an also-ran, far back in the pack.
A '55 Ferrari could run rings around a '55 Corvette on a race track
An Austin Mini Cooper was an absolutely ferocious car for its size and weight.
In the 60s, you couldn't buy more style and sexiness for chump change as you could in a '65 Mustang.
In the 80s, you couldn't find a better combination of high speed, handling, braking, build quality, safety and comfort and reliability as in a Benz.
But NOW, even at $200,000 bucks it's hard to dominate your field.
I'd wager a late 80's/early 90's Accord could take a road side bomb head-on in Afghanistan and keep running.
Mid 1950s: 1955 Chevrolet, 1955 Ford Thunderbird, first V-8 Corvette, Cadillac.
Late 1950s: Entire Mopar line-up, 1957-58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, 1956-57 Lincoln Mark II.
Early 1960s: 1961-65 Lincoln Continental, 1963 Corvette Sting Ray, 1963-65 Buick Riviera, 1961-64 Chevrolet Impala SS.
Mid 1960s: Ford Mustang, Pontiac GTO.
Late 1960s: Plymouth Road Runner, Ford Fairlane/Torino GT, Dodge Daytona, 1968-72 GM A-Bodies. 1967-70 full-size Chevrolets, 1967 Corvette, Shelby Mustang.
Early 1970s: Dodge Challenger, Datsun 240Z, 1973 Pontiac Grand Am.
Mid 1970s: Honda Civic CVCC.
Late 1970s: 1977-79 GM B and C bodies, Cadillac Seville.
The 1980s was a pretty terrible decade for cars. About the only one that really stands out above the others was the Mercedes W126. All the others I liked were carry-overs from the late 1970s like the Cadillac Brougham and Chevrolet Caprice.
1990s: Lexus LS400, Corvette ZR-1, Toyota Supra.
1950s:
1953 Cadillac Eldorado
1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air
1957 Chrysler 300-C
1957-58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham
1958 Buick Limited
1960s:
1960 Imperial
1961 Chevrolet Impala SS sport coupe
1963-65 Buick Riviera
1965 Lincoln Continental
1965-69 full-size Chevrolets
1967-68 Plymouth Fury
1969 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
1970s:
1970 Chevrolet Impala/Caprice
1975-79 Cadillac Seville
1977-79 GM B and C bodies
1980s:
1980-84 GM B and C bodies
1980-89 Chrysler M bodies
1986-89 RWD Cadillac Brougham
Mercedes W126
1990s:
1994-96 Buick Roadmaster
1994-96 Cadillac Fleetwood
1992-99 Cadillac Seville STS
Lexus LS400
The Colonades were somewhat doomed because of the era which they were born in, but considering the times, I think they were a great choice in midsized cars back then. Quality control was pretty good for the era, handling was decent, and even though they were smaller than their Ford and Mopar competition, they were still fairly roomy inside for that class of car. I think the Mopars made for better police cars...but a good police car does not always a good civilian car make, and vice versa. The Mopar B-body wagons were also pretty roomy...IIRC, they were the only intermediate to pass the "plywood test", being able to hold a 4x8 sheet flat on the load floor, tailgate fully closed. The Colonade cars were too narrow between the wheel housings in back to do that, and I think only had something like 85" of fore-aft load space.
I dunno if the Fords really excelled at much of anything back then. They had the bragging right of offering a standard V-8. By '76, I think the Torino used a standard 351, whereas Mopar started with a slant six, then a 318, while GM had 250's and 231's, Olds 260, Chevy 305 in '76, then the 350s. But the Torino was also a fat, heavy car, and NEEDED a V-8! Although I don't think I'd want a GM Colonade with a 6 or small V-8. Maybe a Malibu with a 305 wouldn't be TOO bad?
Those 1994-1996 Roadmasters were probably the ugliest cars ever produced except for the Aztecs.