The 100 Best Cars of All Time
Mr_Shiftright
Member Posts: 64,481
An enterprising gentleman over at GeoCities has
posted a list of his picks for the Best 100 Cars
ever. Of course, such a list could be debated into
infinity, but I must say that aside from just a few
clunkers on the list, he's come up with a most
impressive display of automotive history.
I suspect he's a little light on the American
cars, so perhaps you'd like to look over the list
and make comments both here and to him at his site.
Keep in mind, however, we are talking about the
BEST cars (i.e., exceptional in some way, be it
performance, trend-setting or styling, that is
historically significant and memorable)...and we're
talking about ALL TIME, which is about 100 years.
So think about this. I'd be very interested to here
all of your opinions and suggestions for new
entries and upon what basis you might justify such
a candidate.
The link is:
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/1753/top100.htm
Sometimes you can't get right to it, sometimes you
can...if you can't, use the GeoCities search
engine to go to the "Motor City" section, and then
to Space 1753....you'll figure it out.
Mr. Shiftright
posted a list of his picks for the Best 100 Cars
ever. Of course, such a list could be debated into
infinity, but I must say that aside from just a few
clunkers on the list, he's come up with a most
impressive display of automotive history.
I suspect he's a little light on the American
cars, so perhaps you'd like to look over the list
and make comments both here and to him at his site.
Keep in mind, however, we are talking about the
BEST cars (i.e., exceptional in some way, be it
performance, trend-setting or styling, that is
historically significant and memorable)...and we're
talking about ALL TIME, which is about 100 years.
So think about this. I'd be very interested to here
all of your opinions and suggestions for new
entries and upon what basis you might justify such
a candidate.
The link is:
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/1753/top100.htm
Sometimes you can't get right to it, sometimes you
can...if you can't, use the GeoCities search
engine to go to the "Motor City" section, and then
to Space 1753....you'll figure it out.
Mr. Shiftright
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This discussion has been closed.
Comments
What the heck is the MGC GT doing on there? A pleasant curiousity, but basically an MGB overloaded with a wheezy I-6 engine from...I forget...some kind of taxicab...I dunno. Anyway, here we are in 1969 and the world market is crying out for a high-performance roadster like the old Healeys, and more affordable than the XKE, and we get this....THING...instead of that lovely body with a small V-8 or a 6 cylinder ohc engine that could rev up and go. And thus did Japan invent the 240Z and British affordable roadsters go down the toilet. To be fair though, the MGC is pleasant enough touring car, especially the coupe, but Best 100 of all time...I don't think so myself.
Second clunker, that Daimler SP 250. Just click on that link and rear back in terror at what you see. Again, the basic IDEA might have been pretty good (Hey, the Sunbeam Tiger did an okay job of it), but just look at that mess of a styling exercise!
What trends did it set? What new ground did it pioneer with technology or styling or marketing?
I'm waiting to be converted.
PS: I don't pretend to be knowledgable about all the cars on this list! But I do have an awesome library so if there's something you want to know about any of them and you can't find it, maybe I can...be glad to try.
Can you please list the Geocities sight your talking about so we'll have some point of reference. I own a few but would like to see what some absolute stranger potentially w/o a clue thinks about them.
You want the most important cars of all time, I think the Ford Model-T would be a good place to start-the first car normal people could afford as well as the first use of a modern assembly line. How 'bout the Dodge Caravan? You can scoff and laugh all you want, but you can't tell me it didn't revolutionize the auto industry. Or the Willys Jeep? Can you imagine an auto industry sans 4x4 vehicles? All those fancy European cars are okay, but if you want see the vehicles that really made a difference, I think you need to look closer to home. My $.02
It was a great, great car and deserves to be on the list.
VW bug? yeah, I'd buy that...lightweight, cheap, very well-built, a modern Model T...yes, it should be on the list!
Model T Ford? Same as above, I'd say.
Dodge Caravan....please, after I've gone to my grave you can put it on the list....or, we could put in on the 100 Greatest Concepts That Didn't Turn Out to be Great Cars But We Appreciate Them Anyway List....
However, I am also an avid car buff, but more influenced by Western tastes - particularly in the U.S. domain. What makes these 100 cars so significant? And to who?
The Model-T, the Corvette, the VW Beetle, the Chrysler Minivans, the Austin Mini, the Citroen 2CV, the Jeep, Pontiac GTO, the Edsel, Lincoln Continental Mark II, the Chrysler DeSoto... these are broad exmaples of cars which were all influential in the automotive landscape by either creating new market niches for automakers to compete, or set new standards in future designs.
Maybe my gripe is that I don't see the significance in how these cars could be considered the 'Best'. Perhaps I would prefer to see a list like 'The 100 Most Influential Cars of All Time', based on how they changed the auto landscape. These are the 'Best' representatives of cars in our history.
Again... kudos to the original author - I just can't see how these cars are really considered 'the Best'.
The Edsel? You must be kidding....
The Edsel? Was I kidding? Actually, no I'm not. It wasn't a POSITIVE influence - granted, but it definitely changed the industry.
You don't think Ford (and the other car makers) didn't learn a lesson or two from the Edsel? Next to the 'New Coke' from the mid 80's, it was the marketing lesson of the century... here's just a few things they learned...
1) Marketing HYPE and bold styling (if one calls it that) does not a sales winner make.
2) DON'T start a whole new car division on a totally new vehicle line that has absolutely no track record. (You would think Chrysler would have learned from that and saved some hefty marketing dollars before launching the Eagle brand, huh?)
3) Timing is everything. (The horse collar grill didn't work for Edsel, but the similar effect sure worked for the 68-69 Pontiac Catalina/Bonneville, right?)
4) DON'T deliver cars just so you can say you met the introduction date.
5) If the car has quality problems, don't let it leave the factory.
6) The general consensus within the Big Three by the mid-50's was - if we build it with boldness and distinctiveness, it will sell. The Edsel was a LOUD wake-up call to the contrary.
And MANY, MANY other lessons learned....
Much can also be said about the Chevrolet Corvair, which changed the industry not by its revolutionary and clever design, but on account of its weaknesses - in safety. Ralph Nader, seat belts, and the term 'consumer advocacy' would soon become household words.
Again - I'm not knocking the guy with the original list... I just would like to know more about why they are considered 'best' and what they are 'best' in?
I don't think, however, it would be fair to put the Edsel and the Corvair in the same category. The Corvair was technologically interesting, and a rare attempt by Detroit to do some real engineering for a change. The car's failure is mostly related to the Detroit beancounters who refused to invest in the car's future development. There went America's future Porsche down the drain.
The Edsel had no such engineering. It was just a gagdet-ridden car with the same old stuff underneath, and not very well put together either. Problem was, it was ALL marketing and no engineering and no quality and certainly no aesthetics.
But you're right, lessons were learned from it. It would be appropriate for a list of the world's Worst 100 cars....but really, maybe not that bad either...more like a Big Nothing. You can hardly give one away today, although they are kinda fun to own, giving the mythology.
I think "best" means best efforts...something exceptional, innovative, influential, successful...not unlike say, the "best" athletes or best songs...something that stands the test of time, and is admired by the next generation and the one after that (you can't really trust the taste of the public when something is too new, don't you think?)
Your defintion for 'best' is one I would agree with as well... and looking at 100 Best, I don't see how an Alfa Romeo from years of yore can be considered 'best' in any way... (No offense to Alfa lovers, just making a point).
I'm pleased you also like the Corvair, and you're so right, it isn't remembered for the good things, only the bad, which was an easily correctible fault. Another few million bucks and GM could have had a fabulous car, I think.
If one wants to select the best in history, why not select the car you would house in the additional garage bay that most of us do not have. It would be the car you would run on Sunday's, in nice weather, that would be both fun to drive and cool to be seen in.
For me: either a '68 MB 280SL or almost any Porsche 911 Cabriolet. A '49 Woody Wagon would be nice too.
For instance, your 280SL is a great little car, the best of the SLs easily, except for the magnificent 300 gullwing and coupe, and one could argue for it, ditto the 911 cabrio...but the woodie is just pretty...as a car it's pretty awful to drive and the technology is from the 1920s at best...so I wouldn't put the latter on any best list speaking for myself. I'd pick a '49 Olds before I'd pick that car, because at least you could argue that here was one of the first hi-compression OHV V-8s to be mass-produced.
So I guess any Best List comes down to justifying the entry with some good hard facts regarding what makes this car special, superior in some way, and worthy of respect. It's like the Hall of Fame in baseball...you don't pick somebody because he was a nice guy.
Before her, was the '70 VW bus, the only vehicle type ever heated purely by exhaust fumes. But it had some kind of magic...or was it the buzz you got from the fumes...? Got a ticket in Pennsylvania doing 85 in one of those, and am still proud of it.
Corvairs are great, and I still wish I had a primo red convertible to tool around in. Never has a car sounded like that, sort of a blend of Italian sports and German/VW engineering that I haven't seen since.
But let's not forget my first car, a 57 Ford 9-passenger wagon I brought home on a flatbed. 50 bucks a week for engine parts, transmissions and wheels, and a summer later I had a 95mph hookey-wagon for me and 8 of my best friends. Sold her when I got drafted...
Now, I've got a 89 Ford Diesel/Dually/Crew cab, that has that certain 'I can intimidate SUV drivers all day as they intimidate Honda drivers' feel to it that I've grown to love. Forget the wife's 140mph Mustang, Big Red is my battle wagon.
Last week we bought a 97 LHS, black everywhere and elegant in her sexy alloy wheels. What a surprise when I looked under the hood and found an engine pointing forward the way God meant them to, sort of like the 73 Olds!!! Instant love. None of that transverse hogwash for me! Reminiscent of the Chrysler Imperials of yesterweek, where luxury was an insufficient term, this LHS honey has something even Caddy and Ford have lost or never had: sex. When was the last time you looked at a black leather seat that had SOFT multi-segmented chunks of pure bum-heaven awaiting your tired frame? No el-cheapo leather here.
Well, that's it for my favorites. Never spend much money on cars, but I bet I've had as much fun as anybody, and I'm just getting started!
By comparison to the numbers of ’57 Fords & Chevs, there are far fewer ’59 and later models of “full size” anything.
Granted, this could have been an effect of the popularity and, therefor, limited survival of those models.
That extra bay in our garages. My third door hides a ‘67 BMW 2000 TiLux. This four door sedan was introduced as the 1500 in ‘61. Many believe these precursors to the 1602/2002 series are responsible for bringing BMW out of the red and made them profitable again. Historical impact. Just think... There might not have been “M” series or Zs. Would the Datsun 510 have been more like a Capri?
These early sedans aren't worth much but you're right, BMW owes them a lot.
Hey, why don't you get it out of that garage and drive it...people can't enjoy it if they can't see it!
Well, that's a personal choice, so you need to do what feels comfortable. I myself like to seem them out on the street or track, but then I'm not the one who's put all the work in!
But I digress... ;-)
The 1967 Cadillac wasn't bad looking, but IMO of no distinction to warrant inclusion on a "best 100" list...nonetheless, you have to give the car credit for some tastefulness.
The M3? I dunno, really, if this car will ever gain a large following...it's a nice car and all, but looks not all that different from most BMWs of the time, and by modern standards isn't all that hot a performer anymore. I don't think enough people or even historians care about the M3 to elevate it to "best" status.
My Alfa is just great...it's been absolutely reliable. I put better tires on it and adjustable upper control arms (on stock Spyders you can't adjust for neg. camber as you may recall)...big difference! It won't make the 'best' list but I'm sure the earlier Spyder Veloces will...
Just a Thought...
Khelben
One of the "best'? No, I don't think so, but potentially it could have been...close but no cigar.
I ask you why the heck can't a car be art? The 59 Cad is the Andy Warhol of our era. Chryslers came close but never truly achieved the icon status of the 59 Cad. Park this car in your front yard and put petunias in it and it'll still be a piece of automotive art!
O.K. Shiftright I might be a little over the automotive edge here.
You know, to say "best" out of 100 years of cars is a serious statement...it has to be pretty darn good in any number of ways...
Were the cars he listed fantastic automobiles? Sure. Go down the list though. Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa, Aston, Ferrari, Maserati, etc.
Do you think any of those cars had as much effect on the Western market as the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air? Completely different cars, admired for different reasons. Throw biases to the wind, however, and I find that there is some room left in that list for a Miata, a Viper, and others. They may be newer, and may not leave from a European port, but I believe they have every bit as much influence on the enthusiast's pocketbook as well as the other automakers' piggyback designs and concepts.
best cars? Feedback from anyone who has driven both
would be most appreciated.
TIA,
e
I know personally two kids that are essentially our next generation who are working on restoring 57 Chevys. Function does not always ring true over time becuase so much better equipment is available in a modern cars that people no longer are able to decern between the "moderninity" and "style" in a classic car they're buying.
Mile stones in design are what eventually drive collectors markets.
Glad to hear you know some kids still interested in restoration. Geez, I kinda hope those Chevys are ragtops and 2-door hardtops and not 4-door stripped sedans 6 cylinder automatics....but whatever floats your boat, as they say....
To set you straight Shiftright I personally prefer 2 door coupes built on 4 door wheel bases. If I had been wiser when I was younger I'd never gotten involved with 4 door restorations. I do however appreciate the practical reasons that many more 4 doors are built than 2's.
There seems to be a natural preferance for 2 drs. but I still think that there are very important and elegant 4 dr. sedans in every era.
I'd certainly agree that there were some elegant 4-doors built, but I can't say i can think of even one truly collectible 4-door car except for the special-bodied Rolls-Royces and similar coachbuilt cars...and even with those collectors discriminate as to the body builder, with the common factory 4-door Rolls still dirt cheap today.
In my opinion, the nicest modern 4-door ever built was the 1965 Corvair 4-door hardtop, also worth little today, alas.
Of course, 4-doors can serve a noble purpose, in providing valuable and irreplacable parts for the two-door hardtops and convertibles.