Jeremy Clarkson's Top 100
 

I am sure some of you may have seen his presentation of the Top 100 cars of all time. Well. as I am sure each of us would, I disagreed with some of his selection of the cars.

Since I am guessing none of us wants to take the time to make a list of the top 100 (please feel free to if you want!) what is your list for Top 10 cars of all time.

Take into account all variables, like he did....ie major impact on the world, started a trend in the auto industry, you just love it etc.

I will begin, here is my Top 10:

10. McLaren F1 (defined the truest definition of a super car).
9. VW Beetle (mass transit for the world, a true people's car).
8. Porsche 911 (no explanation required).
7. Lamborghini Gallardo (Lambo with Audi reliability....wow).
6. Jeep CJ
5. Chevy Corvette (Amazing performance with a good price).
4. Bugatti Veyron (Current Pinacle of auto engineering).
3. Porsche 959 (Dream car and engineering marvel for all of us here I am certain).
2. Lotus Elise (Gorgeous, incredibly pure drivers car, with a toyota heart for reliability).
1. Honda Civic (This basic car has become the modern hot rod. Except it's reliable, rev's ludicrously, is boringly reliable (ie no excuse to replace bits), and is inexpensive).


I am SHOCKED at what I picked for first. SHOCKED. It just seems that a car that anyone can buy, that will turn ludicrous, Ferrari like RPM without the maintenance, should be on the list). Not to mention the efficiency of the engine in these times....

The biggest issue with the Civic is the typical driver....not the fault of the car....

Anyway, what are your thoughts...

(Lambo with Audi reliability....wow).
funny, ask Jim about that "reliability."

A top ten with no F-car?
250 GTO? 355?

Too many p-cars.

audi reliability. lol.

Jumbo shrimp?

Please remember how bad lambo reliability used to be.

I agree, I should have had a Ferrari on there.....

I'd throw out the Veyron, too. Just just it's the "current" pinnacle doesn't mean much.

My number one would be the VW Beetle. Absolute icon. Everyone has either owned one or knows somebody who did. Turned into race cars, off-road vehicles, dragsters, you name and it performed reasonably well. Were still being made a few years ago (in Brazil?)...

Seems like the Model A or T should be near the top, IMO.

The Miata should be on there, it singlehandedly reminded the car market what a driving car was.

Cars only? The Chevy Suburban created the "haul anything anywhere" style back in, what, 1936?

Toyota 4x4 Hilux pickup...take the "go anywhere" mentality of the Jeep and give it a level of reliability that is still unmatched in most vehicles today.

1st gen Mazda RX-7, the perfect race car.

alright, I own two of the top ten! I've already decided that I'm likely to drive a Civic as a daily driver for ever. Amazing car. The 911 is ok, too.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1215622325.jpg

Maybe with your crowd.http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/im...milies/gay.gif

The original Mini should be near the top, if not at the top in my opinion. Although it wasn't the first front wheel drive car it was the first commercially viable, and the first to use the layout as a cost saving/space maximizing design element. This set the trend for the average family car and the layout is still in use today. Sir Alec Issigonis was a genius in my book.

My top cars in no particular order:

911/912/964
BMW 2002/3 series
RX7, 1st and 2nd gen
Beetles
Toyota trucks
Datsun 510
F series Ford trucks
FJ-40s
Early Audi Quattro

All affordable, reliable and non-exotic...and they do as well or better at their design point than autos costing three times as much:cool:

And, I had the pleasure of owning an example of each and every one, except the RX7 1st gen and the Quattro which was my mom's:)

My top list, in no particular order:

- VW Beetle - Took the concept of Ford's Model-T to a whole new meaning.
- Porsche 911 - hands down, the most iconic sports car of all time.
- Chevy Corvette (C5/C6) - near supercar performance at a fraction of the cost.
- Porsche 904 - one of the first, if not THE first race-bred cars available for public consumption.
- Mazda Miata - brought sports cars back to their roots, and helped defined the modern "retro" car genre
- Dodge mini-van - defined the Minivan genre
- Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing - amazing machine, years ahead of the competition
- Studebaker Avanti - about 30 years ahead of its time.
- Ford Mustang - again, a car that defined a genre (the pony car)
- Lambourghini Miura - predates the McLaren F1 by what, 20-30 years?
- Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds & Buick Grand National GNX - the start of the modern muscle car era
- Jeep Cherokee - father of the modern SUV

Beetle
Model T
911
Corvette
Mustang (I know)
Audi Quattro
'65 GTO
959
Pantera
87 928 S4:D

Watch out...you'll be called gay for saying that...

I'd put it's older brother in that position, the Willy's Wagon.

Cars only (no F-Series, VW buses or Land Rovers, etc...)

911/930
BMW 2002
Mercedes Gullwing
Mini/Mini Cooper
Lunar Rover (j/k ... Corvette has to be here, even though I'm not a fan. Can't prop the Mustang, though)
Ferrari 288 GTO
Shelby Cobra
GT40
Alpine A110
Ur-Quattro (though these are neither cheap nor simple to maintain, Seahawk!)

The A110 and Quattro re-defined their sports, requiring either rule-changes or outright mission-specific vehicles to beat them. I would've put the Lancia Stratos instead of the A110, but it was built specifically to beat the A110.

The Ferrari GTO is the car that got me into cars... so it's entirely subjective .. if I was 12 now, the F50 or FXX would probably be the hook. Love the Miura, but it's #11.

I'd probably come up with arguments for/against another dozen cars if I took the time, but these are what occurred to me ad lib...

EDIT -- I wrestled with adding the Beetle, but I just couldn't. It's a commodity, not a vehicle, IMHO. I like 'em, don't get me wrong, but while they score points for being a "peoples' grocery getter" they didn't do much for advancing automobile science or competition. I'd put the VW bus (and its isomers) on the list before the Beetle. JMHO & asbestos suit on.

JP

[QUOTE=Overpaid Slacker;4050764]Cars only (no F-Series, VW buses or Land Rovers, etc...)

911/930
BMW 2002
Mercedes Gullwing
Mini/Mini Cooper
Lunar Rover (j/k ... Corvette has to be here, even though I'm not a fan. Can't prop the Mustang, though)
Ferrari 288 GTO
Shelby Cobra
GT40
Alpine A110
Ur-Quattro (though these are neither cheap nor simple to maintain, Seahawk!)/QUOTE]

I could eek out a commute or two with your picks...the Alpine was an inspired choice.:)

Cars only is for Miata owners:cool:

1.- Ford Model T. Changed the automobile from a rich man's toy to a basic necessity.

Any thoughts on the worst 10?

My list of worst 10 would include the Gremlin and Pinto, perhaps the Pacer.

At least the Pinto had a good engine- They're still being used by SCCA racers. The Vega's engine, however.......

My list of the worst cars (in no particular order):
- Pontiac Aztek
- Trabant - body was basically a combination of pressed paper/fiberglass
- The Yugo
- The Pacer
- Plymouth Turismo TC-3 (Worst car I've owned in terms of reliability)
- Anything Pontiac from the dreaded plastic cladding era (Transport, Grand Am, Grand Prix...etc)
- Toyota Camry - yeah, it is one of the most reliable cars out there -- but it is totally void of character - perhaps the most BORING car ever made!

I'm sure I can think for more later.... I'll update this list then!

-Z-man.

The Chevette and the Cavalier have to be right up there. We had a 1973 Buick Estate Wagon when I was a kid that was really bad, too.

One of the few cars WORSE than the Cavalier...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1215698364.jpg

Here's a list of Time Magazine's 50 worst cars of all times:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1658545,00.html

Worst 10, hell that is easy, anything made by Audi, or any VW with coolant in it.

To be fair I think it had a steel floor pan with the remaining structure made from resin reinforced with paper, cotton or whatever. When you think about it this isn't that much different in principle to the Porsche 904 although the quality of the material not comparable.

Although this might seem odd to us, when you think about the context in which the car existed it make much more sense. A very cheap car for the masses and it uses very little steel, probably quite important on the Eastern side of what was the iron curtain as I imagine they would have to have imported much of it.

There really haven't been that many composite cars, certainly not mass produced. :)

While I wouldn't put it on a list of great cars I don't know if it's fair to put it on the bad car list. It was a pretty decent attempt with the resources available.

A friend lived in Eastern Europe for a while, and says the Trabant is total crap. They spew smoke, the headlights and tail lights fall out on a regular basis, they're unreliable, yada yada....

Better than walking on your hands, but not by much.

Yep - a lot of my relatives owned Trabants - and I had the opportunity to give a couple. They are unreliable, have worse emmissions than a fleet of Hummers, and in an accident, POOF! The whole car simply disintegrates!

Saying that it was one of the first mass-produced composite bodied car doesn't really make up for all its faults, by a long shot!

-Z

OK, that's good enough for me lets add it to the BAD list!

I am going to nominate the 1983 Renault Alliance.....it was my first car (handed to me by my dad......and even free it wasn't worth it).

Ironically, my dad bought it because it was Car of The Year in 1983

My mom had an '84...

They were funny little cars. Either they blew up after 40K miles, or they lasted forever...you never knew which one you had.

Hers was the latter. I learned to drive in it, and it was the first car I wrecked :D Slammed someone from behind at 35mph, and drove that rotten thing home with the hood folded in half. Pretty damned impressive for a car that was not worth the metal it was made from...

The Trabant was garbage - quite literally. The bodies of these things were made from recycled garbage.

My Top Ten

Model T - Modern assembly line - car to the masses
VW Bug - The people's car
Mini Cooper - small car - large inside - made space planning popular
Ferrari 250GT Spider - Beauty - performance - not just race cars
lamborghini Muira - made autos an object of art
Porsche 911/930 - Sports car? ICON - the turbo turned the world on it's ear
Jaguar XKE - Automotive sex symbol - if you can't get laid driving an E- time to end it all
Citroen 2VC - Car for the masses in French
Mazda Miata - sure it's a car for gay folks - but it's also the perfect british roadster
BMW E-30 - Proof that sedans can perform

Bottom Ten

AMC Pacer
AMC Matador
Renault Aliance
AMC Gremlin
Pontiac Aztec
Chevy Chevette
Chevy Cavalier
Plymouth Volare
Plymouth Satellite
Yugo

A list of important cars in no particular order:

'57 Chevy (The peak of American automotive styling)
'69 Camaro (The iconic muscle/pony car)
'64 GTO (The first muscle car)
'65 Cobra (For what it did to Ferrari)
Lambo Miura (the first supercar)
356/911 evolution

For me, nothing stops me in my tracks like a red drop top Chevelle with a hot cam. Next on my list when the budget/space allows.