What is The Best Car Ever? -Your Opinion

[MarkV]

What is the best car ever in your opinion?

[Mika Jaakkola]

let's add the question WHY as well.

I might suggest late 30's Mopars.

Simple, strong build - strong mechanics(Engine), I guess that Flathead six is very economical as well

. These cars had modern shocks and modern brakes with fluids. Also the sheetmetal is much more thicker than modern cars today. These cars were built to last.

I had a 1939 Dodge which was great. But I might put all 30/40's mopars into this category.

I'm considering one as daily driver here in Finland.

Second opinion from a different point of view might be a Duesenberg

[57plymouth]

1957 Plymouth.

Incredible styling, incredible suspension, easy to service, extremely reliable, comfy as a living room on tires, pushbutton shifting, easy on gas. Who could ask for more?

[West Peterson]

1935-37 Packard 120.

First-rate build quality, excellent engineering, extremely good reliability, and beautiful styling. Not overly big (as were the big Eights and Twelves), capable of speeds of 85mph, extremely quiet, and great dealer network for service.

At around $1,000, it was a "Packard" for the price of a Series 40 or 50 Buick (no disrespect to Buick, which in my opinion could certainly be included on this list as well).

In my opinion, one of the most overlooked cars, ever. Almost completely ignored because of the desirability of the big Eights and Twelves of the same period. In fact, the 120 Packard of 1935-36 with its independent suspension and hydraulic brakes was more refined than the Eights and Twelves, which didn't get those features until 1937. Paced Indy 500 in 1936.

[Guest BJM]

Duesenbergs

[FomocoService]

The 1930-31 Model A Ford... repairs are easy,highly reliable, everybody has had one at some point, so there's always great conversation at the gas station,etc

I drive one of my Model A's as daily transportation and have no problem staying with the flow of traffic.

I can still get parts at NAPA or the local Ford dealer.

[1937hd45]

Henry Ford and his Model T are what Bill Gates is to the internet. Both changed the face of the world and we're better for it.

[mrpushbutton]

'57 Plymouth--a HUGE plunge in body build quality, the 1957 Chrysler line was most likely was the first body engineered completely by Chrysler (Briggs did much contract engineering/fabrication for Chrysler before they sold to Chrysler in 1953) bad body panel fits, trunks and doors you couldn't keep wind or rain water out of (Plymouth actually send a tech bulletin about trunk leaks advising the dealer where to drill the drain holes) they rusted out within two years. They are fabulously styled cars, perhaps the ultimate Virgil Exner (supervised) design, are great performers on the road, but the torsion bars anchored to the frame rails by bolts that bore the counter spring tension. They rusted and would snap-- shooting upward and piercing the hood like a bullet. All 1957 Chrysler products were heaven and hell expressed in steel, glass and rubber.

Truly advanced styling, groundbreaking looks and packaging--

Terrible build quality, short sided "get it out the door" mentality from the executive floor on down.

For me, all brands had their high points and their low. It's important not to look at old cars with what a friend of mine terms "rose colored a__es".

If I had to pick one car that I think was a great driving car, has withstood the test of time, looks good compared to its contemporaries and is drivable, durable and easy to fix I would nominate the 1941 Cadillacs. You can't kill 'em, they drive wonderfully and can keep up with traffic just fine. Duesenbergs were great, big 9 main bearing Packards were excellent, I agree with Wes about the Packard 120 (my bias is showing!) K-Lincolns were great, Zephyrs and Continentals were not. 1940s Chrysler products are great cars. Very good build quality, strong, reliable power trains.

I personally think that 1960-'63 Chevrolets were about as good a car as ever made, they had the small block V-8 down by then (everyone like to forget the start-up problems the SBC had) the Powerglide was done cooking, reliable and there was enough car there to be comfortable and go fast but not so much car that you couldn't keep all of the gadgets working. After '64 the metal starting getting thin, the Gub-ment starting telling the automakers what to do, and the spirit just sort of evaporated, save for the muscle cars, which to me are tremendous engines and transmissions in some of the most marginally bodied and built cars ever.

Fire away!

[Jim Bollman]

The Best Car Ever is your first car, whatever it was. Just think of all the memories. Your first set of wheels that was all yours and not owned by your parents.

[Steve Moskowitz]

Jim, what a GREAT answer!

Greatness can be measured in too many different ways. This is one tough question even for a guy who loves Oldsmobiles. I think their are far too many great cars to pick one but the Curved Dash Oldsmobile certainly had a huge impact in the horseless carriage age. Numerous first time achievements came from Olds Motor Works and many other companies got their start from OMW. It was a car that really started the whole industry and is considered by many the first mass produced car. With 500-600 still surviving it still is a marvel.

I also think that raggedly old Limited on our cover last month is pretty great!

West and I are pretty predictable!

[Rusty_OToole]

Best for what?

A WW2 army Jeep, a 57 Chrysler 300C and a brand new Ferarri are all "the best". I could make a case for any of 100 other cars as being the best at something.

And if you asked me which car would be the best for your aunt Agatha, the answer would be "none of the above".

[MarkV]

I should rephrase, What is Your favorite?

[CarlLaFong]

A 36 Ford Roadster, dropped axle, nice, semi hot 59A flatty with a coupla carbs and a set of twice pipes with Smittys.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Yep, the term "best" is tough, especially when you consider different eras. I would not collect but I think one of the best late 80s vehicles has to be the Honda Accord - suburb fit , finish & quality well beyond it's price. In short, a great value, much like the Packard 120 of it's day. When you consider Packard was able to bank on its reputation while Honda was still breaking into the mid level the car was quite an accomplishment. Also responsible for driving up American quality as well. Before people throw tomatoes understand I would choose the Packard anyday! Just pointing out some of what may make a "best car".

Favorite, well, several Packards come to mind, along with the '41-'48 Lincoln Continental and a '30-'31 A two door phaeton or vicky.

[Ron Green]

This is a easy one: PONTIAC

So great of a car it put Oakland its parent company out of business, build with quality in mind (GM semi upset as they could have been built cheaper, had the wide track, first muscle car, etc, etc, etc........

[West Peterson]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 1948Lincoln</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I should rephrase, What is Your favorite? </div></div>

Oh... that's entirely different. I'll still stick with Packard, but the most beautiful car of all is this, designed by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky (probably the finest industrial designer of the prewar period). 1934 Packard 1108 phaeton by LeBaron (this one is a replica).

[West Peterson]

... Second place, 1934 Packard 1106 speedster by LeBaron.

[West Peterson]

... Third place, but actually my personal favorite, 1930 Packard 734 speedster.

[R W Burgess]

I see a pattern here!

W.

[mrpushbutton]

I'm good with the pattern

(ask the man who owns one)

[Dave@Moon]

1971 Datsun 510 station wagon. (<span style="font-style: italic">You'll have to ask Elaine why.</span>)

[Restorer32]

'60 Corvair 4 door for the same reason...

[Friartuck]

1936 Mercedes Benz model 540K

[Friartuck]

and 1928 Packard 443 Roadster

[Guest Skyking]

I guess the most logic answer would have to be any cars you've owned throughout the years that didn't give you any problems. I've had a few. How else could any of us explain it? I've never owned any Packards or Model A's.........

[Rusty_OToole]

Possibly the best car in the world, in its own time, was the 1957 Chrysler 300C.

Here was a full size 5 passenger sedan with all the luxury trimmings that had a top speed of 145MPH and would do 0-60 in under 8 seconds. It had the classic Chrysler Hemi engine, 3 speed Torqueflite transmission, torsion bar suspension, not to mention leather upholstery, power steering, power brakes, air, and all the modern conveniences.

There was nothing on earth that could touch it from europe or anyplace else.

Even today the best luxury cars like Lexus, Mercedes and BMW don't offer anything very much better.

[ex98thdrill]

Steve, I'm not knocking your Oldsmobiles, nor am I promoting Mopars or Fords.

Although I'm showing my youth, you can't ignore the Dodge Dart. I never owned one, never wanted to own one, but I know a lot of people who had those with Chrysler's inline slant 6 that couldn't be killed off. Most of the people who I know that had one, the only reason they quit driving them was due to the fact that they rusted in two.

I also know several people who got 200,000+ miles on Chevy Chevettes.

From a luxury standpoint, both the Dodge Dart and Chevy Chevettes were piles of sh%t. But from a reliability standpoint?? They were there.

I guess at this point one has to question if the best car ever was the one that was reliable, or the one that was confortable. I'd be willing to bet that some of the cheap basic cars may have outlasted the big fancy luxury cars.

[jeff_a]

Good question. Do you go Decade by Decade, Best Design, Most Luxurious, Brilliant Engineering, Best Performance?

Maybe someone could go back in time and pick something up at the 1929 New York Auto Show...that would be as good a place as any! --Jeff Brown

[Rusty_OToole]

Possibly the most significant car of modern times was the 1959 Austin Mini.

It broke the mold of front engine, rear drive and set the pattern for every small car to come after, and in fact influenced every car maker in the world down to the present day.

In a similar vein, the 1984 Dodge Caravan was one of the most significant designs of all time. In that it broke the mold, and made a permanent change in the way we think about cars.

Can you imagine the world of today with no minivans?

Likewise the 1934 Chrysler Airflow. It was not the flop most critics make out - quite the opposite - practically every car that came after was a more or less successful copy of the Airflow design.

If you doubt this, just look at the profile of every car of 1933 (pre Airflow) and compare it to every car of 1938. Then compare them to the profile of the 1934 to 37 Airflow. You will see the Airflow is totally different from the typical pre 34 car, but every car made in 1938 was practically a copy of the Airflow with fatter fenders.

[john2dameron]

Let me answer your request for favorite cars in three parts.

1. Cars I owned that I wish I still had.

1960 Ford Sunliner, 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 XL Sunliner,

1965 Cadillac Convertible de Ville, 1968 Chrysler 300

Convertible, 1965 Chevrolet pickup, 1969 Ford pickup.

2. Cars I wish I never bought.

1952 Chevrolet (foolish boy I was). 1957 Pontiac.

(I kept it 10 days; that was ten days too long),

1953 Chevrolet (sold it on the way home), 1958 Chevy

Impala Convertible (what a dog!), 1979 Dodge Omni

(Has anything worse ever been built?).

3. Cars I would like to have. An Auburn Speedster,

A Duesenberg Murphy Convertible Coupe, and any Packard; especially a 1933 or 1934 Super Eight Victoria, a 1934 Le Baron Sport Runabout, and a 1953-54 Caribbean. Oh, I know, wishful thinking but don't car people do a lot of that.

Jay 1124, AACA Member #220480

[mrpushbutton]

Rusty O--amen about the Airflow!

[Guest Skyking]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rusty_OToole</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

In a similar vein, the 1984 Dodge Caravan was one of the most significant designs of all time. In that it broke the mold, and made a permanent change in the way we think about cars.

Can you imagine the world of today with no minivans?

</div></div>

Probably one of the most copied vehicles of all time!

[Guest ChrisSummers]

The best car ever is Packard. Any Packard. Any at all. Even the '58s were good Studebakers at their worst.

[1940_Buick]

Model T Ford would be my favorite car. I've owned quite a few from all the different eras, but my 1921 Model T touring is my all time favorite.

Reasons:

You ride out in the open, with nothing between you and the scenery.

It travels at a slow pace so you can ejoy the scenery.

It makes a wonderful chug-chug-chug sound.

People smile, wave, honk (it's like a 1 car parade)

It's an experience from a different era.

It's easy to work on.

It's relatively inexpensive (most people can afford one)

It's reliable (if properly maintained).

Parts are easy to find and affordable.

It's easy to drive.

It's simple.

There's a lot of club activites for the cars.

Bad things:

You have to choose your roads carefully because they don't go fast.

You don't go far in cold weather.

Rain isn't much fun.

Your other cars will feel neglected.

[Bob Kinker]

My vote would have to go to the 64 Plymouth full size cars. Last year for pushbuttons, first year for the 426 Hemi, still could be had with the 426 Max Wedge, great styling, nice ride, and dependable!

[Bob Kinker]

Pic of 64 Sport Fury

[Guest 1926pack]

Wow, what a greta topic! And so many answers. I don't think there is any 1 right answer, but IMHO the best car ever was the Mazda Miata.

Wait wait! Don't start blasting yet. I have a reason. The Miata was the car which saved the automobile.

Remember back in the bad old days, ie the 70s and 80s? Cars were ruled by Consumers Reports and that great talking cadaver Ralph Nader. They were dull, uninspired boxes. The car had become an appliance.

Then this funky little 2 seater came bubbling up. And people thought gee, its affordable. And reliable (British sports car fans still can't accept that one). And FUN TO DRIVE! What a concept! Fun to drive!

Remember what Consumer Reports first said about the Miata? Didn't really like it because the exhaust made too much noise.

But the Miata uncorked the bottle. After that we had Prowlers, Vipers, New Beetles, PT cruisers, and more.

I know, there were other cars before the Miata, like the RX, Z, 911, Bimmer, etc. But it was really the Miata which reminded us that we are allowed to have fun while driving.

So, that's my vote. But I could be persuaded that Packard is really #1.

[Guest Leonard Shepherd]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dave@Moon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">1971 Datsun 510 station wagon. (<span style="font-style: italic">You'll have to ask Elaine why.</span>) </div></div>

I just might have to agree with Dave Moon on this one. It was a great car and best of all it got me out of debt from the muscle cars I had owned. At 23 cents a gallon, I could fill it up for $2.50 and drive all week. Here is a picture of it.

[CarlLaFong]

I'd like to know where gas was 23 cents a gallon in 1971

[Guest Leonard Shepherd]

I guess I was wrong on that one!

I went to zfacts web site and it says gas was $1.50 in 1970

I remember it lower than that, but I guess I had a "Senior Moment"

http://zfacts.com/p/35.html