OT: Talkin' 'Murican Cars
A day late with the holiday, but no matter. It's a simple question for today, the day after the 4th: What's the single greatest American car ever made?
Is it the Model T? which allowed everyday Americans to afford these new horseless carraiges? The Corvette? Mustang? Hellcat and/or Demon? Pickup trucks that can tow 30,000lbs that you can buy at a regular dealership and need a special driver's licesnse to use all that capability? The invention of the Minivan? The invention of the ORV (which became the SUV)? The Tesla Model S? (this is wrong)
What's your favorite red, white, and blue automobile? What's your greatest American Made car story?
Ah, the mirthmobile. One of the classic moments of American cinema.
Missing on the Motor Trend list...
But I agree the Tesla S should be there, as it arguably the most admired American car throughout the world, and has taken a big bite out of the earnings of its European and Asian luxury market competitors.
has taken a big bite out of the earnings of its European and Asian luxury market competitors.
Has it? I very much doubt it. Lincoln put more cars on the road last year than Tesla has sold Model S's in its lifetime. That would be Lincoln, not the really big fish like Lexus, Mercedes, and BMW. That would also be Lincoln's US sales, not including Canada or China or any other market.
Last year, Tesla sold about 30,000 Model S's in the US and Canada. Last month, BMW sold about 33,000 cars in the US and Canada.
Truthfully speaking, none of the current luxury automakers' earnings reports really notice the presence of Tesla. They may start to, if the Model 3 is a success. But for all the attention, the size of Tesla's niche in the US car market currently lies somewhere between Fiat and Smart.
I mean, that's true, but the original point is about whether the Model S by itself has dented the profits of big luxury automakers, so really, Model S vs. the entire lineup of BMW (and vs. the entire lineup of Mercedes and Lexus and so on) is the original comparison, not mine.
Yes, the Model S has done pretty well against similarly-priced competitor models; no, it has not taken any kind of a bite out of the profits of those competitors.
Most iconic? Definitely have to think about the Jeep, Corvette, and Mustang
Most commercially impactful? Possibly the Model T (assembly line! First pickup ever!) and the first Chrysler minivan
Most innovative? Tesla has to be right up there
I could be lured away by a Deuce coupe.
For me, has to be the Corvette. I've always been obsessed with them since I was a kid.
I've only had two American cars: a Camaro z-28 and a Jeep Wrangler. I've had almost every other readily available car nationality: British (Mini), German (VW, Audi). Swedish (Saab), Italian (Alfa Romeo), and Japanese (Acura, Subaru). A day after Independence Day, I can safely say German is my favorite, though I did love my Z-28.
I read an excellent book once called "Engines of Change," which talked about 15 cars that shaped American driving. It concluded that the Model T is far and away the most important car in American history, and the real question was what's second. I agree with that - the Model T isn't only the most important car in American history, the only car that compares in automotive history is Karl Benz's first ever practical automobile. Nothing else changed American society as much, and the subsequently caused worldwide changes in infrastructure and transportation.
As for 2nd, I find the Jeep a compelling arguement while also pointing out there were quite a lot of things that helped us win WWII. So I'd like to make the case for the Ferrarri killing Ford GT - the win at Le Mans was the greatest moment in American motorsports history. I don't think that compares to being a major driver in the bloodiest conflict in human history that still shapes the world we live in today and allowed the triumph of democracy across Europe and East Asia...but it's still pretty awesome. Okay Jeep definitely gets #2 in my book.
But until something changes our driving habits as much as the T did by inventing our driving habits, the Model T has got to be king. So...the question will one day be the Model T or the first practical, affordable and widely distributed self-driving car?
Still Model T. I predict there won't be a single, seminal game-changer in the world of self-drivers. For hybrids, you'd definitely have to say the Prius, and basically every automaker in the world, as well as all sorts of companies that don't even make cars, are all too keenly aware of that. Now there's a huge race on, not so much to be the Model T or Prius of automation, but not to fall behind.
If there's to be any big winner of that race (which may not be the case at all), I think it'll be after some consolidation of technologies, and if any standard appears, it'll be more like a VHF/Betamax, or Blu-Ray/HD-DVD fight, than one company developing the big winner and everyone else going "uhhhh crap, we gotta start doing that."
I mentioned last week I love the early Chevy II/Nova, but Mustangs are the best overall.
In high school I saw Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt with the 1968 GT fastback. It was love at first sight.
Unless at the time you bought into that whole DeLorean with flux capacitor fad
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