Top Gear "What's the Greatest Car in the past 20 years?"
#1
Top Gear "What's the Greatest Car in the past 20 years?"
Last edited by PhilipMSPT; 07-29-13 at 10:11 AM.
#2
What does one mean by "Greatest?" That could cover a lot of different areas.
The Prius, I agree, probably had the biggest impact on the development of hybrid/eco-green cars. The Lexus LS proved that the Japanese could do true luxury cars as good or better than anyone. The Mazda Miata offered a TRUE sports-car at an affordable price, and, unlike earlier British models, was reliable. The BMW 3-series wrote the book on how to do mainstream sport-sedan engineering. The Subaru Outback introduced, on a large scale, a whole new generation of car-based AWD unibody wagons and CUVs (though the original idea went back to the slow-selling AMC Eagle of 1981 and some 80s vintage Audi Quattro wagons).
However, if "Greatest" simply means what car most influenced the auto-industry in general, I think the answer is obvious....the appliance-like Toyota Camry, which was the very anthithesis of so-called driving "enthusiasts", but took the auto-buying public by storm. There are many people who buy Camrys simply because the Camry name is on it, some even without a test-drive.
The Prius, I agree, probably had the biggest impact on the development of hybrid/eco-green cars. The Lexus LS proved that the Japanese could do true luxury cars as good or better than anyone. The Mazda Miata offered a TRUE sports-car at an affordable price, and, unlike earlier British models, was reliable. The BMW 3-series wrote the book on how to do mainstream sport-sedan engineering. The Subaru Outback introduced, on a large scale, a whole new generation of car-based AWD unibody wagons and CUVs (though the original idea went back to the slow-selling AMC Eagle of 1981 and some 80s vintage Audi Quattro wagons).
However, if "Greatest" simply means what car most influenced the auto-industry in general, I think the answer is obvious....the appliance-like Toyota Camry, which was the very anthithesis of so-called driving "enthusiasts", but took the auto-buying public by storm. There are many people who buy Camrys simply because the Camry name is on it, some even without a test-drive.
#3
Id say the Bugatti since it represents the cutting edge of what is physically possible and also represents the pinnacle of a dying breed of super car.
There is a million ways to look at this
There is a million ways to look at this
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#8
However, if "Greatest" simply means what car most influenced the auto-industry in general, I think the answer is obvious....the appliance-like Toyota Camry, which was the very anthithesis of so-called driving "enthusiasts", but took the auto-buying public by storm. There are many people who buy Camrys simply because the Camry name is on it, some even without a test-drive.
I'd certainly put a shout out for the Prius, it's proved hybrids can be built and sold reliably and profitably and points the way for the immediate future for the majority of the motoring public - more so than hydrogen or electric vehicles.
I'd also nominate the BMW 3 series as for the last 20 years it's the car that all the other auto makers have benchmarked their small premium saloons against and yet, more often than not, it still emerges victorious.
The MINI would also be up there as it showed there was a market for small cars that could be sold at a premium price and had other makers such as GM, FIAT, Peugeot, Citroen and Audi rushing their own competitors to market.
#10
I'd certainly put a shout out for the Prius, it's proved hybrids can be built and sold reliably and profitably and points the way for the immediate future for the majority of the motoring public - more so than hydrogen or electric vehicles.
I'd also nominate the BMW 3 series as for the last 20 years it's the car that all the other auto makers have benchmarked their small premium saloons against and yet, more often than not, it still emerges victorious.
I'd also nominate the BMW 3 series as for the last 20 years it's the car that all the other auto makers have benchmarked their small premium saloons against and yet, more often than not, it still emerges victorious.
The MINI would also be up there as it showed there was a market for small cars that could be sold at a premium price and had other makers such as GM, FIAT, Peugeot, Citroen and Audi rushing their own competitors to market.
Besides, IMO, the current Mini itself isn't really that significant a design except that it is a more modern/roomier incarnation of the original 1959 model (54 years ago) that revolutionized small-car design with the transverse-mount engine and FWD. Now.....THAT car was a REAL breakthrough in auto design.
#11
Yes, it can do 250 MPH (where the road surface/conditions/speed limits allow), but what has it really done to influence the auto-market or auto-industry? Under the surface, it's basically just another Italian supercar with a monster 1000 HP engine, a fancy interior, and a million-dollar price tag (perhaps even more with markups). Almost no one outside of a few celebrities and/or extreme car-enthisiasts can own one.
#13
I always hate "Best" or "Greatest" lists and find they are always WAY too broad when they try to pick a winner.
20 Years is a lot of time and of course a car from 1993 can't compete with a car from 2013. That said, my pick for is the Veyron. The car is just outrageous and still gets my attention.
20 Years is a lot of time and of course a car from 1993 can't compete with a car from 2013. That said, my pick for is the Veyron. The car is just outrageous and still gets my attention.
#14
#15
I always hate "Best" or "Greatest" lists and find they are always WAY too broad when they try to pick a winner.
20 Years is a lot of time and of course a car from 1993 can't compete with a car from 2013. That said, my pick for is the Veyron. The car is just outrageous and still gets my attention.
20 Years is a lot of time and of course a car from 1993 can't compete with a car from 2013. That said, my pick for is the Veyron. The car is just outrageous and still gets my attention.
1992-94 XJ220:
3,240lbs
3.5L TwinTurbo V6
540hp 475lbft
0-60 in 3.6sec
RWD
Mid-Engine
213mph top speed
Even up to 27mpg in certain conditions