MM Retro Write-Up: The Ten Most Influential Vehicles in Automotive History.
01-13-22, 07:03 PM
#31
Pole Position
Actually, many of today's 21st-century hybrids and electrics can probably be traced, in one form or another, to the very significant Prius, which was introduced at the very start of the century. Steve may (?) have a point with the Tesla Model S, although the Model 3 is outselling it by an enormous margin. If you really pressed me to add one more to make it an MM dozen, I'd have to maybe go with the Chris-Bangle (E65/66) BMW 7-series, which was produced from 2001-2008. At the time, I absolutely despised them, for several reasons.....among them the Bangle-Butt trunk-lids, thinner sheet metal, and the I-Drive screen. But that dash-screen, like it or not (and Audi's similar MMI screen a little later) completely changed the way that future dash and controls were designed in most vehicles, and we still see the effects today.
so Bangle “retires” leaving Van Hooydonk in charge, and it was downhill from there in large part…
01-13-22, 07:04 PM
#32
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Another one that deserves to be on the list is the Ford Taurus.
01-13-22, 07:23 PM
#33
Lexus Fanatic
01-13-22, 07:29 PM
#34
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Bangle got all the blame, as he ran the show, but it was Adrian van Hooydonk who largely designed that 7 Series (and Bangle didn’t design the E60 5 Series either, that was Davide Arcangeli).
so Bangle “retires” leaving Van Hooydonk in charge, and it was downhill from there in large part…
so Bangle “retires” leaving Van Hooydonk in charge, and it was downhill from there in large part…
Thanks for the heads-up
...yes, it makes sense that Bangle was only one part of a bureaucracy at BMW...bureaucracies tend to be firmly-entrenched institutions at most auto companies.
01-13-22, 07:35 PM
#35
Bangle got all the blame, as he ran the show, but it was Adrian van Hooydonk who largely designed that 7 Series (and Bangle didn’t design the E60 5 Series either, that was Davide Arcangeli).
so Bangle “retires” leaving Van Hooydonk in charge, and it was downhill from there in large part…
so Bangle “retires” leaving Van Hooydonk in charge, and it was downhill from there in large part…
01-13-22, 08:19 PM
#36
Pole Position
Yes, he was involved in a lot of excellent BMW designs, he just gets remembered for some more than others. I actually liked the E65 7 Series, and I owned two E60's too - I had a 545i and then a 550i. They were great cars!
01-13-22, 11:03 PM
#37
Lexus Test Driver
I considered the Explorer, but, despite its obvious popularity, Jeep had already been selling the Wagoneer for decades....and would soon be right on the Explorer's heels with the Grand Cherokee. And, when one closely examines the original 1991 Explorer, it really was little more than a redone mid-size Ford Ranger platform with an enclosed rear end, seats inside for passengers, and some civil touches inside for those passengers who had been used to sedans and wagons. But, IMO, it didn't really offer very much that was really new and/or innovative, it rode roughly because of its ancient truck-frame/suspension (which later caused a safety-fiasco when Ford attempted to soften the ride by lowering tire-PSIs on the Firestone Wilderness tires). On AWD versions (although I admit I could be wrong on this)?......I don't think the original version offered a center-differential like later versions.......you couldn't use the 4WD on dry surfaces, although it did have an electronic shifter and transfer-case that by-passed the need to stop, get out, and manually lock the front hubs.
One small correction. The 4-door Jeep Cherokee was really the first medium duty 4-door SUV before the Explorer and Grand Cherokee came along. The Jeep Wagoneer was a full-size niche SUV, which wasn't really a mainstream entry like the smaller family haulers. If we are talking about vehicles that made an impact, I'd have to say the first Jeep Cherokee 4-door paved the way. Perhaps you meant to reference "Cherokee" vs. "Grand Cherokee" when bringing up the Explorer (?).
01-13-22, 11:15 PM
#38
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Thanks. I put a lot of effort into it, as I usually do with my vehicle write-ups.
Only 51 were built, and that's one reason why more people aren't aware of them. On top of that, Preston Tucker, IMO, was grossly mistreated, and the big-money auto companies and their supporters in the government and media did everything they could to try to railroad him and his company. Unfortunately, they succeeded.
Actually (and this also gets back to my earlier reply to Steve), that's why I didn't put any of those family-SUVs from the 80s and 90s on the list, despite the fact that some of them sold quite well. The '84 Cherokee did introduce unit-bodies to the SUV-world, sold very well, and stayed in production many years, but I wouldn't say it actually revolutionized anything. As far as Jeeps go, the original 1941 military vehicle was probably a more significant introduction, as it served the military faithfully and helped win World War II.
However, I value your opinion, and have a lot of respect for it.
I didn't know about the Tucker 48, but the styling was very cool for it's time. The front bumper was actually decades ahead.
One small correction. The 4-door Jeep Cherokee was really the first medium duty 4-door SUV before the Explorer and Grand Cherokee came along. The Jeep Wagoneer was a full-size niche SUV, which wasn't really a mainstream entry like the smaller family haulers. If we are talking about vehicles that made an impact, I'd have to say the first Jeep Cherokee 4-door paved the way. Perhaps you meant to reference "Cherokee" vs. "Grand Cherokee" when bringing up the Explorer (?).
However, I value your opinion, and have a lot of respect for it.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-13-22 at 11:18 PM.
01-14-22, 06:45 AM
#39
Lexus Fanatic
I did not discount the Model S...in fact, like I said, you probably have at least somewhat of a point. But the Model S was a lot of cash........many people, especially outside of the wealthy D.C. and similar areas, simply could not afford to fork over that kind of $$$$ and still keep food on the table. The Model 3 solved much of that....in fact, IMO, the Model 3 probably has had much of the same effect in providing affordable BEVs for the masses as the original Model T, which I wrote about on the list, originally did, a century earlier, for gas-engined cars.
The Roadster didn't mainstream EVs though.
I would argue that no other car company has had the effect on the industry as Tesla since Henry's achievements...
Now that '64 GTO... OMG![/QUOTE]
Yes and No. The Taurus used essentially the same layout (in a larger platform, of course) as the original 1959 Mini and its transverse-engine/FWD. It sold well because of its comfortable interior and rounded Semi-Jelly-Bean look, which was in contrast to the shoe-box-design of many sedans/wagons of that period. But, aside from that, I don't think it was particularly noteworthy. The 3Gen 1995 redesign was visually horrendous inside and out, turning off a lot of potential buyers, knocking the car out of top-selling status in the sedan category, and giving that race to the Camry and Accord.
01-14-22, 08:31 AM
#40
Pole Position
As good as the Taurus was, the Mini has become iconic. It will feature on lists like this way into the future, that’s less likely for the Taurus. The classic Mini is recognizable globally. Pretty much everyone anywhere could look at cars like a classic Beetle and a classic Mini and know what they were. That’s why it belongs on lists like this.
01-14-22, 09:04 AM
#42
Lexus Fanatic
Theres a difference between being "innovative" and being influential.
But the list isn't about vehicle designs that are "iconic" its about how specific vehicles influenced the direction of the auto industry.
Originally Posted by swajames
As good as the Taurus was, the Mini has become iconic. It will feature on lists like this way into the future, that’s less likely for the Taurus. The classic Mini is recognizable globally. Pretty much everyone anywhere could look at cars like a classic Beetle and a classic Mini and know what they were. That’s why it belongs on lists like this.
01-14-22, 10:46 AM
#43
Lexus Fanatic
01-14-22, 11:10 AM
#44
The original Taurus is most definitely very influential, it is arguably the only good American car since the muscle car era, and made a huge impact on the automotive industry. Unfortunately they completely butchered it with the ugly 3rd gen model in 1996.
01-14-22, 11:26 AM
#45
Pole Position
The transverse engine/FWD that enabled the extremely small packaging was the Mini innovation. As I understand it, the Mini pioneered the transversely mounted 4 cylinder FWD configuration - which is now pretty much the default configuration for the current non-premium market. The innovation wasn't just the size, it was the engineering that enabled the small size.