Tuesday, February 11, 2014

10 ENDURING AUTOMOTIVE NAMEPLATES OF CAR ICONS



    In the automotive world in which we live, discovering an automotive icon in between the pages of automotive magazine critique and customer feedback isn't easy. The loyalty among consumers and emotional connections that arise to make an enduring nameplate is not easily obtained. Still, legends exist.

    Here is a list of 10 of the longest-enduring nameplates in the automotive arena. Take note, not all the cars here have been in production every year since their introduction, but you can purchase a current example of each today. Each example has a reason they've lasted this long.

    The vehicles are ranked using an intricate formula that brings years in production, number of generations and market impact, to bring you the best of the best in iconic nameplates.

    10. Rolls-Royce Phantom
    First year produced: 1925
    Generations: Seven
    Famous for: Chariot of the wealthy, icon of elegant motoring.

     The Phantom hasn't been in continuous production since its introduction, with gaps in the 1940s, '90s and early 2000s, with that said, I'm honoring the Phantom's run, which began in 1925 and continues with not one but three different models today.

     A squared-off land yacht compared to the coach-built version of the '20s and '30s, the Phantom encompasses the swooping lines flowing from the front fenders. No matter the era, the Phantom has been the symbol of well to do members of society. There's no questioning its icon status.

    9. Toyota Land Cruiser
    First year produced: 1951
    Generations: Nine
    Famous for: Being the world's "Jeep."

    SUVs have curiously become more about family transportation then their off-road ability. Over the decades, and despite its capabilities, Toyota's current Land Cruiser is no exception.
     
    To thank for its status, the modern Land Cruiser has a reputation established by the classics. America had the Jeep Wrangler, but the world has had large numbers of 40 through 70 Series Land Cruisers to attack the roughest terrain on the planet.

     The Land Cruiser gets extra credit for creating a spin-off model (the FJ Cruiser) inspired by the most iconic Land Cruiser of them all, the 40 Series.

    8. Chevrolet Impala
    First year produced: 1958
    Generations: 10
    Famous for: Not only the classic American family car, but a Muscle-era icon.


    Over the decades Impalas have been everything from Harley Earl-era design masterworks to big-block-equipped Muscle Cars of the muscle car age to plodding rental-fleet specials.
     
    The Impala has had some great ups and downs since first hitting American highways for the 1958 model year.

    The Impala has attained an unlikely cool factor over the years,  its use as the body of Chevrolet's NASCAR racers for years has inspired many gloriously ill-advised tributes.

     And fans of the TV show Supernatural have come to love the main character's '67 Impala sedan.If there's a car on this list that proves that greatness comes in many forms, it's the Impala.

    7. Ford F-Series
    First year produced: 1948
    Generations: 12
    Famous for: The standard-bearer of American pickup trucks.

     It seems as if you could play a round of "Six Degrees of the F-Series", and never fail to find someone who either has owned or spent a great deal of time in one.
    For 65 years Ford's F-Series pickup truck has hauled just about everything and everyone everywhere in the United States.
    .
    The recent addition of the F-150 Raptor to the lineup gives the F-Series something it's never had before, a genuinely exciting, purpose-built high-end performance model.

      The F-Series' reach and success tells us one thing for sure, the pickup truck isn't going nowhere. From farmers to contractors and now to off-roaders, this is one serious truck


    6. Chevrolet Camaro
    First year produced: 1967
    Generations: Five
    Famous for: The Mustang's raucous, untamed rival and a drag strip star.

     It's history is more a survivor's tale, with a cast of characters including the classic RS/SS, COPO, Z28, and IROC.
     
     Legendary icons thriving and at times struggling to keep the Camaro alive through power restrictions, and later struggling sales.

    The Mustang's closest rival rose to prominence in the late 1960s in a cloud of smoke accompanied by a big V8 noise.

    The Camaro disappeared after the 2002 model year, but the success of the revived, retro-styled Mustang led to a new, 60s-inspired comeback for the Camaro in 2009 .

     There may not be a better time to be a Camaro fan than now — more than 40 years after its debut.With the new ZL1 tearing up roads and a resurrected Camaro Z/28 on the horizon.


    5. Ford Mustang
    First year produced: 1964 1/2
    Generations: Five
    Famous for: Bringing affordable performance to everyday drivers.


     Today's Mustang still represents affordable sporty fun in its V6 form, and power/performance to rival sports cars twice its price with the 5.0-liter V8.

     

    Sure, there have been missteps along the way (the less said about the Mustang II the better), but the modern Mustang's homage to the classic's style set off a chain reaction among carmakers.
     
    From Steve McQueen in Bullitt to Ryan Gosling in Drive to the "Eleanors" of both versions of Gone in 60 Seconds and more, the Ford Mustang isn't just an American automotive icon, it's an object of myth, A hero.


    4. Porsche 911
    First year produced: 1963
    Generations: Six
    Famous for: The triumph of engineering over physics in the guise of a world-beating sports car.

    With it's debuted at the 1963 Frankfurt Auto Show, introduced as the Porsche 901, a trademark scuffle with Peugeot (and don't we all hate those) forced a name change even before the first production models hit European roads, and the 1964 Porsche 911 was born.

     Some still like to bash the 911 as a "stretched-out Beetle," but even they have to recognize the 911's importance and its place among the great sports cars in history. The ensuing 50 years have seen the 911 achieve ultimate "driver's car" status. Along the way continually revising its engineering approach to a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car.

     

    3. Volkswagen Beetle
    First year produced: 1938
    Generations: Three
    Famous for: Being the "car of the people" that brought affordable driving to the world.

    The end of World War II could have meant the end of the Volkswagen Beetle.

     After the war, however, Volkswagens were pieced together literally from the rubble left behind and soon the world discovered the joys of the quirky, rear-engine compact.
     
     The Beetle is still around today, thanks to subsequent models retaining the bubbly, buglike body lines that make it stand out more now than it did 60 years ago.
     
    The Beetle's combination of affordable price, charming looks, and its sheer endurance as a daily driver opened up the world for a sensation unlike anything since the Model T.  


    2. Jeep Wrangler
    First year produced: 1941 (Willys MB)
    Generations: Seven
    Famous for: The trusty steed of WWII created the off-road vehicle category.


     After helping win World War II for the United States and its allies, the Jeep entrenched itself a place in automotive history.

    The go-anywhere, do-anything nature also made it the spirit animal of off-roaders and would-be rock crawlers from sea to shining sea.

    That the Wrangler name wasn't even coined until 1987, is virtually irrelevant. The Jeep is so iconic that every name it's gone by is legendary.


     Today's Wrangler is preceded by more recognizable names than
     enthusiasts have burnt-out winches.

     Willys, Comanche, Renegade, Laredo, Rubicon, CJ, TJ, YJ, JK — and at the end of it all, the Jeep still carries the basic shape it did in the early 1940s.


    1. Chevrolet Corvette
    First year produced: 1953
    Generations: Seven
    Famous for: Synonymous with freedom, speed and world-beating value. American for "sports car."

     Without a doubt, America's dream car. The absolute premiere American sports car. The ultimate midlife crisis purchase. Since its  iconic introduction in 1953, the Corvette has been all of these things to drivers in the U.S.


     The Corvette is so entrenched in American culture that for many people, its name is synonymous with the concept of what an ultimate sports car is.

     Even into its seventh generation the iconic Corvette retains its long hood and poised-to-strike stance. When a toy version of the new Corvette for children to drive makes headlines, it's a good measure of how popular a car really is.

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