PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

So, do you think the LFA will get it? Or the Prius?



Vote for it here.

mmarshall

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.

I8ABMR

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

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Well LFA and 458 are a wash for me in terms of greatest sports car, but as the S-Class is on this list, for greatest car title I'd vote it

Megafast13

Why no LS400 or LS430 !?

Coconut

I'd say Prius or GTR. Both shook up the industry and brought immediate change.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

veyron to me. almost impossibly hard to make, and totally stupid, but they did it anyway, and i'm glad, and it's awesome.

Big Andy

I'm sorry, but I can't see in any way at all the Camry has influenced the auto-industry or enthused the public - as you say it's just an appliance for transporting you from A to B.

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.

2002GGPIS3

Real tough choice, but I pick the Impreza P1. The reason, is it was the first Japanese rally car for the road, and started a whole new tuning culture, with tuned Imprezas and Evos.

mmarshall

Well, that's just it. I agree with you that it's generally not a driving-enthusiasts's car, but one cannot argue with the sales numbers. It's exactly what millions of people want. For years (decades, in fact), after playing Musical-Chairs with the Honda Accord and Ford Taurus, it has dominated regular passenger-car sales in the U.S., trailing only the F-150 and Silverado pickup trucks. No other car in many decades had had the same effect in America.


In each of their respective fields, I agree (as I stated in my previous post)....though, as far as hybrid-profitability is concerned, Toyota claimed that it lost money on each 1Gen Prius sold.

Yes, in Europe there are definitely more Mini competitors, but here in the U.S., it's pretty much the Fiat 500 and little else. The Chevy Spark/Sonic and Ford Fiesta aren't quite the same type of subcompact, and Citroens/Peugeots aren't sold here.

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.

mmarshall

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.

Joey-E

iTrader: (1)

Voted for the LFA, almost voted for the Enzo tho!

bruce van

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.

dc893

Because it's Top Gear and they hate the LS400. According to them the LS400 is the most boring car ever built. They did admit it was quiet and comfortable but too boring.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I don't know about that. The Jaguar XJ220 is still a very competent supercar and can top out (top speed) where some others including the LFA can't

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