Popular Mechanics Reader's Choice Top 10 Cars of All Time. Right or Wrong?

[x88x]

I saw this in my inbox and thought it was interesting. I don't agree with all of them...some not by a long shot (for example, I think the classic Stingray looks worlds better than the new concept Stingray) ...but at least they got #1 right (sorta). :D

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/pictures/top-10-cars-of-all-time-readers-choice

I think this may have been done before, but hey, oh well. :P out of curiosity, what would all of you rate as the best car of all time?


For me, I have two. A classic best and a modern best.

Classic best is the Shelby AC Cobra (why I said they sorta for the #1 right). I'll never own one, but I hope to one day build a Factory Five Roadster, which is as close as I'll ever get.
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/shelby_cobra_427_1967.jpg

Modern best is the Koenigsegg Agera. Like the Cobra, I just fell in love with it the moment I saw it. IMO the best car designs put form firmly behind function in order of importance, and at least for the exteriors Koenigsegg follows this philosophy beautifully; to the point that they have come full circle and made something of great beauty. Plus, the stock 950BHP and 3.1s 0-60mph time helps too. :twisted:
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/imageserverphpformat0x370zoomimgmodels_agera_1.jpg

Plus, you just have to love those doors. :D (note, this is the CCX, the previous model; no shots on their site of the Agera opened up yet)
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/imageserverphpformat0x370zoomimgmodels_ccx_3.jpg

[OvRiDe]

I never really take much stock in these type of polls. Its the top 10 cars where 99.9% of the people picking have never owned, driven or in some cases even seen one in real life. I guess its still kind of a fun game in ways. Although I have always had a soft spot for the Cobra. About 12 years ago I came pretty close to buying the kit, but financing a car thats not already put together is not so easy. LOL

[x88x]

Hahaha, you make a good point. The closest I've ever come to driving (or seeing, for that matter) a Koenigsegg is watching them drive one on Top Gear. :P But then, since the most exciting car I've ever driven was a Toyota Corolla (not that it was exciting either, but that's kinda the point), I wouldn't be much use if trying to actually gauge a car's greatness from actual experience.

[Munty]

Nice to see some Astons on there but I'm not sure I agree with the majority of this list. The Shelby GT500 is my dream car so obviously I'd put that top but it seems to me a lot of the voters were american (no offence to you lot lol) There are a lot of muscle cars and much as I like them that doesn't make them best.

The Veyron is an absolutely hideous car so I have no idea how it made the same list as a DB9 and a corvette (concept or not) Not sure why 1st place is a Cobra replica either, why not the original cobra? Sequels are never as good and we all know it *cough* C&C4 *cough*

The Camaro and Veyron bug me as I don't think they should be on the list and much as I like to see the Astons up there I don't think they deserve 2 spots. The DB9 and Vantage are virtually identical cars anyway (aesthetically at least) Much as I tout the Shelby I HATE Ford so it's my only exception to the rule (my missus has an Escort :() so the GT, awesome though it is would at least move further down the list. I also see nothing special about the Audi R8, is it really one of the best 10 cars EVER? If so, why? Won't get started on Labo's, sexy and awesome they may be but I certainly don't know why that makes it a top ten car. If Lambo is here then where is Ferrari? This is meant to be top ten cars of all time not sexiest cars or top ten supercars. How many Lambo's are there in the world? Less than there are Vauxhalls and Toyotas I bet but that's just too boring for a list right? I don't even think the Cobra should hold the top spot for the same reason...

Top-10 cars of all time should be based on how popular they've been, how long they've survived and how many were sold. Not how fast they are, how sexy they look and how much gas they guzzle. Landrover should be on there somewhere, probably the Defender as the best all-rounder but maybe even the original Series which have lasted well over 60 years now. How about giving the Krauts a look in too, the VW Golf is an amazingly popular car and it's still now being produced with the Beetle not far behind (probably significantly ahead in terms of restorers and fanatics)

In my opinion this list is flawed and the question being answered is not what are the best 10 cars of all time but what car would you most like to own. Based on the undeniable fact that over 90% of the people taking the survey will never even come close to those aspirations I think it's fairly redundant. Is there a similar list that's a bit more realistic in terms of lasting, useful, value for money cars? That would probably garner less criticism from me lol

Oh here, have your soapbox back :D

[Lothair]

My personal favorite car of all time is...

Sorry. You'll have to look through 10 pages with an advertisement page in the beginning and every other page or two.

What a horrible website.

But my personal favorite car of all time would have to be the Ford GT. It's an impressive and powerful looking car that seems to demand onlookers to take it seriously. That's just my .02 of course. I'm not a car fanatic by any means. :p

[x88x]

In my opinion this list is flawed and the question being answered is not what are the best 10 cars of all time but what car would you most like to own.

Yup, that's exactly what it is. :P What they did was have a hot-or-not-style survey running for a while, where you could go to a page on their website, it would show you two cars, and you choose which one is 'better', by whatever criteria you wish. This list was the result of running that for, iirc, a few months. So no, it's not a factually accurate analysis of any merits other than market appeal.

I agree the Veyron isn't exactly the prettiest car in the world, but even just as a pure technological achievement I think it does belong on a list of the 10 greatest cars.

[Munty]

That explains the won/lost statistics on each cars page I guess! Still not convinced the Veyron is a good car for any real reason. If I had a choice between that and literally ANY other supercar it would lose every time. I'd even choose some cheaper prestige and sports cars over the Bugati honestly, although in reality I'd accept the Veyron then sell it and buy the cheaper one whilst spending the gained money on a nice country house :p

[x88x]

The end reason why I say the Veyron is so great as a technological achievement is that it is as stable at 240mph as most cars are at 40mph. Yes, there are a lot of other reasons behind that, and that stability means many different things on many different levels, and they are the real reason I say it's great, but that stability is the most immediately noticeable affect of all of those other reasons. (disclaimer: all 'experiential' information about the Veyron was learned by watching Top Gear, no actually driving one)

I'm with you though; if someone were to give one to me, I would take it out a few times just for the hell of it, probably get a massive speeding ticket, then sell the car and buy a house, a Factory Five Roadster, and probably a Ferrari 458 Italia. :D

[Luthien]

I like older cars better. I'm also a Chevy girl at heart. Given the choices from the Top 10 list...obviously the '69 Camaro SS/RS wins. I'm surprised there weren't more classics on the list. It's kind of sad.

[Kayin]

Studebaker Avanti.