Greatest American car ever?

[IronLionZion]

I like the Chevy Corvette, but there's also the Mustang, GTO, Viper, etc.

Your thoughts:

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. Corvette Wins my vote! No other sports car like it!

:)

[jobycom]

2. Corvette. Real question is what year? Oh yeah, you forgot Shelby Cobra

Not the Ford version, just the Shelby.

[IronLionZion]

11. oh yeah, the Shelby Cobra is great

like the one in Gone in 60 seconds.

For current cars, I like the Corvette Z06. So much power and handling for only about 50 grand. Driving a Shelby can get you killed, too much power!

[grannylib]

35. Always had a serious jones for the split window Vette...

but the Shelby Cobra is also a great vehicle!
Also really like the '67 Camaro.

[ronzo]

3. I want a stubby Camaro. n/t

[BrotherBuzz]

4. '67 Plymouth Valient

Best bang for the buck, ever! Like the Timex watch It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

[tridim]

5. The 67 Camaro

like the one in "Better Off Dead". I WILL own one some day. The Shelby Cobra and 50's corvettes are sweet too.

[kyrasdad]

6. Now let me explain... and please no flames from the ecologically minded...

My 1976 Mercury Grand Marquis Brogham...

Stop rolling your eyes...

I bought her used in 1980 with 37,000 miles on her. She was a beauty. Two tone chocolate brown and lemon yellow, with matching two tone leather interior. 400 ci V-8 w/ 4bbl carb, power everything, and weighed in at a hefty 4900 pounds. <tearing up with memories>

I drove her back and forth accross the country 7 times, moving all over the place, with everything I owned in her. She actually got close to 20mpg on the open road with the cruise set.I used her as a motel on more than one occasion. She never, NEVER failed to start once in the entire time I owned her. Yes, she did need repairs, some major, but she always got me to where I needed to go.

I sold her in the fall of 1989 when I bought a Colony Park, to a kid who was going to drive her to Seattle from NY. She had 298,000 miles on her. She spewed smoke, leaked oil, and was rusted to the roof, and actually had rust holes there too. He made it to Seattle, where she met her end two months later, when she was broadsided by a mini-van, and, well, broke in two.

I actually cried the day he called to tell me. (he owed me a payment, too and asked if I would let it go that month)

So, laugh if you will... to me this was, and is the best American car ever made. If I could afford to feed another one, I would get one.

[mikehiggins]

7. Studebaker Golden Hawk

A well designed, futuristic automobile with a phenomenal Packard engine. The car the engine was designed for was much bigger and substantially heavier than the Hawk.

You can figure out the rest....

VAROOOOMMMMMMM!!!

When I was a kid I tried to con my dad into buying one but he wouldn't fall for my sales pitch. Now they are antiques and toys for rich collectors or enthusiasts.

edit to add

Oh, yeah. And the Jaguar XKE! What a babe magnet! Couldn't get one of them either.

Damn, my life sucks.

[Field Of Dreams]

8. My Dad had a "Rambler" when I was growing up

don't remember who made them. But that thing was like a small tank.

[politicat]

15. Nash.... It is what killed the Edsel. (Bad timing on Ford's part.) NT

[grannylib]

36. Did the Rambler you had have the front seats that laid flat?

My brother had one and loved to lay back the driver's seat, and have a passenger in the passenger seat guiding him while he drove and it looked like there was nobody at the wheel...used to really freak people out!

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. i have a '92 vette. i love it, but i dont think it is the best by a long

shot. I like the older GM land yachts. like a '59 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. of course, it is pretty hard to beat a '57. Nomad. Big motor and you could actually work on it yourself.

BTW...the vette is for sale...i hope that doesnt get this post deleted!

[Wonk]

10. Money is no object? 2004 Ford GT

http://www.fordvehicles.com/fordgt/specs.asp

[salinen]

12. carnut

so many. how 'bout

'33 pierce arrow silver arrow production model
'54 buick skylark
'35 studebaker landcruiser
'57 caddy eldorado
'41 studebakers
'41 crysler town & country

[AntiCoup2K4]

13. Holy shit, it's the Mach 5!!

Go Speed Racer goooooooooooo!!

[politicat]

14. The Model T. It changed automotive production forever and

While H. Ford was a jerk, he did have some good ideas - like pay his workers enough to afford his car.

Impressive.

More impressive is the fact that (if you can find parts) they still run, are more efficient than even a Metro and are easy to work on.

Sports cars are neat and nifty, but never changed the world.

The Model T did.

Politicat (who lusts after the T frame and A frame that lurk in her great-grandfather's barn and wishes she had the time to put them back together....)

[Archae]

16. Duesenberg.

Hands down.

I sat in one, and heard one started.

They had it all.

Even a common slang term for a superlative comes from it.

"That's a doozy!"

[mobuto]

17. 1930 Packard Speedster

Although the Pierce-Arrow isn't bad.

But why drive domestic, when you can drive a

?

[Spider Jerusalem]

24. You mean the Pierce Silver Arrow?

Those are stunning...wouldn't mind having one...(alas, there aren't more than a handful of them)...and as far as Packards go I'll assume you mean the Twin Six (great engine, but the Cadillac or Marmon Sixteen probably have an edge there).

[mwdem]

18. '67 Ford Mustang!!!

My high school car. Loved it!!!!

[CanuckAmok]

19. Best ever? Henry Ford's Model "T".

It revolutionized our culture. It put the opportunities afforded by the automobile in the hands of "regular people". It came in any colour you wanted, as long as it was black.

It changed the world.

Most enjoyable, on the other hand, would have to be...

The Cord.

It's gorgeous, powerful, distinctly American, and exclusive.

Runners up:

The 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible

The 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T

The 1971 AMC Javelin X

The 1968 Dodge Road Runner

The 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1

The 1963 Chevrolet Corvette

The Studebaker Commando

The 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback

The Shelby GT 500

The 2002 Ford Thunderbird

The Ford Galaxie 500

forgot a couple, strictly from a style perspective:

The 1971 Oldsmobile Toronado

The 1979-93 Ford Mustang Hatchback

The 1973 Plymouth Duster

The 1973 AMC Gremlin "X"

[Spider Jerusalem]

20. The 1929-1935 Duesenberg SJ. Without question.

No other automobile produced in this country (or any other, for that matter) comes close.

The Duesenberg had a dual-overhead cam engine with 4-valves per cylinder and supercharging when most cars were still flatheads (not even overhead cam); one of the earliest fully synchronised gearboxes; a top speed of 120-140 mph, depending on model (this at a time when a Ford would top out at 60); 320-400 horsepower in supercharged form; was so technologically innovative that it took Detroit over half a century to adopt many of its innovations (the aforementioned overhead cam 32-valve engine, for instance); and there are a greater percentage of Duesenbergs that were built that are still driveable than of any other automobile, ever.

Any other answer, while perhaps a matter of personal opinion, is wrong. Heh.

EDITED to add a photo: this is a '31, and one of the most gorgeous examples I've seen.

[RebelOne]

21. I've always liked the Cadillac El Dorado

Always wanted one, but the closest I ever came to owning one was driving an ex-boyfriend's.

[billbuckhead]

22. a blue 70 Plymouth HemiCuda convertible with matching numbers

Supposedly this is the mass production car worth the most money. I heard a perfect version brought half a million at a DEA auction.

[theemu]

23. 1958 Ford Edsel

[Deja Q]

25. All the electric and hydrogen powered ones combined

Pity there aren't any, the best we've got are hybrids - but they're not "economically viable", even though that Jag and Lexus are... That's another phrase I despise. Who gives a frick about money, the planet we all need to LIVE ON is surely more important?! ARGH!

[Spider Jerusalem]

26. Every time I hear the phrase...

"not economically viable", I'm reminded of the scene from Falling Down where Michael Douglas' character is in front of the bank and sees the guy protesting being dragged away..."THIS is what happens when you're NOT ECONOMICALLY VIABLE!!!!"

[LTR]

27. All great suggestions

A few more:

Late 60s GM muscle cars (Chevelle, Nova, Cutlass, etc.)

Dodge Viper

And... the one that will probably get me flamed, but is a recent example of American ingenuity and know-how. And it helped turn around a near-bankrupt American corporation.

Yes, I'm talking about the much-maligned Chrysler K Car.

Sure, it was boring as hell, and had pretty bland styling. But what did you get? Big car-style seating in a compact. Reliability. Great gas mileage. And decent quality. These things were absolute tanks! They took a beating!

The K Car: Highly underrated. And a symbol of American ingenuity.

[CanuckAmok]

34. Holy Toledo! That K-Car is on a strip!!

Details, please...

[Beaker]

28. Lincoln Town Car- hands down.

it's like driving around in your living room, and the ride is so smooth, you can drive over the most pot-hole infected street out there, and NEVER even spill your drink.

[Whitacre D_WI]

29. 1958 sea-foam green, ragtop Coupe de Ville

Or maybe the Corvair.

[PAMod]

30. 1961 - 1964 Lincoln Continental, especially the convertible.

Big and heavy, all leather & all the latest accoutrements. Drives like a dream.

That car just oozes elegance and style.

I'm not much for material "goals", but I would like to own one some day.

[ronnykmarshall]

31. T-Bird!!! 1957

[Zero Gravitas]

32. GT40

[ACK]

33. 1957 Thunderbird

Awesome looking car. '67 Shelby Cobra was great too.