The Greatest Cars Ever Made
Model T to Corvette, One Auto Magazine Picks Best of the Best
By Jeffrey Steele
CTW Features
Americans love lists. Each year, we're bombarded with lists - the 100 best colleges, the year's 10 best movies and the world's dozen finest hotels.
No one should be surprised, then, that Automobile Magazine's September 2007 issue served up its choices of the "25 Greatest Cars of All Time." Tallied by the "best brains the magazine has," according to editor-in-chief Gavin Conway, the list "is certain to get people talking at water coolers, kitchens, garages and bars."
So what gives Automobile Magazine the right to determine the Top 25 vehicles ever built? Written for passionate auto enthusiasts, Automobile Magazine bills itself as "America's leading automotive lifestyle publication." It was established 21 years ago by automotive writer/editor David E. Davis Jr., and examines industry trends, automotive art and what the magazine calls "behind-the-wheel experiences in the world's most fascinating cars."
Terming the final list "as intriguing as it is eclectic," Conway says the magazine's editors set out with an objective of evaluating cars based on drivability, aesthetics and historical significance, rather than on figures and statistics. The results, he adds, "are predictable in part, but intriguing in their breadth." As an example, both the Jaguar E-Type and the far more obscure 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen make appearances on the list.
Not that there weren't some surprises in calculating the winners. One of the biggest, Conway writes in his "Letter From the Editor," came in the category called "Driving Enthusiast Cars." By a large margin, Volkswagen's original Rabbit GTI garnered more votes than any other car. The Rabbit drew eight votes, while such auspicious entries as the Porsche 911 GT3 and Cayman S captured just a single vote apiece.
Peppering the presentation of winners is insightful commentary from an array of auto experts, who weigh in on their favorite automobiles of all time. For instance, Volkswagen Group design leader Walter De'Silva wrote that the Citroen DS was "the best car designed in the century. It came from space, it was new in everything."
Then there's George Barris, a custom builder and designer of TV's original Batmobile, whose dream cars roll off Chrysler assembly lines. Terming the Dodge Magnum R/T and Chrysler 300C the "two best cars to come out of a mainstream manufacturer," Barris particularly lauds "that groovy chop-top roof" that reminds him of the classic 1960s-era custom cars.
In naming its winners Automobile Magazine acknowledged that the list of 25 greatest cars would be certain to engender controversy and debate. To stir the pot a bit, the publication on its Web site provided the full list of 150 vehicles originally considered for the list (www.automobilemag.com/features/lists). There, readers can scan the also-rans and prepare their arguments as to why their favorites were robbed.
Tearing apart a "best of" list is a basic human instinct. So it may come as something of a shock that this list drew considerable praise from the automotive press.
Readers were prone toward more criticism, and some proceeded to howl over the selections. For instance, a couple of them expressed outraged astonishment that the legendary Hudson Hornet fails to appear on the list.
Another noted the $1.3 million Bugatti Veyron wasn't worthy of inclusion on the list at all. "It's not so much a technological marvel, but rather an exercise in wretched excess of already existing technology, and there is no category for that," the reader argued.
Also dismissing the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen as an "overrated achievement," the disgruntled car lover went on to write: "The 1955 Cadillac with air-conditioning, and even the ol' Prius top these cars for their accomplishments."
Not satisfied with this list of the 25 greatest cars? It's time to compile your own.
