Could you recommend a vintage?
This is a fun one that I often play in my head; Which Automotive Manufacturer had the most stellar year in history? Which manufacturer had the best lineup of offerings in which year? Now, obviously niche manufacturers are a bit tough to deal with, because the worst years for Aston Martin, for example, are better than the best years for SSangYong, for example. So, narrow your scope to fairly large OEMs, say, Hyundai and larger.
Just to stir the pot a little, and to give an example of what we’re looking for, I would go with a 1985 (S)port from the Aichi region of Japan. That’s right, in my humble opinion, the best year from any automaker in history is smack dab in the middle of the performance deprived eighties and straight out of the beige-est of beige, Toyota Motor Company. The year that brought us the Nintendo Entertainment System also brought the best that Toyota ever has. Oh, what a feeling!
Now hear me out, this was a point in time when GM was still king of the heap, and Kiichiro’s finest were a bit on the quirky side Some of the most legendary sports cars, trucks, sedans, and compacts were produced that year, and if you believe the hype from T-town, the vast majority of them are still toting people around.
I will stop with the jibber jabber and let the lineup speak for itself. If you have something better, feel free to let me know just how wrong I am in the comments!
1985 (mkII) Toyota Tercel All Trac
Rust notwithstanding, AWD and tall wagon go together like hookers and 24 hour rest stops.
1985 (E90) Toyota Corolla All Trac
All wheel drive rules, even in a mellow sedan
1985 (E80) Corolla FX16
Who doesn't love a hot hatch?
1985 (AE86) Toyota Corolla GT-S
Mad Tyte DoRiFtO man!
1985 (A60) Toyota Celica
A great all around fun sportscar. Just look at the chick in the ad, you can tell she is having fun.
1985 (A60) mkII Celica Supra
The car so nice, they named it twice.
1985 (AW11) MR-2
The Mister Two still has a cult following
1985 Toyota Van
Seriously, how baller is this thing? It doesn't even need a name...Van...Just Van.
1985 Toyota Pickup
The venerable "HiLux" everywhere else, we called it simply, the Pickup.
1985 (FJ60) Toyota Land Cruiser
The beast from the far east
1985 Toyota 4Runner
The HiLux Surf in the ROW, here it's a number and an activity.
Related posts:
- Hooniverse Asks- How Screwed is Toyota?
- Hooniverse Fastback Fridays – Vintage Toyota Celicas and Celica Supras
- Roadside Discoveries: Nickwackett Garage, a Vintage British Bike Shop.
- Question of the Weekend – Are Vintage Travel Trailers Collectible?
- Vintage Australian Touring Car Racing: Because You Weren’t Going To Be Productive Today Anyhow
I want that mkII Celica Supra in my garage… and I don't really know why <3
The styling's crisply distinctive (albeit very much a product of the 80's), it's an entertaining sports car with RWD and an I6, and it has some promise of reliability. Oh, it's more appealing than the MkI, less bloated than the MkIII, and less overhyped than the MkIV. I, too, love the MkII Celica Supra.
Agreed. The Mark II Supra is my favorite version of that car.
For Honda, I'd say the best year was 1990. Look at the lineup…
Civic (4th generation. Possibly the best Civics ever. The Civic range also included the great AWD wagon.)
CRX (2nd generation – the Del Sol was a pretty sad replacement).
Prelude (3rd generation and a fine refinement of the handsome 2nd gen).
Accord (4th generation – perfectly sized. They got bigger in subsequent years but not necessarily better).
Legend (1st generation, and the coupe was gorgeous).
Integra (2nd generation and new this year).
NSX (Nothing needs to be said).
Best of all, there wasn't a SUV or minivan in sight.
By the way, the Toyota Van was a last-minute name change. Toyota originally called it the Van Wagon and even used that name in the first advertisements. However, VW objected because they felt the name was too close to Vanagon, so Toyota relented.
Truth be told, I'm sort of partial to Ford from the late 80's (say '87). You've got the 5.0L Mustangs hitting their stride (along with the luxury Mustang, the Mark VII), the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe was pretty world class, the Merkur XR4Ti was fantastically weird, the Taurus was owning the sales charts (and a perfectly pleasant car, if not awesome the way the SHO would be), the Escort was a solid little car (I'm partial to the next generation which borrowed its chassis from the Mazda 323, but still), the Country Squire and Colony Park were still available, the Ranger and F150 carried on doing what they do, and the Bronco II hadn't morphed into the mall crawling Explorer (it may not have been great, but it didn't mark a step towards crossovers). Oh, and you could still buy a Ford EXP.
I'm a fan of 1988 BMW:
Last year for the last high quality 5 series, the E28, which was available as the 535is and M5 in addition to the one-year-only Super-eta 528e
Highest content year of the E30, with the best model lineup: 325 Super eta, 325is, M3 – all with Elipsoid headlights, real bumpers, updated bodies, standard power sunroofs, foglights, available LSD…
First year for the E32 750iL, wich was a landmark car that scared Mercedes, even if it turned out to be the first of the new disposable BMWs. the E32 735i may have still been available with a 5-speed manual too.
The end of the road for the classic E24 coupes, available as 635CSi and M6(35).
Uh, that Corolla (second picture) isn't an '85 model, it's a '92 model. A '92 model is what my wife was driving when I met her (hers was a base sedan with black bumpers), and I had the fun task of replacing the timing belt on it, among other things.
Here's a '85 Corolla, downright frumpy compared to the '88-'92 model:
<img src="IMAGE%20URL" width="600">
<img src="http://www.muamat.com/adpics/4a23a83e3172fda35e241bb64.jpg">
The '85 model was the E80, and the '88-'92 was the E90.
I dig just about all of those Toyotas, especially the Celica, Supra, Land Cruiser, pickup, and van. I always thought the AllTrac wagons were goofy, what with the ATM machine on the back.
The Cressida was a refresh for 1985 also…
<img src="http://www.jeff-young-design.com/WorldWideWagons/Images/1985-Toyota-Cressida-Wagon.jpg" alt="1985 Cressida">
I can't really come up with a rebuttal. I lust for every vehicle in that lineup. (Well, maybe not that particular Corolla All-Trac)
1988, in general. Manufacturers had finally figured out this EFI thing and how to make it work consistently, and turbocharging was a reliable alternative to big displacement. You could still buy reasonable RWD family cars. Or some really goofy stuff like an AWD Tempo, or whatever that AWD Pontiac A-body was, the 6000? Alfa 75/Milano was still around… in Europe you could buy the critically acclaimed FSO Polonez, or a classic three-box Lada if you preferred your eastern cars with a more italo-soviet flair. Citroens were still weird. Porsches were oil cooled like they're supposed to be, and Japanese luxury car meant a fully optioned Cressida. Mitsubishi didn't suck.
Yeah, 1988 is my answer.
"critically acclaimed FSO Polonez,"
I read that from a leading automotive publication on the Internet so it must be true.
[youtube x5gETRjT470 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5gETRjT470 youtube]
Do you know which 'murikun car was next?
The peak of GM design was in 1967. You have all their stone cold classic designs – first Eldorado, first Camaro, last Corvair, first Toronado, mid-year Corvette, second gen Riviera (well it's my favorite)… – before they started getting grotesque and then boring. Maybe other years had better cars, but '67 was the highest point for one of the best design departments.
While the specialty cars were very attractive in 1967 and the intermediates got a nice facelift, the fullsize cars were restyled generally for the worse. The coke-bottle shapes became exaggerated, detailing became coarser, and the crisp, linear styling of 1965-1966 was lost. For instance, compare this '66 Cadillac…
<img src="http://images.classiccars.com/classifieds/120095_2811792_1966_Cadillac_Fleetwood%2BBrougham.jpg" width=500>
…to its 1967 equivalent.
<img src="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1194/534812266_4b94e46122_z.jpg" width=500>
I can't think of a single 1967 fullsize that looks better than its 1966 counterpart.
Another example – 1966 Oldsmobile….
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/harvwallbanger/07.jpg" width=500>
…vs. 1967.
<img src="http://www.hubcaps.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/1967oldsdelta.png" width=500>
I actually prefer the '67 Cadillac and prefer the '67 Impala by a fairly wide margin, though you're right about Oldsmobile. It was a tricky choice to make, but I figured catching the Eldorado and Camaro was more vital, and I still like the '67 full size models overall.
Last Corvair?!? The last Corvair was 1969, not 1967. GM was planning to kill off the Corvair after 1966, but kept building it anyway because of the the whole Ralph Nader thing. They did stop all development though, except for what it took to meet safety and emissions standards (adding all the FMVSS requirements for 1967, and the A.I.R. system for 1968). The last Corvair, an Olympic Gold Monza coupe, rolled off the Willow Run assembly line on May 14, 1969.
I meant generation, not model year, probably should have said second gen but I preferred putting last and first. Same reason I said first Toronado, even though it was introduced in '66.
In addition to all the useful safety stuff added, '67 is the last year a vehicle never has to come in for emissions testing in IL! It's a great vintage.
Chevrolet was cock of the walk in 1965. Observe:
Corvair (first year for the IRS-equipped Gen 2, last year for the vans)
<img src="http://www.carstyling.ru/resources/classic/1965_Chevrolet_Corvair_Monza_Sport_Coupe_01.jpg" width="500">
Nova (Last year for the Gen 1 body, and available with the 327 in SS guise)
<img src="http://www.lov2xlr8.no/grom/bilder/ss2.jpg">
Chevelle/Malibu (Last year for Gen 1 body, first and only year of giant slayer 375hp 396-powered Z16)
<img src="http://www.sportscardigest.com/wp-content/uploads/1965-Chevrolet-Chevelle-Z16-1.jpg" width="500">
Biscayne/Bel Air/Impala/Caprice (Last year for the 409 "W-Motor," First year of the Mark II Big Block, first year for Caprice, first perimeter frame for a fullsize Chevy since the '57)
<img src="http://image.superchevy.com/f/8843610/0208sc_02z+1965_chevrolet_impala_ss+left_front_view.jpg" width="500">
Corvette (First year for Mark II Big Block, last year for fuel injection 'til '82)
<img src="http://www.carsandracingstuff.com/library/c/corvette0017.jpg" width="500">
And this was just the car-based stuff!
Spoken like my inner monologue.
'63 Jaguar
I'd say 1965 instead of 1963 for Jaguar. By '65, Jaguar was putting a 4.2L and all-synchro gearbox in the E-type, as well as better electrics and interior. The Mark X also got the 4.2 and improved gearbox. Plus Jaguar now had the handsome S-type. The cheapening of the lesser cars that began in 1967 hadn't started yet.
<img src="http://www.american-automobiles.com/images3/1948-Tucker.jpg">
For Tucker, I'd have to say 1948 was the best year. Unfortunately, it was also the worst.
Mercedes-Benz, 1968
Last of the W110 Heckflosse sedans with a 2.3 liter 6
Introduction of the W114 /8 sedan and coupe.
The base Sonderklasse (W108) gets the new 2.8 liter I6, as does the W111 Heckflosse coupe and W113 Pagoda SL
The top of the line Sonderklasse (W109)………..300SEL 6.3
And for the dictators and plutocrats, the 600 Grosser.
'86 would be a better year for Toyota. Everything you listed was still available (except the E90 Corolla, which didn't start until '87. Have you ever driven one though? They're terrible.), plus the MkIII Supra was introduced halfway through the year. Except you couldn't get a turbo until '87.
The MkII Supra you pictured is odd, it's probably an '84, but the door handles are '82-'83 style. And the wheels are photoshopped, the ones on the Celica are real-sized.
Also good that year, V10 Camry (yeah, yeah. They're nice!), X70 Chaser, X73 Cressida, T140 Corona, S120 Crown, G40 Century, Z20 Soarer, P71 Starlet. Yes, Toyota used to be cool.
I like the E90 Corolla. Definitely better looking than the E80.
[Begin pedant mode]
The FX16 was not available (at least in the USA) in 1985
The MR2 in the picture set is a 1986. The 1985 MR2 had black bumper inserts and aero package pieces.
[End pedant mode]
I agree completely the 1985 was a great year for Toyota. They had their mojo and were making interesting *and* reliable cars. My parents bought and still have a 1987 Mr2 and a 1988 FX16 GTS. Both are great cars.
GM pretty much anywhere between 1967 and 1972.
2009/2010 wasn't bad either
New Camaro(even though it was a 2010)
ZR1
G8
Solstice
Cadillac CTS-V
1993. For Saab. Because you could get, all at the same time:
-A C900 "CE" Commemorative Edition. the most desirable C900, it had the best interior, the SPD engine but with a hotter tune and a 2.8bar FPR for 185bhp, etc.
-The first year for the 9000 Aero, still one of my all time favorite cars.
Hey, if both of your cars are great, then…
ok, this was a dumb answer…
GM, 1963. Let's review:
Split window Corvette:<img src="http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2008/04/04/02/05/1963_chevrolet_corvette-pic-51388.jpeg">First generation Riviera:<img src="http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/1963_Buick_Riviera_Front_1.jpg">Pontiac Grand Prix:<img src="http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/11/Pontiac-Grand_Prix_1963.jpg">Olds Jetfire:<img src="http://leemann.com/compacts/63olds/633147/1963_F-85_Jetfire.jpg">Corvair Monza Spyder:<img src="http://www.rockinghamremembered.com/sitebuilder/images/1963ChevyCorvairMonzaSpyder-600×426.jpg">Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special:<img src="http://www.wabicuracao.com/images/1963_Cadillac_Fleetwood_60_.jpg">
'65 Ford, though '64 through '68 should also work pretty well.
1972 Volkswagen(you laugh, and I know why)
Beetle largest and most powerful carbureted type 1 engine
Super Beetle better handling beetle with MacPherson strut suspension
Type 3 models are all in production
Karmann Ghia shares largest and most powerful engine with beetle, and dual carbs
Type 4 restyled by Brooks Stevens and all models in production, with new Type 4 engine
Transporter T2 also with stouter Type 4 engine
914 VW-Porshe built using VW's Type 4 engine
Type 181 "Thing"
I think we have a runner up to the Toys listed in the main article…
Against all odds, Studebaker's impoverished final model year was probably its design pinnacle: 1964. Loewy's Avanti was out, and Brooks Stevens last refresh on the Lark/Daytona/Wagonaire was his best. Stevens' GT Hawk was probably the best version of that car ever released (unless you prefer the first, Bob Bourke designed Loewy coupes). Even the concept cars were pretty good.
<img src="http://blog.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/02/1964StudebakerAvanti_01_700.jpg" width="500">
<img src="http://www.supercars.net/gallery/119513/5/797.jpg" width="500">
<img src="http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/1963-1966-studebaker-wagon-3.jpg" width="500">
<img src="http://autoland.chaosplay.com/59/20%20%28Large%29.JPG" width="500">
<img src="http://www.carstyling.ru/resources/concept/1964_Studebaker_GT_Hawk_02.jpg" width="500">
<img src="http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/6536/64studebakerconceptskyview3cm.jpg" width="500">
Mazda is either 1975, as you could get an RX2, 3, 4, or 5 along side their piston engine variants, PLUS the Rotary Pickup:
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Mazda_REPU_000_1973_1977_frontright_2010-03-13_A.JPG/800px-Mazda_REPU_000_1973_1977_frontright_2010-03-13_A.JPG" width=500>
OR: 1994. NA miata, FD RX-7, First-gen MPV (albiet with only 3 doors), RWD 929 with solar-cell-sun-roof, plus the MX-3 and MX-6 with their tiny jewel V-6's. The B-series was still a Mazda truck, instead of a Ranger. Overseas got the AZ-1 and the Cosmo Coupe (with 20B 3-rotor power), plus the B-series SUV, the Proceed Marvie. Downside for the ROW shoppers is that the updated Bongo Friendee was still a year away.
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Mazda_Bongo_Friendee_005.JPG/800px-Mazda_Bongo_Friendee_005.JPG" width=500>
The MkII pictured is not photoshopped. That is a car off of Celicasupra.com. The members of that board got together and had Boyd Coddington wheels do a limited run of 17 inch stock styled rims. IRCC they ran about 3000$ a set of four.