The Most Influential Car

[WylieCoyote]

I've compiled a list of the 10 cars that I consider to have had a significant impact on the motoring world. Vote for which you think is the most influential - not necessarily the best car.

Citroen DS - For providing a level of ride comfort that was far beyond it's years using hydropneumatic suspension

Golf GTI (mk1) - For proving that being a dad doesn't automatically reside you to driving something ghastly

Subaru Impreza - The first proper and successful attempt to get a 4wd rally car on the road that actually worked and didn't break down every time there was a light breeze

Mercedes S Class - For being the first car to have the technology that every other car has 5 years down the line

Mini (before BMW ruined it) - For just being great in every possible way

Ford Mondeo - The only car I know to that actually sums up an entire socioeconomic class of people - 'Mondeo man'

Alfa Romeo Brera - The only example of affordable car-porn

BMW M5 - Well, something good had to come out of Germany

Fiat Multipla - For the sheer guts and nerve that the designer had to actually let the goggly-eyed car be made and show his face in public ever again

Peugeot 206 - The only car that I know to that was truly terrible but just walked out of the showrooms into the records of being one of the five most popular cars because it's pretty and cheap so buyers didn't care it was crap and built on a budget of a tenner

Just a bit of fun, I was bored as usual! Looking forward to hearing some answers - but more importantly, reason!!

I'm going with the Ford Mondeo because it's everything you would ever need in a car that anyone can own.

[aztecbandit1]

I'd have to go for the MINI Keith as i've had 13 of them now and still think there one of the most fun cars to own and even the BMW version i had was a great car to drive and wish i hadnt sold it now :)

[Tango]

I'd have to go for the MINI Keith as i've had 13 of them now and still think there one of the most fun cars to own and even the BMW version i had was a great car to drive and wish i hadnt sold it now :)

Agree with that...still possibly the only car I could assemble from ALL it's mechanical and body components without the aid of a manual or instructions of any kind...not sure what that says about me or the car, but draw your own conclusions :duh:

[Parthiban]

Gone for the golf but not really sure about any of them!

Was thinking the Renault Scenic should be on there too, having owned one for a while, I can confirm in some way it was horrible, but it sparked a whole new breed of cars and a whole new irritating way of making new cars where hatchbacks had to be tall and ugly :shutit:

So highly influential but for all the wrong reasons!

[Thommo]

Completely agree about the Mulitpla, can you imagine what the meeting where they decided that was a good idea must have been like.

[Steve_D]

Gone for the Golf GTi, i'm sure others are equally influental but for me in my generation this is it as lots of people wanted one& its the first sporty compact model car I can remember.

[Scorps01]

Did Subaru beat Audi and the Quattro then?

Golf GTI for me :D

[Rolex]

i think the IS200 should be that list really

[bridgerippa]

no 911!!!???

from the list would say the mini personally. it's still the car designers dream come true. isigonis designed it for the people and a budget. cooper took it and won rallys with it giving it credit. a car for anyone- simple really!

[Fargo]

errr think youve mist a BIGGG one out, give you a clue,,,, 2JZ GTE.. commonly know as the Supra TT.. Case for it, 90% of jap enthusiasts want a Supra IMO, other than a Skyline (both of which are the daddies of the jap world again IMO. next up would be the scoobies.

supra engines are bullet proof, higly tunable out of the box and for a 14 year old car was ahead of its time and still gets mistaken for a ferrari in shape.

[Sagitar]

i think the IS200 should be that list really

How can you miss out the Model T and the Austin 7

Look at this quote from Wikipedia

"The Austin 7 was a vintage car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom. It was one of the most popular cars ever produced there and wiped out most other British small cars and cyclecars of the early 1920s[1], its effect on the British market was similar to that of the Model T Ford in the USA. It was also licensed and copied by companies all over the world [2]. The first BMW models (BMW Dixi) were licensed Austin 7s, as were the original American Austins. In France they were made and sold as Rosengarts while in Japan Nissan also used the 7 design as the basis for their original cars, though not under license [2].

After World War II, many Austin 7s were rebuilt as "specials"[3][4][5] including the first Lotus, the Lotus Mk1 which was based on an Austin 7."

[Chris Skelton]

Completely agree about the Mulitpla, can you imagine what the meeting where they decided that was a good idea must have been like.

Same goes for the Nissan S-Cargo.

Pitch........We'd like to build a car named after the French for Snail; Snails on hubcaps; happy face........etc!!

[Chris Skelton]

Being a bit older (though not THAT old that I recall the launch!).

At the time the Citroen DS was launched, it was TOTALLY amazing. Most cars then had separate wings; separate chassis etc. Along came this sleek spaceship, with superb (technologically advanced) suspension, and pushed cars into a whole new era. Even then it took years before anyone else caught up. A few years later, the DS has lights that went around corners (worked wonderfully I can tell you!). Took another 30 years until Merc etc did the same! And get a ride in a DS even today to find out how smooth suspension CAN be!

2CV anyone?

[WylieCoyote]

Like I said, they're just my choices. What's the point in putting the Model T Ford or the Jag E type on the list because they're just cars most people will never own - the list I've drawn up, each and every car you can go and buy for less than £10k for a good one. Not only that they're dead-cert winners too - the Model T defined motoring. What I considered is cars that have done something that made other manufacturers follow (or in the Multipla's case do the complete opposite), changed the focus of a market sector or indeed just daring to be different.

[Fargo]

Like I said, they're just my choices. What's the point in putting the Model T Ford or the Jag E type on the list because they're just cars most people will never own - the list I've drawn up, each and every car you can go and buy for less than £10k for a good one.

supra TT 4.5k +