Most influential cars of all time

[Rupert]

The Cherokee became the most popular, but the Blazer was still the one  to emulate.

As far as the AMC Eagle and Suburu influencing GM's lineup, I'd point to GM's all-wheel-drive cars of the mid-eighties. 

Eh, kind of.

[S204STi]

Some cars trancend and influence cars even to this day.



What cars do you think have influenced cars and the automotive industry the most?

IMO, Model T.  Not because it was the first or best or really outstanding per ce, but because it brought the automobile to the masses in a way that was accessible to his own plant workers.  Henry Ford basically revolutionized an already revolutionary machine.

[Eye of the Tiger]

The Cherokee became the most popular, but the Blazer was still the one  to emulate.

As far as the AMC Eagle and Suburu influencing GM's lineup, I'd point to GM's all-wheel-drive cars of the mid-eighties. 

And I'd laugh at GM's cars of the mid-eighties.

[S204STi]

Which brings me around to another influential 4wd car:  the Coupe Quattro or Ur Quattro.  I think you can trace many of the more popular current performance cars to that vehicle.

[BimmerM3]

IMO, Model T.  Not because it was the first or best or really outstanding per ce, but because it brought the automobile to the masses in a way that was accessible to his own plant workers.  Henry Ford basically revolutionized an already revolutionary machine.

+1.

[CJ]

CITROEN DS.  Why?  Because it's just awesome. 

[Rupert]

Which brings me around to another influential 4wd car:  the Coupe Quattro or Ur Quattro.  I think you can trace many of the more popular current performance cars to that vehicle.

Aye.

[sportyaccordy]

The Cherokee became the most popular, but the Blazer was still the one  to emulate.

As far as the AMC Eagle and Suburu influencing GM's lineup, I'd point to GM's all-wheel-drive cars of the mid-eighties. 

The AMC Eagle came out in 79 I believe, and the Subaru Loyale came out in 83. Only AWD GM car I can think of is the Pontiac 6000000 STE AWD, which came out in 88, and was so bad (3 spd auto + 135 HP) it's not even worth mentioning.

[JWC]

I didn't say the 6000ste AWD was a great car, just that it was influenced by those earlier models from AMC and Suburu.    BTW, there is a local salvage yard with an Eagle AWD.  I don't know what its problem was/is but it was clean...no dents, good paint and interior.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I didn't say the 6000ste AWD was a great car, just that it was influenced by those earlier models from AMC and Suburu.    BTW, there is a local salvage yard with an Eagle AWD.  I don't know what its problem was/is but it was clean...no dents, good paint and interior.

Does it make you want a Blazer?

[Eye of the Tiger]

I didn't say the 6000ste AWD was a great car, just that it was influenced by those earlier models from AMC and Suburu.    BTW, there is a local salvage yard with an Eagle AWD.  I don't know what its problem was/is but it was clean...no dents, good paint and interior.

I don't believe the STE had anything to do with AMC or Subaru. It was after Audi. And 135hp was a big deal back in the 80's.

[JWC]

Does it make you want a Blazer?

I don't believe the STE had anything to do with AMC or Subaru. It was after Audi. And 135hp was a big deal back in the 80's.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say.  Why would an AMC Eagle in a salvage yard bring out a desire to own a Blazer?

The AMC Eagle AWD wagon was successful enough for production to last about five years.  The 6000STE wagons came out in 1988 after couple of years of testing.  It was supposed to be GM's offering to match the Eagle, but by the time GM introduced the 6000STE, the Eagle's sales had dropped and it was discontinued.   I'd say the 6000STE's was directly related to AMC and Subaru.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I'm not sure what you're trying to say.  Why would an AMC Eagle in a salvage yard bring out a desire to own a Blazer?

The AMC Eagle AWD wagon was successful enough for production to last about five years.  The 6000STE wagons came out in 1988 after couple of years of testing.  It was supposed to be GM's offering to match the Eagle, but by the time GM introduced the 6000STE, the Eagle's sales had dropped and it was discontinued.   I'd say the 6000STE's was directly related to AMC and Subaru.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Pontiac was not trying to compete with AMC, and Subaru was hardly even known. The STE was a sport touring sedan with a stiffened independent suspension, and full time AWD. It was clearly intended to compete with the Germans.

[JWC]

I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Pontiac was not trying to compete with AMC, and Subaru was hardly even known. The STE was a sport touring sedan with a stiffened independent suspension, and full time AWD. It was clearly intended to compete with the Germans.

If you keep in mind what was happening in the AWD market at that time, you'd understand.  After the praise and decent sales of the AMC AWD Eagle, everyone jumped on the bandwagon, from Toyota to Honda.  Pontiac wasn't responding to Audi as much as it was trying to get its share of the AWD car market.  The car/station wagon as a four wheel drive came to the market in 1979 with the Eagle.

[Eye of the Tiger]

If you keep in mind what was happening in the AWD market at that time, you'd understand.  After the praise and decent sales of the AMC AWD Eagle, everyone jumped on the bandwagon, from Toyota to Honda.  Pontiac wasn't responding to Audi as much as it was trying to get its share of the AWD car market.  The car/station wagon as a four wheel drive came to the market in 1979 with the Eagle.

Blazer

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

  The 6000STE wagons came out in 1988 after couple of years of testing.

There was a 6000STE wagon?

[JWC]

There was a 6000STE wagon?

Yeah, I use to have the factory service manual for it in my collection, but tossed it useless years ago.

[93JC]

The Cherokee became the most popular, but the Blazer was still the one to emulate.

[omicron]

There was a 6000STE wagon?

[SVT666]

I agree with you.  The Cherokee was the shit until the Explorer debuted.  After that it was all Explorer for 10 years with everyone and their dog copying it.

[93JC]

Bah, the Explorer did nothing new. There was nothing influential about it.

[MX793]

Bah, the Explorer did nothing new. There was nothing influential about it.

The Explorer was the first of the SUVs to really take off with the average family car buyer, which started the trend of people trading their family station wagons for midsize SUVs.

[Tave]

The Beetle is the most successful car of all time, but was it influential?

I say no.

[2o6]

The Beetle is the most successful car of all time, but was it influential?

I say no.

It influenced the culture of many societies.

However, this is about the automotive industry. It did provide a successful model for other companies to follow.

[Tave]

However, this is about the automotive industry. It did provide a successful model for other companies to follow.

Not really.

[2o6]

Not really.

When the automotive industry was in it's industry, yes.



Cheap, frugal, reliable, easy to fix and looks interesting.

[Tave]

Cheap, frugal, reliable, easy to fix and looks interesting.

No, because you see, those things already existed to one degree or the other, and no one was able to replicate VW's success.

There was never another Beetle. The idea behind the Beetle wasn't unique; VW just happened to do an exceptional job.

[93JC]

The Explorer was not the first SUV to popularize itself as a family vehicle. The Explorer was not the first of anything.

No, the Explorer was Ford's very, very late response to the 4-door Cherokee and Blazer/Jimmy. You want to talk about the first SUV to be used as a family car? You have to look a lot further back than the Explorer.

The Willys Jeep Wagon came out after the Second World War, and was the first all-steel wagon produced. That was the progenitor of all modern-day SUVs. The '63 Wagoneer took the concept and improved upon it, with interior appointments and mechanical features typical of a car of the day. The Cherokee improved on it still, with a more space-efficient interior, unibody construction, etc.

The Explorer was a cheap copy-cat. As I said earlier, it did nothing new.

[JWC]

Not really.

If the vehicle provided a successful model for other companies...then you contradicted yourself.  It obviously was influential.   Since it only had one model line, you can't really separate the company from the vehicle's success.

You probably wouldn't have Porsche automobiles. 

It proved that Americans would buy a small four cylinder car which led to Toyota and Datsun opening showrooms in the U.S.

[JWC]

The Explorer was not the first SUV to popularize itself as a family vehicle. The Explorer was not the first of anything.

No, the Explorer was Ford's very, very late response to the 4-door Cherokee and Blazer/Jimmy. You want to talk about the first SUV to be used as a family car? You have to look a lot further back than the Explorer.

The Willys Jeep Wagon came out after the Second World War, and was the first all-steel wagon produced. That was the progenitor of all modern-day SUVs. The '63 Wagoneer
the concept and improved upon it, with interior appointments and mechanical features typical of a car of the day. The Cherokee improved on it still, with a more space-efficient interior, unibody construction, etc.

The Explorer was a cheap copy-cat. As I said earlier, it did nothing new.

The reason I didn't pick Cherokee, or any Jeep product, was because until the Blazer came along, most SUV's were simple and utility based.  The Blazer took the SUV concept and made it comfortable, to drive and to ride in.  It set the standard for the current SUV market.