Like most Boomers, I trace the origins of civilization to my own personal first memories, discounting everything that came before as mostly mythical and irrelevant. But with that said, I thought it might be interesting to compile a short list of the major American milestone cars - and non-milestone noteworthy cars - of my lifetime ("all of automotive history"), and to welcome others I may have missed and disputes about what I've included. So here goes.
- 1953 Corvette. I'll term this one noteworthy but not a milestone because nobody actually copied it. The T-Bird sort-of did, but it was more of a luxury-sports car, and Ford quickly dropped the two-seater form because there simply was not enough market to support it. To this day, it is America's only true mass produced sports car.
- 1957 Chevy. One of the few cars of the era that continued to look stylish and "modern" for decades after introduction, even though it manifested the short-lived "fin" theme of the 50's and 60's. It aged amazingly well.
- 1960 Corvair. While this car was a technological breakthrough, it ultimately died on the vine and nobody tried to copy its rare but not unique formula of a rear, air-cooled engine, coupled with RWD. Absolutely great in snow. Its significance today is that it was GM's first real attempt to make a compact car for the masses, and that was part of a major movement.
- 1964 Mustang. Nothing more need be said. While it was not a good car, mechanically speaking, it created a class of cars ("sporty cars") that still lives more than fifty years later.
- 1964 Tempest GTO. The first car to combine a big V8 with a "mid-sized" car, in violation of GM's overall design guidance, which is why it was originally created as an option package rather than a separate model. It was the first "muscle car."
- Seven Liter muscle cars: mid-sized coupes with 7-liter V8's, e.g.. SS 427 Chevelle, 429 Torino, Hemi Cuda, etc. These were the epitome of the horsepower wars that crashed to the ground when Americans were forced to confront the problems of air pollution and increasing fuel prices.
- 1980 Chevy Citation. Brought FWD to the mainstream. Combined efficient packaging with greatly improved traction, and made it theoretically possible to have a passenger car without a transmission tunnel - a promise never fulfilled.
- 1983 Pontiac 6000 STE. GM's first attempt to make a moderately sporty FWD sedan. Quite expensive in its day, and its performance was poor by the standards of any other decade, it was still a significant car in that it recognized that SOME PEOPLE might be willing to pay extra for a "European" driving experience in a sedan.
- 1984 Dodge Caravan and its siblings from Plymouth and Chrysler. The first true minivans. Introduced a whole new type of vehicle, combining FWD, a small platform, three rows of seats, and a potentially huge storage/hauling capacity in a 4-cylinder vehicle. The ultimate soccer-mom vehicle.
- 1992 Ford Explorer. While the Chevy Suburban might be said to be the first SUV, nobody knew that what it was until decades after it was introduced. The Explorer was a huge hit, and convinced Americans that they needed 4WD (or AWD, I won't get into that argument) that you could turn on and off from the driver's seat - fuel economy be damned.
- 2012 Tesla Model S. The first electric vehicle with range long enough to make it your everyday driver, no problem.
- 2017 Dodge Hellcat Challenger. First mass-produced car with insane power (over 700 HP) AND A WARRANTY. Note that the original 426 Hemi's of the 60's had only a 30-day warranty.