Game Changers ?
Game Changers ?
Game Changers
10 pioneering cars that revolutionized the automotive art.
MCF Member's, Post the vehicles that you think revolutionized the automotive art scene ?
<CITE sizset="129" sizcache="48">By James Tate of MSN Autos</CITE>
Like the overused example of sliced bread having revolutionized the food industry, there will always be certain products that write a new chapter in their respective history books, or at least that rewrite an existing chapter. This applies to the auto industry as well, with landmark vehicles coming along every few years to keep things fresh and interesting. Practically every automotive trend or technology can ultimately be traced back to a single pioneering vehicle. In recognition of this, we have compiled a list of 10 of our favorite game changers from the past 25 years. Selected for various reasons, these examples range from quirky econoboxes to lustworthy supercars.
1987 BMW M3
Click to enlarge picture
BMW M3
For decades now, BMW has been lauded for its ability to create sport sedans and sport coupes. They combine the fun of a sports car with the comfort and convenience of a luxury tourer. No model typified this better than the original M3, which hit the pavement in 1987. It was BMW Motorsports' take on the popular 3-Series coupe, which was heavily modified in-house and featured a wide-body design and a screaming 192-horsepower 4-cylinder race engine with four individual throttle bodies — a technology practically unheard of in production cars, even today — for maximum response and power. The M3 paved the way for all sport coupes to follow.
Compare: BMW M3 vs. Audi S5 vs. Lexus IS F
1988 Honda Civic CRX Si
Click to enlarge picture
Honda CRX Si
The 1988-to-1991 CRX Si was an amazing car, a driver's delight. But that's not why it's on this list. The CRX Si started the import tuner movement. This little 1-ton titan and its 1.6-liter 108-horsepower engine oozed simplicity and entertainment, inspiring countless gearheads to park their muscle cars and see what they could muster out of tiny 4-bangers instead. Now, years later, it's nearly impossible to find a Honda — let alone a CRX — that hasn't been "customized."
Compare: Honda Civic vs. Ford Focus vs. Toyota Corolla
1990 Lexus LS 400
Click to enlarge picture
Lexus LS 400
While Honda was rethinking the supercar with its NSX, Toyota was busy doing the same for the luxury car with its flagship LS 400, the first vehicle produced by its all-new Lexus division. Developed from the ground up and intended to prove that Japan could top the best vehicles Europe could muster, the 1990 LS 400 shocked the world by actually pulling it off in many significant aspects. The resulting car was a quiet, refined, reliable and economical sedan packing a 250-horsepower V8 engine and more standard gadgets than the competition could hope to offer.
View Slideshow: 10 Cars for 10 Summer Adventures
1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Click to enlarge picture
Mazda Miata
The classic British roadster was simultaneously cherished and despised by vintage-car enthusiasts. Those tiny, lightweight drop-tops were a hoot to drive, but a nightmare to own — so much so that the entire category fell into obscurity in the 1980s. When Mazda claimed it was possible to re-create the roadster's good aspects and avoid the bad, the response was skeptical excitement. The resulting 1990 Miata, with its $14,000 price tag and responsive 115-horsepower engine, blew away even the most optimistic predictions. It was immediately adored by car lovers and commuters alike. It has since become the best-selling sports car in history.
View Slideshow: 2011 Convertibles You Need to See
1991 Ford Explorer
Click to enlarge picture
Ford Explorer
The next time you're on the road, take a look at the vehicles in front of, beside and behind you. See anything in common? Well, the reason they're all SUVs is largely because of the 1991 Ford Explorer. While it was far from the first sport-ute on the market, it was the first to invade suburbia in a big way, deliberately catering to soccer moms and salarymen instead of rugged off-roaders. Although it could still handle things quite well when the going got rough, the Explorer was truly the first sport family vehicle.
Read: Comparo: Dodge Durango vs. Ford Explorer
1991 Honda NSX
Click to enlarge picture
Acura NSX
At the end of the 1980s, exotic sports cars were a novelty reserved primarily for celebrities and drug dealers. With outlandish exterior designs, sketchy performance and horrific reliability, they were a comically impractical way for the wealthy to mask their inner sadness. Honda's NSX changed all that. Sold under the Acura label in the U.S., the all-aluminum NSX offered breathtaking driving dynamics combined with famous Honda reliability and efficiency. Plus, its 3.0-liter V6 engine was the first production engine to feature variable valve-timing technology, an innovation that later found its way into nearly every car available.
View Slideshow: Sports Cars: Best Bang for the Buck
1998 Audi TT
Click to enlarge picture
Audi TT
As a vehicle, the 1998 Audi TT wasn't really all that special. Its turbocharged 1.8-liter engine and uninspired chassis were fine, but nothing to get excited about. So why is it listed among these superstars? Interior styling. In an act of bravura and foresight taken straight from the pages of the Italian Renaissance, the TT pulled automakers out of the dark ages of cabin design. Its dramatic "baseball"-stitched leather, contrasting interior colors, aluminum and chrome accents, and eye-catching shapes and vents proved there was an alternative to somber shapes and drab black plastics. Today, even the lowliest of vehicles positively abounds with exciting design within.
Bing: Audi Accessories
2003 Scion xB
Click to enlarge picture
Scion xB
In some ways, the Scion xB is the ugly duckling on this list, but it's a significant car nonetheless. Sold under the Scion nameplate, a Toyota subdivision geared exclusively for the younger, hipper Gen-X crowd, the xB was the original shoebox on wheels. With a ho-hum 108-horsepower engine buzzing away under the hood, along with less-than-stellar handling, this wasn't a vehicle for the driving enthusiast. However, it was practical, efficient and reliable, and it immediately found its fan base among those in the younger generation looking to stand out. Similarly goofy boxes are now rolling around the parking lots of frozen-yogurt establishments nationwide.
Watch Video: 2011 Scion xB
2004 Toyota Prius
Click to enlarge picture
Toyota Prius
Unless you've been living in a basement in Uganda for the past decade, our reasons for choosing the second-generation Prius should be obvious. It single-handedly popularized hybrid technology for the masses. With high-tech features, a reasonably comfortable ride and fuel economy hovering around 50 mpg, the redesigned Prius was a smash hit, setting the course for hybrids for years to come. Yes, the Honda Insight hybrid did indeed arrive on our shores first. But it didn't have the mass appeal to make a large-scale impact, nor did it affect the sociopolitical climate of this country in the same way.
Watch Video: 2011 Toyota Prius
2008 Tesla Roadster
Click to enlarge picture
Tesla Roadster
It wasn't the first all-electric car, but it was the first one to capture the public's imagination. Until the Roadster hit the streets in 2008, electric vehicles were either limited-production experiments or stillborn concepts. But the Tesla was different; it looked like a finished product, you could actually buy it, and it was legitimately capable of driving 245 miles on a single charge. And even though its impeccable Lotus-based chassis was weighed down by heavy lithium-ion batteries, the Roadster still handled curves with impressive finesse. Its electric powertrain produced the equivalent of 248 gas-fed ponies and accelerated the little convertible with frightening ease and eerie silence, blasting to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds.
Read: Driving 'Electric Avenue'
James Tate
10 pioneering cars that revolutionized the automotive art.
MCF Member's, Post the vehicles that you think revolutionized the automotive art scene ?
<CITE sizset="129" sizcache="48">By James Tate of MSN Autos</CITE>
Like the overused example of sliced bread having revolutionized the food industry, there will always be certain products that write a new chapter in their respective history books, or at least that rewrite an existing chapter. This applies to the auto industry as well, with landmark vehicles coming along every few years to keep things fresh and interesting. Practically every automotive trend or technology can ultimately be traced back to a single pioneering vehicle. In recognition of this, we have compiled a list of 10 of our favorite game changers from the past 25 years. Selected for various reasons, these examples range from quirky econoboxes to lustworthy supercars.
1987 BMW M3
Click to enlarge picture
BMW M3
For decades now, BMW has been lauded for its ability to create sport sedans and sport coupes. They combine the fun of a sports car with the comfort and convenience of a luxury tourer. No model typified this better than the original M3, which hit the pavement in 1987. It was BMW Motorsports' take on the popular 3-Series coupe, which was heavily modified in-house and featured a wide-body design and a screaming 192-horsepower 4-cylinder race engine with four individual throttle bodies — a technology practically unheard of in production cars, even today — for maximum response and power. The M3 paved the way for all sport coupes to follow.
Compare: BMW M3 vs. Audi S5 vs. Lexus IS F
1988 Honda Civic CRX Si
Click to enlarge picture
Honda CRX Si
The 1988-to-1991 CRX Si was an amazing car, a driver's delight. But that's not why it's on this list. The CRX Si started the import tuner movement. This little 1-ton titan and its 1.6-liter 108-horsepower engine oozed simplicity and entertainment, inspiring countless gearheads to park their muscle cars and see what they could muster out of tiny 4-bangers instead. Now, years later, it's nearly impossible to find a Honda — let alone a CRX — that hasn't been "customized."
Compare: Honda Civic vs. Ford Focus vs. Toyota Corolla
1990 Lexus LS 400
Click to enlarge picture
Lexus LS 400
While Honda was rethinking the supercar with its NSX, Toyota was busy doing the same for the luxury car with its flagship LS 400, the first vehicle produced by its all-new Lexus division. Developed from the ground up and intended to prove that Japan could top the best vehicles Europe could muster, the 1990 LS 400 shocked the world by actually pulling it off in many significant aspects. The resulting car was a quiet, refined, reliable and economical sedan packing a 250-horsepower V8 engine and more standard gadgets than the competition could hope to offer.
View Slideshow: 10 Cars for 10 Summer Adventures
1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Click to enlarge picture
Mazda Miata
The classic British roadster was simultaneously cherished and despised by vintage-car enthusiasts. Those tiny, lightweight drop-tops were a hoot to drive, but a nightmare to own — so much so that the entire category fell into obscurity in the 1980s. When Mazda claimed it was possible to re-create the roadster's good aspects and avoid the bad, the response was skeptical excitement. The resulting 1990 Miata, with its $14,000 price tag and responsive 115-horsepower engine, blew away even the most optimistic predictions. It was immediately adored by car lovers and commuters alike. It has since become the best-selling sports car in history.
View Slideshow: 2011 Convertibles You Need to See
1991 Ford Explorer
Click to enlarge picture
Ford Explorer
The next time you're on the road, take a look at the vehicles in front of, beside and behind you. See anything in common? Well, the reason they're all SUVs is largely because of the 1991 Ford Explorer. While it was far from the first sport-ute on the market, it was the first to invade suburbia in a big way, deliberately catering to soccer moms and salarymen instead of rugged off-roaders. Although it could still handle things quite well when the going got rough, the Explorer was truly the first sport family vehicle.
Read: Comparo: Dodge Durango vs. Ford Explorer
1991 Honda NSX
Click to enlarge picture
Acura NSX
At the end of the 1980s, exotic sports cars were a novelty reserved primarily for celebrities and drug dealers. With outlandish exterior designs, sketchy performance and horrific reliability, they were a comically impractical way for the wealthy to mask their inner sadness. Honda's NSX changed all that. Sold under the Acura label in the U.S., the all-aluminum NSX offered breathtaking driving dynamics combined with famous Honda reliability and efficiency. Plus, its 3.0-liter V6 engine was the first production engine to feature variable valve-timing technology, an innovation that later found its way into nearly every car available.
View Slideshow: Sports Cars: Best Bang for the Buck
1998 Audi TT
Click to enlarge picture
Audi TT
As a vehicle, the 1998 Audi TT wasn't really all that special. Its turbocharged 1.8-liter engine and uninspired chassis were fine, but nothing to get excited about. So why is it listed among these superstars? Interior styling. In an act of bravura and foresight taken straight from the pages of the Italian Renaissance, the TT pulled automakers out of the dark ages of cabin design. Its dramatic "baseball"-stitched leather, contrasting interior colors, aluminum and chrome accents, and eye-catching shapes and vents proved there was an alternative to somber shapes and drab black plastics. Today, even the lowliest of vehicles positively abounds with exciting design within.
Bing: Audi Accessories
2003 Scion xB
Click to enlarge picture
Scion xB
In some ways, the Scion xB is the ugly duckling on this list, but it's a significant car nonetheless. Sold under the Scion nameplate, a Toyota subdivision geared exclusively for the younger, hipper Gen-X crowd, the xB was the original shoebox on wheels. With a ho-hum 108-horsepower engine buzzing away under the hood, along with less-than-stellar handling, this wasn't a vehicle for the driving enthusiast. However, it was practical, efficient and reliable, and it immediately found its fan base among those in the younger generation looking to stand out. Similarly goofy boxes are now rolling around the parking lots of frozen-yogurt establishments nationwide.
Watch Video: 2011 Scion xB
2004 Toyota Prius
Click to enlarge picture
Toyota Prius
Unless you've been living in a basement in Uganda for the past decade, our reasons for choosing the second-generation Prius should be obvious. It single-handedly popularized hybrid technology for the masses. With high-tech features, a reasonably comfortable ride and fuel economy hovering around 50 mpg, the redesigned Prius was a smash hit, setting the course for hybrids for years to come. Yes, the Honda Insight hybrid did indeed arrive on our shores first. But it didn't have the mass appeal to make a large-scale impact, nor did it affect the sociopolitical climate of this country in the same way.
Watch Video: 2011 Toyota Prius
2008 Tesla Roadster
Click to enlarge picture
Tesla Roadster
It wasn't the first all-electric car, but it was the first one to capture the public's imagination. Until the Roadster hit the streets in 2008, electric vehicles were either limited-production experiments or stillborn concepts. But the Tesla was different; it looked like a finished product, you could actually buy it, and it was legitimately capable of driving 245 miles on a single charge. And even though its impeccable Lotus-based chassis was weighed down by heavy lithium-ion batteries, the Roadster still handled curves with impressive finesse. Its electric powertrain produced the equivalent of 248 gas-fed ponies and accelerated the little convertible with frightening ease and eerie silence, blasting to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds.
Read: Driving 'Electric Avenue'
James Tate
Last edited by Space; Dec 1, 2011 at 05:44 AM.
Hi `Mike, I've always liked the NSX, and they still look modern 2day...I think Honda could bring them back with some updates & they would still sell like Hot Cakes on a cold winter day : ) There's a all black one that's in my area, but I haven't been able to meet the owner...He's always on the move
, but he has larger custom Rim's (like 19 or 20's) & it sounds awesome...His windows are Dark tinted...I hope I can catch him someday when he's stopped
Looks something like the below one
Last edited by Space; Dec 1, 2011 at 07:17 AM.
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 32
From: Seattle
I am not a fan of many foreign cars really (with the exceptions of exotic cars),BUT, Acura designs from the 90's are VERY classy and seem to be timeless. The NSX for one example and the 1991/1992 or newer acura legends still look good IMO.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post