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Top 10 domestic cars of all time

Posted July 18, 2008

10. Chrysler Cordoba — This choice clearly illustrates my love for tacky '70s icons; this was, however, one bright point in a very dim Me Decade for Chrysler. Sure, it had an opera rear window, vinyl top and waterfall grille. But the designers showed some restraint, and it made for a decent mid-size luxury coupe to (indirectly) challenge Cadillac's Seville. And, it had Ricardo Montalban himself as its spokesperson (yes, it had "rich, Corinthian leather").

9. 1937 Cord 812 — An often-overlooked Depression-era marque, Cord introduced America to the front-wheel-drive automobile — a feat not to be duplicated, at least not in the mainstream, until 1966 with the Oldsmobile Toronado. Among other advances, it boasted hidden headlights and a supercharged engine option. But aside from simply being a technical oddball, it was also one of the most beautifully styled cars of that era. Good luck finding one for sale; the few that are left likely fetch prices topping seven figures.

8. 1932 Duesenberg Model J — The country may have been in the worst economic slump in history, but America's auto companies were turning out world-class vehicles like this Doozy. As I mentioned in a previous blog, this car brought technology like dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder long before it was commonplace. These vehicles boasted 300-plus horsepower when most vehicles struggled to make more than 50. Then there's the bodywork — which would seem more at home in the Louvre rather than a garage. In the end, Duesenberg was a small company that couldn't keep up with the Big Three.

7. 1959 Cadillac Eldorado — You can tell me 'till you're blue in the face about Harley Earl's 1940s designs, but there's something about the late-'50s Cadillac that's truly a snapshot of the decade. Take, for example, the tailfins, that might be hazardous to low-flying aircraft. Or its sleek, torpedo-like profile. Or the gargantuan chrome grille. One might say it was design run amok. I say it was a luxury liner with uncommon style — especially compared with other '50s "space age" themes.

6. 1957 Chevy Bel-Air — when you hear someone talk about a '57 Chevy, this is it. Along with the aforementioned Eldorado, this boasted fins, albeit toned down, along with the most beautiful exterior of any '50s car. But it didn't stop there. It brought us the advanced — if short-lived — mechanical fuel injection system, a piece of technology only used at that time by exotics (say, a 1955 300SL). This Chevy brought styling to the common man that rivaled even Buick and Cadillac — and not outdone even to this day.

5. 1963 Chevy Impala 409 — How many cars' engines had songs about them? This Chevy got the Beach Boys singing, while burning up dragstrips at the same time. With more than 400 horses on tap in top form fed through a four-speed stick, this signaled the beginning of the horsepower war. I also think it was the handsomest, and most tasteful, of the '60s Impala line. If only a modern-day Impala would be so cool.

4. 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 — Sure, you'll say the 1964 'Stang was the best. But it seemed a little .. well .. weak to me. Not to put down a legend, but the '69 Boss 302 seemed to be the purest of the 'Stang breed. It was built for racing, not to simply for brake stands or cruising downtown. It wasn't the most powerful, but it was the most hardcore. Solid lifters. Need I say more?

3. 1969 Chevy Camaro — This was the apex of the first-generation Camaro, and it signaled the end of what I truly consider a Camaro. From 1970 onward, they just became ugly, slow or cheap (or any combination of those), and I just don't think the nameplate ever recovered — until the all-new Camaro broke cover, reminding us just what a Camaro was without throwing in a cliched mullet joke. The Z/28 or Yenko cars are my personal faves, along with anything COPO.

2. 2009 Chevy Corvette ZR-1 — How much more will this car be mentioned in my blog? Who cares? It has more than 600 horsepower from a supercharged small block, and it will show up just about anything from Maranello. Even with its six-figure price tag, it's still a performance bargain, as you'll never find anything nearly as fast for the money. And with the Corvette's sleek C6 exterior, great platform and unstoppable powertrain options, it's probably all going downhill from here.

1. 1969 Dodge Charger Hemi — Whenever someone asks me my dream car, I'll probably mention this. It wasn't the fastest, it wasn't the best handling, but it brought a certain x-factor — along with prodigious tire smoke. It looked sinister. It looked mean. It looked like it would scare elderly ladies and small children. It's always been my dream to climb behind the wheel of this antisocial behemoth. The 1969 model had the nicest exterior (there were subtle differences between '68 and '69), and it just happened to be the car the Duke boys drove in "The Dukes of Hazard." Look for its predecessor in Steve McQueen's 1968 cop flick "Bullitt." You won't be disappointed.

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