What do you believe is the car of the decade?

Brust wrote: As to the Focus vs Forester debate- I know you've got your bias toward the Focus- we all think our babies are the brightest, best looking kids in school, but the Focus never had the utility and sportiness combined (real sport-utility). I concede that the PZEV Focus was the first and longest running, but fact is the Forester is there too and does it with AWD, better interior room, more towing capacity.... and if you want to be a dirty speedster you can pick up the turbo and beat baby Porsches in the stoplight grand prix.

And had all of that been realsitically important, it would have sold in greater numbers. Alas, it's but a small blip on the automotive radar.

But then again, we did the Escape Hybrid, which was also PZEV, and great FE, great utility, great interior room, etc etc etc. I wonder if that outsold the Forrester (I don't have numbers in front of me).

Side note- I find it pretty amusing how " the car of the decade" is being mostly nomiated as tiny, insignificant sales cars. One would think that if the car was so great, they would sell. Right now, outside of my very biased Eric Car of the Decade, the winner based on sales comes out to the Pious. The rest of the cars you all mention don't really mean much more than image- either too few could afford them, or not enough people cared about them.

All in all, I think the Car of the Decade is still the F150- it showed both sides of the automotive equation- great excess- selling in huge numbers, being more luxo every model, yet it was also the poster child for waste. Kind of in the headlines for both the good and bad economy of the decade.

E-

I guess there are a hundred different COTD categories:

Sales: F-150?

Representative of the Decade: Escalade?

Innovation: GT-R?

$/HP: ZR-1?

$/: MINI?

Body Room in Trunk/HP: CTS-V?

Practical/Fun/Fast family car: Forester XT?

Most mediocre: Focus? I kid. I'm sure the engines are great.

alfadriver wrote: All in all, I think the Car of the Decade is still the F150- it showed both sides of the automotive equation- great excess- selling in huge numbers, being more luxo every model, yet it was also the poster child for waste. Kind of in the headlines for both the good and bad economy of the decade. E-

Well said. It's tempting to nominate a car we think is "cool" in our own eyes, but if we're choosing based on the actual trends in our society the F150 sums up our current situation pretty well.

Nothing the OP wrote in the start of this said that the car was the car of the decade in a positive way. In that vein, I would definitely nominate the Prius, as others have pointed out here. It's an image, a fantasy. It's for those who have to look green, without actually caring about things like battery acid and heavy metal mining.

Another nomination in a negative context - The Avenger. It's the epitome of mediocrity - nothing else comes close to explaining what it is exactly about most cars on the road today GRMers can't stand.

In a positive context (note that the OP never said it had to be revolutionary - game changing, or anything like that):

Genesis Coupe

CTSV

Z06 (not ZR1 - on purpose, because the Z06 revolutionized the Vette)

Elise/Exige

and yes, the 2010 Mustang

What if I changed my answer to the S197 Mustang? 2005+ First one to bust onto the scene of the revitalized muscle car interest, beat GM and Mopar to the punch and did it with a great car. Hey I'm a hardcore GM guy at heart and I'm driving one around....

I'm changing my vote to S00p3rturd

/thread

Gee Wiz

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S10 powered electric hybrid Fiero FTMFW

Without reading any of the thread, I said Focus. Worldwide sales leader for a while there, and a very good car. Plus the SVT models are no slouch.

After reviewing the thread, I would have to agree with the Prius votes. Even though I freaking hate it and all the yuppies who drive them.

Surprised there's so many votes for CTS-V. Sticking a Corvette engine in a so-so GM global platform car does not a Car of the Decade make. Sure it's fast around the Ring (or whatever racetrack you're near), but it's not what revitalized Cadillac. The Escalade did that. And since we're talking about CAR of the Decade, that's out.

well after watching episode 3 of season 14 of top gear today I change my vote to the "geoff"

fiat 500 abarth. just think about it

confuZion3 wrote:

Oh, you said "CAR" of the decade.

Ford GT just for its sheer awesomeness. It was designed in a year-and-a-half, it captured all that it needed to from the GT-40, it was a world-beater, and it just looked so DAMN COOL!

4eyes said: This can not be car of the decade, because it is not a car. It is a myth! I have seen multiple examples of every other car mentioned (except the Fiat 500 another myth) but no Ford GT.

I see one about twice a week when my boss drives his my-weiner-is-bigger-than-yours-mobile.

Twin_Cam wrote: Without reading any of the thread, I said Focus. Worldwide sales leader for a while there, and a very good car. Plus the SVT models are no slouch. After reviewing the thread, I would have to agree with the Prius votes. Even though I freaking hate it and all the yuppies who drive them. Surprised there's so many votes for CTS-V. Sticking a Corvette engine in a so-so GM global platform car does not a Car of the Decade make. Sure it's fast around the Ring (or whatever racetrack you're near), but it's not what revitalized Cadillac. The Escalade did that. And since we're talking about CAR of the Decade, that's out.

+1 for all of that. either the Focus or the Prius. and yep, the CTS(-V) is cool, but would not have happened w/out the Escalade.

and look...a car that debuts in 2009 cannot be the "car of the decade." so sorry, ZR-1. sorry, Genesis. you were late to the party.

Buick Excelle, Hyundai Elantra and Volkswagen Jetta.

Why?

Because (in order) those are the top three, best-selling cars in China (the "Buick" is a Daewoo).

Prius

Lots of things discussed here!

Prius and WRX are my highest picks of those mentioned so far.

I do think the Ford GT is more significant of a car than the ZR-1. Id FAR rather own a GT, and i am no ford lover! That said, they are both slower round a track than a Viper ACR, which is an antique of sorts.

Despite the fact that the 00's for Chrysler have mostly been a long drawn out process of being suffocated and murdered, i am really surprised no one has mentioned the Chrysler 300! That car was hugely significant in terms of styling, performance, and renewing a sense of national identity in the american auto industry. Sure the 2005 mustang was important but it was mostly a rehash. The 300 may have been a rehashed E-Class MB but realistically it was hugely significant as part of rear-wheel-drive's return to the maintstream auto industry (i.e. family cars and not just trucks/sports cars/european luxury).

I also think the Mazda3 was a gamechanger in the cheap-car segment. I love ours, and it's literally the worst one possible... (04 black/black/no tint/in texas wtf/2.0/auto). It's still a great car at that!

In reply to NYG95GA:

You wanna buy a second gen neon lol

Obviously the answer is Honda Fit!

Viper ACR is sweet deliciousness. I think the Viper was probably the car of the 1990s. I like the GT more for this decade because it wasn't only a world-beater. It did two things for Ford as a company. First, it showed that Ford can still kick Ferrari's ass any day of the week. In addition, it brought a lot of attention to Ford and the effort that they were making to reorganize their entire philosophy. It was their flagship for a while.

It may have saved the company from GM and Chrysler's recent disaster.

confuZion3 wrote: ...the GT ...It may have saved [Ford] from GM and Chrysler's recent disaster.

mmm I hate to disagree, but smart financial planning, working as a group and actually trying to save for a rainy day kept Ford afloat, not a halo-car. Id prefer most GMs of the decade to most Fords (that I can afford), so the GT would never entice me to help Ford financially. The GT may have been a great martketing tool, but it is far from the reason Ford is currently (a little) better off than the other 2 companies mentioned. They [Ford] are still equally as responsible for the decline of an entire state, they just have a bit of spending money left over.

4cylndrfury wrote:

confuZion3 wrote: ...the GT ...It may have saved [Ford] from GM and Chrysler's recent disaster.

mmm I hate to disagree...

Then don't.

The reason Ford is still afloat is just like anyone who dumps high-value stocks right before they crashed. Ford happened to take loans out against practically ALL their assets right before public opinion decided all their assets were worthless. It was just well played, but didnt have near as much to do with product as seem people believe. Ford is still not planning to be profitable in the near future. They just had cash on hand to pay bills because they reverse-mortgaged their house right before the bubble burst. :p