M/T: Top 15 most important cars of the last decade

[kevm14]

https://www.motortrend.com/news/the-15- ... he-decade/

Oh wow. Actually this list makes sense. Bill may be mad though...

GM actually had 3 showings. The Volt, Bolt and the V2 wagon. Jonny Lieberman had this to say:

Cadillac CTS-V Wagon w/Manual

I will never forget walking into a Cadillac party during the 2010 New York auto show and seeing Cadillac's 556-horsepower station wagon in the metal for the first time. How could it be real? There was Bob Lutz—in my mind an unlit Cohiba clenched in his teeth and calling me "Pinhead!"—and the lust-worthy, sales-proof Caddy dream machine made a bit of sense. The car guys had taken over the asylum. How else to explain such a unicorn of a unicorn? Did I mention the CTS-V Wagon could be had with a six-speed manual transmission?

Story time: MotorTrend was lent a long-term manual V Wagon for a year and I was the lucky son of a female dog assigned its stewardship (I still owe you one, Angus!). What no one knew then, though I've since been told, is that a certain employee at Cadillac had baked two long-term press cars into the CTS-V Wagon's business plan. This person argued/bet that if MT and our chief rival were each given a long-termer, doing so would triple sales. Now, sales targets were low—500 units being the initial estimate—but since Cadillac was already making the Sport Wagon and the CTS-V, blending the two together didn't cost much and they didn't have to sell many to justify the car. Guess what? Cadillac sold over 2,000 CTS-V Wagons. And over 500 of them were row-your-owns. The bet paid off, accounting for over 10 percent of all second-gen CTS-V sales. Do I mind being used like that? Not an iota!

Sad news for Cadillac is that it's been downhill since then. Not just in terms of sales but in terms of cars that car people care about. Yes, the current CTS-V is outstanding. Thing is, with just one body style sales are nowhere near the second-gen car—about 6,000 total have left dealer lots. For many enthusiasts the V Wagon is the last Cadillac they loved. For a few, they're paying more for a used one than the car cost when new. Name one other Cadillac made this past decade you can say that about. I'll wait. -Jonny Lieberman

That is an interesting story.

[bill25]

I don't actually have a problem with most of this. I like Tesla, and that is like half of it (ok 1/3). The Volt was good and I don't get why they didn't evolve that.

I like the 911 (I like the Cayman better), Navigator and Hellcat Challenger. The CTS-V is ok, wagon or not, but would still prefer the ZL1.

Bolt, Leaf, Google car, VW, and Volvo are a joke though...

I would say:
- Gen 5 Camaro - It brought respect back to the category by challenging the market with +100 HP to what was being sold, and it looks awesome, and is basically the best vehicle ever made in history, let alone the last 10 years.
- Tesla D cars - AWD ridiculous acceleration. Haters will hate. I am not a hater.
- The Colorado/Canyon/Ranger midsized trucks returning/refresh
- The new Mustangs and Hellcats - Muscle/Pony car rebirth!!!
- I guess the crossover segment only based on sales volume - RAV4, CRV, CX-5
- The Silverado/F-150/Ram, again volume/profitability - remember, car companies need to stay in business, and these profits allow for cooler cars.
- Gen 6 Camaro Performance - half-priced M4!!!
- Corvette mid engine
- Camry/Accord/Corolla - for still producing extremely reliable cars
- Tahoe is still cool
- Lincoln is back??? Navigator, and Continental look really good


Fails:
Chrysler now being FCA
The Ford Explorer, because I want one, but they suck
Chevrolet/Ford getting rid of all of their cars
The Viper being retired
The Corvette not keeping its drivetrain setup (At least in lower trims)
The Corvette spaceship interior
The gen 6 Camaro refreshes - granted, the latest is better, but, well, not enough
Mach-E Branding
Diesel-gate
Nissan CVTs, Rogue, etc. etc. etc.
End of the Ford/Mazda partnership, or whatever it was.
Addition of complexity - turbo everything (but not in a cool performance way), hybrid everything, engine stop/start upon stopping
Supra
NSX?
BRZ/86 - no supped up version
Dodge not updating the Challenger platform for another 30 years
Chevy killing the Camaro again
Cadillac can't sell cars, compressed the ATS and CTS to the CT5

[kevm14]

I don't actually have a problem with most of this. I like Tesla, and that is like half of it (ok 1/3). The Volt was good and I don't get why they didn't evolve that.

I think GM had pretty clear messaging that the Volt served its purpose. With the Bolt available around the same price, there is no need for a range extended EV (plug in hybrid). They applied knowledge to the Volt learned back in EV1 times, and the Volt paved the way for the Bolt. Also, the Volt wasn't better than the Prius on being a regular hybrid, but it lead the market on the plug-in side. Plus it was a little better to drive.

I like the 911 (I like the Cayman better), Navigator and Hellcat Challenger. The CTS-V is ok, wagon or not, but would still prefer the ZL1.

I could have accepted "V-series Cadillacs" but I get the specific reference to the V2 wagon w/ manual. It isn't just talk, it has the highest resale value for any V-series Cadillac. Off the top of my head I'd say a $10-20k premium for a manual V2 wagon over the rest. And again, that story was cool.

The G8 GXP experienced something similar. A bit too early to see what happens to the SS but values have at least held.

Bolt, Leaf, Google car, VW, and Volvo are a joke though...

I'll back the Bolt for the reasons cited - I think it will stand the test of time.

Enter the Bolt, years ahead of the Tesla Model 3, at a price point the average commuter could afford, with a legitimate 230 miles of range, and zippy performance and handling that would be laudable in a gasoline-powered Euro econo-hatchback.

The Leaf I kind of get. Google Car I barely read and don't care. Volvo XC90 is a little questionable but I think that vehicle was the first to put the brand back on the premium map after some wandering around post Ford. I don't know that the "Volvo story" is top 15 though....which is your point.

I would say:
- Gen 5 Camaro - It brought respect back to the category by challenging the market with +100 HP to what was being sold, and it looks awesome, and is basically the best vehicle ever made in history, let alone the last 10 years.

Well...obviously there is some tongue in cheek stuff going on there so I will respond accordingly. But don't be too revisionist. The Challenger came out in 2008 with an SRT8 variant using the existing 6.1L Hemi (available back in the 2005 300C & Magnum, 2006 Charger & Grand Cherokee SRT8). It had 425 hp. Modern muscle most assuredly did not begin with the 2010 Camaro. The Camaro did, however, cause the Mustang to improve, so there's that. But the launch Camaro was not great to drive. Only post-Coyote Mustang did the gen 5 really begin to shine.

Fails:
Chrysler now being FCA
The Ford Explorer, because I want one, but they suck
Chevrolet/Ford getting rid of all of their cars
The Viper being retired
The Corvette not keeping its drivetrain setup (At least in lower trims)
The Corvette spaceship interior
The gen 6 Camaro refreshes - granted, the latest is better, but, well, not enough
Mach-E Branding
Diesel-gate
Nissan CVTs, Rogue, etc. etc. etc.
End of the Ford/Mazda partnership, or whatever it was.
Addition of complexity - turbo everything (but not in a cool performance way), hybrid everything, engine stop/start upon stopping
Supra
NSX?
BRZ/86 - no supped up version
Dodge not updating the Challenger platform for another 30 years
Chevy killing the Camaro again
Cadillac can't sell cars, compressed the ATS and CTS to the CT5

I'll just pick and choose from this list.

Chevrolet/Ford getting rid of all of their cars

I noticed you don't lament FCA getting rid of their cars. That's probably because they weren't any good. At least GM and Ford had some decent offerings before they got rid of them.

The Corvette not keeping its drivetrain setup (At least in lower trims)
The Corvette spaceship interior

I think it's too early to make that call, unless this is just your personal list of fails, not serious article content suggestions. It's not a serious position to say a major, notable failure of the past 15 years is the C8 interior and styling.

Addition of complexity - turbo everything (but not in a cool performance way), hybrid everything, engine stop/start upon stopping

There is some non-powertrain complexity, too, that probably belongs in this fail list. However, a lot of it supports autonomous driving which I understand the car enthusiast is supposed to be in support of.

The Supra I guess has some redeeming qualities as a driver's car but I think the hate/fail list on it is longer than the cool list, and that's the point.

NSX, yes certainly for me.

Dodge not updating the Challenger platform for another 30 years

Yes. LX is old. However, Wiki claims LX only ran until 2010. And the Challenger was on "LC" even then but that was just a shortened LX. I didn't realize it but the Challenger is on a 4" shorter wheelbase than the sedans. Sure hasn't lead to any noticeable weight savings. Probably just a proportions thing.

The 2011 redesign brought a new platform designator called LD and then in 2015 the Challenger was updated on LA.

The LD platform was introduced in 2011 for the second generation of the Charger. It is an entirely redesigned and updated platform but is closely related to the original LX.

Ha. I love that double-speak. That's why people say what they do.

Cadillac can't sell cars, compressed the ATS and CTS to the CT5

It's true. The CT6, particularly with the 2020 update and availability of the super rare V, is certainly a pretty legitimate Cadillac flagship sedan. But of course it's pretty much going away. Not many people are buying it. I'm not sure Cadillac would be wise to then put money into a CT8 flagship, for even more money, at least based on CT6 sales data. That deserves a real analysis. The cars got better but sales declined. I'd like to see a through analysis about internal vs external influences, marketing, and so on. I don't know that it's any one thing but the V cars were always niche and despite a ton of positive press, and their constant improvement from gen to gen, failed to move lower trim product. Maybe that's because the V-series was never about over the top luxury and Cadillac is supposed to be a luxury brand first. The thing is, I don't need anything more luxurious than what any given V-series provides but I think other luxury buyers do. And the non-V Cadillacs, despite getting better and better, were still not compelling luxury cars in their own right. A simplified analysis. There is probably a LOT more that can be said and pulled out of the annals of history.

Sales data/discussion for mid-size luxury cars is here: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2183&p=21356#p21356

[kevm14]

Car and Driver has a similar article.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g ... he-decade/

We might be slingshotting into a new decade, but that doesn't mean we have to forget the last one—at least not yet. Guess what? We drive a lot of cars. At any given moment there are at least 25 test vehicles parked outside our office. New ones arrive all the time. Old ones leave. Rinse and repeat. Out of the thousands of cars we have set our hind haunches in throughout the past 10 years, some have made a lasting impression on us and the industry.

Here is a sampling of the vehicles in the gallery:

2012 BMW M3
Arguably the best M3 of all time, the E90 is special for a lot of reasons, but mostly it's the high-revving naturally aspirated V-8 under the hood. Redlined at 8250, the 414-horsepower party doesn’t stop until the rev cut at 8500. It'll hit 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, and it sounds like the unholy offspring of a small-block V-8 and a MotoGP motorcycle. And because it's naturally aspirated, there's no electronically synthesized sound piped through the speakers. It's real and raw. This is the last M3 generation before electric-power steering numbed our hands. The handling is direct, positive, and the car feels far lighter than its 3600-pound curb weight. It also introduced the dual-clutch automatic transmission to the M3 line, something that continues to this day. We should mention that it never lost a comparison test. Even today, we'd be hard pressed to pick a new M3/M4 over the E90 M3 Sedan or E92 M3 coupe. Sometimes, you just gotta have a V-8. — Tony Quiroga

Base price: $62,075
414-hp 4.0-liter V-8 engine, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
It's the first and only M3 with a V-8.

2011 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon
The second-generation CTS-V was a special car for more than just how quick its 556-hp V-8 could make it move. General Motors was serious about building a better BMW, and in many ways it did. That CTS-V had the chassis to match its engine, as evidenced by a sub-eight-minute lap of the Nürburgring, a record at the time for sedans. But there were two other body styles offered, and the wagon, more than the coupe, sticks in our minds as the coolest of the cool. The CTS-V wagon was a unicorn. It was a rear-wheel-drive station wagon equipped with a supercharged V-8, Brembo brake hardware, and (optional) Recaro buckets, plus it could be ordered with a manual transmission. This combination of features is normally reserved for custom one-offs—and dreams. We're not sure there will ever be another manual-trans wagon offered in the States—at least not one that comes down an assembly line. — K.C. Colwell

Base price: $64,340
556-hp supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine, six-speed manual transmission
We watched our long-term test car being built.

I fail to understand the Jeep unless the point is the shark has been jumped because Jeep built an "off road" crossover and has sold a ton of them.

Hyundai has a bunch of entries. In some ways it is the most significant achievement of the last decade, entering with this:

And exiting with, well, these:

Hyundai Veloster N/Kia Telluride/Genesis G70
Hyundai Motor Group gave us three of our favorite cars this decade. The introduction of the Genesis G70 cut right through the heart of the luxury sport sedan segment, offering a cheaper yet fun-to-drive alternative to pricier German sedans. We've also seen the ubiquitous switch to performance-based SUVS last decade, which is why the Hyundai Veloster N is so special. It's so special, in fact, we said, “It has one of the best-sounding four-cylinder exhaust notes this side of a vintage Alfa.” We'll leave it at that. And when was the last time an entirely new nameplate was as much of a home run as the Kia Telluride? Landing a spot on our 2020 10Best list, the Telluride excels at being a premium three-row SUV without breaking the bank. Sound familiar? Keep 'em coming, South Korea. — Connor Hoffman

Genesis G70
Base price: $35,895
252-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 engine, eight-speed automatic transmission
Disrupts the luxury sport sedan norms.

Hyundai Veloster N
Base price: $27,820
275-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 engine, six-speed manual transmission
It has three doors.

Kia Telluride
Base price: $44,585
291-hp 3.8-liter V-6 engine, eight-speed automatic
It's an entirely new nameplate. It also landed a spot on our 10Best list and in our long-term stable.

I'm not sure this is really new or something they hadn't previously done (just better) but here it is:

991.2 Porsche 911 GT3
It's neither the fastest, most expensive, nor quickest Porsche around a race course. But it's the purest, most soul-satisfying expression of what a Porsche 911 can be. Naturally aspirated, instant throttle response, a 9000-rpm redline, and an engine note that sounds like you cracked open the door to Hell come at a price that seems almost reasonable for what you get. A car so refined and capable it thrills on the street and behaves like a well-sorted race car on the track. Compelling, enthralling, engaging, and beautifully crafted by Porsche Motorsport, it reeks of pure driving enthusiasm. It's the car I'd most like to own. — Rich Ceppos

Base price: $144,650
500-hp 4.0-liter flat-six engine, six-speed manual transmission
Naturally aspirated, a 9,000-rpm redline, and a manual-transmission option: What more could you want?

Tesla.

Tesla Model S / Model 3
The Model 3 may be Tesla's latest four-wheeled device, but it was the larger, grander Model S that cemented the House of Elon as the go-to proprietor of desirable mainstream EVs that push the boundaries of conventional automotive thinking. The existence of the Model S in sizable numbers has helped to upend traditional ideas of electric-vehicle performance, range, and practicality, as well as how well a vehicle can operate largely on its own, even if that ability is sometimes less than expected. Traditional carmakers, such as Porsche, are only now beginning to catch up. And yet the Model S also helped to forge Tesla's modern cult following and how the brand approaches direct sales and service, including the use of frequent and meaningful over-the-air updates. While its relatively high price makes it a luxury purchase, the Model S has served as nothing short of an automotive game changer for much of the past decade. — Mike Sutton

Base price: $105,670 for Model 3, $36,200 for Model S
Front motor: AC induction, 221 hp, 243 lb-ft; rear motor: AC induction, 416 hp, 443 lb-ft; combined power rating, 463 hp, 687 lb-ft; 85-kWh lithium-ion battery pack for Model S
It was the first mainstream electric vehicle with autonomous capability.

Nice typo, Car and Driver. Also is the base Model S really over $100k?? Maybe they went up market as the 3 was rolled out. Makes sense I guess.