It has been a very long road that requires work, engineering, and nowadays also smart solutions. But what shaped the automotive industry as it is today?
Of course, these are people, their ideas and hard work. Both one and the other are reflected in the works of creators, which we are used to calling “models”. This time Autoplius.lt tells about the most important models that shaped the industry and left a historical mark.
Ford Model T
First on this list is the Ford Model T. Why is it so important? This is the first mass-produced car in history. The founder of the company, engineer and legend of the world of transport, Henry Ford, opened a factory for these cars in Detroit in 1908.
Mass production not only allowed vehicles to be produced faster, but the ability to assemble parts on the assembly line also radically reduced their cost.
And this made the car accessible to many people. The Model T is a model that not only allowed people to discover a new way of mobility, but also began to shape the modern, industrial production of vehicles. In 1999, the Ford Model T was chosen as the most important car of the last century.
volkswagen beetle
Now the Volkswagen Beetle is quite a rare guest on our roads. Because its production has been stopped for some time. However, its history is long and colorful. The development of this model began even before the beginning of the Second World War. One of the biggest bloodsuckers in world history, Adolf Hitler, decided to create a “people’s car” for the German population.
The car had to be affordable, practical and reliable. And to make it even more attractive, Ferdinand Porsche was used to create the design. The Volkswagen Beetle is still one of the best-selling models in the world, throughout its production history.
And the most ironic thing is that the car created on the orders of one of the world’s most famous dictators even became one of the symbols of peace in the USA in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lamborghini Miura
The Lamborghini Miura is not only a car with a timeless design, but it is also a pioneer of what we call supercars today. The car produced between 1966 and 1973 became the first road-going poor car with a “rear mid-engined” layout. This means that the engine of the vehicle was not in the front or back, but directly behind the front passengers.
Since then, the aforementioned arrangement has become one of the standard components of powerful supercars. This 2-door coupe had a 4L V12 engine generating 350 HP and a 5-speed manual gearbox. If such a combination sounds impressive today, imagine what it meant in 1966.
When the car appeared, its price reached 20 thousand. dollars. Today, the equivalent of this amount would be about 180,000 dollars. And in 2020, such a “Lamborghini Miura Speciale” was sold at auction for 4 million. 163 thousand dollars.
toyota prius
It’s probably strange to see the Lamborghini Miura and Toyota Prius on the same list. But be that as it may, both of them are extremely important in the world of vehicles. However, if “Miura” has become the benchmark for sports cars, then “Prius” is for economical and ecological ones.
Introduced back in 1997, “Prius” could not boast of practicality, power, or special style features. However, under the metal clothes, he carried a very important innovation – a hybrid engine.
The utility of the hybrid system, also known as HEV, was revealed from the start. And energy efficiency, low costs and low emissions have helped bring environmental concerns to the fore.
The innovative hybrid system of the Prius not only pushed the further development of hybrid systems, but also stimulated the development of electric cars. Today, similar systems are already used by most new car manufacturers. And Toyota just recently introduced the fifth generation of the Prius model.
ford mustang
You may love it, you may hate it, but you’ve definitely heard of a car like the Ford Mustang. This model was introduced in 1964 and became a part of American culture so quickly that most did not have time to catch on. With the Mustang, Ford created not only a car, but also a dream.
This sports coupe represented a sense of freedom, speed and power that simply perfectly reflected the social context of the 1960s USA. 22 thousand orders on the first day, 418 thousand. orders in the first year and a million models sold in the first 23 months of production.
Mustang has been the world’s fastest selling sports car since day one. Both mothers with children and racers bought the model. And each of these buyers helped shape the American sports car market and laid the groundwork for other legendary models. For the likes of the Chevrolet Camaro or the Dodge Challenger.
Iconic, historic car models are an important part of our history. They reflect not only technological progress, but also cultural, economic or social changes that have taken place over the past century.
Cars have changed our mobility, shaped our perception of transportation, luxury, speed and even environmental protection. They are not only vehicles that we use every day, but also an inseparable part of world culture.
