Cars Of The Decade

[ScottPuss20]

With so many decade-related things going on right now, we should probably take a look at the most significant cars of the last 10 years. A lot of new technologies, including battery power, hybrid and self-driving have all taken off and must be considered here. You can make a list if you want to, or just discuss some of the cars that have made an impact during the last decade. Here are a few of them now:

Tesla Model S

McLaren Senna

Porsche 918

Ferrari LaFerrari

McLaren P1

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Mercedes AMG GT

Toyota Supra (Controversial, I know)

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Dodge Charger and Challenger Hellcat

Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ

Lamborghini Aventador

Renault Megane

Ford GT

 

[FT-1]

My nominations:

Lexus LFA - I still regard this as the best sounding road car of all time. Thanks to increasingly stringent noise and emissions regulations, I think this will be the best sounding car ever.

Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ - Although the MX5 has been doing this for a while, it was nice to see another sports car that prioritizes fun over outright performance for an affordable price.

BMW i8 - Such an innovative take on the supercar, plus it still looks like a futuristic concept car 6 years after its debut. I still haven't come across a car with this sort of wow factor unless you start spending twice as much.

Tesla Model 3 - While the Model S is the pioneer of making electric cars cool, the Model 3 was the first car to bring that appeal at a more attainable cost, which seriously captured the attention of the general public. It is also somewhat of a performance bargain as you can experience a 3-second dash to 60mph and a car suited for trackdays at less than £60k.

Porsche Taycan - It comes at a cost, but Porsche has made the first electric car that can take the all-round desirability crown from Tesla. Respectable range, consistent performance and high-quality interior all wrapped in a slender 911-like bodyshell.

 

[AudiMan2011]

My nominations:

Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+: It was the first street car to crack 300mph. That's all that really needs to be said about it.

Tesla Model S: Completely changed the perception of electric cars from bags of rubbish to something that could actually be used and not feel a sense of shame.

Porsche 918 Spyder: The first in a new age of hybrid hypercars, with technology to set a template for the very survival of its class.

Porsche Taycan: An electric car that's actually desirable and does a lot of things Tesla does, only much better.

Alpine A110: Gave the Porsche Cayman a massive run for its money and set itself as a genuine alternative.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

There is only one answer, like it or not:

Tesla Model S.

I'm not 100% certain yet that the whole industry will go electric, but it certainly seems plausible. Would that have happened, would the entire industry be moving that way if not for the model S? Absolutely not. In the same way that Pagani landed a solid jab into the exotic car space with the Zonda (though, where were they in the 10s?) Tesla broke into the luxury sedan space in a way most upstarts can only dream of. How do you go from nothing to the most desirable product (at least for upper management FinTech dads) with your first offering? Tesla as a status symbol is probably its biggest achievement. Lexus, Audi, and even BMW spent years, if not decades trying to get to the position Tesla found itself in almost immediately.

There's been some other notable cars, sure. The Porsche 918 is probably the most memorable Supercar of the decade (sorry Mclaren, you're doing it wrong) for it's superb integration of hybrid power and it's singular identity - they didn't make a faster one or a myriad of special editions. It just was the 918 and it will always be more special for that.

The BRZ/FRS/86 are notable...but only because they are effectively 90s-mentality cars you can buy today. Not really moving the game even if they are actually great.

The Honda CR-Z could have been great (and I think it's actually pretty awesome as-is) but Honda didn't give it enough love or wasn't confident enough in the formula to keep at it. I would really like to see another attempt in that "small hybrid sports car" space. I'm particularly interested in Mazda giving this a shot with either the MX-5 or some RX-thing. A rotary-electric hybrid could be a spectacular powertrain.

Also: Toyota Trucks. You can't really say this was an active effort by Toyota...but the '10s became the decade when Toyota trucks reached some sort of spiritual supremacy. Combination of good construction and reliability? I suppose that's all you need. Somehow everyone that was into sport compacts in the '00s now is into 4Runners and Tacomas. (Anecdotally, a friend of mine used to have a drift shop [pre 2012], which briefly became a Miata shop, and is now firmly a Toyota 4x4 shop). I feel like there is something in there about showing off and being part of the it crowd.

Special Mention: The Porsche 911. Something flipped after the financial crisis. While before it, 911s were always seen as the kind of rough instrument for speed and not as desirable as something like a Ferrari. But after the GFC, that kind of under-rated nature suddenly became truly desirable. The also-ran became the object of desire to a shocking extent. The workhorse became more appreciated than the thoroughbred. I think this might also be why vintage 4x4s have skyrocketed.

 

[05XR8]

Kei cars.

With the car world moving to electric, SUVs and culling the small car market, nice to see this section of car culture carries on.

Many of these as new and older vehicles, are available for import in other countries. Some even coveted, like the S660 above. Many as clever as the Canbus, in the following pic.

Even though this category of cars are built to strict rules for Japan, it's amazing to see manufacturers come up with solutions for any customer's needs: wheelchair accessible, sports lifestyles, off-road adventuring, sports driving.

The world would be a better place, if everyone had at least one Kei car in their garage.