100 Cars That Matter

The original Acura NSX proved supercars could be livable and reliable.

The Bugatti Type 35C put the brand on the map as a powerhouse in racing.

The 2005 Bugatti Veyron set the course for a revived Bugatti, a course that included big power and world speed records.

Honda blazed a trail in 1986 with its Acura luxury brand that Nissan and Toyota soon followed with Infiniti and Lexus, respectively. Although the Legend and Integra went on sale in the mid-1980s with the brand’s genesis (no pun intended), it wasn’t until the 1990s that both took off and...

They called it “King of the Hill”—and when it emerged in 1990, the Chevy Corvette ZR-1 would forever reformat what drivers thought about GM’s ever-evolving sports car. In the 1950s, the Chevy Corvette staked out a new performance frontier for General Motors. In the 1960s...

The 1960 Chevrolet Corvair was developed for consumers who wanted affordable, fun cars. While it was killed by Ralph Nader's activism, that lead to much-needed safety regulations.

It took a couple of years for Chevrolet to respond to the success of the Ford Mustang, but when it did with the 1967 Camaro, it kicked off a great automotive rivalry.

Inspired by its NASCAR racer, Buick turned the pedestrian Regal into a modern muscle car for the 1980s complete with a turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6.

The Elwood Engel-designed 1961 Lincoln Continental set the pace for luxury in the 1960s and to this day is the Lincoln that resonates most with classic car enthusiasts.

A 220-horsepower Yamaha-tuned V-6 and sporty suspension tuning made the 1989 Ford Taurus a real American sport sedan.

Also-rans and wannabes would come and go, and some remain today, including the Chevrolet Camaro. But the Ford Mustang is the original pony car—a car that would define an entire segment in the years to come. The story began with Lee Iacocca, who championed a new kind of personal-luxury car...

Small roadsters were a dying breed in the 1980s. A decade earlier, tiny British and Italian sports cars darted across Europe and America, but by 1989, most were history. It was up to the 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata to rekindle their spirit. Mazda took a decades-old concept and smartly updated it with the...

Carroll Shelby raised a family and chickens, and nursed a leaky heart valve in Texas in the 1950s. He also raced cars and his body bore all the signs, scarred skin and busted bones. From those humble beginnings 36-year-old Shelby was already well on his way to becoming a globally known automotive...

In the late 1980s, post-K-car Chrysler was desperate for attention. The good fortune of the decade had begun to dwindle and the automaker knew it needed something big to turn the limelight back on its aging products. Enter the Dodge Viper. Chrysler made more than a splash in 1989 when the Viper...