Great Cars: WORLD'S GREATEST CARS

the variety of automobiles that have emerged from the world's factories is staggering sometimes inspiring and often amusing but if you have to select from among this vast crowd one car that would bear the title the greatest could you stay with us as we try to do just that the sort through the field of contenders and choose the world's greatest car [Music] every year that the Pebble Beach Resort in California some of the world's most beautiful and expensive cars come together for the Concord elegance while collectors and an admiring public take in the sights judges pour over the entries checking the tiniest details of the discerning eyes and an encyclopedic knowledge of automotive history this is the big league for collectible classic cars prizes are awarded based on criteria such as beauty and historical accuracy but what if the rules changed what if the judges were asked to fan out and search for the greatest car to ever set atop four wheels that turn the greatest would completely change the complexion of the show such as this beautiful as they are would any of these pristine automotive treasures come even close to meeting the requirement of significance in 1999 a jury of automotive experts from 33 countries among them journalists museum curators and historians were asked to look back over the previous hundred years and picked the one car that was the most significant or the greatest car of the century a list of over 700 cars was narrowed to a hundred and then to 25 finalists which were chosen by the general public the list is a compendium of automotive styling innovation and ingenuity among them the Alfa Romeo Giulietta sprint coupe a which was manufactured from 1954 until 1968 these stylish two-door cars embodied the exuberant Italian spirit that showed a certain fondness for life whether in the city or out in the open road they compelled you to run flat-out at the other end of the style spectrum is the Citroen 2cv intent on tapping into the rural market Citroen ordinates engineers to build an umbrella on wheels with room for two people and a load of potatoes the original pre-war prototype was geared to economy in the extreme with only a single headlights a hand-operated windshield wiper and a two cylinder engine world war ii intervened and by the time the 2cv appeared at the Paris Motor Show it had grown a second headlight his wipers were motorized and all of France had fallen in love with it the 2cv stayed in production for 41 years when the last one rolled off the line in 1990 more than 3.8 million had been built another contender the Ford Mustang were the first of a whole new breed of automobile the pony car introduced at the 1964 World's Fair the Mustang proved to be the ideal compromise between the stodgy family sedan and the two-seat sports car so unusual was his design for dat general manager Lee Iacocca had to fight to get the car built but Ford had a winner on its hands while many versions of the Mustang have been produced since its introduction it's the original manufactured from 1964 to 1968 that continues to be the dream car of many drivers young and old on the luxury side of the list is the rolls-royce Silver Ghost first built in 1907 it is designed for wealthy motorists who traveled with their maids valets and chauffeurs they needed a large and powerful car to haul their entourage after its introduction of the 1907 London Motor Show the silver ghost was put to the test in a record-breaking 15,000 mile four-month long non-stop endurance run it was then disassembled and inspected by the Royal Automobile Club a few minor parts were worn but total repairs would have cost less than $10 the results established the company's reputation for quality reliability and luxury the other car of the century finalists are no less impressive and no less deserving than those we've mentioned here each deserves a program of its own it was a difficult task for the hundred and thirty-five jurors to pick the top five and ultimately the most significant of all time greatness comes in many forms sometimes as those who have pushed the envelope and are unobtainable but to the rarest few in other cases it's those that hit the mainstream and make it possible for the masses to own an automobile I don't think I've ever faced a decision that was as difficult nothing came close because it was such an extreme who were we looking for something that was breakthrough design breakthrough technology or something that simply put the world on wheels [Music] so which of the 25 nominees were selected to the five greatest cars ever built let's work our way up the list starting with what many considered to be the quintessential sports car the Porsche 911 [Music] all Porsches share a common legacy of automotive innovation that started with a company's namesake dr. Ferdinand Porsche in the 1930s dr. Porsche was involved in the design of two revolutionary automobiles the outer Union Silver Arrow the first mid-engine racecar and an affordable family car the Volkswagen was interested in speed Porsche thought about a sports car based on the Volkswagen he built two prototypes but World War two brought his plans to a stop after the war doctor Porsches son ferry decided to resurrect his father's plans for a Volkswagen inspired sports car in June of 1947 he began work on what became the first Porsche the type of 356 [Music] throughout the 1950s the 356 was a success both in sales and at the track but by the early sixties it was clear it is time for an update ferris son Bootsy took on the project [Music] the new Porsche 901 debuted in 1963 at the Frankfurt Motor Show Peugeot claimed it owned the rights to car names with three digits and a zero in the middle so Porsche changed the name to the 911 the caste configuration was similar to the 356 its engine was still in the rear and was air-cooled like the Volkswagen however it was more powerful since it had six cylinders instead of four this gave the 911 a top speed of about a hundred and thirty miles per hour [Music] Porsche has continued to push the envelope in design and technology by 1975 the turbo Carreras with their turbocharged racing engines were the fastest production cars on the road and the company continues to make improvements while remaining true to the concepts that made the original design so popular the history of Porsche dr. Porsche being involved in that project through the years was so important because it was a car that not only did it have high performance but it was always also very very durable you could drive them to work and then drive them to the racetrack if you wanted to afterwards and have a great time I just happen to be a big Porsche 911 fan it was my first car the number four car on our list of world's greatest cars is one of the most recognizable automobiles in the world the Volkswagen Beetle as with the Porsche 911 it all began with the design genius of dr. Ferdinand Porsche dr. Porsche was an automotive engineer of remarkable abilities his designs helped both the mercedes-benz and outer Union racing teams dominate Grand Prix racing in the 1930s his skills didn't escape the notice of Germany's Chancellor Adolf Hitler in 1933 he asked Porsche to design a people's car or Volkswagen for Germany Pusha admired Henry Ford and knew the impact the Model T at had on the United States as he developed his new car he visited Detroit and studied the Ford factories by february of 1936 Porsche had prepared three prototypes they used a basic four-cylinder engine design that went on to power over 20 million Volkswagens they were taken out for a 30,000 mile test run over the Alps and down the new autobahns [Music] construction began on a new factory but before the car could go into production Germany went to war Germany was in a shambles when the war ended in 1945 its industrial base was laid to waste the Volkswagen factory was no exception but the British military Authority needed transportation and a young major decided he tried to revive the Volkswagen production facility it worked by October of 1946 the 10,000th us Fagin had rolled off the line within a short time it appeared that VW would be a viable concern the British found a real manager for Volkswagen Heinrich and or DAF once again a Model T was used as an example Nordhoff rejected cosmetic changes in favor of improving quality and reliability the strategy worked and people bought a record number of cars by 1953 500,000 Volkswagens had rolled off the line this was no longer a local phenomenon the cars were being sold in more than 86 countries including the United States [Music] it was the car that taught the baby boomers that there was something other than big heavy Detroit iron the beetle probably was more responsible for the role of the import in the United States in any other car production of the Volkswagen Beetle stopped in Germany in 1978 but continued in Mexico for another 25 years when the last of the original design Volkswagens came off the line in 2003 the total had reached 21 million five hundred twenty-nine thousand four hundred and sixty four car number three on the list of world's greatest cars is little known in the US but a standard at European styling and engineering the Citroen DS introduced in 1955 the Citroen DS 19 were radically different from every other car on the road the futuristic DS were shaped for minimum aerodynamic drag this radiator was below the midline of the gracefully curved hood inside the dashboard was dominated by a unique single spoke steering wheel that was an important car because it had sort of both odd looks but also had high style combined in it at the same time it was very stylish and it was purposefully stylish but in a just an avant-garde way but I think appealed to a lot of people it was significant in not just its design which was two or three decades ahead of the competition but it was technically amazing it pushed the envelope at just about every level the heart of the cars new technology was quite literally a pump which powered the suspension steering semi automatic transmission and the first disc brakes ever seen on a French production automobile the self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension made it possible for the D S to operate with a wheel missing si mirror takes a look at a ballet on three wheels wheel and turn of a Citroen cavalcade that spells out safety whatever anxieties Citron's managers might have felt about this revolutionary and controversial car were immediately relieved the D s 19 was an instant success 750 at the sleek new cars were ordered in the first 45 minutes of his debut at the 1955 Parrish Motor Show 12,000 were sold by the end of the first day by ignoring the fashions of the day and designing the best car they knew how to build Citron's engineers created an automobile that symbolized Gallic independence the jury's number 2 choice for the world's greatest car might easily be dismissed by the uninformed observer as an amusing automotive trifle the mini the mini sprang from the mind of British automotive designer Alec Issigonis after world war ii congestion increased on London's busy streets and he recognized there was a need for a smaller car to keep things moving his eagerness was a brilliant designer he embraced the task of producing a car with a lot of interior space in a small package this had never been done he and his team were determined to comfortably pack four passengers in a bold racy car their breakthrough idea placing the engine across the car transversely with the transmission underneath front-wheel drive created a flat floor providing more interior room four-wheel independent suspension with rubber cones instead of steel springs improved the ride and handling the car had an astonishing amount of room it had ample seating for four adult passengers inside a tiny body it was revolutionary the mini really taught people that you could make a small car that didn't force everybody to talk just about hug one another it had lots of room and it showed that you could find a way to make efficient use of minimalist space and still provide a lot for your money a lot of comfort and convenience and so on and and there's no question that virtually anything on the road in Europe and Japan if not in the United States has at least a nodding debt to the mini the mini was a hit with a base price just under seven hundred ninety dollars production could barely keep up with demand in 1959 20,000 cars rolled out of the factory by 1962 a company was turning out over 200,000 it was on its way to becoming a worldwide cultural phenomenon as its 50th anniversary approached minutes were still coming off the assembly line the impact of its design is still being felt it is having a huge influence getting auto makers and auto buyers in the United States right now in the time of the SUV to start rethinking the idea of hip cool small cars basic transportation with a flair that underscores that even decades after the original mini hit the road the concept is still having great power and so here we are a hundred and thirty-five automotive experts from around the world cast their votes and reached a decisive conclusion regarding the greatest car of the century the ruler of the highway that car the Model T Ford in 1906 Henry Ford was building cars for a living and his company was growing his cars were selling but Ford wasn't happy with them they were still rich man's toys he said he wanted to build a car for the great multitude of the finest materials available by the best workmen that can be hired so that every man with a decent income can take a ride in the countryside and enjoy God's great pleasures he overhauled his factory to produce a new car the Model T he assembled a small team of craftsmen who worked night and day in a 12 by 15 foot room at the back of the factory the very secretive Ford installed a drafting table so his ideas could be drawn up and hidden from the prying eyes of competitors for good luck he brought in his mother's rocking chair he spent many long nights in it thinking about his new car [Music] finally his dream the Model T chugged out and into history October the 1st 1908 Ford called it the universal car the public affectionately called it the tin Lizzie it had a four-cylinder 20 horsepower engine stood seven feet high and weighed only 1,200 pounds the chassis strong and lightweight was made out of Bonet Diem steel the Model T was by no means a race car 40 miles an hour was about all it could muster just right for the unpaved roads of the day [Music] but it was a hit over 10,000 Model T's were sold in his first year an industry record [Music] these early buyers could have their tin Lizzie in black red green French gray or pearl [Music] the initial price tag of the Model T was 850 dollars a steal considering the average car buyer could expect to spend about $2,000 by 1913 Henry Ford broke the 200,000 mark in Model T production the first moving assembly line made this possible conveyor belts transported small parts to the workers they would install a belt and the piece would move on to the next workstation Ford developed this innovative system after hearing about a Chicago meat packer their slabs of meat hung on hooks move down the line and were basically disassembled [Music] for thought if a cow can be disassembled why not reverse the process and assemble a car by August of 1913 the chassis assembly line was moving Ford workers were able to complete a car in 93 minutes an astonishing speed considering most automakers were still measuring their production time in days in 1914 Henry Ford uttered those famous words the public can have any color so long as it's black explanation the black enamel was the only finish that dried quickly enough for assembly line production by then the price of a Model T had dropped to four hundred and ninety dollars roughly half what it was when the first one rolled off the line Ford was now building nearly three hundred thousand Model T's every year a [Music] decade later production passed the 10 million mark and the price reached its lowest point ever two hundred and ninety dollars finally on May 27th 1927 the last Model T came off the assembly line the world have been changed forever what mattered then and still has a resounding impact more than a century later is the fact that it put the world on wheels while the Model T gone of the most votes all of the nominated cars had an impact on the world there is virtually no aspect of our lives that hasn't been touched by the car but major passages of our lives are centered around the car thousands of different brands and bottles have been introduced but these are the five that left the greatest legacies which is why they were voted the world's most significant or the greatest cars [Music] you

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Views: 19,156

Rating: 4.8502674 out of 5

Keywords: Model T, VW Bug, Mini, Ferrari, Jaguar, duesenberg, Paul Eisenstein

Id: Fq5gI4t0-PU

Length: 25min 5sec (1505 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 08 2017