Henry Ford II's List of the
10 Most Influential Cars
in Early Automotive History

Henry Ford II was 28 years old when he took over the family's business in 1945. At the time it was losing $10 million US per month. He transformed the company back into a successful corporation that continues to this day.

Chronological Order:

1885 Benz - Otto Benz built the first internal combustion engine and the first workable motorcar for sale.

1892 Duryea - The first car successfully built and sold in the USA. It also won the first auto race in the USA in 1895.

1899 DeDion Bouton - A small, but high-speed one cylinder engine powered this popular car. DeDion later built the first V-8 engine in 1908.

1900 Oldsmobile - The first car to be produced in high volume.

1908 The Ford Model T - The most influential and mass produced car built during the early years of automotives.

1912 Cadillac - First car with a self-starter and the first car with a V-8 engine that was mass produced.

1915 Packard - High quality builds and for years was a highly wanted luxury car.

1922 Essex Coach - The first low priced closed-cabin car and started the trend away from open cars.

1936 Volkswagon - Volkswagon won millions of buyers worldwide using the concept of a small car and simple design. It had a dependable air cooled engine and its simplicity made it easy to fix.

1965 Ford Mustang - Mustang was the first "personal car" that was mass produced and won wide public acceptance. Today Mustangs sell as fast as they are built.

Car Trivia

1. What is generally considered to be the first "pony car"?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Pontiac Firebird, B: Mercury Cougar, C: Ford Mustang, D: Chevrolet Camaro

2. What was the first Japanese car to be produced in the United States?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Honda Accord, B: Mazda Miata, C: Toyota Camry, D: Nissan Maxima

3. What car sold more than one million units in 1965, setting a record that still stands today?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Buick Wildcat, B: Pontiac GTO, C: Ford Thunderbird, D: Chevrolet Impala

4. What three specialty convertibles did General Motors originally introduce in 1953?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Buick Skylark, Oldsmobile Fiesta & Cadillac Eldorado
B: Buick Roadmaster, Buick Riviera & Buick Super
C: Buick LeSabre, Oldsmobile StrayCat & Cadillac Fastback
D: Cadillac Fleetwood, Oldsmobile Omega & Ford Victoria

5. What year was the Corvette first introduced?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1943, B: 1953, C: 1963, D: 1973

6. What was the first car to be mass-produced?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Model T, B: Model A, C: Packard, D: Oldsmobile

7. What was the first car to come equipped with anti-lock brakes?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Lincoln Continental Mark III, B: Shelby Cobra, C: BMW 1600, D: Jensen FF

8. What was the first commercially available hybrid gasoline-electric car in the United States?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Ford Escape Hybrid, B: Toyota Prius, C: Honda Insight, D: Saturn VUE

9. What kind of car did Starsky and Hutch drive in the classic television series?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Ford Bronco, B: Ford Thunderbird, C: Ford Gran Torino, D: Ford Ranger

10. How much horse power did the first Porsche 911 have?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 35 hp, B: 90 hp, C: 130 hp, D: 180 hp

11. Which automobile was the infamous John Dillinger's favourite car to steal?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Ford, B: Chevrolet, C: Buick, D: Packard

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1900, B: 1915, C: 1934, D: 1955

13. What auto company became the third place automaker in 1928?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Ford, B: Chevrolet, C: Chrysler, D: Buick

14. What year were rear-view mirrors standard equipment on production cars?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1908, B: 1916, C: 1930, D: 1955

15. What year was the first speeding ticket issued in the U.S.?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1895, B: 1900, C: 1902, D: 1915

16. What was the last year Ford's exposed the horn?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1915, B: 1928, C: 1935, D: 1955

17. Which Michigan city prohibited the use of gasoline pumps at curbs in 1914?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Detroit, B: Flint, C: Lansing, D: Saginaw

18. Which automobile offered the largest engine in 1908, the Hupmobile or Model-T Ford?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Hupmobile, B: Model-T Ford

19. What year were gasoline engines first located under the hood in the U.S.?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1895, B: 1900, C: 1915, D: 1928

20. What was the price per barrel of crude petroleum in 1901?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 5 cents, B: 25 cents, C: $1.00, D: $1.50

21. What was introduced in 1937 that would remain until 1952 on Ford automobiles?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Two-piece windshield, B: Four-wheel brakes, C: Electric starter, D: Fender Skirts

22. What 1929 automobile was dubbed "the1 1/4" inch bulge that killed a car"?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Buick, B: Model A, C: Model T, D: Packard

23. What year were demountable tires introduced?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1900, B: 1915, C: 1929, D: 1934

24. How many taillights did the Stingray have in the song "Dead's Man Curve"?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 2, B: 4, C: 6, D: 8

25. Which type of plating was used on radiators and lamps in 1921?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Nickel-plating, B: Brass-plating, C: Chrome-plating

26. Who introduced laminated safety glass in 1926?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Ford, B: Packard, C: Rickenbacker, D: Duesenberg

27. What was Buick's first car, the Model-A or Model-B?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Model-A, B: Model-B

28. Where was the first National Automobile show held in 1900?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Chicago, B: San Francisco, C: New York, D: Denver

29. What automobile did the Red Cross choose for its ambulances in 1915?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Ford, B: Buick, C: Mack, D: White

30. Did the 1928 Ford Model-A have the sun visor inside or outside the car?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Inside, B: Outside

31. What country had one million vehicles in operation in 1928?

Choose Your Answer:
A: United States, B: France, C: Britain, D: Canada

32. What automobile offered "tops" as standard equipment in 1915?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Ford, B: Chevrolet, C: Oldsmobile, D: Buick

33. What did the New York City Police Department use to pursue speeding motoists in 1898?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Horse, B: Bicycles, C: Car, D: Buggy

34. What year was the hit tune "In My Merry Oldsmobile"?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1895, B: 1900, C: 1905, D: 1915

35. What year were automatic windshield wipers introduced as standard equipment?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1903, B: 1913, C: 1923, D: 1933

36. What oil company offered the first free road maps, in 1913.

Choose Your Answer:
A: Standard Oil Compamy, B: Gulf Oil Company, C: Shell Oil Company, D: BP Oil Company

37. What year did the first gas gauge appear on cars?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1895, B: 1915, C: 1922, D: 1934

38. Did the Franklin car have a water-cooled or an air-cooled engine?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Air-cooled engine, B: Water-cooled engine

39. What automobile offered a compass and a camera as standard equipment in 1919?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Ford Model-T, B: Curved Dashed Oldsmobile, C: Stanley Steamer, D: Templar Touring Roadster

40. How many mounted spare tires did the 1916 Hudson have?

Choose Your Answer:
A: One, B: Two, C: Four, D: Six

41. What year was the first woman driver in the US?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1896, B: 1898, C: 1900, D: 1902

42. What year was the first automobile finance company formed?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1895, B: 1905, C: 1915, D: 1922

43. What auto company introduced the first hand brake, located on the driver's left in 1914?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Ford, B: Chevrolet, C: Packard, D: Buick

44. Whatyear was coast-tocoast bus service first offered in the US?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1901, B: 1915, C: 1928, D: 1934

45. Was there more taxi cabs in New York City in 1929 or 1983?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1929, B: 1983

46. What state required automobile license plates in 1901?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Michigan, B: California, C: Ohio, D: New York

47. What company ibtroduced the first balloon tire in 1923?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, B: Goodyear

48. What city had the first automobile Police Patrol Wagon in 1899?

Choose Your Answer:
A: Detroit, Michigan, B: New York City, C: Akron, Ohio

49. What year was the first three-colored traffic light installed in Detroit, Michigan?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1900, B: 1905, C: 1919, D: 1922

50. In the TV series Dukes of Hazzard, what kind of car was the General Lee?

Choose Your Answer:
A: 1970 Ford Duster, B: 1969 Plymouth GTX, C: 1975 Plymouth Fury, D: 1969 Dodge Charger

Answers

1. Although Plymouth enthusiasts insist that the Baracuda beat the Ford Mustang to market by two weeks, the Mustang is generally considered the first "pony car", a new class of automobile first introduced in 1964 and designed to be more compact and more affordable than the larger muscle cars that inspired them. It was the Ford Mustang, first introduced at the New York World's Fair on April 17, 1964, that captured the imagination of the American public and guaranteed the success of the pony car. In fact, the Mustang was perhaps the most successful product launch in automotive history. Racking up over 22,000 sales in its first day and one million sales in its first two years, the Mustang inspired a wave of imitators including the Pontiac Firebird, Mercury Cougar and Chevrolet Camaro, but none could match the success enjoyed by the Mustang. Originally named for the P-51 Mustang, a fighter plane, Ford's new car quickly became associated with the horse of the same name and this became the basis for the now-famous Mustang emblem. Early versions of the Ford Mustang are highly collectible today.

2. In November of 1982, the first American-produced Honda Accord rolled off the assembly line at the Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio, making it the first Japanese car to be produced in the United States. The Accord would prove quite popular. In its first year of production, it became the best-selling Japanese car in the United States -- a title which it would hold for the next 15 years. It would receive its share of industry accolades as well. As of 2005, the Honda Accord had made Car and Driver magazine's annual Ten Best list 19 times, making it the winningest vehicle in the 22-year history of the award.

3. In 1965, the Chevrolet Impala sold more than one million units in North America, setting a record that still stands today. Originally introduced in 1958, the Impala was the best-selling automobile in the United States during the 1960s. Early Impala models sported six taillights, a unique feature which, for a time, became the Impala trademark. The Impala was named after an African antelope.

4. In 1953, General Motors issued three specialty convertibles: the Buick Skylark, the Oldsmobile Fiesta, and the Cadillac Eldorado. Of the three, the Buick Skylark was the most successful with a production run of 1,642 units.

5. The first Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the production line on June 30, 1953, at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan. Only 300 Corvettes were built that year (each of them by hand), making this the rarest Corvette. Each fiberglass-bodied two-seater was white with a red interior and a black canvas top. The 1953 Corvette featured a Powerglide automatic transmission and a "Blue Flame" six cylinder 235ci 150 hp engine with three carburetors and dual exhaust.

6. Oldsmobile was the first car to be mass produced in 1900. The "Model-T" Ford was the first car to be built on an assembly line in December of 1908, but was only the second car to be mass produced in large numbers.

7. The first car to include anti-lock brakes was the 1966 Jensen FF which came equipped with the Dunlop Maxaret anti-lock braking system (originally developed for use on aircraft). Although crude by today's standards (and sometimes unreliable), the Jensen FF's anti-skid system was a huge technological breakthrough at the time. Three years later, in 1969, the Lincoln Continental Mark III improved on the idea, placing sensors on the rear wheels that modulated pressure on the rear brakes when they began to lock up.

8. In 1999, the two-door Honda Insight became the first commercially available hybrid gasoline-electric car in the United States. The Insight won numerous awards (including International Engine of the Year) and earned EPA mileage ratings of 61 mpg in the city and 70 mpg on the highway, making it the world's most fuel-efficient car. The Insight originally sold for just under $20,000.

9. The classic television series Starsky and Hutch (1975-1979) featured two streetwise cops and their red and white 1975 Ford Gran Torino.

10. The original Porsche 911, introduced in 1964, boasted an impressive 130 hp @ 6100 rpm and a top speed of about 130 mph (209 km/h). By comparison, the 2005 Porsche 911 Turbo S boasts 444 hp @ 5,700 rpm and a top track speed of 190 mph (305 km/h).

11. Fords.

12. 1934.

13. Chrysler.

14. 1916.

15. 1902.

16. 1935.

17. Detriot.

18. Model-T Ford.

19. 1900.

20. 5 cents.

21. Two-piece windshield.

22. Buick.

23. 1915.

24. 6.

25. Nickel-plating.

26. Rickenbacker.

27. Model-B.

28. New York.

29. Buick.

30. Outside.

31. Canada.

32. Oldsmobile.

33. Bicycles.

34. 1905.

35. 1923.

36. Gulf Oil Company.

37. 1922.

38. Air-cooled engine.

39. Templar Touring Roadster.

40. Four.

41. 1898.

42. 1915.

43. Packard.

44. 1928.

45. 1929.

46. New York.

47. Firestone Tire & Rubber Company.

48. Akron, Ohio.

49. 1919.

50. A 1969 Dodge Charger. You might have noticed the producers sometimes substituted a model year 1968 or 1970 Charger in some shots.