These Are The Best American Cars Ever Made According To You

K-Car(s) - Toss the Caravan in there too.

No car is or has been more important to an US automaker. It allowed Chrysler to not only dig themselves out of a hole but also thrive for a while.

A small car that was reliable, efficient, reliable (ok, not 80 Toyota reliable but far better than past) and most importantly, profitable.

Then Chrysler (and its overlords) decided to build a lot of low quality V8s again and sunk the company (again).

The best in terms of rarity and obscurity, I’d say the Saleen S7, The hyper car that is mostly an afterthought now, but an absolute monster back in the day. Top speed in later models was 248 (Then 298 in 2019?), sounds like a banshee, and is right up there with the Hypercar greatest hits:

It’s a Doozy! The Duesenberg Model J.

Tesla Model S.

Say what you will about Elon, quality issues, government financing, etc, somehow Tesla managed to come out as a startup and build an electric car that completely changed how people saw them and ushered in a wave of somewhat mainstream EVs. While every other OEM was turning out compliance-driven appliances for EVs (if anything) Tesla came along and made a care that was desirable for it looks and performance, as well as being an EV.

C2 corvette is awesome as well

F Series Pickup

The F series has defined how Americans work and play for generations. It has been the sales leader for decades. But how does this make it the best? Budget.

Ford makes almost all their money on the F series truck. They cut corners on cars, but never on the F-series. During the worse days of Ford’s quality issues, the F series trucks still were built well and lasted well.

A new F-150 can be as nice inside as a similarly priced luxury vehicle. While having more interior room, a bed with space to put plenty of cargo and the ability to tow a luxury car behind it (and even getting similar gas mileage depending on the vehicle in question).

I am not a fan of full sized trucks. If I was, I would have to turn in my Jalop card. But I have to admit that for 40+ years, the best American cars have been full sized trucks.

PS, I picked the Ford full sized for a simple reason. By saying “F- Series” I’ve covered the Ford full sized trucks since 1948. Where the names of its competitors changed in that time period.

The Ford Escort.

30+ years and 20 million units worldwide. Cheap, fairly reliable, transportation for the masses.

Thanks to being such a styling masterpiece and coming with some of the most outrageous engines that Detroit ever offered, the 2nd gen Charger is the iconic muscle car.

And when it comes to American cars that the world knows due to the pervasive spread of American pop culture, the 2nd gen is LITERALLY the star car:

Bullitt: all-time best movie car chase—Editing Academy Award because of it.

Dirty Mary/Crazy Larry, Grand Theft Auto, The Dukes of Hazzard TV show, cartoon show, TV movies and feature movie, Supernatural, Billions, The Venture Bros., the Fast & Furious franchise, Universal’s all-time moneymaker, where a 2nd gen in the Toretto flicks is always the star car (sometimes more than one 2nd gen per F&F flick).

And the 2nd gen is the favorite ride of superheroes: Blade, Ghost Rider, and Batman’s latest Batmobile. So yeah, the 2nd gen Charger—the car that the whole world recognizes as quintessentially American.

And you can even go to your Dodge dealership today and place your order for a carbon fiber turnkey ‘70 Charger—so popular that they brought it back a half century later. It’ll only cost you half a million dollars.

The header picture is the answer. It’s an awesome car and I’m not sure there is a car more American than the Viper. Our love of guns, oil, and obesity without healthcare are big spotlights for how much America just wants to have fun with no concern for how quickly it could kill us. The Viper is the car embodiment of joy that is ready to take you out with it if you push the limits of what they can do.

Let’s say “best” means the one I’d most like to see when I open my garage door.

The original Jeep

GM’s B-Body full sized cars from the 1960's, in particular the Chevy Impala, Bel Air, Biscayne, etc.

The quintessential ‘American Car’ of the 1960s, your Chevy could be configured as an economy-special 2-door post with a straight six engine and rubber floor mats, an executive sedan nearly as luxurious as a Buick, a 9-passenger family wagon, a high performance hardtop coupe (Impala SS) , a flashy convertible and (at least in 1969-60) a car based pick-up (El Camino) or panel wagon.

GM made the B-bodies in the millions YEARLY, and sixty years later you can still find replacement parts at Auto Zone.

You already answered the question; the Corvette. Putting the other sports cars (and supercars) of world on notice since 1953 and still going…

But my “not serious” answer would be the Hummer (the old and the new); because it proves that if there is one thing we are the best at it’s conspicuous consumption.

How am I the first person to nominate the original 1965 Mustang?

The entire Pony car class exists because of this car. It was revolutionary unlike anything we saw, up until the Tesla Model S.

The Best American Car should be the one that is recognizably American by the rest of the world, and by that standard I nominate the ‘57 Chevy Bel Air.

Showing up anywhere in a ‘57 Chevy screams “American”

Saturn VUE Red Line.

I just wanted to give an answer no one else was giving. Also, Honda V6 (for some reason.)