1990-2000 The Dodge Viper

First Gen Dodge Viper

Dodge Viper GTS

Origin: The Dodge Viper is known as the most menacing car that has ever been produced in American history. A small sleek body packing a huge V-10 engine that can get to top speed of 180 mph.....any car like that means serious business. The reason the Viper was built was to compete against Chevy's Corvette, which was pretty much the king at the time. Based off of the idea of the Corvette, Dodge made their Venomous beast.
Purpose: Dodge took a huge gamble when they introduced the Viper. As mentioned before, the Viper was made to dethrone the Corvette. As the car was solely built for speed, the Viper attracted many sports cars enthusiasts. However, what really brought the success of the car was the time it was made. the 1980's were all about pony cars, but when this came out, everyone's head turned towards it. The Viper had an extremely unusual built to it as it shocked the entire US at unveiling. The car was made with extremely light material with its body and the tires to maximize the speed of the car. However, the thing that shocked everyone the most was that the car had a V-10 engine. This engine was only made for trucks, so no one predicted that a light weight car would have such a massive engine. This made the public go crazy as they were seeing car with new specs, and ultimately leading to them loving the Viper. Seeing the success of the car, Dodge introduced many new models such as the ACR and which was purely for racing.

Viper Pick-up Truck

Concept Viper Motorcycle

Value: The Viper really showed us how much technology had increased over the past fifty-so years. Dodge was able to pull off something that would have blown a car up in the 1950. The car impacted the world of racing the most as the vehicle was made only for speed and not for looks. The 1990's is when Clinton took office who also fixed and enhanced the economy. This meant that more people would have jobs and less would be in poverty. For Dodge, this meant that more people would buy their monstrosity which would also lead to them making more variants of the car. This car was loved by the public so much that they wanted dodge to make a Viper pick-up truck and a Viper motorcycle as well.

Current SRT Viper

Limitations:  The 1990's was also the time when cell phones and the internet were growing at an incredible pace. These two things are probably the most used things in the world today. The Viper does not tell us anything about the growth of these two types of technology. This is so as the the Viper was expressing growth of technology in the sense of automotive. However, the Viper caused the same uproar if not more than the internet as people at the time were more into cars. This shows how revolutionary this car was.

1980-90 Jeep Cherokee

First gen XJ

Origin: The Jeep Cherokee (XJ) is seen as a revolutionary car in the field of off-road vehicles. This car was not only meant to be for the off-road, but also miraculously killed it when it came to everyday driving. Another this this car is very special for is the fact that it was the first US built SUV ever. The success of this car was so high that it  one of the big 3 manufacturers, Chrysler, bought the company to share its success as well. The Jeep was based off the GM Blazer, but ended up being introduced earlier than the Blazer. 

Current Jeep Cherokee XJ

Purpose: The Cherokee was made to serve as a small Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). A SUV is basically a vehicle that excels at both on and off road drives. These types of vehicles were not that common in the market at the time as either cars were good at on road or of-road drives, not both. Similarly like many cars at the time, Jeep included a load of models for the customer to buy. There were some the were better at off-road, some better at normal drives, 2-door variants etc. Seeing the huge success of this vehicle, Jeep introduced the Grand Cherokee (ZJ) which was had a much larger chassis rather than the XJ's compact chassis.  According to Robert Cumberford of Automobile magazine, he states that "the Cherokee was a masterpiece of its time." This showed how important the need of SUV's were and the Jeep helped to promote this type of vehicle that we use so often today.

First Gen. Jeep Cherokee ZJ

Value: The Cherokee was seen as a game changing car at the time of its production. It helped open America's eyes to SUV's which are nowadays incredibly useful. The Cherokee was able to add of-road racing to the list as it was a fine and affordable car for the off-road. To Jeep, this was seen as a huge improvement. If you look nowadays at this car, it is said to be the car that saved Chrysler (its owner) after the Recession in 2008.

Current Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ

Limitations: The car fails to tell us anything that was going on during the ending of the Cold war or what the president was doing about it. The Jeep is a car which obviously does not tell us anything about political or militaristic ideas of what was happening in the world. Sure the Jeep was a revolutionary car, but fails to tell us anything about these issues. 

1970-80 The Dodge Challenger

The First Gen Dodge Challenger

Origin: The Dodge Challenger is considered one of the big 3 muscle cars of the United States. Along-side the Ford Mustang and the Chevy Camaro, they have put together some of the most fierce battles in automotive history. The Dodge Challenger was made to rival against the infamous Ford Mustang. An extremely interesting fact is that Plymouth (have partnership with Dodge) designed their own "pony" car, the Plymouth Barracuda, even before the OG Mustang was introduced. However the popularity and hype sent out for the Mustang quickly put the Barracuda into the shadows. So basically, the Challenger was an improved Barracuda and was Dodge's and Plymouth's way of getting revenge on the Mustang that stole the spotlight from the Barracuda in the early 1960's

R/T Edition

Purpose: As mentioned before, the Challenger was made to cast revenge on the Mustang. However, there were also many more pony cars out there to compete against such as the Camaro, Fire Bird, and Cougar. Many people did not think that the Challenger would stand a chance against the Mustang, so people started to rank it along side the Mercury Cougar which was the worst of the bunch.  This led to motivation for Dodge in which they responded by adding 11 different variants to their line-up. These were consisted of cars such as convertibles, luxuries, and models with the notorious HEMI engine. All these additions to their line-up allowed them to compete with fellow pony cars, but also cars that were not considered its rival as well.

1970 Mercury Cougar

Value: The Challenger showed us how the era of muscle cars were rising, especially pony cars. This era showed us how competition was rapidly growing in the automotive industry. The competition as mentioned before, led to car manufacturers to make many more variants of the same car. This was a very good strategy to use as there would be different prices that would appeal more to the public audience. This era also perfected the era of muscle cars in the US, which is basically the highest pride stake in America's automotive history.

Current day Dodge Challenger

Limitations: This car gives us zero information on what was going on in the Vietnam war. As the war was between the US and Vietnam in Vietnam, the Challenger doesn't give much insight on what was going on in that part of the world. Even though the Challenger revolutionized the Pony car competition, the car fails to tell us the more important things that were going on in the world.

1960-70 The Ford Mustang

The 1964 Ford Mustang

P-51 Mustang

Origin: The Ford Mustang is one of the most well-known American car today. If you were to ask someone what the definition of Pure American Muscle was, they would most likely answer the Mustang. The car was so popular that it started its own genre of cars, which are known as "pony" cars. The idea of the Mustang came from Chevrolet's Corvette Stingray and other European sports car manufacturers. Another thing that played a role in its creation was the P-51 Mustang Fighter Plane. This is so due to the fact that one of the cars designers was a huge fan of the plane and decided to name his own creation after it. Ford introduced the Mustang on April 17th 1964 at New York's World Fair. The impact of the Mustangs success was so large that it is compared to the success of the Model A.

Convertible Ford Mustang

Purpose: The Ford Mustang was an addition to Fords line-up which was made to rival cars like the Corvette Stingray. It was also made for racing fans as the car was considered in the sports car category. As mentioned before, the car was extremely popular. This was so because of the way that Ford advertised it; they wanted to attract customers as they wanted to be #1 in world popularity. They did this by giving the car a slogan of: The Car to be Designed by You. This meant that the Mustang was a car that had many varieties of models. There were convertibles, GT's, Fastbacks etc. This resulted to much positive feedback which also made this car a one-of-kind.

The Chevy Camaro; Mustangs biggest Rival

Value: The Ford Mustang was one the most influential cars in American history. This is because the Mustangs success led to an opening of a new genre of cars called "pony" cars. Cars The term Pony car came to be as the logo and name of the Mustang was the Mustang Horse. Ford's incredible success led to many new cars such as Chevy's Camaro, Pontiac's Firebird, and Dodge's Challenger.

2015 Ford Mustang

Limitations: This time period was the era of Martin Luther King Jr. As he was making huge success for the equality of Blacks in the south, there were many other things going on in America a well. The invention of the Mustang does not signify that aspect of the time-period at all as it was the Car had no relevance to it. Despite that the Ford Mustang was still a car that changed America's automotive history.

1950-60 The Chevrolet Corvette

Corvette C1

Origin: The Chevrolet Corvette is known as one of the most important cars in American history. This is so because the car signified the era of racing. The idea of the Corvette came to be when GM hired an engineer named Harley Earl who adored sports cars. He was influenced by American Soldiers who were returning from World War II. These Soldiers were returning home with exotic cars such as Jaguars and MG's (these cars are not American). This led to much jealousy in Harley Earls mind and in 1951, Earl proposed to the head of GM to start production of the first American sports car.

Corvette Stingray

Purpose: The Corvette was made to show the world that America has its own exotic car. As there were many super car manufacturer in Europe such as Lamborghini and Ferrari; their cars made American cars seem pathetic. This car was also made to rival these European cars in the International market. The first Corvette was called the Corvette 1 or C1. The elegant design of this car sent shock down the spines of the American society as no one had ever seen a car of such a beautiful design. This was so because the Corvette was made with materials such as Fiberglass and other fantastic things.

2014 Corvette 

Value: The Corvette signified many things during the time of its production. As the car was made after the end of World War II, the car showed that the economy of America was getting better. The Corvette required a lot of money to make and World War II gave it an open path to its production. The Corvette was also nicknamed the "American Sports Car."
Limitations: The C1 was made during the time of the Korean war in which The US was involved in. The car does not tell us anything about the war or any other details about what the condition of Korea was. 

1940-50 The Ford F-Series

The Ford F-1

The Current Ford F-150

Origin: The Ford F-Series is one of the worlds best when it comes to trucks. The F-150 is nowadays the most popular and consumer friendly. However, many people do not know the history behind one of the best pick-up trucks in the world such as why it was built and why it is still made today branded with the same name. It is currently the Best-Selling vehicle in the US since its introduction in 1942.     
     Ford had introduced its first pickup truck back in the 1910s. These trucks did not have much significance up until after Ford had introduced the F-Series after World War II. Ford came in with many high hopes on the car as they produced 8 different variants along with it. This line up was known as the "First Generation F-Series." 

The F-100 Super Sabre

      

Purpose: As mentioned before, Ford had high hopes at the production of this series. The eight different variants were based off of weight as the Series had the standard pickup all the way to school buses. For example: The F-1 had a half ton engine, the F-2 had 3/4 ton engine and so on. This obviously shows that Ford did not only want to build trucks for individuals, but the entire society as they were manufacturing buses and other large-scale vehicles.  Ford named the vehicles in the series in order by weight by adding a # after F-. Thus the standard Pickup was named the F-1 and so on. However, when the F-100 Super Sabre Jet was added to USAF fleet, Ford decided to change the F-1 to F-100 (Ford changed the F-100 to the F-150 in the 1980s). This also changed the names of other vehicles in their lineup to those such as the F-250 and F-350.

Value: The F-Series shows how Ford was trying to bring together America Post World War II. As the F-Series made vehicles of public transportation; it gives the people that are less fortunate an opportunity to use a bus and get to work instead of walking. School transportation was also encouraged by the government after WWII in which the F-series had a major contribution as they made the first school bus. Overall the F-series shows how it had a major contribution to America after the end on the war, but does not mention anything about during the war.

Limitations: The F-series does not tell us and did not contribute to WWII. As many people were giving up their lives for their countries, Ford was making vehicles that would not help at all in the war. At the time, there was need for workers in the industries which Ford had not played a major role in.

1930-40 The Presidential Car

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Car  

Origin: As the era of cars gradually continued to grow, the value and importance of cars grew as well. Though many presidents have already owned many cars, they never had one that was always there for them parked in the front lawn. The car company, Lincoln, had made a car for the president which was extremely luxurious and up to date on specs. During the early ages of the automotive era, presidents used to get around in normal cars. The addition of this vehicle was to show that the president was not an ordinary man, but someone with power.


Purpose: This specific vehicle was named the "Sunshine Special" by its manufacturers at Lincoln. The limo was built with high end specs for the time as it focused on two major factors: Convenience and Security. Lincoln had made this car especially for FDR who had polio; a disease that causes paralysis to the legs. The company made the car for the convenience of the president as it was hard for him to move very quickly. The reason for the upgrade for security had one reason behind it. In 1933, President Roosevelt survived an attempted assassination while giving a speech out the open end of a convertible car. Seeing this as a huge problem, Lincoln went ahead and gave their Sunshine Special bullet-proof windows and built it out of much stronger metal. The Sunshine Special remained in service of the president until 1950. It was then replaced by the Lincoln Cosmopolitan.

The Sunshine Special on display in the Henry Ford Museum

Value: The Sunshine Special had a huge reputation on the presidential cars. It was the first car to have bullet-proof material all over the car which was extremely important as presidents are seen with the most power in the US. For President Roosevelt, the car was extremely convenient. Lincoln had made the back doors of the car larger than normal cars just so that FDR can just sit inside with his wheelchair. Though it may not seem as an extremely important vehicle for the public; it sure was for the president of the time.

Limitations: The Sunshine Special was a car made only for the president. No one from the public were allowed to buy such a car. As the car was made of extremely high quality; it was obviously appealing towards normal people. Each Sunshine Special costed a hefty price to make which was the reason why Lincoln did not make them for the public. However by 1943, Lincoln made their "Continental" for the public which mirrored the Sunshine Special in many ways.

1920-30 The Dodge Half-ton Pickup Truck

The Dodge Brothers Pickup Truck

Origin: As the era of automobiles were quickly expanding, America had found itself another automotive company. Horace Dodge and John Dodge had founded the Dodge Brothers Co. in 1912 which in now known as simply Dodge. As a supplier of the Ford Motor Co, the Dodge Brothers focused on designing and building Motor trucks, ambulances, and such. As the Ford Motor Co. and GM were quickly designing newer and better commercial cars, the Dodge Brothers had come up with the idea to build something not so luxurious, but rather something that is for transporting merchandise and other things of this sort. However a tragedy had struck in which both Horace and John died. Their death resulted into a company named Chrysler (which also made trucks similar to Dodge's) to buy the Dodge Brothers Co. As both companies collaborated to build trucks, they resulted in making the 1929 Dodge half-ton Pickup.

 The Dodge Half-ton Pickup Truck

Purpose: The 1929 Dodge half-ton Pickup truck was made for the transportation of merchandise. Many automotive companies such as Ford, Buick, and Cadillac were focusing on luxury for the average consumer The Dodge Brothers made a "truck" that would ease transportation of domestic products instead of having them get delivered by bikes or whatnot. The truck came with a 76 horsepower engine which was the last of kind as Chrysler had bought dodge. It also had a capacity of half a ton, hence the name of the vehicle. During the time, half-ton of space was considered a huge amount. As the truck was made for transportation of goods, Chrysler had made sure to maximize the space of the truck. By the end of the 1920's, Dodge and Chrysler had sold 1.5 vehicles to costumers through Dodge dealers as many people saw this machine as an automobile of a great value.

Value: This particular Automobile tells shows us the improvement of automotive itself. It redefined the meaning of a car as it was the first car that wasn't made to transport people or to drive for fun, but rather something that is made for work, and on top of that, ease the work itself. The value that the Dodge Brothers had brought with their vehicles had also let many other companies produce some of its own which had helped the economy as it helped the supply of trucks in America increase as well. 

Limitations: Though this car was made to help with merchandise; it does not tell us whether every type of job would be done. To clear the fact, the truck only came with the capacity of half-ton in other words, 1000 pounds. There could have been times when workers would have to still work a bit more and make second trips to get their work done. However, this can be seen as a fault of the car which would eventually be fixed by the company itself. In conclusion, The Dodge Half-ton Pickup Truck was a sign of many new things to come.

1910-20 The Chevrolet Type C

1912 Chevrolet 6 Type C

1914 Chevrolet Light (L) Series

Origin: During the up-rise in the automotive industry; Louis Chevrolet invented his own, the "Chevrolet." Seeing the success that Henry Ford had made through his Model T, Louis had taken it upon himself to make a better car. Similarly like Henry Ford, Louis Chevrolet wanted t make a car that would be more powerful, quieter, and a better overall ride. As a car of the Brass era, it was a huge deal that there was a car under development of such sort. The Brass era was the name of time period when the automotive industry started to rapidly rise. The Chevrolet 6 had an extremely strong built to it. However, that had let to the car overall being more expensive but Louis Chevrolet had placed many high hopes in the production of this car.

Purpose: Louis Chevrolet had started building cars by seeing the success of the Model T. His ideology was that "the higher the price, the better the car." This led to the reason why his Chevrolet's were so expensive at that time. In order for his car to actually be in the competition, he started off by taking the cons of the Model T and fixing them in his own car which he called the "Chevrolet." His final product was (which is now) called the Chevrolet Series C Classic Six. The car was extremely well constructed for the time as it had a 6 cylinder engine over Fords 4 cylinder engine which made the Chevrolet have the most powerful engine at the time. on top of that it also came in various colors rather than just black. The L series which is the successor of the 1912 Chevrolet 6 Type C came out in 1914. The L series costed around $800-$1500. This was around $600 more than Fords Model T.

Value: The rise of Chevrolet was showing that the automotive industry had really started to kick it up. Because of the success Louis Chevrolet had with his cars despite their price showed that society at the time had also agreed with Louis's ideology. Back in the 1910s, people used wealth as a symbol of power. by that people with wealth would buy Chevrolet's just to show off their wealth to others. Because Chevy made cars that were made to fix up the mistakes of Ford; it was starting to give birth to a universally known rivalry between Ford and Chevy.  

Limitations: Wold War One was basically the highlight of the decade if not the century. While people were fighting in the war, Louis Chevrolet was making luxurious cars for the rich. Him making luxurious cars does not tell us anything of how it contributed to the War. There was no way the army would have used such an expensive and premium car for soldiers but rather would use old rugged cars. Though the rise of Chevy did represent something in the automotive world, it didn't tell much of what was really happening in the world in that decade.  

                   

1900-10 The Model T

Henry Ford and his Ford Model T

Origin: The Ford Model T was known as the most influential car of the 20th century. Produced by the Ford Motor company in 1908; it was the first automobile that the public could buy. During this time, the Wright Brothers had just built the first airplane which was a great influence to the Model T. As air transportation got better, Henry Ford had taken upon himself to make an very cheap car that almost anyone could buy. Thus resulting into the Model T.

Purpose: During the time of its production, the Model T was aimed towards the people of the middle class. What was so unique about this car was that it wasn't just for one or two people but rather a whole family. On top of that different variant's of the Model T were made such as the Model T roadster which were aimed towards people who wanted a faster car. The Model T was made for faster transportation and since Henry Ford made the original Model T for the middle class, it was really affordable. This helped people traveling places farther in a much faster time rather than walking. The Model T being so affordable, the car was selling really fast. Because of the that the Model T helped many unemployed people get jobs at the Ford Motor Co. 

"I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces." -Henry Ford

Value: The Model T showed the importance of technology needed in the world. This hot selling car helped the United States in many ways. It gave many people jobs, started race clubs, and overall brought light in the world of technology. The Model T was the best expression of the 1900-10 decade because almost everyone had one of their own. From the quote said by Henry Ford, he says that his intention is to make a car that everyone could have. By succeeding he brought great value to the Ford Model T.

Limitations: The car itself cannot tell us if everyone liked it or not. Sure it was the first affordable car by everyone and is known as the most influential, it cannot tell us if others were making cars of their own to beat the Model T. Though Model T was the first car made for production; Henry Ford had slowly found his Model T some competition by the 1910s.