Editor’s Note: The year 2014 gave us the introduction of the 707-horse Hellcat and the end of the popular fifth-generation Mustang. A sinkhole swallowed up a bunch of Corvettes, and then Mother Earth spit out some rare buried automotive treasure (sort of). At OnAllCylinders, we redesigned the website and welcomed an expanded cast of accomplished automotive writers to our team—all in an effort to better serve our readers. Just in case you missed it, here are our most-popular, most-read articles of 2014—starting with our Top 5 car culture and entertainment posts:
Treasure Trove of Classic Cars Found Buried Under Ohio Construction Site
What do you call the exciting discovery of several highly collectible, highly desirable classic cars buried under a construction site? Is it really a car culture/automotive entertainment story? Or is it more of a news story? We call it a successful April Fools’ joke. We ran with the story detailing how a group of well-preserved classic cars were accidentally dug up at an Ohio construction site—and the story took off. Months later, people were still finding the story and asking the question: What ever happened to those cars?
For the record, they’re back with the rest of the Hot Wheels collection they came from.
Top 10 Engines of All-Time
We asked Facebook fans—both OnAllCylinders’ and Summit Racing’s—to name the best engine of all time, and then built a top 10 list based on the responses. The final list got you excited. It got you mad. And most importantly, it got you talking.
Admittedly, it was a very open-ended, broad question. Answers were based on power, dependability, accessibility, and other factors. Maybe next year, we get your opinions on the best bang-for-your-buck hot rod engine…or best big block engine…or something even more focused. We always love hearing your thoughts—even when you’re angered by the #1 engine on our list.
Late Model Performance Playoffs
In 2013, we launched our Muscle Car Match-Ups campaign. Much like the NCAA basketball tournament it was built around, this campaign used bracket-style match-ups to determine the champion of all classic muscle cars. But what about the late model muscle cars—the cars that came along after the turn of this century?
We created the Late Model Performance Playoffs to crown the best post-2000 performance vehicle from an initial field of 16. You responded in a big way, sharing your thoughts, facts, opinions, and some new swear words we hadn’t heard. The passion wasn’t surprising, but the winner of the inaugural Late Model playoffs? A little bit of a stunner.
Burt Reynolds’ 1977 Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am Fetches $450K
When it comes to car culture, there’s not much of a bigger cultural icon than the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am. Burt Reynolds put his Bandit Trans Am up for auction, along with a bunch of other personal items, and it brought in a lot of green.
We can hear that distinctive Burt Reynolds laugh as the Bandit heads to the bank.
Top 8 Model Years in Hot Rod History
What is the best model year in hot rod history? If you think about it, that’s a pretty tough question considering some of the power and engineering breakthroughs over the years. Some years brought great new cars. Others had some wonderful new powerplants. In the end, we think you did a great job naming the top 8 years.
Check out the original series, and see if you agree.
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