The 1990s had several significant milestones that could easily cement it as the best decade in automotive history.
For starters, Ford launched its new Explorer, which kicked the SUV market into high gear. (If your commute didn’t already tell you, SUVs are pretty dang popular.)
Chrysler was on-point too—with a dramatically restyled Ram truck, throwback Plymouth Prowler hot rod, and….ahem…a certain snake-themed supercar.
The 1990s also brought us the GM LS engine, introduced in 1997 with the C5 Corvette. The LS has since become the go-to swap powerplant for anything from ’32 Fords to Datsun Z cars.
But perhaps the biggest automotive trend in the 1990s was the rise of import performance.
Sure, the Japanese weren’t newcomers to the racetrack, but they significantly upped their game in the 1990s.
The twin-turbo Nissan 300ZX Z32 hit North American shores in 1990, followed by Mazda’s rotary-powered third-gen RX7 in 1992. Toyota brought its 320-horsepower Supra Mk IV to the party in 1994.
Mitsubishi’s 3000GT had available all-wheel-drive and came with a Mopar stablemate, the Dodge Stealth.
Acura, meanwhile, built the NSX—a Ferrari fighter that you could take to any Honda dealer for service.
It was the low-buck scrappers however, that had the most impact—re-energizing the sport compact scene originally started by the Volkswagen GTI 20 years earlier.
Fueled by cars like the Honda Civic Si, Nissan 240SX, Toyota Celica, and Mitsubishi Eclipse, sport compacts propelled car culture into the 21st century.
Toss in the original Corvette ZR-1, Viper GTS, SVT Cobra and it’s easy to see why the 1990s represent the Best Decade in Automotive History.
Or, in the parlance of the era, the 1990s were “all that and a bag of chips.”
Definitely the 60’s! Birth of the “muscle car”. Big Block Chevy’s, SS models, Big Block Fords, Cobras, Hemi Chrysler products. Totally the best decade, ever!
There is no right answer to this. There are only statistics and opinions. The 50s were the real decade of the true Hot Rod and the many men who became famous and wealthy because of it. They were men who made many of their own parts and some went on to sell them. It was a decade of true Craftsmen. If “Honest Charlie or the other speed shop in the Midwest didn’t sell it you had to make it. The 60s became the era of the store bought speed, just ask the Beach Boys or Jan and Dean. It was fun to see what Detroit was coming out with year after year and going to the Drag Strip was almost as popular on Sunday as going to church was. The horsepower wars were on and growing up then was exciting for any car guy or gal. The 70s in my opinion lasted only one year, 1970. After that we got smog engines with low compression and A.I.R pumps, but Detroit kept up with hot looking cars to attract the enthusiasts but they all had anemic engines compared to the 60s. If you need something to tell you how bad it got, GM eventually dropped both the Camaro and Firebird and Ford came out with what it called a Mustang II. Then as technology advanced performance engines slowly made a comeback and then eventually with a vengeance. I lived through all those decades as car guy and enjoyed them all but I feel today if by far the best decade if you take all the nostalgia out of the equation. Sure it was fun and the 60s produced a lot of fast cars, but today you can buy a 4 door sedan off the dealer floor that will out run a stock 409 or 427 hands down. And it will go around corners too. Forget the Hellcats, they are in another world I mean a car you mother would own. They are all super fast compared to cars of the past and they get darn good fuel mileage as well. Of course if you ask a guy born 30 years before me, he will tell you how fast a Morgan was or some other breed of horse. It is all subjective.
[…] 3. The 1990s […]
The best decade in automotive history is the 1980s. That’s the first decade of widespread implementation of computerized design, manufacture and engine controls. While many of us–myself included–bemoan the more recent loss of driver involvement remember computerization made cars massively more reliable, efficient, safe, fast and better to drive. There was no other decade where many fundamental improvements in design and build quality occurred.
[…] 1990s era was a busy one for the automobile industry. The economy was generally in a stable place and […]
[…] 1990s period was a busy one for the car business. The financial system was typically in a steady place and […]