What a time to be a gearhead!
We have 250+ horsepower 4-cylinders and 300+ horsepower sixes. It’s not uncommon for V8 performance motors to tickle 500 horsepower and the top-tier engines in the Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger easily surpass the 500-pony mark.
Oh, and it’s worth noting that all of that power comes with unprecedented fuel economy, safety, and reduced emissions.
The decade saw the return of a 4-cylinder Camaro, the Mustang get an independent rear suspension, and the Challenger bring back the “Shaker” hood.
The 2010s can also be viewed as the rise of the all-electric car. Sure, there have been electrics before, but never before in automotive history has a car buyer had so many electric car options. Tesla, Chevy, Nissan, Ford, VW, BMW, and Kia all have vehicles with an all-electric drivetrain.
We’re also seeing the early stages of autonomous vehicle controls and “autopilots,” which could eventually make traffic jams and fender benders a distant memory.
This decade has given us the tire-melting Dodge Demon, the 755-horsepower Corvette ZR1, and the dune-hopping Ford F-150 Raptor.
“Practical” performance is still very much alive in the 2010s too, as the Subaru WRX, Ford Focus ST, Honda Civic SI, and VW GTI give you plenty of go-fast fun with four doors and room for the groceries in back.
Vehicle cabins have gone high-tech as well, with flatscreen displays, adaptive gauge clusters, backup cameras, and the like all becoming standard.
You can stick a thumb drive into your entertainment center and play hours of music without ever rewinding a cassette or swapping a compact disc.
Is all that enough to call the 2010s the Best Decade in Automotive History? That’s your call.
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