Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

clan chieftain · Joined: 05 Apr 2008 Posts: 2041 Location: Motherwell

I watched "The Petrol Age" on Sky and they highlighted as motoring icons..Austin 7....The Mini..and the Land Rover.....would you agree.
I would add the VW Beetle and the NSU RO80 but there are many more you could choose.
Does a car have to achieve iconic status or is it built as an icon. What do you think.
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The Clan Chieftain

47Jag · Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:24 pm Post subject:

I would nominate the Citroen DS as an icon purely on successfully breaking the the styling mould. The Chrysler Airflow tried and failed probably because the world just wasn't ready yet.

Art

Ashley · Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 1426 Location: Near Stroud, Glos

The Land Rover was a jeep copy and the Morris Minor more significant, when it appeared, than the Mini. It also made a profit.

What about the Citroen Traction and the Lancia Lamda or Aprilia. Even a Morris Minor had Citroen front suspension.

The one I always think so significant is the 1900 Alfa Saloon from the late forties. It had no chassis and the Motor's write up explained that because it didn't have a chassis, it weighed less, had less frontal area, used less petrol and needed a smaller engine to achieve the same performance as a car with a chassis. It performed as well as the 4.25 Litre MKVI Bentley, which had been the fastest four seater in the world for a short time. It was very noisy and drummed badly, so more significant than successful.

V8 Nutter · Joined: 27 Aug 2012 Posts: 605

The 1932 Ford V8 it made the V8 engine accessable to so many people.
The 1959 Cadillac was so outrageous it has to be an icon.
The 1951 Ford Consul and Zephyr.
The 1964 Ford Mustang

peter scott · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7219 Location: Edinburgh

Panhard Dyna

Incredible carrying capacity (15 ft long) and performance from 850 cc.
0 to 50 mph in 17 seconds and top speed of 76 mph
40 mpg.

Peter

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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

poodge · Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 687

It all depends how you define icon.
The Ford T was a revolution in manufacturing.
The VW Transporter created a whole new type of vehicle.
Bmw built itself a new reputation with the "neue klasse"1500.
Chevrolet 's Corvair was a revolution in american motoring.So was the Ford Pinto,but for a different reason.
The list is endless..........