Jalopnik turns ten years old tomorrow and, in those ten years, a lot has changed. These are the ten automakers that have changed the most.
10.) Chevrolet
Chevy is still trying to shrug off the "old GM" image with the recall controversy, but they've made huge strides in quality. Every car in their current lineup is a vast improvement over its predecessor and the new Corvette is a genuine world beater.
Suggested By: mallthus, Photo Credit: Raphael Orlove
9.) Honda/Acura
Honda & Acura seem to have lost their way in the past ten years – sure, they made plenty of uninteresting normal cars but they also had the NSX, RSX, S2000, and the Civic Si. Of course, "lost their way" is still a highly profitable enterprise that makes a lot of cars that people enjoy.
Suggested By: Chris_K_F, Photo Credit: Honda
8.) Ferrari
In 2004 Ferrari had the F430, 575M, and 612 – all were rear wheel drive and available with a manual transmission. Now Ferrari sells a hybrid, a folding hardtop convertible, and an AWD shooting brake – none of which come with three pedals.
Suggested By: RazoE, Photo Credit: Ben
7.) Lexus
In the past ten years Lexus has gone from exclusively making highly competent but boring luxury cars to making wild supercars like the LFA and genuine M3-fighters like the RC-F.
Suggested By: Satoshi "Mobius 1" Katsura, Photo Credit: Lexus
6.) Dodge
Would anyone have believed you if you told them Dodge would be making the fastest and most powerful sedan in the world back in 2004? They would have thought you were out of your mind.
Suggested By: wics47, Photo Credit: Dodge
5.) BMW
2004 was kind of the end of the "old-school" BMW with the last ten years seeing them diversify and expand their lineup, introduce a FWD car for Europe, and debut the i3 and i8 which are paving the way for the future.
Suggested By: motronic, Photo Credit: BMW
4.) Ford
Ford showed some promise back in 2004 with the GT and the (then) new Mustang, but that couldn't have predicted how strong Fords lineup has become across the board. Who would have thought Ford would be making one of the best hot hatches on the market?
Suggested By: MrMcQueen, Photo Credit: David Villarreal Fernández
3.) Cadillac
2004 was the beginning of the transition period for with cars like the CTS slowly replacing the boat like Caddy's of old. The transformation is complete and with the sexy ATS and CTS Cadillac is becoming a desirable brand once again, now they just need to find customers in the U.S. and Europe.
Suggested By: motronic, Photo Credit: Cadillac
2.) Tesla
Tesla was a brand new company ten years ago, still four years away from the production of the Roadster which itself was a heavily modified Lotus Elise. Now they're one of the most important automakers in the industry, and make electric cars that actually compete with their luxury counterparts.
Suggested By: Brian, The life of, Photo Credit: Maruzio Pesce
1.) Jaguar Land Rover
Once Jaguar and Land Rover were freed from the control of Ford they finally started making the cars we wanted them to make. An absolutely stunning turnaround.
Suggested By: Leon711, Photo Credit: Jaguar
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
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