The holidays are here! So it’s time to hit the road for some time alone or with family, whatever floats your boat. Whatever you’re up to this holiday season, there’s always time to take a moment and think about what you’re thankful for.
So, we thought it was time to take stock of the cars on the road that we’re pretty grateful for at this time of year. To do this, we turned to you and asked what car are you most thankful for? Here are some of the top responses we received.
“The K car. Saved an entire company and thousands of jobs.”
The Chrysler K Platform spawned cars such as the Dodge Aries (pictured), Plymouth Reliant, Chrysler LeBaron and Dodge 400. Between 1981 and 1988, Chrysler sold more than 2 million cars based on this platform.
Suggested by: Martin Daley (Facebook)
“The 1959 Volvo PV544.
“It revolutionized vehicle safety with the three-point seatbelt. Volvo then made it standard on all Volvo cars in 1963. Furthermore they licensed their seatbelt design free for the world to use.
“The 544 is also an incredibly charming little car.”
Launched in 1958, the Volvo PV544 came with a 1.6-liter inline four, aerodynamic styling and the first three-point seat belt in a car.
Suggested by: redneckrob
“Any commercial truck that delivers all your needs and desires, including the car you’re most thankful for.”
If it wasn’t for all the commercial trucks out there you wouldn’t have any turkey on your table or marshmallows on top of your sweet potatoes.
Suggested by: Kurt Radelow (Facebook)
“At the time, the only American Sportscar was the Corvette. And, it paled in comparison to what was coming from across the pond. Jaguar, Ferrari, Maserati, etc were miles ahead of us in performance cars.
“Then along comes a tall Texan race car driver, who suddenly discovers he can’t race anymore. He then takes that same passion, does a lot of smooth talking, and without spending a single penny out of his pocket, managed to marry an American V8 with a sleek and nimble British chassis.
“And it worked. It worked amazingly well. Suddenly, this little UK/US roadster was blowing the doors off everything on the track. Suddenly, the Corvette looked old and outdated. It kicked America in the ass and made it stand up and take notice. Soon, “performance” was the buzz word in Detroit, and everyone started to spruce up and beef up their road goers with huge V8s with tons of power.
“How many cars do you know, had a song about how good they were on the track? The Cobra did.”
British styling and an American engine made the AC Cobra a formidable machine when it launched in the early 60s.
Suggested by: Knyte
“Again my ‘76 CJ-7 ‘cause without it I’d not have learned how not to rebuild a carburetor, when not to drive into the surf, how not to jump it off a two-story building. And, most importantly, how not to kill passengers after hitting a curb and running down a ravine... while on two wheels.”
Those are some pretty valuable life lessons. Maybe we should all get behind the wheel of a CJ-7 to pick up some new skills.
Suggested by: @LilToot62 (Twitter)
“More than just transportation! Beyond fashion icon!
“It even has a polarizing origin story that shows that perseverance and cleverness can overcome just about anything. This little toy shifted the paradigm by making small fun and economical cars pretty and affordable.
“A high watermark that has inspired so many designers and engineers. And for that, I am thankful!”
Fashion, turn to the left. Fashion, turn to the right. Ooh, fashion.
Suggested by: car-flu
“The Saab 92. It showed the world we could build cars in a different way. It spawned safety culture, aerodynamics research and simple luxury features.”
Saab’s first production car was a marvel when it burst onto the street in 1949. The 92 had a super slippery design and was pressed from a single sheet of metal, which then had its doors cut out.
Suggested by: Tobias Hopstadius (Facebook)
“This is going to be a weird one, but my father’s ‘69 Rambler American.
“Long story short, when I was about five, my mother and I got stranded somewhere near Harrisburg PA. We walked for what felt like miles until we reached a 24hr diner. It was almost 7pm when we walked into the door, I remember this distinctly because I looked at the big clock above the register.
“Mom called dad on the payphone and explained the situation, and dad said he would come pick us up.
“Hours passed, the waitress was really nice and found some Beetle Bailey comics for me to read while I ate my grilled cheese sandwich and drank my birch beer. Mom went through a pack of cigs, chain smoking one off the other, concerned that my father was going to be angry with her.
“At some point during the evening, some creepy guy started hitting up on my mom and told me to ‘get lost.’ I refused to leave and eventually the waitress chased the guy off.
“Just when I started to think I was going to live in that diner forever (I was five, remember) I saw my dad’s blue Rambler pull into the parking lot.
“I fell asleep in the back seat and woke up the next morning in my bed.
“To my parents’ credit, the discussion of how and why we got stranded occurred out of earshot, so it wasn’t until much later in life I found out the reasons why.
“The sight of that Rambler pulling into the parking lot late that night is burned into my brain though.”
Oh wow, that’s a good reason to be thankful for a Rambler American.
Suggested by: earthbound-misfit-i
“VW bug. Owning it I have met the most amazing people.”
Deep down, we all know that cars are all about meeting great people and *Vin Diesel voice* family.
Suggested by: Marcin Szorti Figiel (Facebook)
“My own.
“It’s nothing special. Just a 2016 Mazda6 that I bought new in October 2015. But, it’s paid off, efficient, safe, spacious enough for my wife and I and our two kids, and still quite reliable (knock on wood).”
Safe, spacious and efficient are three very good things to be thankful for. Nice job, Mazda.
Suggested by: mazda616
“1984 Mustang. Spent over 25 years building. Not five minutes on Woodward during the dream cruise and was able to dust a modified CTS-V Cadillac twice!!”
While you’re thankful for this 80s classic, I’m sure the owner of the CTS-V you dusted was far from grateful for its existence.
Suggested by: @crazyoldman1776 (Twitter)
“The Model T. Not just because it got America on the road, but because it kept Europe from being Nazi.
“Let me explain. In WW1, America couldn’t produce jack squat. Our troops trained with brooms. Our pilots flew French planes, our artillery guys fired French guns etc. We were a nation of farm boys. Tough farm boys, but we needed equipment.
“Between 1919-1939, America’s manufacturing capacity BOOMED with the Model T kicking things off. Famously, the U.S. had way more stuff to fight with than the Germans, so much so that the Brits and Soviets had plenty of US stuff as well.
“However, the Model T didn’t just give America insanely big mass production capability. It also provide mechanics in spades to U.S. forces. This allowed American troops to be highly mechanized with very high availability rates of all sorts of vehicles. Many of the mechanics cut their wrenching teeth on a Model T.”
The Model T also responsible for pioneering mass-production in the car world and bringing affordable personal transport to America.
Suggested by: yeardley68
“The ones that get me to work all year round. A 2008 CRV and a 2012 Grand Cherokee.”
A car you can rely on year-round is always something to be thankful for. Good job, Honda and Jeep.
Suggested by: Allen Mike (Facebook)
“Miata.
“I’ll probably never own one, but I’m glad they exist.”
It’s always the answer, you should know that by now.
Suggested by: hangovergrenade
“The humble Toyota Camry. Those trusty vehicles have been ferrying people to work for decades without much complaint. They’re practical, cost efficient, and the current models are nice to look at.”
I wonder how many people across America will be ferried to Thanksgiving celebrations in a Camry over the next few days?
Suggested by: Dominic Di Girolamo (Facebook)