I don’t know who Dan Neil is, but there are some nice cars on that list. By looking at the list, politics come to mind as how some of those cars made the list… According to the list they are considered lemons.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1658545,00.html

Remember that some people cook snails in drawn butter and serve them with garlic while other folks stomp on them with muddy boots.

This same list went up a while back, Most of the cars were experimental & never made it past prototype, yes, the first Model T's were not the brightest bulbs on the car lot, but it was a very short learning curve (months) on Ford's part to start perfecting it. The Scripp's Booth, a 2 wheel 2 place auto with training wheels, duh?, don't think the Octo-Auto ever made it off paper, though I've seen feeler ads. The 34 Airflows had problems that were fixed (minor things, like the engine would fall out) public just wouldn't accept the design. The Edsel was a rebodied Mercury,

A lot of the vehicles Mr Neil mentions are maybe just funny looking & not popular. Have a feeling Dan Neil was a Home Ec Major & discuss's Limoges China with his leather clad friends at the Biker Bar.

Alex

What no Tucker's????

Personally I think this guy is full of beans.
The innovations that the Model T brought to the automobile which set the pace for most auto makers for the next century was hardly "blacksmithed" together.

Larry Bohlen '27 Touring
Severn, Maryland

A short rope and a tall tree comes to my mind

Time in partnership with CNN, enough said

T's rule, enough said!!!!

The writer is a hack. He picked the Model T Ford for the list to feed pablum to eco-nuts. His criteria was that the Model T, being the most successful car of all time, therefore was somehow evil. What a nut job.

But why the 1909 Model T? What was different about that year versus any other year?

It was the first year. First year vehicles aren't usually as great as the ones that follow.

Well he must be right! You don't see too many '09 on the road today.

I like how the Corvair is on the list but not the VW Beetle when they both had the same problems.

Tim

You get a real good sense of this guy by reading his write-up for the Hummer H2. In one short review of an automobile, he expresses hatred of the Bush administration and big business as well as endorsing domestic terrorism while blaming 9/11 on the US. It takes real talent to work all that fringe politics into a one pharagraph car review. And really he's not condeming the car itself, but the people who drive them.

I dont understand how the model t was named car of the century and this guy says its the second worst?

I am starting my own list: The 100 Worst Writers of All Time.
1) Dan Neil
2) The judge for my divorce
3-100) open for nominations

That list is a bunch of lies. It's interesting how the Model T lasted 19 years and was a best seller for almost all of them. I'm sure there were many repeat customers too. The car was well built, dependable and economical, and for it's time one of the best on the road.

Chrisler/De Soto Airflow, was a very good car, but was ahead of it's time stylewise. It also came out during the Great Depression, when not everyone could afford an expensive car.

Edsel was also a good car, but the grille lines were not popular. It was also a big car during a time when small foreign imports were gaining popularity. The Edsel shared features with the Ford and Mercury, which were well known. It was just the wrong car at the wrong time.

Corvair was ruined by Nader. It was very similar to the Volkswagen only bigger.

Pinto, was a good economical car, but had a fatal flaw in the gas tank. It could have been fixed, but Ford decided to go with it instead of changing and unfortunately a few exploded and killed the car.

Now it's Toyota and Lexus turn to fix a very serious defect. It will be interesting if Toyota will survive this crisis.
Norm

I wonder what kind of car this guy drives? I wonder what he considers to be a good car?

My guess a Prius...

I'm told that presently, there are something like 250,000 Model T Fords in running condition--and of course, all of them are more than eighty years old (and very many are a good deal older than that). So, with regard to Mr. Neil's subterranean opinion of the Model T's quality, I'd like to ask the gentleman: Are there anywhere near 250,000 drivable examples of any other brand of eighty year old car?

where is the pontiac fiero?

I think the quote that most tells his reasons is that the T is to blame for the greedy selfish use of cars to day which is the cause of all our problems:
Article quote:
""The Model T ......conferred to Americans the notion of automobility as something akin to natural law, a right endowed by our Creator. A century later, the consequences of putting every living soul on gas-powered wheels are piling up, from the air over our cities to the sand under our soldiers' boots.""

So a totally political call on this one it seems.

Lets see...Toyota accelerator defect has one fatal accident (four people killed.) About 125 reported incidents to the NTSB as of this week.

Ford Explorer roll over recall had several hundred dead in thousands of NTSB documented accidents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone_and_Ford_tire_controversy

Pretty sure Toyota will survive.

I personally found a good portion of his artical entertaining. He did on a number of occasions give credit to a great car which was poorly executed due to various medelling from the bean counters etc. Everyone is entitled to an opinion; whether we agree or not let's just consider entertainment.

Ernie

And he call it .."with its blacksmithed body panels and crude instruments, the Model T was a piece of junk, the Yugo of its day".....

Man what an A$$!!!!..

I think the title of Bruce's book says it best: "Model T Ford: The Car That Changed the World."

I wonder what year are they going to put all those Jap cars better known as a toyota.

Seth, You'll like this.

When the first Model T's were ready for delivery Henry Ford wanted to stop it because there were too many problems with the cars that needed solving. I believe it was Sorenson who told him, the cars were sold, they had the deposits & they had $200 in the bank for payroll, they had to be shipped & we'll take care of the problems later.

Dust settled, technicaly speaking. what we're driving should be Model U's.

Alex