The conventional wisdom says that the original Ford Thunderbird was a direct response to Chevrolet’s launch of the Corvette. 
The Corvette was displayed at the 1953 Motorama, and immediately Ford designers pulled out their drafting pencils and went to work. But the real story is that the Ford Thunderbird was just the kind of car that many designers dream about, so when the formal call to work on a 2-seater came from management, Ford designers just reached into their desk drawers. Read more . . .
The Datsun 240Z was blessed with excellence. Not because it was a feat of technological brilliance. 
It didn’t offer revolutionary styling that turned the industry around, nor did it deliver economy or performance that set it apart from its contemporaries. The Datsun 240Z‘s greatness is derived from the combination of evocative if derivative styling,competent engineering, better-than-average performance and low price. The standard automotive buyer of the late-Sixties couldn’t afford a Jaguar E-Type, but she or he could afford a 240Z. Read more . . .
If there were any hesitations about Errett Lobban Cord, there is certainly no doubt that he was an optimist. 
He believed in creating a better mousetrap, and he believed in the American Dream. Of course, his American Dream of producing a successful line of automobiles bearing his name had already come acropper once. He and his team at Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg had designed the technologically advanced and beautiful Cord L-29 only to see the stock market crash soon after its introduction. With sales of less than 4,000 over the course of its 3-year run, Cord was forced to stop production of the model and re-group. Read more . . .
Think of a time when things were going so well for the American car manufacturers that one of them could produce a new model based on what many might view as a practical joke. 
And then imagine that the version that resulted from that joke–the Chevrolet Nomad–would go on to be acclaimed by legions of fans around the globe as the ultimate station wagon, a car that turned the station wagon stereotype on its ear because it was so utterly cool. Read more . . .
According to Chevrolet, three words characterize the all-new, sixth-generation Chevrolet Corvette–power, precision and passion. 
Certainly, previous editions of the legendary Corvette offered all three, but in this newest version of Chevrolet’s 50-year-old icon, its engineers and designers have aimed to give the model serious enhancement in each of these key categories. Thus, the new car is gifted with a heavily revised small-block V-8 engine offering a potent combination of 400 pound-feet of torque and 400 horsepower, more elegantly expressive styling and a closer attention to fit-and-finish details that are designed in. Read more . . .