Every car builder had a run where there were different generations of the same model.
Some versions worked, some didn’t, while others were clear winners–so here are five of what I thought were the best generations of the same car.
Jerry Sutherland
I’ll start with the legendary Ford Thunderbird.
Ford had many generations of the T-bird because Thunderbird history extended over decades from 1955 to 2005 (with a 1998-2001 gap).
Thunderbirds went from small to medium to extra-large–and back to small over their lengthy run, so they essentially built cars with appeal over a cross-section of buyers.
I’d like to pick the Squarebird (1958-60) version of the Thunderbird because they were super-cool–yet understated cars in an era of space-age excess.
I’d pick the Squarebird if it wasn’t for the Bullet-bird era Thunderbirds. Bullet-birds were built from 1961-63 and, in my opinion, they were early 60s perfection. These T-birds told you the 50s were over—Bullet-birds were low-slung, jet fighter-like, art on four wheels.
The next car is the Dodge Charger.
Collectors will tell you the 2nd Gen Chargers are the top-shelf versions of the legendary Mopar. They were great-looking cars because they looked fast in a parking lot and the movie ‘Bullitt’ turned the ’68 Charger into an overnight legend.
My pick is the 1st Gen 1966-7 Charger fastback. There are a few reasons for this choice, but the biggest reason is the fastback. These cars ooze 60s cool and the hemi option made them fierce contenders on the street. Things got real on Day 1 with the original Dodge Charger.
The third car is the Mustang.
They’re still building Mustangs in 2024 because this pony car became an instant cultural icon, so there are countless generations of the ‘stang. That doesn’t matter because the 1967-8 fastback Mustang was the perfect version.
I keep going back to the fastback for a reason. No roofline was cooler in the 60s– and the ’67-8 Mustang was a little bigger and a little tougher looking than the one it replaced.
The fourth car is the Impala. The Chevy Impala was a household name in the late 50s, and it turned into an American legend by the mid-60s.
There were several generations of the Impala because it was built (off and on) from 1958 until 2020–but for me the 1965 Impala two-door hardtop achieved perfection.
There are good reasons for this choice, but in 1965 every mid-priced car was chasing the Impala because Impalas were entering the 70s that year while the other guys were still in 1965.
The final ‘best of’ choice is the Pontiac GTO.
The GTO started the muscle car trend in 1964 after they built an affordable street racer based on the lightweight Tempest platform. The temptation is to pick this one because it was the first version of the GTO—but they built them from 1964 to until 1974—then they were reintroduced from 2004-6.
My choice is the 1966 GTO because everything worked on the ’66 Goat—form the striped taillights to the bold GTO grille. It was a masterpiece in steel.
There you have it—your opinion may vary wildly from mine. That’s the beauty of the car hobby…we’re all about choice.
Jerry Sutherland
. By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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