About This Quiz
Turbulent times indeed, the 1960s saw the height of the Cold War. In fact, this standoff between the West and Communism reached a fever pitch with the Cuban Missle Crisis. It was a time of change for music and media, in particular, with dramatic evolutions. The humble motor car changed as well, both in the United States and Europe.
Gone were the massive cars of the 1950s and although many vehicles remained large, especially in the United States, a new phenomena hit the motoring scene: the pony car. Muscle cars as we know them today gave drivers an adrenaline rush thanks to their much-vaunted V8 powerplants. The Ford Mustang, released in 1964, is perhaps the most iconic muscle car ever made. And it exploded in popularity, selling 400,000 units in just a year, blowing away even the most forward-thinking analyst's sales projections. Due to its success, other brands soon followed and by the late '60s, if you didn't have a muscle car, you just weren't part of the young "in" crowd.
But there were many other excellent cars marketed during this decade and today, many of them are still sought after. So we have prepared a list of cars from the '60s for you to identify. Let's see how many you can get right!
Produced between 1962 and 1971, the Jeep Gladiator was available in both a 4-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive option. Obviously, the 4-wheel drive was far more capable off-road. Suspension options also varied with either a solid front axle or an independent front section. Power plant options changed a number of times over the years.
Not many people know but Peugeot is actually one of the oldest car manufacturers in the world. Their most popular model, the 504, was produced between 1968 and 1983 and is the company's highest-selling model.
Oldsmobile manufactured the Vista Cruiser between 1964 and 1977. The earlier models had fixed-glass, roof-mounted skylights with sun visors for the second-row passengers and three rows of forward-facing seating.
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Pontiac produced some iconic names in motoring, especially with its GTO. The first models, released in 1964, were available in a convertible, hardtop and coupe. This was a serious muscle car and remains a firm favorite with enthusiasts today.
Introduced in 1962, the Avanti certainly looked different from other cars on the market. Studebaker pitched the Avanti as a high-performance four-passenger car. And its performance at the time was pretty special, with the Avanti breaking close to 30 records during runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
A grand tourer, the Iso Grifo was first marketed in 1965. Although it was Italian through and through, bearing styling by design house Bertone, it made use of Ford and Chevrolet V8 engines.
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There isn't an ugly Ferrari is there? And the Daytona, with its unbelievably long hood, is a looker, too. Introduced in 1968, the Daytona was powered by a 4.3-liter V12 engine A little over 1,400 were made up until 1973.
The Midget was produced by MG from 1961 to 1980, with four generations produced. A two-door roadster, the first generation was powered by a 948 cc engine which increased to a 1.1-liter engine the following year. Over 25,000 examples of the first generation MG were produced.
Although made of plywood, it is inferred that the FAB1, the car driven by Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward of "Thunderbirds" is a heavily modified Rolls Royce. That's good enough for us!
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Although the Alfa Romeo Spider had a production run from 1966 to 1993, it is the ’66 to ’69 models, the first generation, that are highly sought as classic cars. This version had three power plant options, either 1.3-liter, 1.5-liter or 1.8-liter.
Close to 222,000 examples of the E3 were built between 1968 and 1977. This full-size luxury car was powered by a range of gas engines from 2.5 to 3.2-liter, all straight sixes. The E3 was available in three body shapes: a 4-door sedan, a 4-door extended sedan and a 2-door cabriolet.
The 1960 Impala was a relic of '50s car design, with the remnants of tailfins on the hood and a giant steel body. It packed an optional 5.7-liter V8 engine that could put out 335 hp, and offered a new luxury: power seats!
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First introduced in 1962 and produced until 1964, the 440 is considered to be an upmarket version of the famous Dodge brand, the Dart. It was available in a range of configurations from 2-door convertible to a 4-door wagon.
A British design using a British engine, but built in America and with an American driver, the Gurney Eagle-Weslake MkI grabbed the win at the prestigious Spa F1 Grand Prix in 1967 with Dan Gurney at the wheel. It also managed a third in Canada that same year.
Built between 1962 and 1965, the Custom 880, which formed part of the full-sized vehicle segment, was brought in by Chrysler after the production of the DeSoto was stopped in 1961. Over 100,000 Custom 880s were sold by the end of the production run in 1965.
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Produced between 1968 and 1971, the Holden Broughman was a full-sized luxury sedan. Essentially, it was the Premier sedan but with an extended rear body. It was also marketed in South Africa as the Chevrolet Constantia.
A jet car... yes a jet car. Well, to be precise, a gas turbine. The Howmet TX was an experimental car powered by a gas turbine engine. It raced around the world, even at Le Mans in 1968, but was plagued by reliability problems.
This 2-door hardtop was manufactured between 1968 and 1970, and again between 1971 and 1974. The AMC Javelin offered various engine levels from the more economical pony car through to muscle car options. In Australia, it was known as the Rambler Javelin, in México as the VAM Javelin and in Europe as the Javelin 79-K.
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First manufactured in 1967, the Camaro is one of the most popular Chevrolet models ever. The first-generation Camaro came in a range of models including 2-door hardtop and convertible. Engine options included straight-6 to a massive 7.0-liter V8.
First seen at the Geneva Motor Show in 1967, the Matra 530 was a French sports car. It was powered by a Ford 1.7-liter Taunus V4 engine made in Germany. Talk about a cosmopolitan vehicle. Over 8,000 were made.
Designed by Giuseppe Scarnati, the Alfa Romeo Giulia was a compact executive model first produced between 1962 and 1978. The first generation was powered by a 1,570 cc Twin Cam engine which produced 91 bhp.
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The Chrysler Corporation marketed this range of compact forward-control trucks and vans between 1964 and 1970 in North America, under Fargo in Canada and Dodge in the US. A Dodge A100 was used in the "Batman" television series during the 1960s.
Sold for a period of nine years from 1966 to 1975, the BMW 1602 was a two-door cabriolet which included a high-performance version, the TI. This model was not sold in the United States, as it did not meet emission requirements at the time.
The original Lotus Elan first saw the light of day in 1962. A lightweight sports car, it featured a 1.6-liter double overhead cam engine and weighed just 1,500 pounds. The Elan is widely regarded as one of the best sports cars of the decade.
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Manufactured by Opel between 1964 and 1977, the Opel Diplomat was a full-size luxury car which replaced the Opel Kapitän. Between 1965 and 1967, a limited number of Diplomat Coupés were available.
Over 30,000 of these fastback coupes were built by Audi from 1969 to 1976. It was noted for its slanting back section. The 100 Coupe S was powered by a 1.8-liter engine coupled to a 4-speed manual gearbox.
Swedish car manufacturer Saab manufactured the Saab Sonett between 1955 and 1967. Saab targeted the Saab Sonett at the American market, although between 1968 and 1972 it was only available in Sweden. The Sonett was a 2-seat, open-top, lightweight roadster.
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The Riviera stirs up a lot of debate as to whether it should be regarded as a muscle car or not. What is not disputed is its impact on American motoring. With the Riviera, Buick aimed at a European style while keeping the framework of the larger American automobile.
The Charger was Dodge's first muscle car in the 1960s and entered the market as the automaker's answer to Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. All three cars continue to vie for dominance.
Named after a town in France, the Calais was produced by Cadillac from 1965 to 1976 over two generations. Although it was a full-sized luxury car, it was aimed at the entry-level market.
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Introduced in 1961, this smaller pickup didn't catch the imagination of the American public. In fact, by 1964 only 851 were sold. It was discontinued that year.
The Dodge Adventurer was a version of the Dodge D-Series pickup and was marketed by Dodge from 1968 to 1971. By 1970, there were three Adventurer models for customers to choose from - the base model, the Sport and the SE.
Built between 1966 and 1970, the Honda S800 sports car featured as either a 2-door roadster or coupe. Over 11,000 were produced.
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The Scout was built during the late 1960s into the early 1980s and proved to be a popular off-roader. Over 500,000 were built during this period.
Arguably the most iconic muscle car even, the Mustang was first released in 1964. It proved one of the most popular debuts ever and within a year, 400,000 units had been sold, which quadrupled Ford’s sale estimates.
The Batmobile in the 1960s "Batman" TV series was, in fact, a Lincoln Futura, a concept car from 1955 of which only one was ever built. The Batmobile itself was not this Futura but a replica with a Fiberglass body. In 2013, it was sold for an astonishing $4.62 million at auction.
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The 323, also know at the Familia in Japan, was a small compact car marketed by Mazda for 40 years from 1963. All in all, the Familia included eight generations, each with a range of body styles including wagons, hatchbacks and sedans.
Established in 1897 by Ransom E. Olds, this American auto manufacturer closed its doors in 2004 after producing 35 million vehicles for American roads. The Cutlass, a model introduced in the early ‘60s, proved to be one of the most popular introduced by the company. It started life in the compact class before the 1964 models moved the Cutlass into the mid-sized category.
This light commercial van was first produced by Ford in 1965 and remains an important model in the company's lineup to this day. In fact, over the years, Ford has sold over 8 million Transits.
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Other than the fact that it is the quintessential Bond car, the Aston Martin DB5 certainly is a classic! This luxury grand tourer was only produced between 1963 and 1965 with little over 1,000 made. It was available as a hardtop and as a convertible.