So You Say You’re a Car Genius: Can You Name the Make and Model of These Popular Cars From History?

By: Ian Fortey
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
So You Say You’re a Car Genius: Can You Name the Make and Model of These Popular Cars From History?
Image: Pixabay by Michael Kauer

About This Quiz

Some cars drive down the road of history and barely make a splash. Others seem to make their own road and leave the rest in their wake, speeding through history, well past the end of their production, never to be forgotten because of just how important they've been. 

It's hard to predict what can make a car popular. Clearly the Ford Model T was going to be big, it was the first car people could readily afford. But what made the Corolla the best-selling car of all time? Why do the Mustang and the Camaro keep competing with each other generation after generation? How has the Corvette captured the imaginations of millions of Americans for decades? And what is it about Ferrari that makes their cars so indescribably cool? Whether it is price or performance, design or something else altogether, there are plenty of incredible and popular cars that have been rolling down the streets for over 100 years. If you think you know your car history and which cars have stood the test of time as the best of the best, the mot popular models ever made, then take this quiz and see what you can ID!

6 - Volkswagen Beetle
Wiki Commons by Gzzz
Type 1 is the proper name for which of these cars?
Ford Pinto
Mini
Volkswagen Beetle
AMC Gremlin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Volkswagen's iconic Beetle is one of the top-selling car models of all time. The real name of the car is Type 1, but the Bug or the Beetle became much more popular. It's one of the few cars in the world that ever had a movie series made for it: the "Herbie" series from Disney.

24 - Volkswagen Rabbit
Wiki Commons by IFCAR
Do you know which company makes the car that was once known as the Rabbit?
Volvo
Volkswagen
Audi
Ford
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You won't find a Volkswagen Rabbit at a dealership these days, but you will find a Volkswagen Golf, which is the same car but the more popular name for the vehicle. It's the best-selling car Volkswagen makes and even surpassed the Beetle, selling over 30 million units.

8 - Tesla Model S
Wiki Commons by Granada
Who makes the Model S electric car?
Ford
Tesla
Chevy
Nissan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Tesla's Model S has a greater range than any other electric car in the world, capable of traveling 373 miles on a single charge. It's been in production since 2012 and even features an autonomous driving function which is essentially autopilot.

Advertisement

20 - Dodge Charger
Wiki Commons by Sicnag
"The Dukes of Hazzard" made what car famous?
Ford Thunderbird
Dodge Charger
Chevy Corvette
Pontiac GTO
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The 1969 Dodge Charger was the car that became the legendary General Lee on the "Dukes of Hazzard." Each and every week, the Duke brothers would destroy a few of them to the point that they're remarkably hard to find these days.

28 - Boss 429 Mustang
Wiki Commons by Greg Gjerdingen
John Wick's Boss 429 Mustang was made by which company?
Chrysler
Ford
Chevy
Pontiac
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ford Boss 429 Mustang was available in 1969 and 1970 and got its name from the 429-cubic-inch, 7.0L Cobra jet V8 engine that made it a monster on the road. Though John Wick says it's the car he's driving in the movie, his model is actually a Mach 1.

4 - Chevy Corvette
Wiki Commons by Bernard Spragg. NZ
What is sometimes known as America's sports car?
Ford Mustang
Porsche 911
Chevy Corvette
Plymouth Road Runner
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The modern sports car was pretty much defined by the Chevy Corvette. First made in 1953, the Corvette has been in continuous production ever since, with the exception of a brief gap in production back in 1983.

Advertisement

9 - Ford GT40
Wiki Commons by Lothar Spurzem
What car did Ford design just to destroy Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race?
GT40
Thunderbird
Boss 429 Mustang
Super Duty
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Thanks to a bitter feud between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari, Ford wanted very much to shame Ferrari at the race they'd dominated for years by building a faster car. They succeeded with the GT40, which won Le Mans from 1966 to 1969.

23 - Subaru Legacy
Wiki Commons by Tokumeigakarinoaoshima
Who makes the Legacy?
Subaru
Nissan
Hyundai
Toyota
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Subaru Legacy is one of the most popular models Subaru makes. Over 3 million of them have been sold since the model was introduced in 1988. It's the only mid-size car that you can get with all-wheel drive as a standard feature.

2 - Bugatti Veyron
Wiki Commons by GerardM
Veyron is an incredibly fast car made by which company?
Ferrari
Bugatti
Koengisegg
Lamborghini
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The BBC show "Top Gear" called the Bugatti Veyron the car of the decade for the 2000 to 2009 stretch. At a top speed of 253 miles per hour, it's still one of the fastest cars ever made and it's named for race car driver Pierre Veyron.

Advertisement

29 - Jaguar E-Type
Wiki Commons by Stahlkocher
"The Daily Telegraph" called which of these the most beautiful sports car of all time?
Austin-Healey 3000
Lotus Elise
Jaguar E-Type
Lancia Stratos
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Jaguar E-Type was made in 1961 and lasted until 1975. Many cars that followed in its footsteps were clearly influenced by its design and for good reason. Enzo Ferrari was quoted as saying it was the most beautiful car that had ever been made.

5 - DeLorean DMC-12
Wiki Commons by Berthold Werner
This car only got really popular after "Back to the Future." What is it?
Ferrari Enzo
Lamborghin Miura
McLaren F1
DeLorean DMC-12
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

John DeLorean designed the DeLorean back in 1981. It was actually a poorly received car at the time, but the producers of "Back to the Future" were looking for a gimmick for their movie and John DeLorean was in the news for a drug arrest.

17 - Mini
Wiki Commons by DeFacto
This little car was an icon of the '60s in Britain. What is it?
Aston Martin DB4
VW Type 1
AMC Gremlin
Mini
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Mini is the best-selling car in the history of the UK, with over 5 million of them sold in total. It was originally made by the British Motor Company, then British Leyland, then Rover, and has been known by about a dozen different names over its history.

Advertisement

25 - Pontiac GTO
Wiki Commons by nakhon100
Who made the GTO, often considered the first muscle car?
AMC
Dodge
Plymouth
Pontiac
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Pontiac GTO dates back to 1964 when it unofficially started the muscle car trend. By 1968 it was named "Motor Trend's" Car of the Year. Though it ended its run in 1974, they resurrected it again in 2004 for a very short run that lasted until 2006.

35 - Plymouth Road Runner
Wiki Commons by Sicnag
Do you know the make of the 1968 car named for a Warner Bros. cartoon?
Plymouth
Ford
Buick
Chevy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Plymouth Road Runner was named for the cartoon bird famous for outsmarting Wile E. Coyote and running at ultra-fast speeds. It even came with a horn that made the same "meep meep" sound that the Road Runner did.

31 - Citroen DS
Wiki Commons by PLawrence99cx
This was the first mass-produced car with disc brakes. What is it?
Citroen DS
Lancia Stratos
Jaguar D-Type
Austin-Healey 3000
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The French-made Citroen DS was produced from 1955 to 1975. It ranked third on the Car of the Century poll conducted in 1999, and "Classic and Sports Car" magazine named it the most beautiful car of all time.

Advertisement

39 - ForTwo
Wiki Commons by Hatsukari715
Which company makes the popular ForTwo?
Honda
Austin
Vovlo
Smart
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Smart ForTwo is one of the most recognizable cars ever made and also one of the smallest. Production began in 1998 and by 2015, Smart had sold 1.7 million of the little cars in 42 different countries around the world.

1 - Aston Martin DB5
Wiki Commons by Vauxford
The model of James Bond's famous car is the DB5, but who makes it?
Jaguar
Bentley
Austin-Healey
Aston Martin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Aston Martin had an entire DB series of cars. Their 2-liter sports model from 1948 was retroactively called the DB1. Since 2016, Aston Martin has been producing the DB11 models. None have achieved the fame of the DB5 though, thanks to James Bond.

7 - Porsche 911
Wiki Commons by Matti Blume
Do you know this car, which as of 2020, has been made in seven different decades?
Jaguar E-Type
Bugatti Type 35
Austin-Healey 3000
Porsche 911
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Porsche 911 dates back to 1963 and has been continually made, with very few modifications, ever since. According to a 1999 poll of the best cars of the century, the Porsche 911 was ranked 5th overall.

Advertisement

34 - Lincoln Town Car
Wiki Commons by Bull-Doser
Which luxury car was sold from 1981 until 2011?
Oldsmobile Cutlass
Mercury Cougar
Lincoln Town Car
Ford Edsel
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lincon's Town Car was a luxury vehicle that was produced in three generations, starting with the 1981 model year. Of all the cars under the Lincoln label, it was the most popular by far, with production numbers exceeding 2.2 million.

32 - Toyota Prius
Wiki Commons by Kārlis Dambrāns
What's the best-selling hybrid-electric vehicle ever?
Saturn Vue
Honda Insight
Ford Fusion
Toyota Prius
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Toyota has sold over 6 million Prius models since the car was introduced in 1997. According to research by iSeeCars, the Prius is also one of the most long-lived cars you can buy, ranking as the second longest-kept vehicle among US drivers.

40 - Mazda RX-7
Wiki Commons by dave_7
No other rotary-engined car has sold better than which of these?
Mazda RX-7
Nissan Leaf
Toyota Tercel
Hyundai Elantra
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mazda is famous for its use of rotary engines and the RX-7 is their most popular model by far. The RX-7 sold over 800,000 units between 1978 and 2002. The car also made it onto the "Car and Driver 10Best" list five different times.

Advertisement

19 - Chevy Impala
Wiki Commons by JOHN LLOYD
Who made the very popular Impala?
Ford
Pontiac
Chevy
Cadillac
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

As popular as Chevy has been over the years with models like the Corvette and the Camaro, the Chevy Impala is actually their bestseller. Since 1958, Chevy has sold well over 13 million of them.

13 - Cadillac Eldorado
Wiki Commons by Michi1308
The Eldorado was an early luxury car made by which company?
Buick
Cadillac
Chevy
Pontiac
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Cadillac Eldorado arguably set the standard for Cadillac as a maker of luxury cars. The car was made from 1952 until 2002. The name is a reference to the legendary lost city of gold El Dorado, believed to exist somewhere in South America.

27 - Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+
Seen Through Glass via YouTube
Who makes what is currently the fastest car in the world?
Bugatti
McLaren
Ferrari
Lamborghini
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ isn't actually available to the public just yet but when it does hit the roads if you blink you'll miss it. The fastest car in the world, it can hit a top speed of just over 300 miles per hour.

Advertisement

11 - Chevy Camaro
Wiki Commons by emilydickinsonridesabmx
Which car has been the pace car at the Indy 500 nine times, starting in 1967?
Pontiac GTO
Dodge Charger
Ford Mustang
Chevy Camaro
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Chevy Camaro has been one of Chevy's most popular models since its 1967 introduction. It remained in production until 2002 and then stopped for a short period of time before coming back in 2009. The original Camaro shared a platform and some components with the Pontiac Firebird.

30 - Ferrari F40
Wiki Commons by Will ainsworth
When this car was introduced it came with a price tag of $400,000. What is it?
Lamborghini Miura
Ferrari F40
Porsche 944
Lancia Stratos
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ferrari F40 was the last car Ferrari made that was personally approved by Enzo Ferrari himself. Introduced in 1987, it was both their most expensive and fastest car at the time. Four hundred units were planned but they ended up making 1,311 of them.

37 - Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
Wiki Commons by Greg Gjerdingen
Nearly 12 million of which of these were sold from 1965 to 1997?
Buick Skylark
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
Plymouth Valiant
Cadillac Seville
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Oldsmobile's Cutlass Supreme was a luxury mid-size car that wasn't just the most popular Oldsmobile, for a time it was the most popular car in its class. In the mid-80s there was even a high-performance version of the Cutlass Supreme called the 442.

Advertisement

38 - Pontiac Grand Am
Wiki Commons by SsmIntrigue
What was Pontiac's most popular model?
Grand Am
Sunfire
Firebird
Fiero
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Pontiac had a number of successful vehicles over the company's lifetime, but the Grand Am was far and away its most successful model. Over 4 million of them were sold in the car's lifetime, which was pretty haphazard, as the car was made in three separate runs between 1973 and 2005.

10 - Toyota Corolla
Wiki Commons by EurovisionNim
Over 44 million of these cars have been sold, making them the most popular model of car in history. What is it?
Honda Civic
Toyota Corolla
Ford Taurus
Chevy Cavalier
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Toyota Corolla was introduced in 1966 and has been in production ever since. In 1974, it became the best-selling car in the world and it clearly has remained at the top of the lists ever since, surpassing every other car ever made.

22 - Plymouth Fury
Wiki Commons by Greg Gjerdingen
Stephen King's "Christine" made this car famous, or infamous, depending on how you look at it. What is it?
Buick Skyark
Plymouth Fury
Cadillac De Ville
Rambler Classic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Christine, from the novel by Stephen King, was a 1958 Plymouth Fury. The car was the most popular model Plymouth ever made, selling over 3.6 million units during its lifetime from 1959 to 1978. Technically, Christine was actually a Plymouth Belvedere, as the Fury was a sub-series of the Belvedere in 1958.

Advertisement

21 - De Tomaso Mangusta
Wiki Commons by © Jörgens.mi
Which company introduced the Mangusta in 1967?
Fiat
De Tomaso
Lancia
Bugatti
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

De Tomaso's Mangusta was a sports car model from 1967 that was only available in North America, thanks to a special waiver. Due to low production numbers, it was allowed to enter the country despite not meeting safety regulations. It had headlights that were too low and no seatbelts.

36 - Ford Tempo
Wiki Commons by SsmIntrigue
Ford sold nearly 3 million of these from 1984 to 1994. What is it?
Fairmont
Crown Victoria
Tempo
Pinto
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ford Tempo was one of those ever-present cars of the 1980s and was a hugely popular model for the company. There wasn't a year between 1984 and 1994 when they didn't sell at least 100,000 units and sometimes up to 400,000 units.

33 - Nissan Leaf
Wiki Commons by Tokumeigakarinoaoshima
Do you know what the best-selling electric car is?
Hyundai Elantra
Nissan Leaf
Chevy Volt
Honda Accord
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Nissan has been making the Leaf from 2010 until the present and it's sold over 400,000 units in that time, making it the most popular electric car model in the world. It even took the title of "World Car of the Year" in 2011.

Advertisement

14 - Honda Civic
Wiki Commons by EurovisionNim
Do you know the best-selling Honda model ever?
Accord
Civic
CR-V
Prelude
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Honda's most popular model by far has been the Civic, which they stared making back in 1972. Since that time, Honda has sold over 17 million of them, making them one of the top-10-selling automobiles of all time.

18 - Buick LeSabre
Wiki Commons by IFCAR
Between 1959 and 2005 Buick sold over 6 million of what model?
LeSabre
Skylark
Regal
Enclave
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The most popular Buick model ever made was the Buick LeSabre. Modern LeSabres were family sedans, but back in 1959, they were massive land yachts available as convertibles, four-door hardtops, and even station wagons.

26 - Toyota 2000GT
Wiki Commons by Alf van Beem
The iconic 2000GT was made by what company?
Ford
Lotus
Toyota
Ferrari
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Toyota 2000GT is an extremely rare and valuable car these days, with some of them selling at auction for around $1.2 million. The 2000GT achieved a legendary status thanks to its sleek European styling, which had never been seen in Japanese cars before.

Advertisement

12 - Model T
Wiki Commons by Richard Smith
Ford sold 16.5 million of which of these models?
Model A
Model S
Model T
Model 7
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ford Model T was not the first car ever made, but it was the most popular mass-produced model of its age. The 1999 "Car of the Century" poll ranked the Ford Model T as the single most influential car of the entire 100 years.

16 - Lamborghini Gallardo
Wiki Commons by Thesupermat
Which Lamborghini model sold over 14,000 units?
Gallardo
Countach
Diablo
Miura
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Lamborghini Gallardo was the best-selling model the company ever made, with 14,022 units sold between 2003 and 2013. After production of the Gallardo ended, the Huracan took over as the flagship model in Lamborghini's lineup.

3 - Chevrolet Classic Six
Wiki Commons by Michael Barera
What was the model of the first car Chevy ever made?
Classic Six
37/95
A-Type
Model 1
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Chevy Classic Six, also called the Chevy Type C or the Model C, dates back to 1912, although at the time they didn't actually call it the Classic Six. It was the first Chevrolet ever, so they just called it the Chevrolet.

Advertisement

15 - Koenigsegg  Regera
Wiki Commons by Falcon® Photography
What is Koenigsegg's most popular model to date?
CCX
Jesko
Regera
Agera
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg has sold, but not fully produced, 80 Regera models. They're still in production, but they're all spoken for. They have plans to make even more Jesko models, but those have yet to be released.

You Got:
/40
Pixabay by Michael Kauer