Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Production began in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964 and the car was introduced to the public on April 17, 1964 at the New York World’s Fair. It is Ford’s second oldest nameplate currently in production next to the F-Series pickup truck line. However the F-series pickup truck has undergone major nameplate changes over the years. The Mustang was Ford’s most successful launch since the Model A.

Executive stylist John Najjar, who was a fan of the World War II P-51 Mustang fighter plane, suggested the name. An alternative view was that the Mustang name was first suggested by Robert J. Eggert, Ford Division market research manager. Eggert, a breeder of quarterhorses, received a birthday present from his wife of the book, The Mustangs by J. Frank Dobie in 1960. Later, the book’s title gave him the idea of adding the “Mustang” name for Ford’s new concept car. As the person responsible for Ford’s research on potential names, Eggert added “Mustang” to the list to be tested by focus groups; “Mustang,” by a wide margin, ” came out on top under the heading: “Suitability as Name for the Special Car.”

The Mustang created the “pony car” class of American automobile — sports car-like coupes with long hoods and short rear decks — and gave rise to competitors such as GM’s Chevrolet Camaro, AMC’s Javelin, and Chrysler’s revamped Plymouth Barracuda. It also inspired coupés such as the Toyota Celica and Ford Capri, which were exported to America.

Mustangs grew larger and heavier with each model year until, in response to the 1971-1973 models, fans of the original 1964 design wrote to Ford urging a return to its size and concept.

Although some other pony cars have seen a revival, the Mustang is the only original pony car that has remained in production without interruption after four decades of development and revision.

Nissan Altima

The Altima  is a mid-size car (originally a compact car) manufactured by Japanese automaker Nissan, and is arguably a continuation of the Nissan Bluebird line, which began in 1957. It has historically been larger, more powerful, and more luxurious than the Nissan Sentra but less so than the Nissan Maxima. The Altima is available in North America as well as the Middle East. In other markets, Nissan sells a related mid-size sedan called the Nissan Teana, built on the same FF-L platform used by the 2002–2006 Nissan Altima.

 

The name “Altima” originally referred to a trim line of the Nissan Laurel mid-size car sold in the Caribbean before 1992. In 1993, Nissan discontinued its much-criticized Stanza, replacing it with the US-made Altima, while remaining a compact car. The very first Altima rolled off the assembly line on June 15, 1992, as a 1993 model. All Altimas had been built in Smyrna, Tennessee, until June 2004, when Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi, plant began producing additional Altimas to meet high demand. Regardless of the manufacturing site change there have been numerous manufacturing defects that have resulted in safety recalls on production years 1994 through 2008.

Honda Civic

The Honda Civic is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously-running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only the Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1968, has been in production longer. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda’s vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the Civic has become larger and more upmarket, and it currently slots between the Fit and Accord.

It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback that September. With the transverse engine mounting of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive like the British Mini, the car provided good interior space despite overall small dimensions. Early models of the Civic were typically outfitted with a basic AM radio, heater, foam-cushioned plastic trim, two-speed wipers and painted steel rims with a chromed wheel nut cap. The current Civic has become much more upscale with options such as air conditioning, power locks, and power windows, leather upholstery, satellite-linked navigation, and a six-speed manual transmission. Initially gaining a reputation for being fuel-efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly, later iterations have become well-known for performance and sportiness, especially the Civic Type-R and Civic Si.

The Civic has been rebadged for international markets with such models as the Honda Ballade and Honda Domani/Acura EL. The Civic platform also served as the basis for the CR-X sport compact, the CR-X del Sol targa convertible, and the CR-V compact SUV.

As of 2008, the Civic has been the top-selling car in Canada for eleven straight years. With high gas prices and a weak economy in June 2008, the Civic supplanted the Ford F-Series to become the top-selling vehicle in the United States for that month.

Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry is a mid-size car, formerly a compact car manufactured by Toyota since 1980. The name “Camry” is an Anglicized phonetic transcription of the Japanese word kanmuri , meaning “crown”. This follows Toyota’s naming tradition of using the crown name for primary models starting with the Toyota Crown in 1955, continuing with the Toyota Corona and Corolla; the Latin words for “crown” and “small crown”, respectively. Incidentally, “Camry” is also an anagram for “my car”.

For the East and Southeast Asian markets, high specification Camry models are seen as executive cars. Since the sixth generation model, the Camrys sold in these markets have sported revised front- and rear-end treatment. For the seventh generation, the same was done, although the Australian-designed Toyota Aurion which is based on the seventh generation Camry was the donor model. The Aurion features revised front- and rear-end treatment and changes to the interior, but is fitted with the same powertrains. An up-branded luxury version of the Camry was sold in Japan as the Toyota Windom until 2006; the related Lexus ES shares major chassis and drivetrain components with the Camry.

In the United States, the Camry has been regularly the best selling car for the last decade, but has been outsold in some years. The Camry also sells very well in Australia, Canada, and a number of Asian markets—in particular Cambodia where the vast majority of cars are Camrys. Due to their comfort-tuned suspensions, most models of the Camry are regarded as less sporty than rival vehicles, with the exception of sport (SE/Sportivo) versions. Despite its international success, it has not sold as well in Europe, where sales ended in 2004,^[6] and the Avensis became the flagship model in 2002.