Can You Guess What Year This Car Was First Released?

AUTO

By: Ian Fortey

6 Min Quiz

Image: Unsplash by Jakob Owens

About This Quiz

It was back in 1769 that the very first steam-powered automobile was produced, putting some poor horse-drawn wagon out of business. They called that thing a "fardier a vapeur" because the French have a way with words, but it obviously didn't really catch on. It wasn't until Henry Ford rolled out the Model T back in 1908 that cars really caught on. Not because Ford had innovated the gasoline engine, which he hadn't, or come up with a great new design, which he also hadn't. But he did start mass-producing cars, and no one else had done that before. He made them accessible to the masses. And the masses definitely accessed them.

Literally thousands of different models of vehicles have been designed and built since Ford starting running those Model T's off the line, and some of them have gone on to sell tens of millions of units. People just love their cars, and each year new models are introduced. With over 100 years of history, that means a lot of cars have come and gone, some making a bigger splash than others. If you're a bit of a car history buff, why don't you show off your skills by seeing if you can guess when all of these cars were first released. Take the quiz and see!

In 1964, what car did Ford unveil?

The Ford Mustang came out in 1964, though it had been produced as a concept car for the previous two years. Today, Mustang is the longest-running name in the Ford stable of vehicles.

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When did Ford's incredibly popular F-Series arrive on the scene?

Ford's F-Series of trucks are the most popular trucks in the world. They've been in production since 1948. Word is the brand is actually worth $41 billion for Ford.

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In which year did Chevy launch its classic Impala?

The Chevy Impala has come in and out of production several times in its history, but it started back in 1958 and became one of the biggest muscle cars out there. In 1965 it was the top-selling car, with over 1 million sold.

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When did the Corvette come out?

One of the most popular sports cars in history, Chevy has been producing Corvettes for over 60 years starting back in 1953. Every single one made in that first year was produced in polo white. They had more colors in 1954,

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Do you know when the Honda Civic showed up?

The Honda Civic has been around since 1972. Not only has it sold over 17 million units in its lifetime, it has the dubious honor of being one of the most highly stolen cars in the United States as well.

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Which BMW model came out in 1975?

BMW's remarkably popular 3 Series debuted in 1975. It's the best-selling model in BMW's history and makes up a good 30% of all the business the company does. Around 10 million of them have been sold.

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Do you know when the Buick LeSabre first appeared?

Buick's best-selling model ever, the LeSabre showed up in 1959. Over 6 million of them were sold in the car's lifetime but it did come to an end in 2005. It was replaced by the Lucerne in 2006.

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Who doesn't like a Pontiac Firebird? When was it made?

Pontiac's iconic Firebird started tearing up the streets in 1967. It was created to be a competitor for other popular muscle cars of the era like the Mercury Cougar and the Ford Mustang.

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In 1939, what model did Studebaker introduce?

The Studebaker Champion was one of the best-selling Studebaker models ever produced. It was remarkably cheap when it came out which contributed to its popularity, not to mention the fact it was just a nice-looking car.

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In 1964, Chevy introduced what model that proved to be incredibly popular?

The Malibu was first offered by Chevrolet in 1964 but it was actually just a fancier subseries of the Chevelle when it first showed up. It wasn't until 1978 that it became its own model of car separate from the Chevelle.

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Do you remember when Jeep first produced its CJ model?

What most people just called a Jeep is actually the Jeep CJ and it was first produced in the 1945 model year. Production stopped in 1986 and now what you think of as a Jeep is probably the Jeep Wrangler, which replaced it in 1987.

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James Bond drove an Aston Martin DB5. When was that car produced?

The iconic DB5 that Bond drove in the movie "Goldfinger" came out in 1963. The actual car used in the movie had gone through several owners over the years until it vanished from its last owners' Florida property in 1997. It was stolen and never recovered.

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Honda's Accord is incredibly popular. When did they introduce it?

The Honda Accord came out in 1976 and has been one of the top-selling cars of all time. In 1989, it became the first import brand ever to become the best-selling vehicle in the United States.

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What was the first model year of the Ford Pinto?

The early '70s were a big time for compact cars, and the Pinto was Ford's contribution to the cause back in 1971. The Pinto was arguably one of the biggest debacles in automotive history thanks to fuel-tank issues

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One of the classiest cars ever is the Cadillac De Ville. When was it introduced?

The De Ville was Cadillac's best-selling car and it was also in production for the longest time as well. It was produced from 1959 all the way through to 2005. Nearly 4 million of them were sold in its history.

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Which popular Subaru model came out in 1989?

The Subaru Legacy has been around since 1989 and is the most popular Subaru model in the world. It's sold as the Legacy most places but in Australia, it's marketed as the Liberty out of deference to Legacy Australia, a nonprofit that helps care for the families of veterans.

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VW has sold over 12 million Golfs. When did the company start making them?

Marketed as something of a replacement for the Beetle, the Golf drove onto the scene in 1974. It was sold under the name Volkswagen Rabbit when it first showed up in the United States and Canada.

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Prius is the all-time best selling hybrid in the world. When did Toyota introduce it?

From 1997 to 2017, Toyota had sold about 4 million Priuses, which made it the top-selling hybrid of all time. The EPA has listed the Prius as one of the cleanest-running cars in the world.

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Corolla is one of Toyota's most recognizable models. When did it first appear?

Toyota introduced the Corolla all the way back in 1966. It has proven to be one of if not the most popular model the company has made, and it counts over 44 million of them sold as of the year 2016.

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Which year gave us the incredible AMC Gremlin for the first time?

1970 was the year of the Gremlin, and over 670,000 of them ended up being produced in total. It hit the market at a pretty reasonable $1,879 which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $12,400 today.

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In which year did the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost come out?

Rolls-Royce's Silver Ghost was road-ready all the way back in 1906. They were actually called 40/50s and it wasn't until a specific car called the AX 201 was produced that it was actually called "Silver Ghost." That specific car is worth about $35 million today.

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The 911 is Porsche's most popular model. When did the company start selling it?

Porsche's famous model 911 was introduced back in 1963 and is still in production today. It's one of the few cars to have existed for this long with almost no major design changes to the look of the car in all that time.

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One of the first cars Jaguar ever produced was the Jaguar XK120. When did it roll out?

The XK120 was a fairly short-lived vehicle that was produced from 1948 to 1953. Jaguar had made some earlier modes including the SS 100 which was built back in 1936. It had a top speed of about 124 miles per hour.

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Thanks to "Back to the Future," everyone knows the DeLorean. When did it come out?

The DMC DeLorean was tragically short-lived and only existed from 1981 to 1983. Less than 10,000 were ever produced. In 1983 it would cost you $34,000 for a brand new DeLorean, which is about $87,000 today.

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Do you know when VW first started producing the Beetle?

The Beetle is arguably one of the most iconic cars ever and certainly the most well-known model produced by Volkswagon. Its first production year was 1938 and proved to be so popular it was the first car ever to reach 20 million sold. While production started in 1938, it wasn't until after WWII that they became widely available.

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The Ford Model T pretty much started the car craze. When did it first appear?

Ford produced the Model T from 1908 to 1927. By 1914, the statistics said that only about one in every 10 cars wasn't actually a Ford. No doubt the company wishes it could get 90% of the market again.

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When did the Tesla Roadster first hit the road?

The Tesla Roadster was sold starting in 2008 and it was the first highway-legal electric car with a lithium-ion battery that you could buy. Tesla dropped the Roadster in 2012 and has since offered a number of different models instead. A new Roadster with a 650-mile range is set to debut for 2020, and for $50K you can reserve one ... with a base price of $200K!

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When did Kia introduce the Sorento?

The Kia Sorento was introduced by Kia Motors back in the year 2002. That first year was a rough one for Kia, as the Sorento got raked over the coals by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which gave it terrible safety ratings.

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The Ferrari Testarossa came out when?

Ferarri replaced the Berlinetta Boxer with the Testarossa in 1984. About 10,000 Testarossas were produced over its 12-year production run. It showed up for the first time at the 1984 Paris Auto Show.

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When were you first able to buy a Nissan Leaf?

Even though Tesla may be the most well-known electric cars in the world, the Nissan Leaf is the best selling one. They first appeared on the market in the 2011 model year, and now nearly 400,000 of them have been sold, which is about 100,000 more than Tesla's Model 3.

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Which model did Lamborghini introduce in 1990?

The Lamborghini Diablo came out in 1990 and stayed in production until 2001. In that entire time, only 2,903 of them were ever produced. That may have had something to do with the fact they started at about $239,000.

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The Bugatti La Voiture Noire was the single most expensive car ever sold. What year did it come out?

The Bugatti La Voiture Noire was a one-off automobile, as in there's only one of them in the world. The price tag was $12.5 million but it actually sold for just under $19 million, which is the most any brand new car has ever pulled in.

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Do you know when the VW Bus showed up for the first time?

The VW Bus, which is actually called the VW Type 2 (Bus is just a nickname) was first rolled off the line in 1950, and is coming back as an all-electric vehicle soon! Over 12 million have been sold, making it the most popular van in history.

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Remember the Yugo? When was that first made available in the United States?

The Yugo was initially released in 1980 in Europe but it wasn't until 1985 when it became available in the United States and stayed on the market until 1992. Only 1,400 or so were sold in that final year. It did 0-60 in a molasses-like 14 seconds.

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In which year did Saturn produce the Ion?

The Saturn Ion was a replacement for the Saturn S-series and it was on the market from 2003 until 2007. In 2008 it was replaced by the Saturn Astra, which only lasted a few years as Saturn stopped production of everything in 2010.

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