1. Plymouth Valiant
   Dodge Charger Daytona
2. Mercury Cougar
   Ford Mustang

The Dodge Charger Daytona was a modified version of the Dodge Charger made specifically to compete in Nascar events. When it debuted in 1969, it won several races and was then banned along with the Mercury Cyclone, Ford Superbird and Ford Torino Talledega when Nascar limited all cars to engines smaller than 300 cubic inches.

1. Chevy Impala
   Ford Mustang
2. Dodge Challenger
   Pontiac GTO

The Chevy Impala had been in production since 1958, but the 1961 production run started its third generation. It was a large, stylish car with a 409-horsepower engine that made it an absolute monster on the road.

1. Checker Marathon
   Studebaker Commander
2. Oldsmobile Starfire
   Cadillac Eldorado

Starting in 1961 the Checker Marathon was produced as both a passenger car for everyday folks, but, much more notably, it served as the yellow taxi everyone recognizes from New York City and did so for many decades.

1. Pontiac GTO
   Dodge Challenger
2. Chevy Corvette
   Pontiac Thunderbird

The Pontiac GTO introduced a new model for 1969 that was called "The Judge." A cool enough nickname, but it came from the comedy bit on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" in which Sammy Davis Jr. would introduce a series of jokes by repeating the line "here comes the judge."

1. Studebaker Avanti
   Jaguar E-Type
2. Lotus Elan
   Plymouth Barracuda

The Studebaker Avanti only had one production year from 1962 to 1963 before the company closed up shop. The Avanti was actually a well-regarded car when it debuted, but in total less than 6,000 were ever produced.

1. Chevy Camaro
   Ford Mustang
2. Pontiac GTO
   Dodge Charger

The 1964 Pontiac GTO was the car that started the trend of all the major auto manufacturers producing muscle cars regularly, in a weird way competing with each other to make the most powerful car with each new model.

1. Ford Mustang
   Dodge Challenger
2. Plymouth Barracuda
   Lincoln Continental

The Plymouth Barracuda, often just called a 'Cuda, was a direct competitor of the Ford Mustang. In fact, it only had a two-week headstart on the Mustang. In 1967, it was outfitted with its legendary 426 Hemi engine.

1. VW Microbus
   VW Regal
2. VW Beetle
   VW Rambler

The VW Microbus is an iconic '60s vehicle and was made even more famous thanks to a flurry of movies about the '60s depicting hippies driving around in them. They kept making these until 2013.

1. Dodge Challenger
   Chevrolet Impala
2. Ford Mustang
   Chevy Corvette

The Ford Mustang hit big when it showed up in 1964. Word is that they sold 22,000 of them by the first weekend after it debuted, and in the first year, over 300,000 were sold. Their list price was only $2,368 back then, which, adjusted for inflation, is still only $19,600. The cheapest Mustang today is still about $26,000.

1. Dodge Custom 880
   Buick Riviera
2. Lincoln Continental
   Dodge Polara

The Lincoln Continental had been around since the 1940s, but some financial issues with designs in the late '50s caused the company to pretty much scrap everything and start new for the fourth generation in 1961.

1. Dodge Polara
   Pontiac Superbird
2. Ford Fairmont
   Buick Skylark

Dodge had been making Polaras for all of the 1960s, but it was in 1969 that they redesigned the already sizeable vehicle to a whopping 220.8 inches in length, basically making it into a land yacht.

1. Plymouth Barracuda
   Buick Skylark
2. Chrysler Lebaron
   Buick Riviera

The Buick Riviera debuted in 1963 as a total redesign of an older vehicle that had the same name but didn't really look anything like the new version. This new design was meant to be a luxury car and, in 1963, that meant very big with a lot of attention to detail.

1. Ford Pinto
   AMC Pacer
2. Renault 16
   Dodge Dart

The Renault 16 was a French car that was actually made from 1965 all the way until the 1980s. While it seemed to appeal to European drivers, when they tried to market it in the United States, it sold incredibly poorly.

1. Vauxhall Victor
   Aston Martin DB5
2. Daimler SP250
   Lotus Elan

Aston Martin has long produced the iconic cars associated with James Bond, and the DB5 from 1963 is one of the most famous models. It made its debut in the 007 movie "Goldfinger" and became a legend.

1. Aston Martin DB3
   Lotus Elan
2. BMW Mark I
   Mini

The Mini was a two-door economy car developed in response to the fuel crisis, the idea being you could get a lot more mileage out of something this small. The Mini Cooper, as some people call it, was a version specifically designed for racing.

1. Door locks
   Brake lights
2. Seat belts
   Catalytic converter

January 1, 1964, was the date by which every new vehicle had to be sold with functional seat belts. Now over 50 years later, every car still has them, but not every state makes using one a requirement under the law, and a small number of people still refuse to buckle up.

1. Front-wheel drive
   Airbags
2. Automatic transmission
   A cassette player

The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado was the first car since 1937 that offered drivers front-wheel drive. The idea that a car could be pulled by its front wheels instead of pushed by its rear wheels was not something most people were down with.

1. 1968 Dodge Challenger
   1969 Dodge Charger
2. 1970 Ford Mustang
   1967 Pontiac Thunderbird

Bo and Luke Duke drove a 1969 Dodge Charger called General Lee on "The Dukes of Hazzard," and they were not kind to that car. Word is that somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 were created for and destroyed during the production of the show. Only a handful of them still exist.

1. Ford Fairlane
   Pontiac GTO
2. Dodge Charger
   Chevrolet Chevelle

The Chevrolet Chevelle was first produced in 1964 and slowly grew into a bit of a muscle car by the late '60s. It was offered in numerous styles, including 2-door and 4-door hardtops and sedans, a 2-door convertible and a 4-door station wagon.

1. Chevy Chevette
   Ford Pinto
2. AMC Gremlin
   Volkswagon Beetle

The VW Beetle was manufactured from 1938 to 2003 and looked almost exactly the same for its whole history. In the '60s, it received a number of substantial upgrades to the design, including engine improvements and those iconic headlamps.

1. Mercury Reliant
   Plymouth Valiant
2. Renault 16
   Rambler Marlin

The Rambler Marlin was made by AMC, and even the company that produced it said they mostly launched it as a way to draw attention to other cars manufactured by AMC. To that end, it actually worked as the rollout for the Marlin drew a lot of buzz and got people into dealerships.

1. 427 Stingray
   Lotus Elan
2. Porsche 911
   Rambler Marlin

The Porsche 911 was first manufactured in 1963, and in all the time since then, barely anything has changed from a design standpoint. Many options have come and gone over the years, though, including a gas-burning heater from the '60s.

1. Dodge
   Plymouth
2. Ford
   Chevy

The Plymouth Fury was a strange, huge, angry-looking car complete with throwback 1950s fins and, in 1961 especially, a front end that looked like the car had come to life and was extremely unhappy with you.

1. Ford GT40
   Porsche 911
2. Ferrari 250 GTO
   Lotus Elan

One of the fastest cars in the world back in the '60s, the Ferrari 250 GTO was an absolute speed demon. It's also one of the rarest cars in the world today. One sold at auction in 2013 for $38 million.

1. Ford Mustang
   Lamborghini Miura
2. Porsche 911
   Ferrari 250 GTO

The Lamborghini Miura had a monstrous mid-rear mounted V12 engine and 350 hp. This car could hit speeds of around 170 mph for those times when you really, really needed to get somewhere in a hurry.

1. Jaguar E-Type
   Chevrolet Chevelle
2. Dodge Dart
   Shelby Cobra

Designed by Caroll Shelby and named after a dream, the Shelby Cobra is one of the most iconic street racers from 1962 until 1967. It was actually made from the guts of a Ford and an AC Ace body.

1. Renault 16
   Lotus Elan
2. Aston Martin DB5
   Porsche 911

The Lotus Elan may not have had the massive horsepower of something like the Chevy Impala, but it compensated for it by offering superior handling and lighter weight overall. Less weight means fewer horses to pull it along, as it were.

1. Dodge Challenger
   Chevy Chevette
2. Chevy Camaro
   Porsche Spyder

Chevy's answer to the Ford Mustang, the Camaro was a muscle car that sported a big block engine and a lot of options. It never actually surpassed the Mustang in terms of sales, but it's still a legend.

1. The Detroit Auto Show
   The World's Fair
2. E3
   Turin Auto Show

It was the World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York where the Mustang made its first official appearance in the world. That first model wasn't a super-fast beast of a vehicle, but it was a decently priced alternative to the Thunderbird.

1. Citroen Ami
   Renault 16
2. Citroen Visa
   Simca Coupe 1000

The Citroen Ami was manufactured for nearly 20 years and, all things being equal, was considered one of the ugliest cars on the market back in 1961. It didn't sell all that well in its first year. Part of the problem was that, for the first six months, models on sale didn't even have back windows that could open.

1. BMW Mark IV
   Rolls Royce Silver Ghost
2. Jensen Interceptor
   Aston Martin DB5

The Jensen Interceptor was not the most attractive car ever produced, but it had a powerful V8 engine and could pull out around 135 mph. This was actually the second Interceptor Jensen produced, having made another vehicle of the same name back in 1950.

1. Chrysler Star
   VW Legionnaire
2. Ford Fairmont
   Dodge Dart

The Dodge Dart was Dodge's answer to the Plymouth, which had been lost due to restructuring in the Dodge dealer network. Dodge dealers no longer would be able to sell Plymouths, so the Dart was a lower-priced option rolled out fill the gap.

1. They became more expensive.
   They were halved.
2. They existed for the first time.
   They were offered with numerous options.

Before 1968, a standard warranty was for 24,000 miles or two years. But in 1968, manufacturers, in a cost-cutting measure, halved their standard warranties to 12,000 miles or one year.

1. Jaguar E-Type
   Porsche Spyder
2. Rolls Royce Silver Ghost
   Mercedes M

The Jaguar E-Type was produced for the 1961 model year, and it had an impressive top speed of 150 mph To this day, it's considered one of, if not the best, sports cars of the entire 1960s.

1. Sting Ray
   ZR-1
2. Grande Coupe
   Corvair

Starting in 1963, the Chevrolet Corvette was produced as the Chevy Corvette Sting Ray. The Sting Ray was designed to be a smaller model than the previous generation and was available as either a coupe or a convertible.