What period of time had the best cars in your opinion?

[peterliang]

Sadly I can't say that the 60s/70s had the best cars. There were a handful that stuck out, but, frankly, the Golden Era of automobiles is relative. In a sense, since they're only been around for just over a century, there haven't been enough changes to truly make any decade the 'Golden Era'.

If anything we're on the verge of a Golden Era as we step into alternate fuels, lower CO2 emissions, better collision safety and even cars that park themselves and incorporate adaptive cruise control right up to stopping themselves at traffic lights.

Technologically speaking vehicles are about to step into an era of automation, function leading form and a sensibility of purpose that before was more of a luxury than a necessity.

That being said, I do like progressive design. As far as aesthetics are concerned the latest breed of concepts and hybrids are always going to be, to me, and in relative terms, the peak of the Golden Era.

Also, the 50s because of the DB5 ^_^;

Not including that stupid GM Onstar system...

[Mad Mike]

I like american cars from 60s till the very early 80s the most, mainly because of the design and the engines.

[SolarGoldRaptor]

From the design point of view I prefer the 30's, and especially the late 30's. Especially all those hand-built one of a kind bodies. I suspect that in terms of performance those cars were not especially exciting in todays standards. But still.

In any case high quality handwork is something I appreciate a lot. In fact the well-executed 3d models fall in the same category. Unfortunately, nowadays, when everything around us is mostly made in ... somewhere else, it is difficult to come across really high quality artefacts.

I totally agree with that, take for instance the Delahaye 135 Figoni and Falasci.

But my favorite period of time extends from the late sixties to the early eighties. Cars were simple and not perfect, the designs were a lot more interesting and there was much more diversity. Designers were also more daring than today.
I have a 79 Firebird resto project myself, and quality is very low compared to what they do today. But it has this charm that no modern car can offer.