According to voting done by peoples on the basis of:

• The car successfully introduced a new engineering system and/or solution that was subsequently adopted by others, either wholly or in part.
• The car enjoyed exceptional longevity in the marketplace, thereby indicating and validating sound initial engineering capable of further development.
• The car achieved better performance than its contemporaries by virtue of the excellence of its engineering. Performance is defined as any combination of the following attributes — accommoda- tion of people and/or luggage, comfort, durability, economy of operation, environmental responsi- bility, handling and stability, production cost, quality, safety, and/or speed.

The following are the winners for each decade. There was a clear winner for each decade except for the last and the overall winner, where there was a tie. Since both vehicles for that decade are shining examples of engineering excellence we decided to award both vehicles the honor.

• 1900 - 1909: 1908 Ford Model T
  
  
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/01.htm

  
  
• 1910 - 1919: 1910 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/02.htm

  
  
• 1920 - 1929: 1924 Chrysler Six
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/03.htm

  
  
• 1930 - 1939: 1930 Cadillac V16
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/04.htm

  
  
• 1940 - 1949: 1949 Volkswagen Beetle
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/05.htm

  
  
• 1950 - 1959: 1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/06.htm

  
  
• 1960 - 1969: 1964 Porsche 911
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/07.htm

  
  
• 1970 - 1979: 1974 Honda Civic CVCC
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/08.htm

  
  
• 1980 - 1989: 1984 Plymouth Voyager
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/09.htm

  
  
• 1990 - 1999: 1999 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible and 1999 Mercedes-Benz S500
  
  

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  Read more for this car http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/10.htm