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About This Quiz
Cars: They're sometimes a convenience, sometimes a necessity ... and sometimes they become a big part of the culture. Can you identify these iconic cars from a single sentence? Test your skills now with our quiz!
These were the classic, cheap "student cars" of the 1960s and 70s.
VW Beetle
The VW Beetle was an ideal car for the young, broke and freewheeling of that day. It got you from point A to Point B without using up a lot of gas or looking old and stodgy, as an old sedan might.
1960s Mustang
Cadillac Eldorado
Buick LeSabre
I was the fastest street-legal car in the world in the 2000s and Top Gear's 2005 favorite.
Bugatti Veyron
The Veyron made a huge splash in the auto world of the mid-2000s. Top Gear presenter James May reached a speed of 417 miles per hour in a test-track drive.
Porsche 911
Porsche Cayman
Volkswagen Passat
Introduced in 1988, I am sometimes mistaken for my sibling, the VW Scirocco.
Corrado
The Volkswagen Corrado is a beautiful "hot hatch" that, for some reason, never caught on. You'll see one every once in a while on the road, driven by an owner who probably loves it to death.
Insight
Beetle
Golf
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An early hybrid, I was overshadowed by the Prius.
Honda Del Sol
Honda Insight
The Insight beat the Toyota Prius to the US market. Why, then, did the Prius do so much better? Because it has four doors, and the Insight only had two.
Ford Escape
Porsche Cayman
I'm a luxury carmaker's entry into the "supercar" market.
BMW 320xi
Porsche Cayman
Mercedes SLS-AMG
When Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone have owned the same vehicle, that's real street cred!
Volkswagen Touareg
In the 1990s, I had a TV series named for me!
Chevy Corvette
Dodge Viper
The series "Viper" ran for one season on NBC before going to syndication for another three years. The car the crime-fighters drove was a special "Viper Defender," of which less than 20 were made.
Ford Probe
Lamborghini Gallardo Balboni
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Britney Spears famously drove one in the 1990s.
Porsche Boxster
Okay, maybe you're not a fan of Miss Spears. But the Boxster is famous if for no other reason than one made its way into Justin Timberlake's revenge video, "Cry Me a River," in which a pretty ash blonde girl whose face we never see bounces out of her mansion and into one, leaving Justin to come in and get down in bed with another girl. Cheeky!
Mustang convertible
Toyota Prius
VW Beetle
This went from being a cheap "student" car to a classy suburban ride.
Buick LeSabre
Toyota Previa
Volvo wagon
The Volvo wagon -- particularly the 240 series -- was an inexpensive, easy-to-maintain ride for the young and broke throughout the '80s and '90s. Nowadays, a Volvo wagon or sedan will run you more than US $40,000 new.
VW van
I'm like the little brother of the Toyota Tundra.
Silverado
Ram
Tacoma
The early-generation Tacomas were a compact truck. In later years, they swelled to "mid-sized," keeping up with a "bigger is better" ethic in the truck world.
Touareg
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You'd see four rings on my front grille.
Audi A4
The four linked rings, a bit like the logo of the Olympic Games, is the symbol of Audi. Like Saab, Audis are a high-quality car for people who a like subtler, less showy design.
Mercedes SLK
Porsche Cayman
Subaru Outback
This SUV is beloved of rich Southern Californians who never take them off-road.
Ford Escape
Nissan Pathfinder
Range Rover
Range Rover is a luxury SUV of British make. In the 2000s, the firm asked Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham to consult on a special edition, the Range Rover Evoque.
Chevy Suburban
I'm quite chic among young, outdoorsy hipsters.
Cadillac Eldorado
Dodge Dart
Subaru Outback
Outbacks are popular because they're durable enough to take hiking, mountain biking, stand-up paddleboarding, etc. -- yet without the environmental guilt that goes with having a full-sized SUV.
Trans-Am
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When introduced in 2008, I was hotter in Hollywood than a Maserati or Porsche.
BMW 330i
Honda Odyssey
Audi A4 Quattro
Tesla Roadster
The Tesla Roadster was introduced to the world by South African entrepreneur Elon Musk. It was the first mass-produced electric car.
Honda made me from 1984 to 1991, replacing me with the Del Sol.
Accord
Civic CRX
The CRX was a sharply wedge-shaped hatchback with only two seats. Well-maintained, this car could achieve 48 miles per gallon, more than 15 years before the hybrid Insight and Prius arrived on the scene!
Insight
Luna
This was a Japanese auto maker's answer to the Land Rover.
Hummer
Land Cruiser
The Land Cruiser started out as a Jeep-like vehicle and gradually grew more comfortably appointed. The Land Cruiser is still made today, in its J200 model.
Range Rover
Touareg
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I'm considered Chevy's rival to the Mustang.
Corvette
In truth, the Corvette was introduced before the Mustang. This hasn't, though, lessened the perception that the two cars are in more or less direct competition with each other.
Chevette
Silverado
Tahoe
Don't tell anyone I'm secretly a Toyota.
Lotus Elise
Insight
Lexus LS
Lexus is Toyota's luxury brand. Telephone staff at Toyota service centers are trained to always introduce themselves as "calling from the Lexus service center," not Toyota.
Porsche Cayman
I am a "crossover," meaning a mix of a luxury car and an SUV.
Dodge Challenger
Lexus RX300
Lexus was one of many automakers to start bringing luxury to the SUV in the 1990s. They were responding to the vehicle's evolution into a status symbol for urban and suburban owners.
BMW 330i
Volkswagen Golf
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Which automaker makes the Impreza?
Chevrolet
Honda
Subaru
The Subaru Impreza is part of a modern trend of giving cars meaningless names loosely based on real words -- in this case, "impress." Jerry Seinfeld lampooned the trend in his stand-up routine.
Toyota
I began my life as an Army vehicle.
Ford F-150
Jeep
Of course, this is the Jeep. The BBC show, "Life on Mars," begins with the hero crashing his Jeep Wagoneer in 2007 and waking up in 1973. When he tries to explain the situation to a police officer, the bobby says incredulously, "You were driving a military vehicle?"
Mercedes SLS-AMG
Lotus Elise
This is a classic choice for ranchers, builders and contractors.
Ford F-150
Ford F-250
Ford F-350
all of these
The Ford F line of trucks has been hugely popular with people in these trades. And for some reason, the color of choice is almost always white. (If you're one such owner, maybe you can explain this preference in the comments.)
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Finish the advertising slogan: "The ____ is go!"
Accord
Fit
Honda's ads for the subcompact Fit were a far cry from when Japanese importers tried to smooth over their cars's Asian origins. "The Fit is go" was part of an advertising campaign designed to look like a gaudily-colorful Japanese video game.
Camry
Whim
These cars took Milan by storm in "The Italian Job."
Aston Martin Vanquish
Jaguar XJ6
Mini Cooper
In this caper film, Michael Caine's Charlie Croker chooses Minis for their maneuverability. The cars get away with a shared cargo of gold bricks after a daring heist.
Ford Mustang
Like my cousins the Charger and Challenger, I was redesigned for the 2000s.
Dodge Dart
The compact version of the Dart, made from 1967 to 1976, got a reputation as a kind of poor man's car as the years went by. But in 2013, Dodge revived the name for a stylish little sedan based on a Fiat design.
Chrysler Imperial
Buick LeSabre
the DeLorean
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I'm so small you could practically park me in a closet, not a garage.
Honda Del Sol
Ford Fairlane
Nissan Altima
smart Fortwo
The smart brand (all-lowercase is the standard spelling) is part of a 21st-century craze for very small European cars. Just enough room for you, your honey, and your also-fashionable teacup Yorkie!
This Italian car resembles a Mini Cooper.
Ferrari Mondial
Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 returned to North American markets in 2011. Actress Jennifer Lopez took one for a spin in the first U.S. commercial.
Bugatti Veyron
Lamborghini Gallardo
You'll recognize me by the rearing stallion on my grille or body.
BMW 320xi
Ferrari Testarossa
This car proved popular with sports-world figures, especially in the 1980s and '90s. Michael Jordan, O.J. Simpson and Mike Tyson all owned one.
Dacia Sandero
Aston Martin Vanquish
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Pontiac made this not-quite-sports car.
Altima
Fiero
Fiero is in that class of cars that are more often called "sporty" cars than "sports cars." But, hey, love is in the eye of the beholder!
MR2
Probe
My body style was based on a rejected design for a new Mustang.
Catalina
Charger
Probe
Yup, the humble Probe might have been a Mustang. Actually, the fourth-generation Mustang that designers finally came up with didn't look at all that different, tbh.
Chevelle
If you have a 1980s "Fox body" version of this car, what do you own?
an Acura
a Corvette
a Mustang
The 1980s Mustang had a solid build, less aerodynamic than the generation to follow, but just as powerful. Clarice Starling's Roush Mustang in "Hannibal" is a Fox body.
a Mercury Mountaineer
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I'm Volkswagen's entry into the luxury market.
Rabbit
Golf
Passat
Touareg
The Tuareg people for whom this SUV is named are nomadic North Africans. We're guessing they don't travel in as much luxury as Touareg owners.
Looking for a BMW sport-utility? Here it is!
320xi
XJ6
Pathfinder
X5
BMW is best known for its sedans, but like nearly everyone else, had to enter the SUV market. All those yuppies in law school in the 1980s starting having kids and needed bigger vehicles, we suppose!
What kind of car was "The Dukes of Hazzard's" General Lee?
a Dodge Challenger
According to show trivia, there were more than 200 "General Lees" used in the production of the show. Maybe this makes sense given how hard filming would have been on the car (the boys made a jump in it in nearly every episode, it seemed).
a Chrysler LeBaron
a Ford Mustang II
a Plymouth Duster
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What kind of car was "Christine" in the Stephen King novel of the same name?
an Alfa Romeo Spyder
a '60s Mustang
a Plymouth Fury
Stephen King's books often celebrate pieces of classic Americana, like 1950s cars -- but with a dark spin on them. This was the case with "Christine," the murderous Plymouth Fury.
a Volkswagen Squareback
You Got:
/35
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