The Wikipedia has an article on the Car of the Century, an award decided upon in 1999, apparently. Usually these Something of the Century awards go to the most unlikely contestant imagineable but I find myself unable to argue with the judges’ decisions. They have chosen with considerable discernment and understanding, it seems to me.

The winner was the Model T Ford, probably the best-known car of all. And in that it really stakes its claim - it was the first to be mass-produced and made motoring available to millions. Since it changed the face, not only of the automotive world, but of twentieth century living, it deserves this accolade.

Next up was the Mini; and who would argue with that? The Model T may have changed lives but the Mini altered the design of cars from the moment of its first production. Few indeed are the modern cars that do not have a similar engine layout to the Mini’s. And, apart from that, it was one of the most fun cars to drive ever invented.

Third place is more difficult to predict but I think it has gone to the right contender: the Citroen DS. Interestingly, Citroen had three possibles in the twenty-six nominees, any of which would not have been a bad choice. But the DS was just so ahead of its time that it deserves its place. It announced aerodynamics as the way of the future, introduced the idea of pneumatic suspension and looked futuristic among other cars of its time.

Isn’t it interesting that none of the winners are the supercars and street racers of our wildest dreams? When it comes to real success, we need to look at the cars that impacted upon society, that affected millions of people. I am just glad that there remains a place for the special and limited edition cars.