Readers of Automotive Engineering International voted on the best engineered cars of each decade of the 20th Century. An overall winner was chosen from among the entries.
     by Daniel J. Holt, Editor-in-Chief

First of all, AEI would like to thank the SAE Historical Committee for its assistance in completing this project. Also, we would like to thank the thousands of readers who submitted their choices for the best engineered cars in each of the ten decades of the 20th Century both via mail and over the SAE website at www.sae.org. The readers were asked to vote on the car and check the following criteria that fit their choice:

• 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
• 1910 - 1919: 1910 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
• 1920 - 1929: 1924 Chrysler Six
• 1930 - 1939: 1930 Cadillac V16
• 1940 - 1949: 1949 Volkswagen Beetle
• 1950 - 1959: 1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL
• 1960 - 1969: 1964 Porsche 911
• 1970 - 1979: 1974 Honda Civic CVCC
• 1980 - 1989: 1984 Plymouth Voyager
• 1990 - 1999: 1999 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible and 1999 Mercedes-Benz S500