The 10 cars that made history.

Drawing up merit rankings is the best way to make the reader notice what is missing. Let alone having to choose the 10 most important cars in the history of the car by going through more than 130 years of production and sifting through thousands and thousands of models. The criteria then are very different because they encroach on the fields of style, personal memory, brand philosophies and technology, and that this list could be flanked by several others all with the same dignity. The list that follows is however dictated by the industrial, innovative and customary impact that these cars have had, becoming examples for all competitors to follow. With one imperative: that of limiting the chosen ones to just one model per brand, even if this has meant excellent and painful exclusions (Citroen DS and VW Golf above all). Moreover, it is clear that the most innovative cars are also the oldest ones because starting from scratch it was easier to dictate new rules, but in order not to mention models that are now too distant, we have traversed a little of the last century, arriving at two cars that have strongly marked the new millennium. Here, then, is this top ten, but to understand it, it is worth reading the reasoning behind it, knowing full well that the Benz-Patent of 1886, the first of all cars and to which in any case goes the most deferential bow, is missing.