![1970 Pontiac Firebird, Best Looking Cars](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2018-02-19-at-10.26.25-AM.png)
Consensus is overrated. No one walks into a nice restaurant planning to poll the establishment’s other patrons in order to determine what to eat. Likewise, no one can tell you what you think is beautiful.
I make this point because the 15 vehicles shared here did not make this list as a result of any scientific polling. Instead, I simply asked four of our editors to provide me with a list of the three rides they find best looking (hence the asterisk in this article’s title).
The asterisk is also there because of the fact that one vehicle appears twice—though once as a coupe and once and a convertible—and one of our editors brought a truck into the mix.
That said, we offer no apologies. The Consumer Guide team finds the 15 vehicles shared below to be especially attractive.
As always, we invite your comments and list suggestions, and we expect a certain amount of scorn. After all, there is little more personal than your list of best-looking cars.
With that, we invite your to peruse our list of the 15 Best-Looking Cars of All Time.
Best Looking Cars
Tom Appel’s First Choice: 1954-57 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing”
![1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1954-aAM.png)
There is a certain sensibility to German design that I find incredibly compelling. There is something about the proportion and substance, about the solidity and finesse of certain German cars that is undeniable.
The 1954-1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing” is a triumph of that sort of design restraint. There isn’t a single design flourish on the car that doesn’t contribute its overall beauty. Standing still, the Gullwing looks as if it’s speeding.
This breathtaking beast looks both nimble and dignified, yet somehow luxurious in a very minimalist way. I would argue that every attractive Mercedes built in the wake of the 300 SL shared at least some aspect of this car’s design philosophy.
The 8 Best-Looking Cars of 1978
Tom’s Second Choice: 1976-89 BMW 6-Series
![1986 BMW 635CSi](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1986-BMW-635CSi-1024x389.png)
Tom’s Third Choice: 1970 Pontiac Firebird
![1970 Pontiac Firebird](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1970-Firebird-1024x386.png)
The 5 Best-Looking Cars of 1970
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Damon Bell’s First Choice: 1967-69 Chevrolet Camaro
![1967 Chevrolet Camaro](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1967-Camaro.png)
Narrowing down my personal favorite vehicles to just three choices is always an impossible task, as is ranking them in any specific order. So, I’m cheating a bit (okay, maybe a lot) with the parameters here. I picked these vehicles not only for how great-looking they were when they rolled off the assembly line, but also (perhaps mainly) for what they became in the hands of countless hot rodders and customizers over the years. These are timelessly cool canvases for customization, and their wonderfully proportioned styling is endlessly adaptable to pretty much any hot-rod genre—past, present, or future. They’re eternal.
Damon’s Second Choice: 1932 Ford (any two-door body style)
![1932 Ford V8](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1932-Ford--1024x529.png)
Damon’s Third Choice: 1953-56 Ford F-100
![1953-56 Ford F-100](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-01-at-11.54.26-AM.png)
The 5 Best-Looking Sedans of 1985
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Jack Stewart’s First Choice: 1961-67 Jaguar E-Type
![1961 Jaguar E-Type](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1961-Jaguar-1024x531.png)
Jack’s Second Choice: 1936-37 Cord 810/812
![1937 Cord 812](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/Screencc-Shot-2017-12-01-at-2.53.25-PM.png)
Jack’s Third Choice: 1935 Duesenberg SSJ
![1935 Duesenberg SSJ](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1935-SSJ-1024x386.png)
The 3 Strangest-Looking Vehicles of 1986
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John Biel’s First Choice: 1963-64 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso (GTL)
![1963 250 GTL](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1963.png)
John’s Second Choice: 1961 Pontiac Catalina 2-Door Hardtop
![1961 Catalina](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1961-Catalina-1024x385.png)
John’s Third Choice: 1969 Dodge Charger
![1969 Dodge Charger](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-01-at-11.47.01-AM-1024x368.png)
The 10 Best-Looking Sedans of 1991
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Rick Cotta’s First Choice: 1963 Jaguar E-Type
![1963 Jaguar E-Type](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/jag-63.png)
Although its sweeping, compound-curve sheetmetal would surely be a bodyman’s nightmare, I’m always struck by how sensuous the E-Type’s lines remain even 50+ years after they were penned. Proportion has a lot to do with that, a hood that makes up almost half the car’s length being a “proportion” I rather like. Even after adopting 5-mph bumpers in the ’70s, the XKE remained a great-looking car, with no need to add a qualifying, “for the era.” As Jack has selected the coupe (above), I lay claim to the convertible, which I genuinely prefer.
Rick’s Second Choice: 1960 Chrysler 300F
![1960 300:F](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/1960-300F.png)
Rick’s Third Choice: 1992-98 BMW 3-Series
![1992 BMW 3-Series](https://blog.consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-02-at-10.36.57-PM.png)
The 6 Best-Looking Cars of 1980
Best Looking Cars
Best Looking Cars
I might move the Firebird to first place.
Remember “Miami Vice” at the beginning iof the series before Crokett got moved to the Testarosa? He drove a black Ferrari Daytona convertible. That, my friend is one sexy car…back when Ferrari was still into the feminine expression of the definition of “sports car”, before they transitioned to a more muscular, angular, masculine ethos.
The Ferrari Daytona…perfection embodied.
Apart from the new Roma, I don’t find any current-generation Ferraris very appealing. But yeah, that Daytona.
That said, I do love that Jag convertible!!!!