Basic Numeracy: Cars With ‘1’ in the Model Name
This week we’re going to be bringing you a series of posts which highlight very specific model names of vehicles. They won’t all be in current production, and we are certain there will be outrageous omissions.
Still, consider these rigs a good down payment on an interesting topic - one which might make for a good road trip game or pub trivia question. Feel free to add your own entrants.
[Images: Ford, Porsche, BMW]
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Logically, we’ll start with the number ‘1’. The best-selling vehicle in the land, for what seems like a gazillion years running, is the Ford F-Series. Note that it isn’t the Ford F-150 in particular; rather, the sales numbers lump together many different models. That means a mighty F-350 Super Duty dually is counted in the same column as a regular cab F-150 short box.
We’ll leave the murkiness of that accounting for another day. What’s important is that there is an F-150 on just about every street corner, stadium parking lot, and dusty construction site in America. In fact, we’ll go out on a limb and suggest that, because of such sales prowess, the digit ‘1’ is probably the most common number found on model name badges in this country.
It would be a disservice to both decades of performance and obscure car history if the Porsche 911 wasn’t included in this list. The former is blindingly obvious, with over a dozen different variants of the rear-engined beast available from which to select in this model year.
In fact, the current 911 Turbo S is the most powerful mass production 911 to date, with over 700 horsepower from its hybrid guts. As for the trivia part, it is often said Porsche originally wanted to call it the ‘901’ but Peugeot got its knickers in a knot because it felt it had a hold on three-numeral car names with a ‘0’ in the middle. Guess which one is more desirable today.
There are likely to be a slew of BMWs on these lists this week, thanks to that brand’s naming convention. Fortunately, the pages of history in Munich are filled with great examples of gearhead candy, including the excellent 135i from about fifteen years ago.
Readers with good memories will recall its twin-turbo 3.0L inline-six which made 300 horsepower and like amount of torque, never mind its set of headlights which looked as if they were far too big for the car itself. If you can find a non-thrashed one today on the used market, the smart money will snap it up quickly.
