The 2000s is often considered to be one of the best eras for the automotive industry. We had the last few gasps of big, naturally-aspirated performance cars, and one last chance for the analog supercar to shine through. It's truly a fantastic era, and almost all the cars from the time are guaranteed to become future classics. Admittedly, there were a few flops as well. But, it wasn't just performance cars that experienced a huge boom in the 2000s.
Generally speaking, a whole slew of awesome cars were launched in this decade. Okay, not all of them were truly awesome, but they all had one thing in common; they would go on to become some of the most important automobiles of all time, and a lot of them shaped the industry into what it is today.
10 Toyota Prius
During this time, hybrid cars and electric cars still seemed like a distant, impossible dream. Toyota seemed to disagree, as they launched what would end up being one of the most important cars, not just of the 2000s, but maybe even of all time; the original Prius.
The original Prius, along with the Honda Insight, was among the first consumer-available hybrid vehicles. It had a conventional gasoline engine, and a small electric motor for better fuel consumption and decreased emissions. While the Prius nowadays remains a huge subject of ridicule, it can't be disputed that it shaped the industry into what it is today.
9 Porsche Carrera GT
It wouldn't be a discussion of the most important cars of the 2000s without mentioning the final truly analog supercar. The Porsche Carrera GT was the absolute peak of Porsche's engineering expertise in 2005, and it showed in just about every detail. We absolutely love it.
The concept car originally came with a 5.5-liter racing-derived V10 engine, but the production car bumped that up to 5.7 liters and 612 hp. All of that was sent to the rear wheels through a 6-speed manual transmission, and little to no electronic nannies to help you when you make a hash of things. The GT is very difficult to master, but if you do, it's a joyous experience.
8 BMW M3 E46
It truly is the darling of this generation. In fact, it's the darling of just about every automotive journalist, BMW enthusiast, M3 enthusiast, performance car enthusiast, whatever the case may be. There's a very good reason for that; it's difficult to argue with the E46 M3's status as the best M3 of all time, and easily the best one money can buy today.
Aside from it probably being the best-looking M3 by far, it was also the most refined and final version of the formula people had grown to love. A growly straight six, a manual transmission, RWD, and handling to die for. It's easily one of the most important BMWs of all time, and it's deserving of its icon status.
7 Ford F-150 Supercrew
Generally speaking, the Ford F-150 is a very important vehicle in North America. It continues to top sales charts even today, and it remains one of the benchmarks of the light duty pickup segment. The 2001 model year was especially important for the F-150, as that's when Ford introduced the Supercrew.
How is this important? This was the first pickup truck with full-size rear doors, which opened the door (pun intended) to owners using their F-150 as a family car and as a work horse. At first, other automakers were skeptical, but now a double cab is basically the default setting for most new pickups.
6 Bugatti Veyron
When the VW Group acquired Bugatti in the late 90s, they set about making what they claimed would be the fastest production car in the world. Everyone was very skeptical, and rather famously, Top Gear wasn't convinced at all, making fun of Bugatti and VW for this claim in the earlier seasons.
Even then, Bugatti only went and did it. The Veyron ended up becoming the fastest production car in the world, reaching a top speed of 253 mph. It dethroned the McLaren F1, and it would take a long time before the Veyron's record was beaten... by a souped up Veyron. Today, the Veyron remains one of the most iconic and important cars in history, which explains its price hike.
5 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Before the ZR1, the Corvette was always a decent, albeit slightly old-fashioned performance coupe. It wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't really taken seriously, as it was more of an old school fun car rather than a serious machine. The ZR1, introduced in 2009, changed that course forever.
The ZR1 was a lot more mature than any other preceding 'Vette, and it was also the most powerful up until that point, with its supercharged V8 dispatching 638 hp. It remains one of the most iconic Corvette models, and it finally proved to the world that the Corvette can kick it with the best that the Italians and Germans had to offer.
4 Volkswagen Golf GTI (Mk5)
The original Golf GTI was a hugely important car in itself, as it basically kickstarted the hot hatchback revolution, leading everyone to hop on the bandwagon soon after. Unfortunately, by the Mk3 and Mk4 Golf models in the 90s, the GTI became little more than an appearance package/trim level.
Enthusiasts and fans of the GTI outed VW on this decision, which is why when the Mk5 came along in 2003, VW brought back the GTI properly. The Mk5 used a turbocharged 2.0-liter four banger with around 200 hp, all the while being as practical and sensible as any old Golf. The GTI's comeback brought it right back in the limelight and restored its icon status, and the badge is still going strong today.
3 Nissan Qashqai
On the face of it, this looks like probably the least important car of the 2000s. It's just another crossover, right? Yes, that's true, but this is not just any crossover; the original Nissan Qashqai was the very first compact car-based crossover.
Launched in 2007, the Qashqai was designed to provide the benefits of an SUV (including AWD), wrapped up in a much more approachable, less expensive and less complicated, but still rugged hatchback body. This gamble paid off for Nissan, as it quickly became one of the best-selling cars in Europe, and pretty soon, every other automaker crafted a crossover of their own.
2 Mini Hatch
The original Mini is definitely one of the most important automobiles of all time, due to it making the transverse FWD layout mainstream in the auto industry. The original soldiered on until 2000, but with the dissolution of British Leyland a few years prior and with Rover struggling, BMW acquired Mini's assets, with the aim of bringing the iconic little hatchback into the modern world.
Launched the same year as the original ended production, the new Mini was a lot larger than the original, but it looked pretty much the same. It was thoroughly modernized, and it was all about driving fun, just like the original. Okay, so it wasn't all that practical, but it's such good fun behind the wheel, especially the original supercharged Cooper S models, you can't help but forgive it. The Mini is still selling by the millions, despite only having three doors and spawning countless, more practical derivatives.
1 Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac, along with Lincoln, were among the first American automakers to recognize the potential in a full-size luxury SUV. The original Escalade in the 90s was hastily put together with whatever was left over from the Yukon at the time, but in 2002, the Escalade became its own thing.
How many rap music videos from the 2000s can you name that have an Escalade in them? Quite a few, we'd assume, and indeed, the Escalade became the star of a lot of hip hop and R&B music videos. It also had 345 hp, more than just about any other SUV of the time, and combined with being surprisingly luxurious, Cadillac's image was slowly starting to shift.