Automobile Models: One Animal at a Time Quiz

Answer: Plymouth

Barracuda are large (up to 65"/165 cm) snake-like in appearance, with prominent, sharp fang-like teeth. They have a fearsome appearance and are fierce.
Seems a perfect name for a Plymouth Barracuda which was built between 1964-1974. Based on the Plymouth Valiant, an intermediate sized car, it was introduced to combat the Ford Mustang. This two door hardtop evolved into a muscle car. The third generation models (1970-74) are considered collectible in the 21st century.

Answer: Ford

In the US, a mustang is a wild horse whereas a bronco is an untrained horse. It didn't really matter, as the answer would have been the same: Ford, who produce both the Mustang and the Bronco.

When introduced in 1964, the Ford Mustang took the motoring world by storm. Based on the Ford Falcon chassis the Mustang was a two door, sporty and affordable coupe with a long hood and short rear deck. The Mustang was the archetype "pony car" class of American muscle cars. Competitors such as the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, AMC Javelin, and second generation Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Challenger were all created to combat the Mustang, but the Mustang was the class leader.

Answer: Ford

A Pinto horse is not a breed per se but a horse coat color that consists of large patches of white and another color.

The Ford Pinto (1970-80) was the first sub-compact car Ford made in the US and was the smallest model since 1907. It came in fastback, hatchback and station wagon variations. By US standards, the engine was tiny when introduced in 1971 a 1.6 L engine was standard though a 2.0 L motor was optional. In 1974 a 2.3 L four cylinder engine was standard and in 1975, a 2.8 L V6 was optional. The Pinto copped a lot of criticism (and lawsuits) as it appeared that rear end collisions meant the fuel tank had a high chance of igniting.

Answer: Volkswagen

The Volkswagen was never actually known as the "Beetle" - its official model name is Type 1, though it was informally known as Kafer (German for "beetle"). In France it was known as the "Coccinelle" (French for ladybug). In the US, it was actively marketed as the Beetle with a continuous message of self-deprecation which was why the VW was so successful in a market dominated by "Big is Better". Volkswagen means "People's Car". It was Adolf Hitler's concept to have a cheap reliable car that could reach 60mph, the speed limit on Germany's proposed autobahn projects. The car was made between 1939-2003 and with 21.5 million units sold was the biggest selling car of all time until outsold by the Toyota Corolla.

The car was an air-cooled, rear engine, rear wheel drive car and was responsible with Fiat and Renault for making rear-engined cars 26% of the automobile market in 1956 compared with 3% in 1946.

Answer: Plymouth

The roadrunner is a fast ground running cuckoo with a long tail and is found in southwestern United States and Mexico.
Produced from 1968 to 1980, the Plymouth Roadrunner was a mid-size powerful car that was an attempt to produce a cheaper version of a muscle car which, as a group, were moving away from their origins as a cheap fast car. Plymouth was the "economy' brand within the Chrysler marque anyway, and the model was spartan with its features list other than a powerful motor in a mid-sized body - usually a hardtop or coupe, though a convertible was available. The car was powered initially with a 383 cubic inch motor but a 440 CI version was available on the second and third generation models.
In 1968, its first production year, it sold 45000 units when 20000 was expected. This made it the third most popular muscle car behind the Pontiac GTO and the Chevrolet Chevelle that year. A position it was able to maintain in the market in the life span of the model.

Answer: Rambler (later AMC)

Marlins are two species of sporting fish that can swim 80 kph or 50 mph and reach 16 feet or 5 meters in length.

The Rambler Marlin (later AMC Marlin) was a "personal luxury" car produced by American Motors between 1965 and 1967. The car was a two door version of the Rambler American but with a more powerful motor and 'luxury' appointments. The shape of the sloping rear made the boot or trunk holding very small (though the size was normal) and it was this aspect of styling that made this model distinctive in a market flooded with 2 door, mid-sized models. The car's sales were a success and demonstrated the American Motors (AMC) could compete with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, in the 60s and and early 70s at least.

Answer: Hudson

It did not matter if you thought the picture was a wasp or a hornet, Hudson made both models with the Wasp being a shorter wheelbase version of the the full-size Hornet.

Hudson models had unique strong, light-weight bodies, and with their powerful straight six-cylinder engines, the 1951-54 Hornet was an auto racing champion, dominating the NASCAR competition in 1951-54. (This was the model portrayed in "Cars". Possibly the car maker's downfall was the insistence of using only six cylinder engines when the market wanted bigger (though not necessarily more powerful) V8 motors. A V8 was introduced in 1955 but by then it was too late and Hudson stopped making automobiles in 1957. Sad.

Answer: Chevrolet Corvette

Stingrays are flattened cartilaginous fish related to sharks and found in subtropical and tropical coastal waters.

The Chevy Corvette was a two-door, two-passenger sports car which featured fibreglass panels (initially plastic) and was available as a coupe or convertible. It was named after a class of small warships used in WWII. This car has become known as "America's Sports Car" and was the most popular sports car in history. In over seven generations of the car 1953-2018, Stingray has been appended to three generations "Sting Ray" was added to the second generation in 1962, and "Sting ray was added to the third generation (1968) and seventh generation (2014). The reason the extra name was added was simple: Marketing. The first generation 1953-1963 had little to call it a sports car other than its two door convertible looks. With the second generation came the V8 and space-age styling - Sting Ray was added to the name to both identify with the Corvette brand but at the same time show it was something better. In 1968 "Stingray" had become a single name but the third generation would be the last time the name would be used for almost 40 years. Before the seventh generation was released in 2014, GM had found that the age of the driver has aged with the model name. The stereotypical Corvette buyer had retired. This 7th generation needed and was pitched at a much more youthful demographic, hence the Stringray nameplate was dusted off and re-badged.

Answer: Mercury

The cougar or puma or mountain lion is the second biggest cat found in the Americas. It is found in Yukon in the north to the Chilean Andes in the south.

The Mercury Cougar was introduced as an upmarket Ford Mustang to complement its stable mate in 1966. When the Mustang was downsized in 1974 to adjust for the middle East oil Crisis, the Cougar became based on the intermediate Mercury Montego and later the full size Ford Thunderbird. The Cougar was pitched differently to the Mustang. While it had the same engines as the Mustang, it only had one "performance" pack and it was 'European-themed' with dealers stating its fittings was inspired by the British E-type Jaguar. The model continued to 2002 when it was discontinued. Mercury ceased as a brand in 2011.

Answer: Chevrolet

The Impala is a medium sized antelope from South and East Africa. The long slender horns are only found on the male.

The Impala name was used initially to differentiate the "higher end" of the full size Chevy models in its intermittent use from 1996 to up to 1996. In 2000 the name plate was reinvented to represent the marque's full size sedan. The Chevy Impala has become the symbol of the American Working Man.
With the introduction of the tenth generation in 2014, its market share of the full size market jumped from 6 to 22% despite the global trend for SUVs to replace the sedan market.