47. Suzuki Samurai
Like so many cars on this list, the Suzuki Samurai sums up its decade—in this case, the 1980s. Colorful, sporty, overblown, and with a penchant for being a bit too rambunctious, the Samurai fully embraced the twin mix of optimism and fatalism that defined the end of the Cold War. A chic little 4×4, the Samurai was just beginning to find its place in the market when drivers noticed that it had a tendency to—flip over and roll while taking perfectly normal corners at average speeds. Clearly not a win for Suzuki, and another rolling metaphor for Japan’s decline from dominance of the automobile industry.
