Your everyday car may be special to you, what with its nice rims, a cool satellite radio system, enough room in the console to hide evidence of trips to Carvel. Chances are, though, it's a Camry, Accord, Fusion, or Malibu--all fine cars, but not really epic examples of the history of carmaking.

Throughout the history of cars, there have been hallmarks, cars that changed the course of history or simply put the logo on the sign of the times. If you need an education on what cars are all about, there's an easy way to get a primer on autos through time: drive them. By our measure, there are at least eight cars you need to drive before you die, so you know where cars came from, where they're going, how good they can be, and how awful, too.

TheCarConnection.com's eight cars to drive before you die are these classics:

Mazda Miata
You don't know how well a car can handle until you drive one of Mazda's essential roadsters. The Miata's reflexes feel like they were hardwired by God, and its controls penned by Apple. Beautifully executed and honest to its core, the Miata's steering alone would put it in this group. No car has ever felt this neural, and it's hard to think any other car ever will. It's best to get into a pristine first-generation car if you can, but those are becoming rarer as time goes by; 2008's Miata is almost up to the glory days of the original.

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
OK, we haven't driven it yet, either. And maybe there's less of a chance you'll get into this than into a mid-'60s Sting Ray Corvette. You need to experience ultimate power, though, and the whole Formula 1 career isn't really taking off, is it? Beg, borrow or steal to get a ride in this one into low geosynchronous orbit, and then you can chuckle at Sergey Brin: $5 million to go into real space is a waste when you can own this for $100,000.

Model T
To know where you're going,you have to know where you've been. Didn't Pete Townsend say that? Start with the car that changed the world, but be prepared. Model Ts aren't easy to drive. They have to be started, shifted, and slowed in ways you've never dreamed of. Luckily, owners of these cars seem to have hours to explain to you exactly how the rudimentary ur-car operates, and the incredibly crude ride will bounce you awake while they shout out T-trivia on the roll.

Volkswagen Beetle
Mechanical simplicity, thy name is Beetle. You really can repair this car with office supplies, and its purity makes the Beetle even more a contrast with today's crash-perfect, desensitized, ball-bearing-tight new cars. Beetle heaters don't work, wipers are a cruel joke, and power is high concept, but it moves you in other ways.


Porsche 911
The engine's out back, the cylinders are opposed instead of working together--and still, when a Porsche 911 fires up,right at the base of your spine, you merge with its manic rhythms. The hammering of pistons in your ear amplifies the direct heft of the steering, and the drop-away view of the road ahead is as close to a racecar as you can find on a modern-day production car. Pretend you're Hurley Haywood if you want--just don't play Autobahn unless the coast is clear.

AM General Hummer/HUMMER H1
You can't drive an Abrams tank, so this is the closest you'll ever get. You'll also get the contact thrill of 1990s nostalgia, when gas was plentiful, the Oval Office served dual purposes, and being a rock star/movie god/media icon meant tooling up to a red carpet in something impossible for any valet to park. Never mind the wars going on in the background--orthodontists and day traders need love too. Full speed ahead!

Rolls-Royce Phantom
Don't fuss with the nonsense of a stretch limousine; find a way to be chauffeured in the Phantom (or the Mercedes-built Maybach 62) and savor the experience. Tip the rear seats back, flip down a walnut tray outfitted with a properly aged Scotch paired with Diana Krall's Live in Paris DVD on the rear-seat entertainment system, and let someone else worry about the traffic ahead. It's OK if you don't wave to the peons outside.


Cadillac Cimarron
Slow can be forgiven; sometimes even ugly, too. The Cimarron ("By Cadillac") was unforgivable, coming from "the standard of the world." Its utterly synthetic, soulless attempt to save Caddy's bacon turned off even GM's hardcore audience. Most galling detail: keys coated in gold plastic that wore off before the warranty expired. Congratulations, Cimarron. You sucked on so many levels, we're still talking about you today.

Honorable Mentions
Honda CRX: Perhaps the best-handling front-wheel-drive car ever, the CRX marked the beginning of Honda's Golden Age.

Lamborghini Murcielago: The view from the wheel of this winged bat out of hell is extraordinary and almost alien--and its performance is astonishing.

Jeep Wrangler: The only vehicle to go from World War II combat duty into the national lexicon, it's shorthand for adventure.

Toyota Prius: Geek culture rules the world now--and the Prius is proof of its good, green side.

Smart fortwo: Sitting on the continental divide between cars and roller skates, the smart fortwo points to where cars are going, for better or worse.

Have a nominee of your own? Add it in a comment below!

You could be a recruiter or a sales technician or an endocrinologist, but trust me when I say this is a job description you want: car wrecker.

While I'm down here in TCC's world headquarters in sunny Palo Alto, Gregg at WreckedExotics.com was on hand to catch the filming of a stunt in downtown San Francisco. And I'm jealous because I've never sent a car into the air. I have been strapped to the hood of one that ran--twice--through a wall of fire, but that was less about fulfillment and more about being 24 years old. And dumb.

This looks like a lot more fun--helming a stunt car as it hurtles down a San Francisco street. "My buddy let me know about a stunt that was being filmed by the BBC on his street in San Francisco this afternoon," Gregg e-mailed us. The stunt was being filmed for an unknown commercial.

"The cars flew about 30 feet and caught about 9 feet of air," Gregg says, and we believe him, based on forensic evidence like the mushed nose of the Goat lookalike after the stunt ended.

We think maybe the Brits were trying to get the real, authentic feel of an American city by building an elaborate launch ramp on a hilly street and by using late-'60s lookalike cars to crash around like all American drivers do, but that's just a guess. Watch the YouTube video clip here, and see if you can catch up to the hubcap that blasts free at impact. We think it's still rolling around the Marina district somewhere.

Roll tape:

The history of cars is full of heartwarming stories and happy endings—but just as full of dark corners, blind alleys and high-speed tragedy. Some cars have become part of our culture, because of their role in murder and mayhem. They're infamous.

TheCarConnection.com’s ten most infamous cars start right here with the Model A that sped into history, piloted by Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.

From the time they met in January 1930, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were on a date with a bloody destiny. Barrow, just 21 in that year, went to jail for burglary, but didn't stay long: Parker smuggled him in a gun and he escaped, only to be recaptured and sent to jail for 14 years. After having two toes cut off in jail by another inmate to avoid work detail, Barrow got a pardon after a plea by his mother.

And that began the crime spree that spawned the legend of Bonnie and Clyde. They formed a gang, with Clyde's brother Buck Barrow and his wife Blanche; gunman Raymond Hamilton; and W.D. Jones, and made their way across five states from Missouri to Texas, robbing banks and gas stations and stores and building a name as outlaws.

The press ate up their story -- and so did the public, at least until their crimes turned deadly. Over the course of four years, their gang crimes tallied 13 deaths, including a handful of police officers. They killed a police officer early in 1934 in Grapevine, Texas; another, five days later in Oklahoma.

To get from murder to murder, and robbery to robbery, the Barrow gang stole cars -- among them the Ford V-8 that would become notorious as the Bonnie and Clyde death car. Barrow was famous for his love of Fords, and in the day, the V-8 Ford was the fastest car on the road. Barrow may or may not have written a letter to Ford Motor Company, saying that it "has got every other car skinned," in fact.

In the spring of 1934 the Barrow gang stole a Ford V-8 Deluxe with a greyhound hood ornament, with a little less than 1000 miles. Ruth and Jesse Warren were the owners, and had bought it only recently from a Ford dealer in Topeka, Kansas. It was nearly new, but over the next few weeks the Barrow gang would put nearly 7000 miles on it in their crime spree.

During that final run, gang members were picked off by the law, or caught and jailed. But Bonnie and Clyde remained free until May of 1934, when authorities decided to take them out. The Texas police made their way to Bienville Parish, Louisiana, where assisting Louisiana police helped them set up an ambush. More than 100 shots were fired into their car, killing Barrow and Parker, whose stolen Ford V-8 made for a makeshift hearse as it was towed from the scene.

Both Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are buried in Dallas, Texas. But their death car lives on display at the Primm Valley Resort in Primm, Nevada. The four-door Ford sedan is said to have brought in millions for the owners in the museum. The Primm charges for admission, but just consider for a moment how much this "free" car cost Parker and Barrow.

You can see a great short film on the pair from the History Channel in this YouTube clip:

Take this one as a hoot -- or a scary indicator of what CAFE will do to America's beloved pickup truck. It's a 1967 Daihatsu Tri-Mobile, a three-wheeler that's outfitted with 12 horsepower and a cute factor that eclipses any Corbin Sparrow.

The California seller says the Tri-Mobile is one of a wave of microcars from the 196s that "get more smiles per gallon" than any other car, and points to the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum as one of the few places you can see another example. Only a handful were made in left-hand drive and imported to the U.S., and this rust-free example is the only one we could find for sale after a half-hour cruising around on Google.

While we're not ready to give up our Prius just yet, the charms of the Tri-Mobile shine right through its peeling paint, applied over the original yellow color it was delivered in, as a vehicle used by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. On its third owner, the current title holder still has the original "pink slip." It sports two seats, a one-cylinder two-stroke engine, and a three-speed manual gearbox. Considered a three-wheel motorcycle truck by the California DMV, the Tri-Mobile only requires a regular old car license to operate on roads--but the wisdom of stepping into anything other than stop-and-go traffic is to be questioned.

The pickup bed on this one is in sturdy shape. There might be a dozen left in the U.S. and the owner says he doesn't doubt its clocked mileage of 23,161. So if you can get over the passing resemblance to the tuk-tuks that hammer around Bangkok, emitting more smoke than the trannie bar mamas, post your bid and maybe in three days, it'll be yours. Take that with your 35-mpg rules, Congress!

It's not too early to start planning summer vacations -- and if your annual trek skips the Grand Canyon for slightly more exotic climes, you'll be pleased to find out that BMW's company museum will soon be open again to the public.

BMW put about two and a half years into expanding and renovating the place, adding on to its classic "museum bowl" shape that was penning by Karl Schwanzer in 1973. The facility sits next to BMW's headquarters in Munich.

The addition of more than 50,000 new square feet to the museum boosts its display space fivefold. It gives BMW the space to lay out more of the company's history and to tag on more to the brand-philosophy displays at BMW Welt and the European delivery center.

On display at the Museum are vehicles like BMW's classic 507 and the 2002, the hallmark that inspired BMW's newest 1-Series cars.

The opening on the 19th is for VIPs--the BMW Museum opens to the general public on June 21.