Mercedes sedan - M. Knijnenburg/ShutterstockIt's hard not to be nostalgic for an era that doesn't exist anymore, these days. We're all living through a 15-year sustained economic trough that has pushed inflation to untenable levels and wealth inequality higher than it was in the robber baron era. We all have our own vision of when things used to be great, a time we'd like to emulate in modern society. Maybe you want to go back to the pre-internet days of the 1990s, or perhaps just pre-smartphones. Maybe you wish modern society didn't exist at all and you want to go back to horse and buggies in the old west. They say your music taste is cemented around the time you turn 16, but is that also true of your taste in cars? We're here to find out which year was the best when it comes to cool car market saturation. Maybe you think the best time for cars was the muscle car era, or maybe you're one of those sickos who prefers pre-war. I want you to think about it for a few minutes and determine the exact year that you think was the best in automotive history. This can't just be the year your favorite car was introduced, you have to think holistically about what was available for enthusiasts of all walks of life, and determine the coolest car year. There are definitely some years that will stand out, but give it some thought before you commit. Could you get a great fast sedan? What about a long-distance GT car? The best sports cars? The best hot hatchbacks? The best grocery getters that handle like a dream? Which year was it?Sound off in the comments below and we'll discuss it. On Monday I'll pick a few of my favorites to recap for everyone else.AdvertisementAdvertisementRead more: 5 Iconic Poster Cars That Just Aren't That GoodWhen was it?Mitsubishi Evo - Bluebeat76/Getty ImagesPersonally, I'd say the offerings of automobile companies peaked somewhere between the 1970s fuel crisis and the 2008 global economic collapse. By the mid-1980s cars were reliable and modern enough that they could be counted on to start every day pretty much forever with minimal maintenance. Most cars were fuel injected and had computer-controlled engine management, but they were simple enough to work on that a home DIYer could still figure out most things. By the 2010s, in contrast, the technology had gone too far and become too integrated. Designers and engineers had taken a lot of the driving out of driving by then with assist systems and driver aids. There's a sweet spot in there somewhere. As much as I'd love to say the sweet spot was somewhere in the 1980s, replete with its hot hatches and turbo minivans, the Reagan era was packed with extremely boring penalty boxes, and they hadn't quite figured out how to build nice interiors yet. There are a few years in the 1990s that could be a solid contender for the title, but even a Radwood devotee like myself has to admit that things got much better for enthusiasts around 2004. The early 2000s were such an optimistic time for car enthusiasts, and in the post-Gran Turismo world, we started getting the kinds of cars that were previously only available to European and Japanese drivers. When the rally-bred Mitsubishi Evo VIII arrived to the U.S. market in 2003, followed by Subaru's iconic WRX STI in 2004, there was a tonal shift in the car market. Reasonably affordable, accessible, and daily-usable 300-horsepower cars had arrived. This was previously a space only reserved for Corvettes and Mustang Cobras. AdvertisementAdvertisementMy beloved Porsche 996 Turbo was still ruling the streets, you could get BMW's much vaunted Z8, and Japan was pumping out S2000s, RX-8s, and 350Zs like they were bubble gum. Even the domestic manufacturers were pushing out fun-to-drive machines like Ford's Focus, and Cadillac's game-changing CTS-V. It was all happening in 2004, the best year for cars. Is that the year I turned 16 and was voraciously tearing through every car magazine on the market? As a matter of fact it was. Completely unrelated, I'm sure. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on Jalopnik.