Ask an average Aussie for their list of the world’s top cars and it will usually start in one of two ways: Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore.

These homegrown heroes had an incredible impact in Australia, but they are just a local sideshow compared to the superstars of the car world.

Karl Benz created the automobile in the 1880s, Henry Ford helped ordinary people to hit the road in the early 1900s, Adolf Hitler funded the first Volkswagen people’s car in the 1930s, James Bond made Aston Martin an object of desire in the 1970s and Elon Musk plugged cars into the future in the early 21st Century.

Then there’s the Mini and the Mustang, the LandCruiser and the Jeep, and everything in between.

Right now, after all the years of Ford and Holden domination, the Toyota HiLux is Australia’s reigning showroom favourite. And it’s not even a car.

At the same time, an all-electric Tesla is the dream machine for the next generation of drivers and the narrow-focus greenies who want to kill combustion engines.

From a local perspective, the world’s very first ute was created Down Under in the 1930s and the original Holden — the 48-215 — changed everything here in the same way as the T-model Ford.

Picking the best of the best is a tough task, because there are so many things to consider.

Sales totals are an obvious hint, but it’s also important to consider everything from technology and safety to design and style.

The three cars which had the maximum impact on society were old Henry’s T-Model, because it made cars affordable; the Mini from the 1960s, because it turned the engine sideways to power the front wheels and created the cabin space we now take for granted; and the Toyota Corolla, because it introduced new generations of drivers to a new type of efficient and reliable motoring.

My personal list of the Top 50 cars of all time is varied and timeless, but each of them has to qualify against some crucial questions:

Did it break new ground?

How did it compare to its rivals?

Was it good value?

Did it move motoring down the road?

Did it have that essential X Factor?

There is one thing that connects all 50 — each of them makes me smile.

CHECK OUT PAUL GOVER’S ALL-TIME LIST BELOW AND RATE HIS RATINGS. CLICK INTO THE COMMENTS BELOW TO TELL US YOUR FAVOURITE CAR

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AUSTRALIA’S MUSCLE CARS, PART 2

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THE DEATH OF THE FALCON

Paul Gover’s Top 50 Cars is just the beginning of a special three-part series.

Coming up later this week Gover rates the biggest Australian flops — the cars that promised so much and delivered so little.

Then online and in next week’s Sunday paper, Gover reveals the Top 20 Australian cars of all time.