With the nation's 238th birthday around the corner, I figured it necessary to grab a La-Z-Boy, heat up a bacon-injected apple pie, and challenge all of you red-blooded patriots to browse the internet (, by the way) for the best cars that were forged in the land of the free.

Cars must be American (kit cars, trucks, and military/commercial vehicles included)Cars must have a selling price of under $5000It can be an auction, but it has to realistically end under $5000 (No Ford GTs with $5k starting bids!)Completed and sold listings can be included. You can add modifications, as long as it doesn't go over the total budget.Write a short reason why your car is the best American car $5000 (and under) can buy.

I'll arrange the best choices so we can reflect how far we've come in our short-yet-glorious history on our nation's birthday.

(Photo by on Flickr)