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2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I have also read MT for many years, and I very much enjoy when their opinion differs from Car and Driver, giving me a different perspective sometimes.
If you really look at the comparo's closely, you will notice that sometimes a car wins by just one point over the winner that was chosen by a competing mag. To me it just adds choices. I just add the car to my list of ones to consider, giving me more options when it comes time to choose and sign that buyers order.
CR is the only exception and that is precisely why they don't accept advertising. They also call a spade a spade and have on several occasions rated cars as unacceptable.
No matter how bad the vehicle no car mag would ever rate a car as unacceptable if the maker placed ads in the mag.
Now, they did say that the structural rigidity problem was only less as compared with the competition. The Impala and the Avalon are brand new chassis from the ground up, and their frames are far more rigid than say a 4 year old platform that has been modified to carry more weight than the Sonata and the Optima were designed for.
The Chrysler/Dodge contenders in the comparo are rear drive, so the steering had better feel because those wheels are not powered and have better response as the design doesn't have to filter out the rotating mass of axle's in the front drive competitors. Also, underneath the Chrysler's is a Mercedes platform that is very rigid.
The other problem is inconsistency. The same vehicle in the same magazine can get drastically different results depending on who's doing the test.
CR hates Fords with MFT because the touch screen makes you take your eyes off the road (not really true because you can control everything you need to control while driving from the steering wheel or voice but that's beside the point) and it's not safe. But the Tesla got a 99 out of 100 score and it only has one huge touch screen - no buttons at all.
Every review and personal opinion is biased and anything printed for public consumption is done for entertainment value and to generate revenue for the publisher. Once you understand that and take everything with a grain of salt you can make your own informed decisions.
Someone mentioned that CR pulls no punches. However, if one reads different forums they are constantly accused of bias towards Japanese cars bordering on some sort of conspiracy. They don't accept advertising dollars so how does that fit into this conspiracy theory. Add to that the fact that they just rated the Tesla and the Impala as two of the highest rated autos they have ever reviewed. Both American designed and built.
I think there is some bias in reviews but it tends towards likes and dislikes like handling versus power or looks versus reliability. Different mags tend to view different aspects of an automobile to be more important than others. Consider this, if any magazine was ever proven to give one manufacturer better reviews based on additional advertising dollars or kickbacks, payoffs, bribes, etc., that mag would be history. No other advertiser would waste their money and the car lovers that read these mags would stop reading it. The two kisses of death... disappearing readership and ad dollars.
I've seen you write this before. Just because something(car, computer, smartphone, etc) has a screen doesn't mean the interface and how it operates are the same. Some are well done, easy to see, fast, problem free interfaces while others not so much. I think CR believes Ford's fits into the latter category and from my brief experience with it I agree with them. Now, I didn't spend hours reading and "learning" it but I assume the salesman that couldn't get it to work either had spend some time with it. Maybe he just needed a few more hours.
While I can't disprove what you said about the same vehicle in the same magazine getting drastically different results, I have never really seen it. A little different maybe because, like you say, people notice slightly different things and may view things a little differently. But, when you say "drastically" I can't remember anything like that unless it was many years later and the vehicle turned out to be trouble prone or something.
I've owned about 40 different vehicles and I can't remember any that I didn't like a lot at first. After years of ownership I might come to the realization that it wasn't such a great car after all. I had to admit to myself that I made a mistake. I think professional car reviewers can make mistakes sometimes too but I don't start screaming that the reason for it is some sort of conspiracy.
The only good review I have seen on an Infotainment system is the MyLink system in the new Impala. (C/D June '13)
What's funny is that in the same issue they HATED the CUE system in the Cadillac ATS. They said "As excellent as herpes" in the summary. The two systems are cousins!!! So, the reviewer obviously can make a big difference in outcome, but I do not think that the mfr pays C/D for those good reviews.
*Buicks Intellilink is also related to CUE and MyLink
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I'm not saying it didn't happen but just your saying that it did doesn't convince me at all.
"In May 1966, Petersen asked Walt to come back to Motor Trend as publisher. Walt accepted. “What followed,” he said, “was unlike anything I could have imagined, a totally different working climate full of meetings, bottom-line discussions, pro formas, the need to slant editorial toward advertising, including the virtual selling of MT’s Car of the Year awards.
“Instead of concentrating on magazine content, these meetings focused on upcoming promotions, ways to increase ad revenue and circulation, covers created by committee; all this coupled with intolerable office politics. I thought the magazine had lost its direction. It certainly lost its personality."
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
This excerpt you posted certainly indicates that they slanted stuff in hopes of not offending anyone and tried to figure out ways to enhance the bottom line. How novel, a company trying to enhance profits. While disagreeable to some it certainly doesn't appear to border on kickbacks, bribes, outright fudging of facts or anything like that. I thought you had some real news to offer PLUS this was 50 years ago. Nothing like living in the past. I certainly wouldn't want to be judged forever by some mistakes I may have made in my formative years.
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I rented one recently and I thought it pretty much sucked. It was oh so bland, cheap interior, and drove pretty much like a Corolla. None of the character that I have been used to from VW.
IMHO it's laughable that they thought they would increase their market share significantly with this Jetta and the current Passat.
I wonder how many people went to Nissan dealers to look at the $9,995 Versa only to leave with one costing 150% of that.
That leads me to a new topic/question: what are the starting prices of midsizers now? Who's the cheapest of the bunch? Is there anyone who just has an egregious lack of standard equipment anymore? (I'm trying to keep us out of trouble here and get a new convo going).
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
In real-world terms, most likely the Avenger. I've recently seen multiple ads for V6 Avengers, decently equipped, for mid-16's. For a bit more, the 200. Not a bad deal for someone looking for that V6 power in a new car at a bargain-basement price.
Next closest is probably (depending on phase of the moon) the low-end-trim Sonata, Optima, Fusion, Malibu, and Altima. I've seen all of these advertised in the $17-18k range within the past few weeks, with some great lease deals on the Sonata and Altima in particular. Not much more than a like-equipped Elantra, Forte, Focus, Cruze, or Sentra. Also some good prices on the Camry and Passat. No idea on the Accord, as the Twin Cities Honda dealers seem to have a pact to NEVER advertise anything but lease prices on their cars. (I would think such collusion would be illegal, but that's another story.) No big discounts advertised on the new Mazda6 yet.
Not bad though, about 425 miles.
Gas was 30 cents cheaper than the last time i filled up 4 weeks ago.
Camry 31,871
Accord 25,176
Altima 21,221
Fusion 19,972
Malibu 14,487
Sonata 13,872
Optima 11,647
200 9,583
Passat 7,900
Avenger 5,099
Mazda6 3,168
Legacy 2,847
My friends 1994 Jetta had it, and while I thought it was slow I believe it was the nicest looking Jetta to date. He had the Trek model where you got two decent bikes free with it. A really cool promotion and VW sold hundreds of thousands of them.
It is sad that they still offer that under-powered motor in a world where all 2.0 engines produce 150 to 160 hp.
I always notice nicely equipped Accords. I think it is a nice car (again). Great classic sedan lines, while still allowing the Sport to actually look sporty.
I only see the new Mazda 6 sporadically. Like one a week. They need to get that product out there. A shame if it doesn't end up in the hands of more Americans who will then know why Asian cars feel so right, handle well, and last so long.
And resale value is better when there are no fleet sales (Accord is best on this measure). That helps lessees, although with interest rates this low, why lease? But when (not if) rates rise again, used car prices will get even stronger. There's never been a better time to buy a new Japanese car. Good prices as they fight for sales leadership, and cheap and easy credit. And they're going to be hugely attractive if the economy stumbles again and people just want a good reliable used car. Deserved or not, Japanese brands, specifically Honda and Toyota, kill the used competition. In five years, a used Fusion or Sonata will probably be as reliable as a used Camry, but I'm sure the Camry will be worth 30% more based on reputation alone.
Back to fleets - plain white base models with company logos plastered on them might not hurt F-150's image among consumers, but it's not a good look on a Focus or Fusion. I recently rented an el cheapo base model Fusion which smelled of cigarette smoke and had a gross filmy residue on its urethane steering wheel. It left a very bad impression. I'm enthusiast enough to have given a "good" Fusion a fair shake when I went shopping, and it was leg room that knocked it off my list. But an average buyer may have been turned off for good by that rental experience.
That said, well-kept and high spec rental cars can actually be good advertising. I had a brand new Grand Cherokee Limited as a rental last month and it made me want to go home and trade my Yukon immediately.
A surprise is how much VW has stumbled with the Passat. I thought by now they'd be selling in the range of 14,000 a month, which is the capacity of their TN plant. Instead they are selling only a bit more than half of that. The slow engine with low mpg is part of it, but I have to guess that how VW treated generations of customers with poor reliability and poor service has come back to bite them in the Hintern.
Given the production constraints with the Fusion up until now I don't think Ford would replace high profit retail sales with fleet sales unless the fleet sales were just as profitable.
Whether Camry keeps the sales lead depends on how much they're willing to increase incentives and fleet sales. I've seen the next Camry prototype and it's nothing to get excited about. Ford is not going to chase the sales crown with fleet dumping and big incentives. They're more about profits nowadays.
I am also quite surprised they are selling as many Malibus as they are. It is not a good-looking car inside or out, has some issues regarding interior space, and has really poor marketing. I guess the power of the Chevy dealer network and incentives are helping Chevy move the iron.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
The CVT didn't bother me. It responded well to a quick "tap" and only exhibited the "drone" when I needed to lay into the throttle. The engine was a little loud and coarse at high rpm, but I wasn't tracking the car so this was a rare occurrence.
I thought it did look good, but not into the "wow" category...
Plus it's not a bad-looking car, and incentives/lease deals are better than for some competitors such as the Accord and Mazda6.
Mazda6. Only buyers must be car reviewers.
Regarding the prices of the midsize sedans, is it just me, or are there pretty great deals on Fusions now? I was shocked to find that they can be equipped with heated leather seats for $23,500 to $24,000 at a particular Twin Cities dealership. For most other competitors, don't you usually have to spend around $27+K to get those features?
Despite those goodies on the Fusion, I'd probably go with a Mazda 6 Sport or Honda Accord Sport, though there don't seem to be big discounts on those models, if any.
2013 Honda Accord Sport (CVT) Front-Wheel Drive Sedan
MSRP:$24,980
DEALER DISCOUNT:$2,258
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Oxmoor Hyundai Price $18,443
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4dr Sdn 2.5L Auto S w/Appearance *Ltd Avail*
2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SV
Exterior: Cayenne Red Metallic (Red) Interior: Charcoal Status: In Stock Mileage: 6 Engine: Gas I4 2.5L/152 Transmission: Variable
Internet Price$21,488*Price$25,370*Instant Savings-$3,882*
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
That would suggest Hyundai-Kia has totally worked out the bugs in their hybrid power train.
Source: Hybridcars.com
Nissan did a good job on the Altima. My only gripe is that I think the "face" looks like it was stung by a bee. Kind of puffy cheeked.
Which mid-size is the best looking guys? Just on looks alone which one would you guys choose?