CNN/Money - Best and Worst Cars

Kirby

Kirby

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The Best - Honda Odyssey, Chrysler 300, C6 Corvette

The Worst - VW Phaeton, Ford 500, Pontiac GTO

The worst makes more entertaining reading [:)], so I posted it below.

[hah]
Notice that the "Smart Advertising Engine" on their web site posted ADVERTISMENTS in line for the VW Phaeton!! [rofl][rofl]

Most dissappointing new cars
These three cars came in wide of the target -- way wide.
November 10, 2004: 11:37 AM EST
By Lawrence Ulrich, MONEY Magazine

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) - It is amazing, sometimes, how careful corporate planning can go so very wrong.

Volkswagen Phaeton -- The conventional excuse for the Phaeton's dismal sales is that no one would pay $70,000-plus for a VW. But the Phaeton's larger handicap is that it can't claim luxury-class leadership -- not in design, power, technology or price. It's blandly styled, its performance is hamstrung by a half-ton weight penalty vs. some rivals, and its projected resale value is worst-in-class.

Ford Five Hundred -- When the best you can say about a car is that it's got a really big trunk and it's not very expensive, that's a problem. Meet the new Ford Five Hundred. The exterior is a blah knockoff of a VW Passat, the cabin nondescript. Plus, the designers of this Taurus replacement forgot to replace the engine: Its old 203-horse V-6 is weak and noisy. Ford already plans to "readjust" production.

Find a Volkswagen Phaeton at Autoweb
Find everything you need to research, purchase, sell or maintain an automobile...
www.autoweb.com
2004 Phaeton W-12 in Los Angeles $71k
Orig. $97k this fully loaded low-mile demo has been babied by McKenna Volkswagen...
www.cdmdata.com
Research and Price Volkswagen Phaeton
Access info on features, options, MSRP and invoice pricing, and info on safety...
www.autobytel.com
Vw Phaeton - Free, Up-Front Pricing
Everything you need to know about buying a car, truck, or SUV. Get a free quote...
www.carsmart.com

Pontiac GTO --

A beefy Corvette V-8. Check. A decent (for GM) interior, rear-wheel drive, and competent handling. So far, so good. But then Pontiac wrapped its would-be hottie in a body that looks more like a Chevy Cavalier than its namesake, the '60s muscle car you dreamed of owning. No performance automobile in years has turned fewer heads or opened fewer wallets. Top of page
 
M

monaroCountry

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The "worst" category had the better cars, well apart from the ford. Ive got no arguements with the a category stating "cars that missed their mark" but the "worst" category denotes a less than desirable car. The GTO has great quality, fit and finish, interior room, comfort, handling and power. The only thing it seems to lack is the looks (and we all know how subjective this is). Judging from Top gears (?) road test both the 300c and the c6 had some very big flaws.
 
MrElussive

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I believe I said that about the Phaeton from day one....nobody wants a luxury sedan that competes with an S500 and 745i that wears the VW badge. Not just that, I don't even know how VW dealerships' service departments are going to deal with potential problems from this car. It's so utterly advanced and VW dealerships' mechanics are used to seat heaters being the most advanced feature.

I think the GTO is a real winner of a car, but the styling is just too bland. If the styling was more aggressive and more radical, I think many more people would be buying it. I mean it wears the freaking "GTO" name but it's seriously as bland as any other Chevrolet, just as they stated in the article.
 
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epj3

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monaroCountry said:
The "worst" category had the better cars, well apart from the ford. Ive got no arguements with the a category stating "cars that missed their mark" but the "worst" category denotes a less than desirable car. The GTO has great quality, fit and finish, interior room, comfort, handling and power. The only thing it seems to lack is the looks (and we all know how subjective this is). Judging from Top gears (?) road test both the 300c and the c6 had some very big flaws.
Click to expand...
Well, everyone here knows i'm not exactly a "pro-gm" guy ... but I do think shows like Top Gear give the american cars a very unfair rating. They make fun of different things, but people dont buy a corvette for build quality, they buy it becuase its the only sports coupe thats within a half reasonable price and becuase of what they are. Sure, the body might be able to be pressed in.... but its fiberglass. I dont exactly think its the best material to build a body out of, but they have always been like that, and unlike bmw, at least chevy seems to stick half to tradition (Minus headlights)!!!!

The gto is, as emile said, a very bland car. I also think its quite underpowered, as it has the same engine as a corvette (C5 I believe) but can't touch the M3 in anything except price. When people buy an american car, they buy it for that beefy american v8 engine, and the general feel of an american car. If you want precision, and a very well designed car, thats where german cars come in. The biggest disappointment with the GTO, is what the GTO used to be, and what pontiac instantly decided that "this is what the gto would look like if it were still in production today"

Lots of people think they were wrong.

Me? I prefer the feel of a car thats put together with precision over something that has huge displacement for the power. I enjoy the soothing turbine like sound of BMW's, and Porsches... can't argue with them!! But that's just my thing. Lots of people like to slap glasspacks on their V8's and they are happy.
 
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