I realize many of you arent yet on my facebook, so im gonna CTRL+V my post about MT's COTY issue i just got.
Lots to like in this months Motor Trend car of the year issue. Of course, people with no skill for writing, insight, or marketing love to hate car mags, so maybe this isnt for them.
Unsolicited thoughts, GOOOO!
First of all, the Mazda2. This is a prime example of exactly what all the size queens write in about every month in the letters section. The entire page about the Mazda2 was filled with praise about its SUBJECTIVE qualities: "tossable", "confidence inspiring", "fun to drive","intuitive". Here's one, "the Mazda2 has a character that conveys sincerity."
Ohh, i can hear it now. All the people whose internal dialogue is about as sexy as a math problem are thinking MT uses a lot of words to tell them nothing, and that bit about sincerity just made a loud WHOOSH as it flew right over their heads.
I loved that page. It tells me exactly what i want to know. These guys who get to drive everything on the planet (including the Veyron SuperSport in the same issue with 1200hp, exactly 12 times the power of the Mazda), unlike the lust-addled and baselessly jaded horsepower gazers on the internet, are giving me perspective about QUALITIES, not quantities. I have fast cars i dont like to drive much. I also have slow cars that make me smile. I have fun cranking my ~60hp honda hatchback around, for some of the same reasons they listed about the Mazda.
The Honda CR-Z. Ive been a staunch internet defender of the CR-Z. Not defending its merits, which i have some thoughts about. Ive mostly been defending it from the horribly ill-fitting contexts people keep trying to box it up in.
Sure, it ...should be faster. No argument here. Sure, its almost embarrassing as a hybrid. Sure, its being marketed the wrong way. All that is true. But what's NOT true is that it is a terrible car. It is NOT a terrible car. Another case of the baselessly jaded internet size queens saying that anything that doesnt appeal to them from 50 miles away isnt going to appeal to anyone who actually gets up and tries it. The CR-Z still inhabits a rare spot on the style spectrum. There arent a lot of options these days for sub-3k-lb rakish hatchbacks with sporty seats and angular styling. A GTI doesnt even come close, and it doesn't get 37mpg either.
Think about this: Nissan just released the Juke, which noone expected to be fast and yet runs low 15s while looking ridiculous. Honda just released the CR-Z which people expected to be faster, but looks pretty good. I dunno about you, but id rather have the CR-Z. I can fix slow. Its a lot harder to fix ugly. Id rather have the Honda's seats, dash, and steering wheel than try to make the Juke's center console look more like a center console than a fiberglass subwoofer enclosure.
Kia Optima: This is the first ive seen of this one.
The big thing: I LOVE the dash layout. Simple, attractive, driver-oriented, and not overwrought. It almost looks like a throwback to a time when it was more important for dashboards to be f...unctional than to display a contiguous styling theme from each door panel.
The styling. I see where the Forte was leading to now, and i like it. It looks a lot more honest on the Optima than the Forte, which looks too much like a blatant Civic rip-off.
The performance. This is weird. MT usually gets great numbers out of everything, but the Optima's 1/4 mile is 7 tenths and 4 mph down from its platform-mate sonata with the same engine, tranny, weight, and driver.. What gives?
Toyota Sienna. Adam's MOST WANTED NEW CAR. Im a van freak, and this van is sweeeet.
For one thing, its quick and semi-sporty. It runs MT's figure eight test in the same ET and avg G as the 2500 lb CR-Z. It runs 15.4 in the 1/4. It LOOKS ...sporty. I like the dashboard. Gets decent MPG. The rear rows can even be semi-sporty with black bucket-ish seats that you can actually detect some contouring on.
I really like it. Id love to own one.
The VOLT. Winner of car of the year 2010. It appeals to me more on a tech-geek level than as something i want to drive.
But it IS amazing. It IS a game-changer. The haters really aren't getting it on this one. Its an incredible accomplishment and one of the only things a domestic manufacturer can really be proud of right now (i consider some of Fiat's technology to be another ). I dont know what Vette fans would have to say about it but i think THIS is GM's halo car, by a mile.
In the hybrid game, Toyota started first and best and made incremental technological progress and vast progress in winning acceptance. Honda set the MPG bar and then dropped the ball for a decade straight. Ford is really getting into the game with hybrids. Korea is off to a decent start. But GM, having gotten NOWHERE near the credit they deserve for the two-mode truck hybrids, and having been embarrassingly absent from the car-hybrid game for 13 years now just after making fools of themselves with the EV1 debacle, JUST LEAPFROGGED THEM ALL. The Volt is better than stuff from Toyota that hasnt even hit the showrooms yet!
Bravo.
That said, Im still waiting for the Fit Hybrid. Sure, the Volt is amazing, but that doesnt mean it's for everyone. The Fit still has a great balance of attributes that i think would make it a more attractive car overall (to me), IF it drives right and puts up the mpg numbers im hearing.
What y'all think?