Domestics have a way to go yet, maybe theres still bias?

Just saw the top pics by CNN/ Money and thought I'd share, only one domestic won, and its a Ford.

Economy Car: Toyato Corolla
Sedan: Mazda 6
Luxury Car: BMW 5 Series
SUV: Toyota 4Runner
Coupe: MINI Cooper :rolleyes:
Truck: F-150
Sports Car: Mazda RX-8 :eek:
Wagon: Audi A4

A couple surprises for me; I still dont see what people see in the Mini's

Shoot me now :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :death:

This would have been mine...

Economy car: Ford PZEV (or Prius)
Sedan: Malibu
Luxury Car: CTS
Coupe: Crossfire
Truck: F150
Sports Car: G35
Wagon: Audi A4

(no bias here :o)

Originally posted by 92RS shearn
Just saw the top pics by CNN/ Money and thought I'd share, only one domestic won, and its a Ford.

Sedan: Mazda 6
Truck: F-150
Sports Car: Mazda RX-8 :eek:

A couple surprises for me; I still dont see what people see in the Mini's
What are you talking about? I see 3 Fords :rolleyes:

Personally, I like the Mini. It's huge inside (I'm over 6ft tall and over 300# and I fit), small outside (easy to park), pretty decent powerplant for the size (200hp witht he Works package), and a style like no other (at the moment) :)

Bias? Say it aint so!:rolleyes: Be thankful they even included a domestic nameplate in that list. If it was Car & Driver or one of those other *** car loving toilet rags no domestic car would have even been mentioned.

Maybe I am biased but is the RX-8 a better choice than the Corvette?

Originally posted by 92RS shearn
Domestics have a way to go yet, maybe theres still bias?

:lol:

Of course theres still bias. That bias is gonna be hard to kill. And even the finest efforts by the domestics are going to have their results gauged in something closer to five year increments. The question is, do the domestics have the patience?

I mean, these are the companys that practically abandoned their car lines to build more trucks. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by super83Z
Maybe I am biased but is the RX-8 a better choice than the Corvette?


Not no but hell no.
Low real world power numbers and problematic motors. While the Corvette does have almost twice the price tag, the Mustang is right there with more power, more reliability, and of course, an American nameplate.

I think its funny that CNN would fill their list almost completly with foreign nameplates when they themselves are constantly bitching about our poor jobless economy. Way to pour salt in the wound CNN.

I only mentioned Corvette because it was the sports car section. Maybe the RX-8 should have been best coupe and sports car should have been left to the 2-seaters.

I hope the domestics will turn this around. I don't read any of those mags because they are so heavily biased towards foreign cars.

Originally posted by 92RS shearn


A couple surprises for me; I still dont see what people see in the Mini's

How about huge resale value, excellent perceived quality and the halo effect of the BMW dealer network?:thumb:

The only downside is the Cadillac level of reliability. The Mini is still made in "Great" Britain.:(

In any case, the Mini is a small car without the small car stigma - something that even the Japanese haven't accomplished yet in this country.:alert:

I know there is still bias, I was just pointing out the obvious.

I admit I have never driven a mini, I have sit in one, but I personally dislike the styling, of course that is purly subjective.

Originally posted by ponchoV8
Bias? Say it aint so!:rolleyes: Be thankful they even included a domestic nameplate in that list. If it was Car & Driver or one of those other *** car loving toilet rags no domestic car would have even been mentioned.
you've NEVER read C&D.

Originally posted by 92RS shearn
...maybe theres still bias?

Of course there is still a bias. A huge one.

Even if an American company built a car that surpassed all others on every single level, many people would still assume it was as crappy as the '79 Olds diesel their brother's neighbor's gynacologist owned in the early '80s. :rolleyes:

I’m a big CNN nerd, I actually caught the “car specialist” or whatever he called him self they were interviewing over this list a week or so ago. I can’t remember specifics from the interview but I do recollect him being a Total Import Bias moron. I just recall getting a sour stomach and considering posting this but I just said screw it. Need I say more?

Originally posted by AdioSS
What are you talking about? I see 3 Fords :rolleyes:

Personally, I like the Mini. It's huge inside (I'm over 6ft tall and over 300# and I fit), small outside (easy to park), pretty decent powerplant for the size (200hp witht he Works package), and a style like no other (at the moment) :)

LOL, yeah, 3 Fords (Mazda owned by Ford). The Mazda 6 is built here in the states too, so technically it's a domestic ;) If I'm not mistaken, it's the same plant the 2005 Mustang will be built at.

I've been looking at the MINI's too for a work car. I'm 6'3" 196lbs. and I'm looking for a sporty little car to go back and forth to work in. Hmm, wait, my Subaru fits that description, guess I don't have an excuse to get a MINI...darn.

Originally posted by super83Z
Maybe I am biased but is the RX-8 a better choice than the Corvette?

Well... the Rx-8 is much cheaper, has a useable back seat, good handling and a much better interior. The only "problem" I really see with the Rx-8 is the high strung engine, which really isnt a problem if you like revs. Put your average person (non super car enthusiest) in this car and theyll the car is really fast compared your average 16 second car thats on the road.

People complain the car is down on hp but it doesnt seem to slow the car down too much. On Top Gear, the guy lapped a Rx-8 around their test course as fast as a 333hp M3. Its really a pretty good performing car. Edmunds in a review put the Rx-8 ahead of the 350Z, and the car also made Car and Drivers top 10 list (as did the Vette) so I dont see why theres so much hate for the car. The G35 would have been close competition, but it all depends on what criteria was used to judge the cars.

Also, its a sports car, (and this is a Camaro board ;) )so lets not complain about gas milage too much.

Oh, and saying the Mustang is comparable to the Rx-8? No way. You can put a big engine in anything and make it fast. The Mustang Cobra (which is more expensive) is an awesome machine but when you look at refinement and the car as a total package, it doenst stack up to the Rx-8.

Originally posted by Steve0
Well... the Rx-8 is much cheaper, has a useable back seat, good handling and a much better interior. The only "problem" I really see with the Rx-8 is the high strung engine, which really isnt a problem if you like revs. Put your average person (non super car enthusiest) in this car and theyll the car is really fast compared your average 16 second car thats on the road.

People complain the car is down on hp but it doesnt seem to slow the car down too much. On Top Gear, the guy lapped a Rx-8 around their test course as fast as a 333hp M3. Its really a pretty good performing car. Edmunds in a review put the Rx-8 ahead of the 350Z, and the car also made Car and Drivers top 10 list (as did the Vette) so I dont see why theres so much hate for the car. The G35 would have been close competition, but it all depends on what criteria was used to judge the cars.

Also, its a sports car, (and this is a Camaro board ;) )so lets not complain about gas milage too much.

Oh, and saying the Mustang is comparable to the Rx-8? No way. You can put a big engine in anything and make it fast. The Mustang Cobra (which is more expensive) is an awesome machine but when you look at refinement and the car as a total package, it doenst stack up to the Rx-8.
you're wasting keystrokes...

the mentality here is, "yeah? well it doesn't do the quarter mile in less than 13 seconds, so it must be sh1t."

:rolleyes:

The new RX-8 would be tight if it didn't have that stupid rotary engine. Mazda overated the HP on the engine. That is total bull s$%t on Mazda's part, especially since its a sports car, where people actually care about HP. Its also one of those high revving, torque-less motors that are better suited to a racetrack than to real world driving. I also call into question the reliability of the rotary engine. The old RX-7 is an awesome car that is significantly faster than the new one. However, it seems that people have had problems with the turbo's blowing up, electrical problems, blown engines, etc. And those old cars are very expesive to fix. :yuck:

Originally posted by morb|d
the mentality here is, "yeah? well it doesn't do the quarter mile in less than 13 seconds, so it must be sh1t."
:rolleyes:

Not necessarily bro. There are alot of open minded individuals here.

In regards to the original topic, theres still ALOT of bias out there. Lets face it, people think of crappy late 70s and all 80s American cars and most were sh!t but truth is, there has been and still is a huge turnaround and now that quality is officially there, the Big 3 now have to work on perception more and more. DCX has it kinda easy. With Chrysler being stablemates with Mercedes, I wouldnt think it would be too difficult.

Now to my dislikings of the RX-8 (to show that I dont like it simply because it doesnt do a 13 sec ET :rolleyes:.). First off, its an interesting car, but there are some oddities to it. The bubbly styling is just weird IMO. This was my main peeve on the SS concept, really bubbly bulging fenders dont do it for me, but thats just my opinion. Also I'm not big on the taillights either but once again, my opinion, some may love them.

Then theres the interior (sat in one at the CF auto show). The front is ok, but that circular looking thing around the center dash and radio is odd looking and really sticks out. Not very attractive IMO. Also usable backseat??? The only thing that makes it usable IS the suicide doors! If you took those out, it would be just as hard to get in and out of as a Camaro. And they are a little more comfortable than Camaro's, but not as much where I would want to be back there for long.

And then the rotary motor. Under the hood of that car is busy, or at least the one at the show was. Which is funny being the motor only displaces what, like 1.3L? Not very big, yet it looks like its stuffed in there between everything. And isnt it proven that everyday joes dont like to rev the crap out of the motor to get power? One reason why S2000 is getting a displacement bump. To lower its power band so owners dont have to rev it to the stratosphere just to get horsepower and torque. And Mazda goofing on the hp advertisement really doesnt help any. As far as handling, cant comment, didnt drive one, but if it lapped an M3, well kudos to it, it must be impressive in that catagory :thumb:.

Anyhow, sorry for the long post guys. Just had to make it clear that we're not all "yeehaw, I'm gonna getum up in my 'murican built muscleumup car and go trounce all over these japcrap spurts cars wannabes!" :rolleyes:

Originally posted by SFireGT98
DCX has it kinda easy. With Chrysler being stablemates with Mercedes, I wouldnt think it would be too difficult.




Quality of both companies is below industry average. You couldn't give me either of thier cars, they're toilets. :p

the mentality here is, "yeah? well it doesn't do the quarter mile in less than 13 seconds, so it must be sh1t."
I personally don't like the Hyundai Triburon look it has, looks cheap and cartoonish...I like some of its features, but again, I tend to favor domestic cars b/c of parts/repair costs(whenever needed) and domestic styling, and yeah, domestic performance doesn't hurt..;) not to mention supporting American companies, while they last...