10 Best Winners:

Acura TSX
Acura RL
BMW 3 Series
Chevrolet Corvette
Chrysler 300C
Dodge Magnum
Ford Mustang GT
Honda Accord
Mazda RX-8
Mercedes Benz SLK350

Edit: Forgot the last one

 

Tks for the info. That's 9 of 10, what's the last one?

 

Glad to see more American cars making it on to the list.

 

10Best is stupid, and always has been. The 5Best Trucks are done a little better, because they actually pick winners from different CATEGORIES (like Automobile does with its All-Star list). 10Best just lists the ten best vehicles that the editors would like to drive.

Fine. Except that they KINDA pick categories, if you know what I mean. IOW, how the hell did the Dodge Caravan make the list (maybe 10 years ago)? How did the Focus or Accord make it during years when the C5 did not? Is the Accord a good choice for enthusiasts in the "family sedan" category? Sure, absolutely. Same with the Focus in the "compact car" category. Or maybe the Caravan back then in the "minivan" category. But these auto enthusiasts can tell me that, of all the new or significantly changed vehicles under their price cap, they'd rather drive an Accord than a Vette? A Magnum or 300C over a GTO? Please. The LX cars are great cars, and certainly good in their category. But as an enthusiast, they'd honestly rather have a 300C? An Acura TL? An Accord?!

I just wish they'd change it to picking a couple of cars from different categories, which they seem to do subconciously by allowing some more "normal" cars on the list, sort of a nod to the fact that not "everyone" can afford a Vette or 3 Series. But to tell me that the Accord is a better car for enthusiasts (or even a better car period) than the GTO is just nuts. JMHO.

I used to love C&D, and still think they have some good/funny writers, but their conclusions are bunk too often. The ridiculous, condescending article about the C6 Z51 vs. the new 911, where they basically drooled over the 911 and called the Vette a brute ( ), but reluctantly had to pick the Vette because the Porsche was over 20 grand more... (or, apparently, the new GTO vs Mustang test, where the "gotta have it factor" swings the test for the Mustang after the GTO had a solid lead...

If I remember right, they gave the Vette an 8/10 and the Porsche a 10/10 for engine NVH - Puh-leeeeze!!! Oh, and the Vette lost points for being louder at full throttle (where many like a little sound) by a dB or two, even though the Vette was QUIETER at highway cruising speeds (where most people WANT it to be quiet and "refined" - Brute, indeed).

[/rant]

EDIT: Rant aside, I am happy to see American makes on the list. I am still confused by the fact that both the 300 and the Magnum are there (they are the same damn car!), and three Honda sedans (2 Acura) is hard to believe as well. So I agree with the sentiment of the thread; I just don't get the whole 10Best concept in general, or at least the way in which they execute it...

 

accord and TSX are basically the same car

Anyone notice all the American cars are RWD

 

After reading the Motor Trend and Car and Driver pieces about Corvette, I'm pretty damned frustrated.

The same **** that I have harped on about over and over again on this board keeps coming back AGAIN AND AGAIN to bite GM in these comparisons.

In a word, it is perceived quality issues. Bad panel fits, bad material choices, squeak and rattles and poor design choices that keep brewing up over and over.

In specific, fits in the Corvette's interior were specifically criticized WITH PICTURES provided and once again GM gets dinged for it in a Car and Driver comparo vs. the 911.

This crap IS NOT rocket science. It costs no more to engineer it right the first time than it does to screw it up, and eventually costs less since you don't have to go back and fix it later.

For all the money that is being spent on marginal value improvements due to what JD Powers says is important, things could be fixed that have a real effect on the vehicle's perceptions with the people that matter. People at GM need to pay attention to that. In the end, JD Powers is a generally good benchmark, but too often big money is being spent for precious little return that could better be applied elsewhere.

 

I dunno how the RL made it on the list over the STS wich has been putting itself out there as a real 5 series killer.

 

Road and Track actually said the Corvette has the nicer interior (between it and the 911 S). And that is at a price point 30 grand south of the 911 S. There may be some truth to the fit issues (compared to an LS430?), but the previous 911 interior was constantly criticized for being underwhelming in a car of its price, and it looks like the new one is not a whole lot better. One of the mags (maybe R&T again, in either the 911 vs Vette article or the new Boxster preview) expressed dismay that they did not use this opportunity to further differentiate the 911 from the much-cheaper Boxster.

I haven't taken a fine-toothed comb to every seam and transition in the C6, but I personally think some of this stuff is given too much emphasis to begin with (and wouldn't be given so much attention if the media didn't blow it out of proportion). *shrug*

 

On the point of the Vette interior, I find it interesting that in the MT COTY award, the Vette got 3 stars for interior, and the Mustang got 4 stars.

While I am not dumb enough to think that the Mustangs interior is "actually" better, it would seem as though the "perception" is that it may be. About the only thing I can attribute this to is that the 2 are actually similar in actual quality, but that the Mustang is pulling off the stylistic thing better than the Vette.

Before people bash me, please understand that I am saying this purely on what I have read. Also, this ranking does not take features into account. It is purely based on how successful the editors feel that the manufacturer was. Of course, what may weigh heavily in this is that the editors felt that, for the price point, the Vette interior just should have been that much better.

Unfortunately, these things are often not put into words very clearly.

Sorry, I had to use the MT I just got in the mail, as I threw out my C&D because I had already read everything in it. I had to clean up some of these magazines, as they get a bit overwhelming.

 

All the American cars are RWD and available (if not standard) with V8s

 

Do you think that could mean that maybe us yanks can't build a competitive FWD family car?

 

If I were making a choice between the gto and magnum/300c, the Gto would be my last choice. Not that I dont like it but after driving all 3, it would be my 3rd choice over all.