Feb. 2006 issue features a lot of GM product for one issue, mostly its not good, the biased opinoins continue.

First 5 Sports Sedans under $30K were compared called "Everyday Heros", here are the Car & Driver rankings.

5th: Pontiac G6 GXP
4th: Mazdaspeed 6
3th: Acura TSX
2nd: Honda Accord EX V6
1st: VW Jetta GLI

Pontiac G6 GXP
Highs: Torquey V6, slick styling, respectable test numbers.
Lows: Oppressive wind noise, primitive shifter, steering substitutes effort for road feel.
The Vervict: Compentent, comely,and quick, but not quite ready for prime time.

The Rips: "Despite its relatively old-fashioned valve operation-GM calls it cam in block, feeling perhaps that "pushrod" sounds dated"
"The shift quality of the six speed gearbox was persistently panned, Rubbery some said. Other employed a time-honored technical term: clunky."

Next Comparision Test: Rebellious Boxes
Rankings:

4th: Honda Element EX-P
3rd: Chevrolet HHR LT
2nd: Chrysler PT Cruiser GT
1st: Scion xB

HHR

Highs: A smooth rider, splendid sofa for 2 in back, pleasingly plump shapes indside.
Lows: Stupid location for window switches, shifter has an argument for every move of the lever, loosey-goosey ride motions.
The Verdict: The Me-Too Cruiser.

The Rips: "Chevy's Me-Too Cruiser isn't quiteas cute as Chrysler's original. The molded Jell-O shape is too soft to make a compelling statement."
"Power window buttons are down by your ankles"
"The HHR clears the 1/4 mile in 16.1 sec. at 87 mph, really quite brisk compared with small cars, or any cars, over the years. Take this as a tribute to the HHR's retro mood, which suggests we should be comparing it with cars of yesteryear. The car feels retro to the driver, too. The shifter catches as it moves through the pattern. The steering is rubbery and very sensitive to road camber; it wants to fall off the road crown. The body bobs and pitches on the suspension. When you let up the clutch in first gear, the nose bobs up. All of this creates a sense of woolly, imprecise control, the way cars used to be."


The G6 seemed a little out of place in that comparo with Honda Accord and such, the Grand Prix GXP would have been a better fit in that class.
They bashed the HHR pretty good, but the bashed they Honda Element even worse surprisingly, yet they were all praise about the Scion xB which IMO has the worst interior and exterior of the bunch. And to me the PT Cruiser can't hold a candle to the HHR styling wise.

Also tested in the issue:
Malibu Maxx SS
2007 Chevy Tahoe LTZ

I haven't had a chance to read the tests on those yet.

I just got this issue in the mail today as the first as agift subscription from an anonymous person (kind of strange) The issue came serverly damaged and came in a large envelop from the USPS with a letter stating that they were sorry for damaging the magazine, but accidents due happen when they handle millions of letters/pkgs. a day.

 

If youre a GM fan, just throw it away. C&D seems to hate most American cars. All you'll be after reading it is mad.

 

I haven't driven all of these cars or even read the story yet, but you know, these are all pretty well developed, nice cars. I think it would have been shocking and probably unfair had the G6 beaten the Speed6 or the TSX.

The G6 GXP is a nice piece...but let's face it... it's not at the top of it's class. Hopefully one day it will be.

 

And that's been GM's problem for decades. Almost of of their volume cars are also-rans that are a few steps behind the competition even when brand new. Until GM can leapfrog their competition they're not going to pull out of their tailspin.

Anyhow I haven't driven the G6 GTP yet, but it's interesting that another reviewer had the opposite opinion on many things. For example he described the shifter as "slick, with well-defined gates and a nicely-shaped shift ****", and he also praised the engine too. What's even more amazing is that the author is about the biggest import nut-swinger this side of redzed and rarely has anything good to say about GM products, so for him to have a positive review is high praise indeed.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/ly/06g6gtp.htm

 

What I'd like to know is, what does it really mean to be at the "Top of the Class" nowadays?? REALLY?? I mean, one mag says the G6 sucks, another says it's great. One mag gives the Civic "Car of the Year", another can give Kia the "Car of the Year" award if they so choose.

What separates the "TOP" from the "BOTTOM"? A few "points"? Until I drive ANY of the above mentioned cars, I really have no opinion, but I've sat in many different cars, driven a few different cars, and there are things I like and don't like about all of them. But I know that I'm totally biased, and if there's ANYTHING I like about a GM car, then I'm sold, no need for further evaluation. On the flip side, the Import (which I typically don't care for) pretty much has to make me lunch or give me a hand job to make me like it. Now what if our magazine writer thinks the way I do, but he's biased towards the imports??

Magazine articles don't mean crap unless they're comparing REAL NUMBERS. Acceleration, handling, braking, size, weight, power, displacement, etc., etc., etc. "Opinions" can't be measured .

[rant]I'll still take my "old technology, push-rod, solid rear axle, horse drawn buggy era designed, shabby plastic interior, rough handling, bulky, brawny but brainless, gas guzzling P.O.S." Camaro over any of those imports . They can kiss my a$$.[/rant]

 

When all else fails... it's the "Gotta have it factor"

Remember the GTO vs Mustang GT comparision, where GTO literally obliteratted Mustang by like 7 points or something, winning most, if not all objective catagories, then they gave the Mustang a 8-point win in the "gotta have it" catagory to give it the overall win.

Not coincidentally, that magazine had already declared Mustang one of it's Ten Best, or Car fo the Year or whatever (I forget which magazine did it)... and GTO was not on their list... so they had to save face.

 

Did the G6 they tested have the panoramic roof? I know the "opresive wind noise" in our G6 comes from the optional roof-a pretty cool feature not offered on any of the other cars tested.

 

WOW. Nobody caught it said GXP? They mean GTP. There hasn't been a G6 GXP yet.

 

DOH!

I even repeated it in my post.

 

Having driven an 06 Jetta GLI as a loaner car while my Audi was in the shop I gotta say they're off their rocker - I was NOT that impresed by that car.

I've got decent hands on driving experience with all of those cars and I'd say that they're all pretty close competition but all in very different ways. The Honda Accord is still the hands-down winner overall in my book, but I'm a bit more practical minded than some when it comes to owning a car (leasing is a different story).

The Mazda 6 has a great driving feel IMO but that's where the buck stops. I was *not* impressed by the features, ergonomics, quality, etc of that car considering all the hype it has received. I think I'd prefer the Ford Fusion.

 

I just had an HHR rental for a day, and I'll agree that the window switches are indeed in the worst location I've ever seen in a car. Also the cupholders are waaaaay down between the front seats, hard to access between the arm rests. But a "floaty ride"? No way! I thought for its size, it was very surefooted, quiet, and subdued.

MT

 

FWIW, I believe they're referring to the mazdaspeed 6, not just the mazda 6, which has more standard options as well as performance stuff.

 

Opps, that was a typo on my part

 

It did have the panormic roof and not a word was said about it They stated the the wind noise leak came from the upper right A-pillar area, sounds like a door or side window leak to me.

 

my thoughts are about the actual USE of the car, not a few weeks, but over a few years.

we had a Jetta, sister had a bug, like only a 2 yr warranty, and then she paid $175 to get her doors to shut (known problem, strikers need adjusted after while)

and our jetta had "british electronics" half stuff would not work,
alarm would not turn off, so you could not crank the car sometimes.

the jetta used a quart of oil between changes @ 90k miles "as expected" per some jetta enthusiasts i talked to.

i had an Olds Cutlass 3.1 V6 that i had ~130k miles, replaced a few things (water pump, alternator, starter) but nothing major, it was a really good car for 8 years.

buddy has an 02 Accord. it's totally bland and tasteless. like riding a big couch. comfortalbe, yes; transportation, yes; enjoyable, bland. they ride with us every chance.

i hope GM regroups and survives.