It's not easy being me

 

C&D is not as bad as they were, but when i was coming of age in the mid to late 80s, I NEVER read a positive word about GM, and GM lost EVERY comparo during that time...Granted, i know GM was not necc at the top of their game during this time, but as a kid, their articles colored my judgement to the point where i was almost ashamed to be driven in my parents' cars (both drove GM at the time)...Consumer reports from that era was just as bad in their judgement of domestic cars (i remember the ford tempo as one car they half-way liked).

Nowadays, I'll still occasionally read C&D if i have a few extra mins at Giant...I also have serious issues with Yates' and Bedard's editorials each month, but then again, i didn't like them as a kid either...

 

EVERY and NEVER are pretty big words.....and you would be wrong.

Just off the top of my head....

In the '80's, when C&D would do their nearly annual Camaro vs Mustang shootout....when Camaro would win, that would have been a GM car.

When the early 3rd gen Z/28 was voted "Best Handling Car For Under $25K" ( or whatever the number was)....that was a GM car winning.

Like I've said previously, I think C&D has been very good to the Camaro.

And, up until recently...Chevy has won nearly every truck comparo
in C&D. The Corvette is also found on their Top 10 list, year after year.

Some of you guys ought to pop for the $3.99 and take a copy home and ACTUALLY read it....instead of parroting that same old tired "media bias" story, over and over.

 

woo hoo, people like my car. My life is complete.

No, it's not a split bumper....bastards.

 

maybe i shouldn't have used 'never' but that's how i seem to remember it (then again i was 9 years old when i started reading C&D, so memory could be playng games with me)

And i was mainly referring to U.S.-import comparos, not stang-fbody

 

I still like it all the same

 

Bedard worked for Chrysler back in the interesting days, and as such has shown a lot of love for classic Hemis. He seems to like performance cars of that era in general, penning not only a list of 10-best muscle cars back in the late 80s/early 90s for their annual 10-best issue, but also occassionally sharing some pretty cool stories of testing cars from that era. Nowadays, he seems to find a lot more joy in talking about the politics of cars than the cars themselves

Also note that the Vette beat a Boxster, M Roadster, and SLK in C&D's $50K drop-top test from a couple years ago, and that the Vette has frequently been on their top-10 list since the C5 debuted. It just goes to show that they'll give credit to an American car if it doesn't suck. Build crap, though, and they'll skewer the manufacturer.

Hell, I think they said some pretty nice words about the Ion in their long-term wrap-up.

 

That's exactly right!

You give them crappy cars...and they won't go the wishy washy non-commital route...that, say MT goes.....they WILL CRUCIFY YOU!

Send them good cars however, and C&D will rave.

Afew years ago there was a scathing column in one of the British mags, ( I think it was CARS), on American cars. This one was completely over the top. It was offensive, rude and not even factual. I was taken completely aback and completely p!ssed off when I read it.

Well, apparently Csaba Csera...the editor of C&D, read it too. He devoted his WHOLE column to a blisteringly whithering response to said British author and his magazine. He completely ripped them a new one...point for point.....and he named names. IT WAS NOT PRETTY!!!!
I have never seen such an effective and eloquent defense of the American auto industry.

 

They're still biased, maybe not as much as some other Mags, but their obvious leanings towards foreign cars CAN'T be denied...
For the record, I've got issues going back to 1998 that I haven't pitched yet, and let my subscription lapse in 2002...I got tired of hardly EVER seeing them favor domestics over imports, with a few exceptions like the Viper, Vette etc...
A few examples?:
Cougar V6 vs Accord Coupe 4cyl = Accrord Coupe
Although the Cougar performed better at speed, and matched the Accord everywhere else, AND was priced $2K-$3K less. It was bashed for "rear seat access", the shape and feel of the seats, inside door handles, clutch slop(?), and UH OH!...it's lack of "REFINEMENT!".... ALTHOUGH, they said you can tell the chassis was tuned by Ford of Europe stating that "the harder you push the car on curvy roads, the MORE confident the chassis feels", and ,"Push the Cougar to its limits and it responds with increasingly competent damping, EVEN OVER THE ROUGHEST RAILROAD CROSSINGS"...(wtf?? is refinement??)
The rest is just rehashing how GREAT the Honda was...

I can go on and on with at least "4 years" of this...

 

Hey, I was able to find my 1985 "yellowed" issue of Consumer Reports. Here's what they said abot the First IROC:
"Back rest was too reclined and tall drivers didn't have enough head or leg room. Chevy has dumped the confusing dual-point speedometer, but the gages are still aimed too low to be easily read."
"Head room is limited all around and the tiny back seat is suitable only for kids. Nasty exhaust bark is too loud at all speeds..( )
"Low slung coupe is hard to get in or out of and the long heavy doors are hard to open. Cargo area is shallow.
(Remember they're testing a group of "Sports Cars" not family sedans.. )
"Summary": Chevy's 2 + 2 "Muscle Car"(305tpi/auto=tested) offers super performance at the expense of comfort and (uh oh...here it comes..) refinement.

Chry.Laser:
"Promising, but less pleasant and practical than most Japanese rivals. Chrysler's 5/50 waranty is a big plus."
Dodge Daytona:
Daytona is very quick with the turbo, but the lack of "refinement" is a big drawback for us."
Mustang:
Mustang GT is a bargain Muscle Car that equals or surpasses the Z28 in most key areas."(Note: didn't say IROC.)


NOW for the imports:
Prelude..
"Peppy coupe has good brakes, fine handling and a likeable nature. Fun to drive and a great value for the money."
Civic CRX:
"Thrifty, fun to drive car that loses a lot of zip in HF form b/c of tall gearing."
Nissan Maxima"
"Hard to believe Nissan can offer this much car for $13,499 though dealers are asking more than that.
Mitsu Galant:
Mitsubishi has packed nice features in a pleasant car with an impressively low price.

 

I have that issue, and it is truly a good read.