jcopin

but we need a sedan covertible like toyota!

every time i sat in a taurus i thought.. this roofs gotta go

holderca1

Toyota doesn't have a sedan convertible, are you doing alright over there? The Solara comes in a coupe and convertible, both have 2 doors. A sedan has 4 doors. Chrylser makes a 2 door and 4 door Sebring with the vert available on the 2 door version.

jcopin

its a overprices ugly camry with 2 bigger doors instead of 4 smaller ones

mav

holderca1

The Solara starts for under $20k.

AnotherMustangMan

Perhaps because the 500 can seat more than 4 people?

oh yea and a 500 vert wouoldnt be an overpriced POS (read 40k+ Tbird...)

What the 500 really needs though is a good V8....or at least a V6 that doesnt stink horrendously

MR325iT

That's a good point, and I wonder how I would have sliced up the list differently. Problem is that any list like this is going to be at least somewhat subjective, and they're going to have to set limits somewhere (in terms of price point, at least, otherwise there's an F430 and a Carrera GT on everyone's list, and there ain't much market for "10 Best Cars Nobody Can Afford). Even if they tried to apply some mathematical formula for "best car", it would probably wind up being a Camry, so every enthusiast would freak.

Personally, I've driven the S2000 - it's magic. They nailed it. Totally different experience from the Mustang, but that's the same reason they make more than one brand of beer, right? Gotta have choices.

As for the TSX, drove that too - it's not going to get the drop on anyone at a stoplight, but again, they nailed the basics - great steering, good ride, good feature content, seats, etc. It'd be better with another 30 or 40 HP, but what car wouldn't?

CD comes closest to being objective, IMO, at least among the major mags. Still, I don't let CD write my checks. Still gotta drive the cars yourself, otherwise you're a homer.

Still have to shake my head at the ignorant "all Japanese/German/Korean/American cars stink because...(insert nonsensical rant here)". Weak. There's even some of that in this thread. Come with a real argument, or don't come at all.

MR325iT

Was thinking the same thing. You beat me to it.

AnotherMustangMan

holdeca1: "The Solara starts for under $20k. "

Is that your saying its not overpriced?

It may not be expensive per se, but $20k for bland styling--although toyota did try with that nifty body kit-- riding on a crappy suspension seems overpriced to me (unless your going by mass/size in which case that 40 foot yacht of a coupe is certainly a great value).

holderca1

I just find it hard for any vehicle that costs below $20k to be overpriced, since that is well below the average cost of a vehicle now, and the only thing wrong with it is a bad suspension? I personally don't like the styling, but I don't really consider it bland.

lodom

People can knock Toyotas and Hondas, but it is hard to deny top of class sales figures and a level of quality that is generally higher than domestic brands. The Japanese cars have set the bar for quality, refinement, and even performance, at various price points within classes. I think C&D's pics are well-deserved.

jcopin

thats another thing that erks me

everyone always says.. well this rice burner starts at under 19k

full loaded top end solara is Total MSRP:*** $34,579


throw a extra couple grand in and il happily take a tbird lol

holderca1

Where do you get this stuff, did you look that up?

I just priced a fully loaded Solara and a fully loaded T-Bird.

Solara: $32,410
T-Bird: $45,150

Fully Loaded Sebring Vert: $34,195

mav

swingle007

geez...1st page on this topic is Mustang talk and by half way down the page and now ALL of page 2 it's nothing but Honda and toyota talk....let's not let those turds take over our Mustang forum....change subject back to our v-8 beasts here HAHA....I'm glad that C&D at least had good things to say about the new stang.....regardless what i think of them as a whole....

hootie51

"Obviously C&D has never heard of Ferrari or Porsche"
Ferrari can't be considered for 10 best b/c it is over the price cap of 60K (same for the new 911)

captin kapla

I don't think C&D nominates cars over $60,000. I could be wrong though.

The new 5 series doesn't even match last years year to date sales. They copied Pontiac with the grille and, far worse, the rear lights/trunk look like that of a Kia Rio. The interior is not driver oriented. It is neither sporty nor luxurious. The new M5 isn't even available with a manual transmission! What a joke!

The new 911 is nice but not as huge of an upgrade from the previous one as is the C6.

captin kapla

A British TVR?

I heard they might come here.

bigred0383

I am going to have to stick up for Holderca1 on this one. He is merely responding with logic and facts to posts by Jcopin that seem to be made without any foresight or reasearch. No offense.

Although in my opinion: A 500 convertible is ugly, and a taurus convertible is really ugly. And I like those cars.

The only coupe/convertible model to share two seriously different faces for the same model was the last generation of Sebring.

Besides a lot of car companies make similar design trends on thier cars so that when you see any model, you know what brand it is. (7 slot grill on jeeps, new "long" face on audis, double kidney grill on BMWs, no grill for Olds, etc.)

As far as the 10best list: I think it is more or less properly put together for the average American, and the choices become increasingly harder every year simply due to the MASSIVE volume of namplates and models. Think of it this way. Ford owns 8 car companies (Ford, Linc, Merc, Mazda, L-R, Volvo, A-M, Jag) with 2 models (A-M) to 27 models (Ford) per brand. Then to take it further, you can get what, 23 version of the new F150 alone? Edmunds.com lists 39 more brands in addition to Ford's 8 currently for sale in the U.S. The market is huge, and for them to be able to whittle that down to 10 cars is a tough job. Sure it's perfect for no one, but it is acceptable for most.

I think this quote sums it up best, and even though I am a die hard Ford guy, and if not Ford, then American before even considering a foreign car guy, he makes a good point:

MF325iT
CD comes closest to being objective, IMO, at least among the major mags. Still, I don't let CD write my checks. Still gotta drive the cars yourself, otherwise you're a homer.

Still have to shake my head at the ignorant "all Japanese/German/Korean/American cars stink because...(insert nonsensical rant here)". Weak. There's even some of that in this thread. Come with a real argument, or don't come at all.

holderca1

I finally got my copy of C&D and read the 10Best article. I was trying to figure out if they picked 10 cars, then assigned the categories, or they picked the categories and then the winner in each category. If the latter is the case, the Mustang GT looks like the only muscle car that was nominated. Not saying it didn't deserve to win, I think it did deserve it, but the Mustang appears to be the only one nominated.