Car and Driver spoke and we listen....

2008 10Best List:
- BMW 3-series
- Cadillac CTS
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Chevrolet Malibu
- Honda Accord
- Honda Fit
- Mazda MX-5
- Mazda Mazdaspeed3
- Porsche Boxster/Cayman
- Volkswagen GTI
2007 10Best List:
- BMW 3-Series
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Chrysler 300C
- Honda Accord
- Honda Fit
- Infiniti G35 Sedan
- Mazda MX-5 Miata
- Mazda Mazdaspeed3
- Porsche Boxster / Cayman
- Volkswagen GTI

GM is on a comeback and they are doing it in style. It seems our Honda Civic is not the darling we all think it is. The Honda Accord and the Honda Fit both made the list. This proves that people don't just want high power motors, but motors that are friendly to the environment without the use of dangerous LiOn or NiMH or other battery technologies....

FYI, the following are gas sipping engines; Honda Fit, Mazda MX-5, Mazda Mazdaspeed3, Volkswagen, Chevy Malibu (in 4 Cyl) and Chevy Corvette (It has a V8 that uses activate cylinder deactivation both on HWY and City)

Enjoy!

 

I think you expected this statement to poke somebody's interest, so I assume you can prove your claim without much trouble, correct?


Anyhow, Csaba Csere has a long carreer as an automotive reviewer and is highly regarded in many car enthusiast circles. I suspect most environmentally conscious folks place as much value in his experience and automotive authority as he understands what is "green" and sustainable. Last time I recall, he literally dismissed hybrids and other advanced technology fuel efficient vehicles. Both myself and many other folks at GreenHybrid stand in contrast and contradiction to his opinions.

Yep, the HCH, Prius and HyCamry were not on that list either. Which means, that while being on that list is nice, is not a requirement for success.

Nevertheless, good find arbittan.


Cheers;

MSantos

 

MSantos,
I was merely stating that of the cars on that list, 50%-60% of them were fuel efficent cars as opposed to thunderous gas guzzlers.

The Covette is considered fuel efficent because it uses active value management to shut off 4 cylinders when power is not needed.

 

Be interesting to plot that list versus sales numbers...that should show where the popularity lies in the real world. Maybe even plot reliability. Most people want what they want, it's pretty subjective.

Hmmm...dangerous batteries, huh. More dangerous than a tank of gasoline?? boy, I've been misinformed (sarcasm).

 

arbittan:

Agreed. I do see an improvement, slow but definite.


Curt:
That is what I was inferring on. Heck, I even abject to the Honda Fit being on the list since given its displacement, I would hardly regard it as fuel efficient (the base Jazz maybe, but definitely not the FIT).
Then again, I've traced Csaba's opinions & thinking for over 20 years and he's pretty consistent. The criteria used and results they got is expected and unsurprising.

Ditto on the batteries...


Cheers;

MSantos

 

Another reason I got rid of my Mercedes was the fact that they installed the Lead Acid Battery under the passager seat... Why in the world would any car company do that....

 

I cancelled my C&D subscription of many years, exactly because of their attitude towards cars and the environment.

For them, engines must always be bigger and cars must always be faster. With their propaganda they are poisoning generations of young boys. They preach the need for speed at any cost and perpetuate the problem.

nf

 

I haven't yet, but I've thought of cancelling too. Your reference to poison is kinda funny--I've been a subscriber since age 16 and would definitely count myself among the poisoned.

The funny thing is that when I finally bought my first FAST car (turbo Outback), the thrill of accelleration quickly wore off and suddenly I was seriously thinking about mods to get some of the thrill back. It's interesting to contrast that with the "thrill" of hypermiling where I enjoy every commute a lot more than the feeling of being glued to my seat for 5.9 seconds. As a side benefit, I am less dangerous to myself and other drivers, and I spend half as much on fuel!

It's a shame that a hybrid car mag wouldn't sell...

 

Car & Driver? What's that? Actually I do know. But I cannot recall that dinosaur of a magazine ever influencing my car buying decisions. By the time I was ready to commit to owning a car -- which was rather late, truth be told -- I was doing my research online. Younger people are even more aggressively searching for balanced truth about cars, critically recognizing mere opinion pieces for what they are.

Check this out

 

Because the battery is a heavy beast, especially for its size. Getting that thing closer to the center of the car and lower is an engineering desire (lowers overall vehicle's center of gravity and if centered, affects handling & balance much less). Lower center of most cars is not too practical though, so the battery often sits in a more convenient but less desirable place - front of car, on one side, and at the very front. A better location (but a little less convenient), seen in a lot of European cars, is in the trunk, one one side, close to or under the floor. That's how my MB does it. My old Jaguar even put it in the center of the trunk (better), under the floor.