Motor Trend Best Handling

[harryo2b]

Of course US auto mags suck ass but this has generated some heated discussion on certain other forums

http://www.motortrend.com/features/p...ion/index.html

June, 2007 issue of MotorTrend.
Compares the handling of the following cars.
These cars are listed in their order of finish, per the "expert" testing of MotorTrend magazine:

1) Porsche 911 GTS - $115,700
2) Porsche Cayman S - $63,300
3) Lotus Exige - $65,100
4) Mitsubishi EVO IXMR - $37,424
5) Mini Cooper S JCWGP - $31,150
6) BMW 335i - $42,675
7) Honda S200 - $34,845
8) MazdaSpeed 3 - $24,550
9) Corvette Z06 - $70,000
10) Honda Civic Si - $21,885

MotorTrend describes the Z06 as: "the car's surplus of power and surfeit of rear grip overwork the stability control, the driver's nervers or both, on public roads. Combine that with imprecise steering and a chassis that easily upset on bumpy curves and pretty soon in a handling test, you're looking at a low ranking. Considering the rest of its impressive performance envelope, it's certainlya bargain supercar, but it turns out that handling isn't its longest suit."

[silentm]

an interesting list, i'm not gonna complain though

[RC45]

I am amazed at how a magazine can print absolute crap as fact.

FINALIST: Chevy Corvette Z06-Who'd have thunk just a few years back that Chevy's blunt-instrument 'Vette could matriculate into a thoroughbred track star? But sure enough, replacing a steel chassis with a stiffer aluminum one, swapping carbon-fiber for fiberglass panels, and re-tuning the suspension to suit a 7.0-liter 505-horse engine, has made the Corvette Z06 a potential world-beater.

The words out of context may contain factual information, but this diatribe is grossly inaccurate and anecdotal.

It would be as valuable from a literary and technical standpoint as saying" The 2007 Porsche 911 is rear engined because the Beetle was rear engined".

In other words.. stupidity at its best.

And this bit of trash?

Dodge Viper SRT10-Dodge has wrought a near miracle with the Viper. A comparatively light roadster with a gigantic 510-hp V-10 should be borderline undrivable. But by fitting similarly ginormous tires and tuning the suspension astutely, the Viper generates big grip numbers and reasonable track performance. But its overall demeanor remains a bit brutish and blunt by comparison with the best handlers.

I want to know - to be a writer for a US car magazine - do youactually have be born stupid and ignorantr, or do they "go to school" to get this moronic?

I would LOVE to meet one of these motojourno fools and let them know personally how stupid and ignorant they are.

Wow - simply wow.

And finally - their "guidelines":

The Criteria: The supreme grand champion handler may be a car that generates big hairy test numbers on the skidpad-or not. It may snake through a slalom course in record time-or not. It may go around a racetrack faster than any other-or not. It will do all of the above with exceptional finesse while eliciting broad smiles on its driver's face. And our selection will likely provoke feverish haranguing in the blogosphere.

Translated : Some subjective crap we spewed out based on the popular myths and urban legends that will sell magazines to all the "brain dead zombies who like us believe that everything non-American must be perfect and the pictures were cool so I bought the magazine" customers masquerading as car enthusiasts.

While some of their choices are accurate and correct, their logic and reasoning is not.

They may as well save paper and just print magazine with pages and pages of photo spreads and save people having to read their nonsense, which woul dsave them having to pretend to be writiers.

They might still sell the same amount of magazines anyway.

[harryo2b]

I can agree for the top 3 for handling but the other cars in front of the Z06 is madness!

[MidEngine4Life]

I had no idea the Cayman S was so cheap!

[5vz-fe]

Motortrend has did it again Mini Copper infront of a S2000. Why the 335 over M3....oh well.

I guess that is why I never buy those mags

[wasaabi92]

A couple months back Car and Driver did a sort of similar track day comparo. The Z06 come out in front, followed closely by the GT3, with the Exige S bringing up the rear.

C/D at least know what they're talking about. MT just plain sucks. :roll:

[5vz-fe]

I can even accept GT3 coming out infront of the Z cause it may be down to personal perference. Saying a mazdaspeed3 is better handling, that is completely out of proportion.

[TNT]

i think its all in respect to each cars class.

[5vz-fe]

"10 Contenders, 1 Winner: America's Best-Handling Car Elimination Rounds"??

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by TNT i think its all in respect to each cars class.

except nowhere do they say that.

After driving a Z06, (of the C6 stature) and the Cayman S a few weeks back, Both are impressive... but the Z is much more direct through the corners, actually has similar feedback through the wheel, and .... the Z06 is actually softer on Michigan pothole infested roads! The Cayman S rides fairly rough. There is hardly comparing the two honestly.

Paul, nail on the head.

[graywolf624]

Its motor trend.. awarder of such cars of the year as PT Cruiser and new VW bug.. What do you expect.

[TNT]

Originally Posted by nthfinity Originally Posted by TNT i think its all in respect to each cars class. except nowhere do they say that. After driving a Z06, (of the C6 stature) and the Cayman S a few weeks back, Both are impressive... but the Z is much more direct through the corners, actually has similar feedback through the wheel, and .... the Z06 is actually softer on Michigan pothole infested roads! The Cayman S rides fairly rough. There is hardly comparing the two honestly. Paul, nail on the head.

i was meaning that for example all of the cars in the class with the Z06, which the z06 beat, and so on. then they took the top ones from each class and compared then respectively. but that is if they did it ideally.

[wasaabi92]

Originally Posted by graywolf624 Its motor trend.. awarder of such cars of the year as PT Cruiser and new VW bug.. What do you expect.

Don't forget the Lincoln LS and the T-Bird!

[gangajas]

This isn't a surprise, even a Clio handles better than the Z06

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