In today's market, which auto group builds the world's best looking cars?

[billbuckhead]

I was going to say to disregard economy, safety, quality and all practical concerms but then I figured that was impossible in a "form follows function" artform.

I'm looking for value judgements formed into sheetmetal.

[Sanity Claws]

1. The Italians win

They make the best looking cars but certainly not the best running cars.

[tridim]

7. I agree.. They've had the coolest cars for a long time.

Porsche is close though.

I own one of these.. Known as the poor man's Ferrari.

[Sanity Claws]

14. You have great taste.

;-)

[maveric]

2. Duh! Italian!

[-..__...]

3. The paint job and rims alone on that ...

probably costs more than I make in a year.

[billbuckhead]

4. Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz

After hating them forever, I finally think they build the best looking cars. Benz's make even the best Japanese cars look Chevylike. Audi and VW was my numero uno since we broke into the 21st century, but Mercedes has jumped out there in the last year. There's a strongly bauhaus inflenced design discipline that they have somehow made romantic and large. The SLS, the new roadsters and the Chrysler 300 are good examples.

[sybylla]

5. None of the Above

Personally, I don't think any manufacturer makes nice looking cars as a fleet. Sure, there are individual standouts. But most of them are so far out of the average joe and jane's price range that style seems to be only for those who can afford it, hence a smaller and smaller share of the market.

To me, most cars look the same. I can tell the difference between a '67 and a '68 Chevy Chevelle at a hundred yards, but I can't tell the difference between most 2005 Saturns, Fords, Chryslers, Chevys, Toyotas, Hondas, et. al. unless I can read the damn tags. They're all generic.

In my book, affordable, good-looking, distinctive cars went out with V-8's.

[Nicole]

6. DAIMLER-CHRYSLER-SMART-JEEP-DODGE-MERCEDES BENZ

Here's a couple of reason why they get my vote:

Dodge Viper


Benz SLR McLaren

[LincolnMcGrath]

8. ahem

[da_chimperor]

9. Wanna race?

:evilgrin:

[LincolnMcGrath]

13. Sure

[da_chimperor]

15. Around the Nürbergring?

:evilgrin:

[Spider Jerusalem]

12. Rehash of a 35-year-old design doesn't count...

now, if they'd do something that was both ORIGINAL and attractive (like the now-defucnt Thunderbird), then they'd be in the running.

[Parche]

10. AMC

They used to make the best looking cars

Gremlin, Pacer, Matador,

[CarpeVeritas]

25. don't forget the javelin!

and weren't they AMC/JEEP?

btw- I went thru 5 different pacers- those cars were GREAT!

[sendero]

11. This is a tough one...

... I'm not interested in comparing Lamborghinis with Toyotas, not a realistic comparison.

Of all the cars that a person of reasonable means might actually afford and buy, I'm going with the German cars. The Audis, VW, Porsches all have clean classy lines, and they are solid cars to boot :)

[billbuckhead]

16. 75% for European cars so far. Bodes well for the Euro.

It's heart breaking that America isn't competitive even in cars.

Maybe Bill Ford can drive that new Mustang into the lead lap but the new Ford 500 looks like a used VW and will be a drag.

[sendero]

17. I agree...

... particularly with styling. It doesn't cost any more to stamp steel in an attractive design than it does to do it ugly, but with a few notable exceptions, the American carmakers insist on making ugly cars.

BTW, I am a used car dealer and I learn more about cars every time I go to a dealer auction. I have to admit, I see a lot more cars with 250K+ miles on them, still running fine, than I expected. Lots of Chevy and Ford pickups, and for some reason, the Pontiac Grand Am shows up with huge miles on a regular basis.

But nothing has beat the old Mazda pickup that came thru with 385K miles - it was smoking a bit though :), although a super clean '96 Maxima with 319K was really impressive too :)

[MercutioATC]

18. Why those groupings?

AUDI-VW-SKODA-SEAT-BENTLEY-----PORSCHE

That grouping just doesn't make sense.

[billbuckhead]

20. Volkswagen has joint venture SUV with Porsche and are historically related

Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, SEAT and Skoda are brand names of Volkswagen.

The groupings are based which corporations own these brands except the aforementioned VW-Porsche thing. Subaru is affiliated with GM but not part of GM. FIAT owns all the major brands in Italy except Lamborgini. BMW owns MINI and Rolls.

[MercutioATC]

21. Gotcha. I was just taking issue because Porsche is an independant company

I'd never put a Skoda and a Porsche in the same group just because of the VW affiliation.

[billbuckhead]

23. The Toureg-Cayenne deal made me include Porsche with VW

I only had so may slots. So Subaru, Daihatsu, Hyundai-Kia, Chinese cars and dozens of exotics weren't included. It's just as well since I was interested in a corporate culture thing going on.

[MercutioATC]

24. I understand.

As a Porsche owner, I'm just a little touchy about being grouped with Skodas...



;)

[billbuckhead]

26. Those new Skoda Superb's are one of VW's better looking cars.

Detriot's lucky they don's sell Skoda's over here.

<http://www.skoda-auto.com/global/showroom/superb/default.htm>

I bet this SEAT would sell over here, but the special American model off this platform is the Jetta.
<http://www.seat.be/splash.asp?>

[MercutioATC]

28. Yeah, but it's not really a Porsche, is it?

;)

[ContraBass Black]

27. Youre not a Cheyenne owner, are you?

:evilgrin:

[MercutioATC]

29. No, the Cheyenne was made by Chevrolet

http://www.customsuspension.com/Gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=ChevroletCheyenne1971Lowered


:evilgrin:


Actually, I have an '83 911 Targa.

[ContraBass Black]

30. Nice.

To be honest, it was a computer game, Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed, that changed me from a minor Porsche fan to a major one.

[MercutioATC]

31. My '83 is nothing compared to today's cars.

But it's still one hell of a lot of fun to drive :)

[ContraBass Black]

32. The game starts with the 356

And moves sequentially through most of the models up to the 2000 911Turbo.

[MercutioATC]

33. I've played it on the PS2. Great game!

:)

Have you tried the 959? I can't control it to save my life.

[ContraBass Black]

34. I throw that car through the turns more than I drive it.

The brakes are good though.

[MercutioATC]

35. Maybe THAT'S my problem...

I never use the brakes in NFS...

[ContraBass Black]

36. Porsche Unleashed is different from the other NFS games.

It's more like the original as far as realism. No brakes, no turns.

[MercutioATC]

37. That seems to be the case, especially with the 959 and the 917.

I couldn't control either one of them. Maybe a wheel/pedal setup would help...

[JanMichael]

19. Where are the Subarus???

??

[LSdemocrat]

22. I really like the look of the new Cadillacs