2009 CarSPIN Award Winners

[the Teuton]

The current Rabbit isn't Mexican-built, to my knowledge.

And the Mazda3 s is rated at 22 city/29 highway.

They aren't?  What about the Jetta?

And none of the cars in the economy car class outside of the Corolla seem to be terribly efficient, do they?

[Eye of the Tiger]

They aren't?  What about the Jetta?

And none of the cars in the economy car class outside of the Corolla seem to be terribly efficient, do they?

omg, Cobalt XFE gets 84 mpg city

[Raza]

1) My choice is not the best car in the class.  Once again, I think that distinction goes to the Mazda3.

2) Bullshit.  Maybe now, but over the long-run, I guarantee there will be a higher percentage of Imprezas on the road than Golfs, especially the Mexican-built ones.

You know the Mexican built Golfs and the German built Rabbits have nothing to do with each other, right?  Historical reliability is mostly irrelevant. 

Hell, current models from Mexico have seemed to prove reliable as well.  After they changed their production centers to fix their old strategy, things sorted themselves out.  However, they're poised to fuck it all up again.  I may very well replace my Jetta with another Volkswagen, but it won't be a United States-only Jetta or Passat. 

[Raza]

They aren't?  What about the Jetta?

And none of the cars in the economy car class outside of the Corolla seem to be terribly efficient, do they?

The Jetta (and all Jettas sold everywhere in the world) is built in Mexico.  The Rabbit (and all Rabbits and Golfs sold everywhere in the world) is built in Germany.  They had to hold back US imports so they could increase production capacity because they were turning the plants into world centers instead of their old, hard-to-QC regional centers.  Remember, the Volkswagen GTI (I'm not sure if it extended to the whole Golf range) was named Car of the Year by Top Gear in 2004, but wasn't released in the US until 2006, when we got the mechanically identical Jetta in 2005.  Obviously, with higher demand for the Jetta in the US than Europe, and higher demand for the Golf/Rabbit in Europe than in the US, they made the choice to wait on the Rabbit and sell the Jetta here before the Rabbit was introduced. 

[MrH]

I'll never buy a car with an inline 5.

[CJ]

No Volvo S60R or V70R for you then.

[Raza]

I'll never buy a car with an inline 5.

It's not a very exciting engine, no.  It's kind of like a diesel without diesel gas mileage.  Huge displacement, though. 

They should replace it with the twincharge 1.4.

[2o6]

It's not a very exciting engine, no.  It's kind of like a diesel without diesel gas mileage.  Huge displacement, though. 

They should replace it with the twincharge 1.4.

Or at least the 2.0T.........

[Rupert]

The current Rabbit isn't Mexican-built, to my knowledge.

And the Mazda3 s is rated at 22 city/29 highway.

Dang, my truck gets about that city mileage.

[Tave]

But is a quality truck like the GM twins? While it looks like Chrysler improved that aspect, we don't know yet.

The last model matched the quality of the other two, it just had a plain-Jane interior (which, as Hemi agrees, is a good feature in a work truck). The Cummins models are especially venerated and have been for years.


For the love of God, don't confuse the Sebring with Dodge trucks.

[SVT666]

The last model matched the quality of the other two, it just had a plain-Jane interior (which, as Hemi agrees, is a good feature in a work truck). The Cummins models are especially venerated and have been for years.


For the love of God, don't confuse the Sebring with Dodge trucks.

Exactly.  Dodge Trucks are top notch.

[Tave]

I don't think you could go wrong with either a Chevy or Dodge.

We have been tending towards Dodge trucks at work because of the Cummins and underbody packaging. Go look at a Silverado and Ram. On the Chevy, the body is mounted "on top" of the frame while on the Dodge, the bottom of the frame is flush with the rest of the body. It's an annoying detail.

[SVT666]

I don't think you could go wrong with either a Chevy or Dodge.

We have been tending towards Dodge trucks at work because of the Cummins and underbody packaging. Go look at a Silverado and Ram. On the Chevy, the body is mounted "on top" of the frame while on the Dodge, the bottom of the frame is flush with the rest of the body. It's an annoying detail.

Chevys have been like that for as long as I can remember.  My dad bought an F-250 off a guy who was selling it so he could buy a new Chevy (1995).  He sold that Chevy after only 3 months because he couldn't go onto a job site without getting shit hung up in the frame and getting stuck.

[Tave]

Chevys have been like that for as long as I can remember.  My dad bought an F-250 off a guy who was selling it so he could buy a new Chevy (1995).  He sold that Chevy after only 3 months because he couldn't go onto a job site without getting shit hung up in the frame and getting stuck.

We made the shift from Chevy starting in 2003, right when the new Ram was released. In the 90s, we had been using Fords, but we couldn't get much life out of them, so we switched to Chevy. We liked the durability, but that frame issue was just too frustrating.

We've finally taken the vehicle decisions out of my boss's hands. He used to buy whatever make came in the company color.