THE LEFTOVERS: CAMARO 1LE VS M2 VS FOCUS RS VS 124 SPIDER ABARTH VS 718 BOXSTER

[68_427]

The article is written poorly IMO, but I figured I'd post it anyways.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/fiat/124-spider/2017/chevrolet-camaro-1le-bmw-m2-ford-focus-rs-fiat-124-spider-abarth-porsche-718-boxster-s-toyota-86/



As I've been saying the whole time the V6 1LE needs 3.73s just like the SS

[Eye of the Tiger]

That is a poorly written article.
I do need to drive all of those cars, though.

[12,000 RPM]

Re: Focus RS

"It's not a real driver's car,"

Harsh!!!!

Didn't seem that poorly written. Maybe I am just conditioned to this low level of writing

[Payman]

The... Abarth came first?

Never before have I seen a car where its reviews are all over the fucking map.

[Rich]

The... Abarth came first?

Never before have I seen a car where its reviews are all over the fucking map.

+1

I already know from the powerband description I would not like the car at all.  Turbo lag, power peters out at 5k... that it doesn't ruin the car for reviewers bewilders me.

[Payman]

+1

I already know from the powerband description I would not like the car at all.  Turbo lag, power peters out at 5k... that it doesn't ruin the car for reviewers bewilders me.

It seems the reviewers that have a positive reaction to the powerband are like me... 3000-5000 is where I drive anyways. I never shift anywhere close to redline, so 90% of the time I'll be in the power. I really need to drive this car, I think I'd like it.

[Rich]

personal preference I guess.

the Polo I'm driving now peters out after 4k.  tons of grunt from 3-4k, and then as I have the throttle floored waiting for the next shift. 

[12,000 RPM]

It seems the reviewers that have a positive reaction to the powerband are like me... 3000-5000 is where I drive anyways. I never shift anywhere close to redline, so 90% of the time I'll be in the power. I really need to drive this car, I think I'd like it.

I think you want to like it when you drive it, because you have spent so much time and energy hyping it up. On paper at least, the Miata seems to be a better car in every way.

[Xer0]

I think the writing issue is that you had a different person write each pro and con so it didn't always feel like you were reading the same article.  On that note, it didn't feel so much like an article as much as it felt like a series of thoughts on the cars.

Disappointed in the M2 and Camaro placing 

[cawimmer430]

This is an example of the right way for Italians and Japanese to build a car.


Remember what happened the first time? 

[2o6]

I have a hard time reading these things now

[Payman]

I think you want to like it when you drive it, because you have spent so much time and energy hyping it up. On paper at least, the Miata seems to be a better car in every way.

Lolwhut. No different that you praising the Miata while slamming the Spider, without driving either one. Difference is, I've never slammed the Miata. I want to test drive both of them.

[Payman]

This is an example of the right way for Italians and Japanese to build a car.


Remember what happened the first time? 

??? Alfamazda 323?

[Tave]

The multi-driver/writer format works a lot better in video. Lieberman and Cammisa especially have good chemistry and timing for camera.

There's no sense in using dual voices but not letting them riff off each other. The article sounded a little disjointed because the Pro/Con sections read like standalone pieces instead of call-and-responses.

That said I think the point was to be quick and dirty: this was the B-side version of car of the year with the leftover group of also-rans. There's no sense in complaining about the polish on an extra that you wouldn't have been able to read had they not cut some corners.

[2o6]

??? Alfamazda 323?

Nissan body, Alfa Mechanicals.



So it was ugly and unreliable.

[12,000 RPM]

Wow

http://www.carscoops.com/2011/02/what-were-they-thinking-when-alfa-romeo.html

What a turd

80s = so much cocaine. Only explanation for this

[2o6]

Wow

http://www.carscoops.com/2011/02/what-were-they-thinking-when-alfa-romeo.html

What a turd

80s = so much cocaine. Only explanation for this

It could have been better if it had sexy alfa styling with proven nissan mechanicals. But instead it was the opposite....WHY

[CaminoRacer]

+1

I already know from the powerband description I would not like the car at all.  Turbo lag, power peters out at 5k... that it doesn't ruin the car for reviewers bewilders me.

And it sounds like a slow tractor.

[cawimmer430]

??? Alfamazda 323?

Alfa Romeo Arna

Here's a funny article from the UK about it. 



Motor industry commentators often cite the Alfa Romeo Arna as a perfect example of how not to combine the talents of two manufacturers. The world sat up and took notice when Alfa Romeo announced its forthcoming partnership with Nissan in October 1980 – the combination of the two had the potential to build something special.

The Italian company had – during its post-war history – produced some of the world's finest accessibly priced drivers' cars, but many of them had been prone to succumb to rust and unreliability. The Japanese, on the other hand, understood marketing like no other and could build family hold-alls with Swiss watch-like mechanical precision in their millions. What rival manufacturers feared was that the Italian Government-sponsored partnership between Nissan and Alfa Romeo was about to start making Italian-designed cars built to Japanese production tolerances.

Imagine, then, the sighs of relief from Longbridge, Wolfsburg and Viry-Chatillon, when the Arna (for Alfa Romeo Nissan Autoveicoli) started rolling off the line at Pratola Serra, Italy for a world debut at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show. What Alfa Romeo needed was an exciting 'Sud replacement (in lieu of the fact the 33 had taken a step upmarket, leaving a vacuum below) but, instead, we were presented with a lightly restyled Nissan N12 Cherry/Pulsar.

Under the bonnet, it wasn't all bad news, because there was a range of 1.2-, 1.3- and 1.5-litre ex-Alfasud flat-fours, guaranteeing eager performance. Unfortunately, the suspension set-up – the 'Sud's strongest point – was diluted. Disastrously... The front was a 'Sud carry-over and the rear came straight from the Cherry/Pulsar. The body and dashboard were also Japanese, being shipped over from Japan – and alongside the tidy ItalDesign 33, it was a huge disappointment visually.

Thankfully, it retained Italian electrics. Well, when we say thankfully, we mean disastrously...

The Arna arrived in the UK at the end of 1983 but was actually sold as the Nissan Cherry Europe and that had Nissan buyers asking the obvious question – why buy an Italian-built Japanese car, when I can have a Japanese one instead? It bombed. In 1985, Alfa Romeo started importing them, selling the Arna through its own Dealer Network.

Alfa buyers saw it as a Japanese car and Nissan buyers saw it the other way. In short, it was a car that no one wanted in the UK. In Europe, it fared slightly better and, in its four-year existence, the Arna sold just over 53,000. Fiat Group bought out Alfa Romeo in 1986, saving it in the process. The Nissan deal was brought to a swift end and the Arna was quickly forgotten. However, it was a warning for the future – globalisation was here to stay, but to do it properly, play on the strengths of the partners, not their weaknesses.


Link: http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/alfa-romeo/arna/

[r0tor]

...I'm at a compete loss trying to figure out how they ended up "ranking" things...

[cawimmer430]

5th place in this comparison must be the reason why BMW is redoing the M2! Spotted today: BMW 2er Coupe Factory Test Car - and it looks like an M car! 

[MrH]

The M2 is a really strange car.  Some are praising it as the true revival of the M brand, others hate it.  No in between really.