Chrysler 300, Ford 500, and Toyota Avalon Compared

[ifcar]

How often must I say that being the best at being mediocre is not an accomplishment?  I've spent enough time defending my review of the xB, I'll bring it to these few statements. 

Toyota does not make exciting cars, generally.  When they put their mind to it, they can (see MR-2 thread in Fast Lane), but when they create a car that is intended to sucker young kids into spending money for an exceptional car at a low price and succeed with a car that has a good price, but no driving excitement whatsoever and only midpack quality it gets on my nerves because, like musicians, I hold automakers to a high standard of art, expecting them not to sell out in order to make a higher profit.  Toyota does not meet those standards, as almost every move they've made is to maximze revenue at the expense of the art of the automobile. 

I see no problem with holding cars to high standards, nor do I think it inconcievable that a cheap car can be fun.  As far as the Camry is concerned, it is a terribly engineered vehicle.  At highway speeds, you can feel the car wafting about in light wind.  In emergencies, the excessive body roll makes the car unpredictable.  The Accord, another car I will often lambast for being boring, is a far better engineered car than the Camry, and if I had to choose between the Accord and Camry, I would choose the Accord in a second.  I will also never recommend the Camry to anyone who asks my advice, and I also try to avoid being in one. 

Through all the controversy surrounding my review, I've tried to be as cordial and accomodating to differing opinions but at this point, I'm tired of it.  And I will never praise a car for being boring nor mediocre.

You never did go through with this when I suggested it before, but I'll say it again:
Do a comparison test of everything that you can get for $15K new. And put them in an order, without any ties. You'll find that often enough, what is mediocre by your standards is above average in a low-end class. And if you hold all cars to the same standard as you did in that review, I'd expect you to add about half of those vehicles to the "worst vehicles ever" list.

I can assure that the Mazda3i and Ford Focus would top the list.  Fun to drive and cheap do not need to be mutually exclusive.

It's no wonder you love the xB.  It's like a 15 thousand dollar Lexus.  Isolated and not fun to drive.

And I had some positives to say about the xB.  You're just so clouded by your love of everything boring you can't see just how mediocre the car actually is.

I just read through it again, to be entirely sure. And the only things that came close to a positive thing was simply "this aspect wasn't horrible" and was usually followed immidiately by another flaw to offset that. Criticism of the back seat space was the worst of many offenders, BTW.

I said there was legroom.  

You're a little crazy about this, aren't you?  I hold a car to a standard, but you seem to love everything that isn't fun to drive.

You complained about the center-rear position, which is uncomfortable in any small and most midsize cars. It helped lead to my view that you were either simply looking for something to complain about back there, or had no experience in the center rear of any other like-sized car.

And I don't love cars for not being fun to drive, but I don't hate them for not being fun to drive either. I see that characteristic as only one aspect of the vehicle, not the entire vehicle. And that's not even where our opinions differ the most. It's your inability to compare the xB with the average $15,000 car and give justice to its strengths.

I repeat again my request for a small-car comparo.

[Raza]

The point was that they shouldn't add a "5th" seat if it's not fit for human beings.  My Passat has one too, and I wouldn't want to shove someone in there.

[ifcar]

The point was that they shouldn't add a "5th" seat if it's not fit for human beings.  My Passat has one too, and I wouldn't want to shove someone in there.

An excellent example of why you don't review an automobile in a void. If you don't like something about a car and criticize it, it's not exactly fair if every last one of its competitors is the same or worse.  

[Raza]

The point was that they shouldn't add a "5th" seat if it's not fit for human beings.  My Passat has one too, and I wouldn't want to shove someone in there.

An excellent example of why you don't review an automobile in a void. If you don't like something about a car and criticize it, it's not exactly fair if every last one of its competitors is the same or worse.

There are relatives and absolutes.  To do a comparison is fine, but a solo review is also fine.  

[ifcar]

The point was that they shouldn't add a "5th" seat if it's not fit for human beings.  My Passat has one too, and I wouldn't want to shove someone in there.

An excellent example of why you don't review an automobile in a void. If you don't like something about a car and criticize it, it's not exactly fair if every last one of its competitors is the same or worse.

There are relatives and absolutes.  To do a comparison is fine, but a solo review is also fine.

To do a solo review is fine, but it is absolutely necessary to have some frame of reference. You don't drive your first luxury car and do a solo review of it for example, you'd have no idea what the standards of ride, acceleration, handling, seat comfort, refinement, or interior quality would be in that class, and whether you reviewed the best or the worst, you'd come up with a glowing review.