Acura TL and Honda Oddessy = 2 of the most memorable cars of 2004
01-02-2005
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Acura TL and Honda Oddessy = 2 of the most memorable cars of 2004
Slamming the Trunk on the Year of the Car
By JAMES G. COBB
Published: January 2, 2005
O it's already 2005, which under the auto industry's peculiar calendar means the 2006 models will start rolling in any day now. Actually, in seven days: press previews at the Detroit auto show get under way next Sunday.
But hold on: before automakers' hoopla machines start spewing dry-ice fog around the latest sheet metal, let's close the books on '04. As in years past, this page marks the arrival of January with a recap of notable vehicles from the preceding 12 months.
The list that follows is not objective, nor is it drawn from an exhaustive universe of candidates; there is no practical way to take the wheel in all of the 270-odd automotive nameplates sold in the United States (a number that does not include variations in trim or body styles). Some worthy models were not available for testing, and I never managed to get seat time in some significant new cars, including the Audi A6, the Lotus Elise, the redesigned Porsche 911, the Buick LaCrosse and the Pontiac G6.
Likewise, while some notable new hybrid models arrived in 2004 - the Toyota Prius made the list a year ago - my assessments of the Ford Escape Hybrid and Honda Accord Hybrid will have to wait. Both look promising, though like all hybrids so far, they command a price premium that largely negates the savings on fuel.
Aside from the rise of hybrids, the year was notable for a jump in gasoline prices (which put a damper on sales of large S.U.V.'s) and increases in incentives like rebates (many of them aimed at luring pump-shocked customers into those S.U.V.'s).
Manufacturers kept adding sport utilities, of course, but the action last year was clearly in the long-neglected automobile; Ford even declared 2004 "the year of the car."
I would not disagree. While the latest sport utilities are better than their predecessors, most do not move the bar very far. A notable exception is the Land Rover LR3, a big improvement over its tired, quality-challenged predecessor, the Discovery.
Here, then, are a baker's dozen of the most memorable vehicles of last year:
CHRYSLER 300 (Base price $23,920; 300C as tested $34,575) I wouldn't presume to anoint a "car of the year" - there are plenty of those already - but I'll go out on a limb to say this: If ever a new automobile stood out above its peers, it is this new Chrysler. Nothing less than a reinvention of the American sedan - once again with rear drive (and optional all-wheel drive for the Snow Belt) - the 300 may be the most significant car from Detroit since the 1986 Ford Taurus.
For starters, it has terrific road presence, and after nine months on the market it still turns heads on crowded streets. Ralph Gilles's design mixes classic proportions, modern aesthetics and American exuberance, mixing Snoop Dogg's bling-bling with the Sopranos' bada-bing.
It also melds Stuttgart engineering with Detroit style, providing a rebuttal to those who were skeptical - we know who we are - of Daimler's takeover of Chrysler. Beneath its audacious design, the 300 is packed with well-engineered parts shared with the pricier Mercedes E-Class. The old Chrysler Corporation could not have produced such a well-rounded, well-engineered, well-made car on its own. Nor could Mercedes have designed such an audaciously American car or sold it such an accessible price.
FORD MUSTANG ($19,410; GT as tested $27,375) Ford could have taken the easy route, giving the Mustang a retro makeover while scrimping on the chassis and powertrain. Instead, it turned its engineers loose to work their magic, and the result is a surprisingly lively and engaging car. The new Mustang perfectly blends 60's style with 00's performance, avoiding the shortfalls in two recent General Motors efforts - the triumph of style over substance in the Chevy SSR retro truck; the victory of substance over style in the great-driving but bland-looking Pontiac GTO. Further, the Mustang GT, with 300 horsepower for $26,000, is the performance deal of the year.
CADILLAC STS ($40,695; V-6 as tested $49,590; V-8 as tested $58,560) For four or five years, each new Cadillac has trumped the one before it, propelling G.M.'s prestige division further from the gold-chains wasteland to which it had sunk. The rear-drive (or all-wheel drive) STS, which replaced the Seville, is a no-excuses American alternative to German luxury sedans.
HONDA ODYSSEY ($25,510; Odyssey Touring as tested $38,810) Everybody talks about minivan stigma, but nobody does anything about it. Well, perhaps Honda has - its '05 Odyssey has the space and conveniences of a class-leading van plus the comfort and road manners of a luxury car. Owners could find themselves subject to minivan envy.
LAND ROVER LR3 ($44,995; SE as tested $46,000) The LR3's predecessor, the Discovery II, may have delivered more aggravations per dollar than any vehicle on the market - even cheap Korean cars danced past the Disco in quality surveys - so any change was bound to be an improvement. But the LR3 turned out far better than even a die-hard Land Rover lover might have hoped. It feels like a baby Range Rover, with a smooth ride and driving dynamics that set standards for true off-road vehicles. Its exclusive Terrain Response control takes the mystery out of selecting the optimal settings for any driving condition (dry roads, sand, ice, hilly mountain trails). On a single miserable driving day - constant snow, patches of ice, driving winds - the LR3 never felt less than omnipotent.
CADILLAC CTS-V ($49,995; as tested $51,195) For three or more decades, as G.M. churned out cars that ran the gamut from mediocre to embarrassing, people who watched the company wondered what it might be capable of, if only its managers unleashed the vast resources and deep talent pool at their disposal. Well, this high-performance 400-horsepower version of the midsize Cadillac provides an answer - a cool, clean-looking, much less expensive retort to German tuner cars like the BMW M5 and Mercedes E55.
ACURA TL ($33,470; as tested $34,650) Acura's formula is well established: well-made, well-equipped, well-priced, sort-of-sporty cars. But while Acuras often tend toward blandness, the TL is fresh and stylish. What it lacks is the long list of options that can add $15,000 to the prices of its competitors.
MAZDA 3 ($14,225; as tested $20,240) Ford's parenting skills are being tested by some of its adopted children - Jaguar comes to mind - but Mazda seems to be heading from impoverished delinquent to star pupil. Having decided to make itself a bargain-bin Japanese BMW, Mazda is carving out niches in affordable sports cars (the RX-8); a line of lively midsize cars (the Mazda 6) and now a classy, sporty, well-priced series of small sedans and hot hatchbacks. The Mazda 3 shares its solid platform with the also-impressive Volvo S40 and V50, but those cars cost thousands more.
MERCEDES-BENZ SLK350 (base $46,220) The old proto-pop SLK was the Britney Spears of sports cars - a cute and perky roadster that few took seriously. It was the sort of car that a wealthy gentleman might give a younger wife or, ahem, ladyfriend. But Mercedes has rescued the SLK with a testosterone injection; it is now a solid, impressive sports car. Lest no one miss the gender-bending transformation, the designers even gave the car a suggestive bulge in the front.
BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT ($156,285; as tested $161,848) The Volkswagen Phaeton luxury sedan is surely the best car that nobody gives a hoot about, and its poor sales indicate that VW's upscale ambitions were a mistake. Fortunately, the Phaeton's painstaking engineering can be found in a more impressive package with a more prestigious name. A voluptuous 12-cylinder coupe, the Continental GT is an engaging driver's car for the well-heeled.
CHEVROLET CORVETTE ($44,245; $52,840 as tested) Yes, 'Vette enthusiasts are sniping; some say the C6 (for sixth-generation Corvette) isn't new enough, that it ought to be called the C5½. Some say that the car feels too civilized - egad, it actually stays in lane on the Interstate! - or that one's sports car dollars would be better spent on a used (already depreciated) C5. But such sniping ignores the equal-opportunity access of America's homegrown exotic car. For the price of a Lamborghini Murciélago, you could have a different 'Vette for each day of the week.
SCION tC ($16,465; as tested $18,671) This hatchback from Toyota's MTV division is no fast-and-furious driving machine or practical packing crate (like its boxy sibling, the odd but endearing xB). But look inside and you see why Toyota seems poised to take over the world. The tC is a jewel box that brings a touch of Lexus to the economy class; the materials and details seem to belong to a car costing twice as much.
FORD GT ($143,345) Ford hasn't had a lot of good news lately, so it's not surprising that it reached back to its 1960's domination of Le Mans to build a halo car. What is surprising is that the race-ready GT turned out to be so engaging and easy to drive.
By JAMES G. COBB
Published: January 2, 2005
O it's already 2005, which under the auto industry's peculiar calendar means the 2006 models will start rolling in any day now. Actually, in seven days: press previews at the Detroit auto show get under way next Sunday.
But hold on: before automakers' hoopla machines start spewing dry-ice fog around the latest sheet metal, let's close the books on '04. As in years past, this page marks the arrival of January with a recap of notable vehicles from the preceding 12 months.
The list that follows is not objective, nor is it drawn from an exhaustive universe of candidates; there is no practical way to take the wheel in all of the 270-odd automotive nameplates sold in the United States (a number that does not include variations in trim or body styles). Some worthy models were not available for testing, and I never managed to get seat time in some significant new cars, including the Audi A6, the Lotus Elise, the redesigned Porsche 911, the Buick LaCrosse and the Pontiac G6.
Likewise, while some notable new hybrid models arrived in 2004 - the Toyota Prius made the list a year ago - my assessments of the Ford Escape Hybrid and Honda Accord Hybrid will have to wait. Both look promising, though like all hybrids so far, they command a price premium that largely negates the savings on fuel.
Aside from the rise of hybrids, the year was notable for a jump in gasoline prices (which put a damper on sales of large S.U.V.'s) and increases in incentives like rebates (many of them aimed at luring pump-shocked customers into those S.U.V.'s).
Manufacturers kept adding sport utilities, of course, but the action last year was clearly in the long-neglected automobile; Ford even declared 2004 "the year of the car."
I would not disagree. While the latest sport utilities are better than their predecessors, most do not move the bar very far. A notable exception is the Land Rover LR3, a big improvement over its tired, quality-challenged predecessor, the Discovery.
Here, then, are a baker's dozen of the most memorable vehicles of last year:
CHRYSLER 300 (Base price $23,920; 300C as tested $34,575) I wouldn't presume to anoint a "car of the year" - there are plenty of those already - but I'll go out on a limb to say this: If ever a new automobile stood out above its peers, it is this new Chrysler. Nothing less than a reinvention of the American sedan - once again with rear drive (and optional all-wheel drive for the Snow Belt) - the 300 may be the most significant car from Detroit since the 1986 Ford Taurus.
For starters, it has terrific road presence, and after nine months on the market it still turns heads on crowded streets. Ralph Gilles's design mixes classic proportions, modern aesthetics and American exuberance, mixing Snoop Dogg's bling-bling with the Sopranos' bada-bing.
It also melds Stuttgart engineering with Detroit style, providing a rebuttal to those who were skeptical - we know who we are - of Daimler's takeover of Chrysler. Beneath its audacious design, the 300 is packed with well-engineered parts shared with the pricier Mercedes E-Class. The old Chrysler Corporation could not have produced such a well-rounded, well-engineered, well-made car on its own. Nor could Mercedes have designed such an audaciously American car or sold it such an accessible price.
FORD MUSTANG ($19,410; GT as tested $27,375) Ford could have taken the easy route, giving the Mustang a retro makeover while scrimping on the chassis and powertrain. Instead, it turned its engineers loose to work their magic, and the result is a surprisingly lively and engaging car. The new Mustang perfectly blends 60's style with 00's performance, avoiding the shortfalls in two recent General Motors efforts - the triumph of style over substance in the Chevy SSR retro truck; the victory of substance over style in the great-driving but bland-looking Pontiac GTO. Further, the Mustang GT, with 300 horsepower for $26,000, is the performance deal of the year.
CADILLAC STS ($40,695; V-6 as tested $49,590; V-8 as tested $58,560) For four or five years, each new Cadillac has trumped the one before it, propelling G.M.'s prestige division further from the gold-chains wasteland to which it had sunk. The rear-drive (or all-wheel drive) STS, which replaced the Seville, is a no-excuses American alternative to German luxury sedans.
HONDA ODYSSEY ($25,510; Odyssey Touring as tested $38,810) Everybody talks about minivan stigma, but nobody does anything about it. Well, perhaps Honda has - its '05 Odyssey has the space and conveniences of a class-leading van plus the comfort and road manners of a luxury car. Owners could find themselves subject to minivan envy.
LAND ROVER LR3 ($44,995; SE as tested $46,000) The LR3's predecessor, the Discovery II, may have delivered more aggravations per dollar than any vehicle on the market - even cheap Korean cars danced past the Disco in quality surveys - so any change was bound to be an improvement. But the LR3 turned out far better than even a die-hard Land Rover lover might have hoped. It feels like a baby Range Rover, with a smooth ride and driving dynamics that set standards for true off-road vehicles. Its exclusive Terrain Response control takes the mystery out of selecting the optimal settings for any driving condition (dry roads, sand, ice, hilly mountain trails). On a single miserable driving day - constant snow, patches of ice, driving winds - the LR3 never felt less than omnipotent.
CADILLAC CTS-V ($49,995; as tested $51,195) For three or more decades, as G.M. churned out cars that ran the gamut from mediocre to embarrassing, people who watched the company wondered what it might be capable of, if only its managers unleashed the vast resources and deep talent pool at their disposal. Well, this high-performance 400-horsepower version of the midsize Cadillac provides an answer - a cool, clean-looking, much less expensive retort to German tuner cars like the BMW M5 and Mercedes E55.
ACURA TL ($33,470; as tested $34,650) Acura's formula is well established: well-made, well-equipped, well-priced, sort-of-sporty cars. But while Acuras often tend toward blandness, the TL is fresh and stylish. What it lacks is the long list of options that can add $15,000 to the prices of its competitors.
MAZDA 3 ($14,225; as tested $20,240) Ford's parenting skills are being tested by some of its adopted children - Jaguar comes to mind - but Mazda seems to be heading from impoverished delinquent to star pupil. Having decided to make itself a bargain-bin Japanese BMW, Mazda is carving out niches in affordable sports cars (the RX-8); a line of lively midsize cars (the Mazda 6) and now a classy, sporty, well-priced series of small sedans and hot hatchbacks. The Mazda 3 shares its solid platform with the also-impressive Volvo S40 and V50, but those cars cost thousands more.
MERCEDES-BENZ SLK350 (base $46,220) The old proto-pop SLK was the Britney Spears of sports cars - a cute and perky roadster that few took seriously. It was the sort of car that a wealthy gentleman might give a younger wife or, ahem, ladyfriend. But Mercedes has rescued the SLK with a testosterone injection; it is now a solid, impressive sports car. Lest no one miss the gender-bending transformation, the designers even gave the car a suggestive bulge in the front.
BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT ($156,285; as tested $161,848) The Volkswagen Phaeton luxury sedan is surely the best car that nobody gives a hoot about, and its poor sales indicate that VW's upscale ambitions were a mistake. Fortunately, the Phaeton's painstaking engineering can be found in a more impressive package with a more prestigious name. A voluptuous 12-cylinder coupe, the Continental GT is an engaging driver's car for the well-heeled.
CHEVROLET CORVETTE ($44,245; $52,840 as tested) Yes, 'Vette enthusiasts are sniping; some say the C6 (for sixth-generation Corvette) isn't new enough, that it ought to be called the C5½. Some say that the car feels too civilized - egad, it actually stays in lane on the Interstate! - or that one's sports car dollars would be better spent on a used (already depreciated) C5. But such sniping ignores the equal-opportunity access of America's homegrown exotic car. For the price of a Lamborghini Murciélago, you could have a different 'Vette for each day of the week.
SCION tC ($16,465; as tested $18,671) This hatchback from Toyota's MTV division is no fast-and-furious driving machine or practical packing crate (like its boxy sibling, the odd but endearing xB). But look inside and you see why Toyota seems poised to take over the world. The tC is a jewel box that brings a touch of Lexus to the economy class; the materials and details seem to belong to a car costing twice as much.
FORD GT ($143,345) Ford hasn't had a lot of good news lately, so it's not surprising that it reached back to its 1960's domination of Le Mans to build a halo car. What is surprising is that the race-ready GT turned out to be so engaging and easy to drive.
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