The World's Best Car

[YSSMAN]

I realize this, but looking at the current poll results placing the corvette second, a bigger weight must be put on modern cars seeing how the corvette was not a good car until recently.

Whoa there, hold on a second. What car did you miss out on after looking back on 54 years of history?

The Corvette has always been a dominate force in American automobiles since day one, and that indeed includes the origional coupes with the "Blue-Flame" I6 and two-speed slushbox. Ever since Duntov began to play with the Corvette, it has been above and beyond an exelent car.

Granted, build quality has always been something that has plagued the Corvette, but that doesn't count it out for being a great car. If anything, British sports coupes (particularly those from Jaguar) suffered many of the same build quality issues from the '50s on up; Loose trim pieces, electical ghosts, etc.

I'm interested as to why the Corvette has only been good "up untill recently."

What about the '58 fuelie? The '62 Split-Window? The '63 Z06? The '67 427 Tri-Power? The '69 ZL1? The '78 L82 Pace Car? The '90-95 ZR1? The '96 Gran Sport? '01-'03 Z06?

...There are plenty of awesome models that dotted the landscape of the history of the Corvette, but even when optioned with the smallest of small engines and the lightest of light suspensions, it is still a Corvette... And that standard of excelence that is the Corvette is always there to make the car special.

 

[Poverty]

The XJ is far and away the best drivers car in the class, because it doesn't try to do multiple things. Its unashamedly sporty, and only the BMW comes near it in driving fun.In addition, it's fast and handles well. And the Lexus has always been the best car in the class, but unless they foud the "fun" switch it won't matter.

what planet are you living on and how can a car be best in its class if its as fun to drive arout in as it is to carry around a paper cut out car?

 

[Dave A]

what planet are you living on

I think you'll find he's living on Earth, and his feet are firmly plated on it, you?

and how can a car be best in its class if its as fun to drive arout in as it is to carry around a paper cut out car?

And your basing that comment on what exactly? The Jag XJ has been hailed the world over as being not only fantastic to look at but specifically a great to drive as well as being an all round great car.

This XJ is smooth under most driving conditions, but plant the throttle and it surges ahead, accompanied by a delightful supercharger whine. While it may resemble a luxury car, the Super is also every inch a performance machine. And it doesn't disgrace itself on twisty roads, either. The car's size means that it's more suited to cruising than pressing on, but it's surprisingly agile if hurried. Yet even when pushed, the exemplary ride remains unflustered. Blending the XJ's strengths in a package that's the epitome of the Jaguar brand, this is a great flagship for the financially troubled firm.

Then theres an article in morortrend where it say's - The Jaguar XJ has won the prestigious Best Luxury Car Award in the 2005 Fleet World Awards for a second consecutive year. The awards were made at a special ceremony on Thursday 19th May at the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall.

They also point out that earlier in the year it also won the best luxury car of the year in the What car awards - This is the second award for the Jaguar XJ this year, in January it picked up the award for Best Luxury Car' for a second consecutive year at the What Car? Car of the Year Awards.

How does it feel? The new XJ retains its characteristic nimble choreography on the road while gaining a newfound solidity, thanks to the light, high-tech structure. Jaguar claims the body is 60 percent stiffer, and the new car feels it. Self-leveling air suspension replaces the previous steel springs and, in combination with CATS active damping, serves up an amazingly compliant ride, while remaining communicative about surface irregularities

Second Opinion: 2004 Jaguar XJR
A marvelous advance, the new XJ is the car Jaguar needed for years. The previous sedan was too compact inside and felt every year of its age compared to the high-tech, upper-echelon competition in the prestige segment. While shortcomings tainted the previous elegantly designed car, the aluminum-intensive 2004 XJ sparkles. The supercharged engine is smooth, quiet, and robust. Being deceptively quick, the XJR is a cruel mistress for your driver's license. Tremendous torque forever tempts right-foot indulgence, promising the rewards of musclecar-caliber acceleration from any speed. Despite wearing 20-inch "dubs," the ride is surprisingly supple allowing the driver to feel the weight, traction, and feedback from the massive paws.

The interior is as thoroughly padded as the buyer's wallet, richly dressed with abundant leather, wood, and bright work. Controls are more ergonomically configured, with even the navigation system having a clear interface, and classy presentation. Much improved interior space fore and aft still allows for a sizable trunk, complete with London-grade bumbershoot.

Larger, more refined, and more technologically advanced, the big, muscle-flexing cat can now hunt the German prestige players in style.

Face it Poverty, the Jag XJ is a fantastic car and is easilly a match for it's rivals. Hence the reason it's won best car in it's class many times for many different magazines both in America and Europe.

I realize this, but looking at the current poll results placing the corvette second, a bigger weight must be put on modern cars seeing how the corvette was not a good car until recently.
Im willing to bet that FIAT has sold more cars in its history than all british marques combined.

Doubt it, back in the 60's the UK was probabl y the second biggst market in the world for cars, we had loads of companies and loads of prestige. The British Leyland killed it all. I certainly wouldn't say FIAT's total sales come close to the total number of British cars ever sold.

Ferrari IS the most prestigious automotive name on the planet, and Italia is the craddle of motorsport. Italia is very much an Automotive Superpower.

Not by your definition, Fiat is their only mass production company and that's all they have had over the years in terms of mass production. Ferrari is highy prestigous yes, but so is Aston Martin.

Vauxhall has been your closest thing to a mass production british marque, but thats just rebadged Opels and some Holdens. Part of GM since 1925, its rarely been actual british cars. MG, see Rover. The entire British auto market is niche sports cars and German built luxury barges. To me, that doesnt qualify it as a Automotive superpower. When a 1st world average person decides to buy a car for his job, family or other needs, a British car is rarely even considered. I respect British auto engineering but to call the UK an Automotive superpower over France is absurd to me.

France is a bigger power yes, howerver with regards to Vauxhall and Opel, Opel's are the re-badged Vauxhall's, not the toher way round. Only the Monaro is a re-badged Holden.

 

[daan]

Even if the XJ not as good as the equivalent BMW/Merc etc, which it is, its still a Jaguar and that goes a long way.

 

[Poverty]

I think you'll find he's living on Earth, and his feet are firmly plated on it, you?

And your basing that comment on what exactly? The Jag XJ has been hailed the world over as being not only fantastic to look at but specifically a great to drive as well as being an all round great car.



Then theres an article in morortrend where it say's - The Jaguar XJ has won the prestigious Best Luxury Car Award in the 2005 Fleet World Awards for a second consecutive year. The awards were made at a special ceremony on Thursday 19th May at the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall.

They also point out that earlier in the year it also won the best luxury car of the year in the What car awards - This is the second award for the Jaguar XJ this year, in January it picked up the award for Best Luxury Car' for a second consecutive year at the What Car? Car of the Year Awards.





Face it Poverty, the Jag XJ is a fantastic car and is easilly a match for it's rivals. Hence the reason it's won best car in it's class many times for many different magazines both in America and Europe.

Re-read what I quoted, and then what I said. Then work out what my reply refers to.

The what planet are you living on is referring the jag. The rest of my reply was reffering to the lexus.
Jaguar XJ better for driving dynamics than the equivelant BMW/Merc? Ehhh...I dont think so.

And most british magazines reviewing one of the few remaining british vehicles...Theyre not biased XJ is a good car, and it competes in a very tight segment. Is it better than the germans available now? No. Unless your British.

 

[Roo]

Is it better than the germans available now? No. Unless your British.

Was the C5 Corvette better than the Germans that were around then? As far as I'm aware, the general concensuss was no. Unless you're Amercian.

Is the Holden better than the M3? Argueably not. Unless you're Australian.

National identity has a big part to play in the success of a car. Personally, I'd rather have a Jag that's 90% as good as the equivilent German, becuase for me, the big cat on the grille more than makes up for that last 10%. Even if the money goes to an American company (Ford, at the mo). The same is true the world over - the local car has a headstart over anything imported, purely because it's 'one of ours' and not 'one of theirs'.

Edit: To make the results of the poll easier to comprehend, here's the list in order of the number of votes:


1st Porsche 911 47 votes 42.73% of 110 votes
2nd Chevrolet Corvette 23 votes 20.91%
3rd BMC Mini 17 votes 15.45% (yay! Ed.)
4th Bugatti Veyron 7 votes 6.36%
5th Lamborghini Miura 5 votes 4.55%
6th Mazda MX-5 Miata 4 votes 3.64%
= Koenigsegg CCX 4 votes 3.64%
8th Holdan Monaro 2 votes 1.82%
9th Hyundai Tiburon/Coupe 1 vote 0.91%

Edit 2: Bother. My lovely table that gave the Space Bar so much exercise has got shrunk. Ho hum.

 

[Poverty]

Was the C5 Corvette better than the Germans that were around then? As far as I'm aware, the general concensuss was no. Unless you're Amercian.

Is the Holden better than the M3? Argueably not. Unless you're Australian.

National identity has a big part to play in the success of a car. Personally, I'd rather have a Jag that's 90% as good as the equivilent German, becuase for me, the big cat on the grille more than makes up for that last 10%. Even if the money goes to an American company (Ford, at the mo). The same is true the world over - the local car has a headstart over anything imported, purely because it's 'one of ours' and not 'one of theirs'.

I agree with this 100%

 

[Scaff]

Im willing to bet that FIAT has sold more cars in its history than all british marques combined.

And I'm willing to bet that you would struggle to prove that.

The UK has never had a FIAT, Renault, Peugeot/Citroën, or even a hyundai or Kia..

MG-Rover wasnt a large mass producing car company, with extremely skimpy sales outside the Uk.

The UK has had its equivalent and that was MG-Rover and the companies that became MG-Rover (as in Austin, Rover, MG, Land Rover, BMC, etc), these companies were major global players in there eras, just consider how many markets Land Rover alone have sold in over the years.

In contrast FIAT has always been a marque that has struggled outside its home market.

Regards

Scaff

 

[Dave A]

Re-read what I quoted, and then what I said. Then work out what my reply refers to.

Fair enough, I miss-read it, apologies.

And most british magazines reviewing one of the few remaining british vehicles...Theyre not biased XJ is a good car, and it competes in a very tight segment. Is it better than the germans available now? No. Unless your British.

Which is exactley why I quoted an American magazine, twice and that it won best car in it's class in America as well as England earlier in the year. If your talking about it being the best all out car, then sure there are bigger and better equipped Mercedes around, but in terms of value for money thats another story and one that for that class of car will largely depend on your concept of monetary value, some might say yes, others might say no becasue spending an extra fifteen grand is nothing but change to them.

The bottom line is that the Jaguar XJ has been given plenty of praise in Europe and in America to firmly plant it as a fantastic car. A "class leading car" according to some American and English sources. Whether it is or is not class leading is pretty much besides the point I'm making here though, the point is that either way the car is undoubtedly up there.

And I do agree with Roo, there's a lot of truth in that.