Karl's Daily Log Book - READ ONLY

2391 messages, Last post on Nov 30, 2005 at 6:50 AM

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What is this discussion about? Coupe, Sedan, SUV

Karl Brauer is the Editor in Chief of Edmunds.com, which means he finds himself in a different vehicle almost every day of the week. If you want a daily road test review regarding the latest cars and trucks to hit the market, along with commentary on everything from auto industry happenings to L.A. drivers to his latest close encounter with Johnny Law, this is the place to be.

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#518 of 2391 Re: New Rendezvous [bigdaddycoats] by jaserb May 11, 2005 (10:30 am)
Replying to: bigdaddycoats (May 11, 2005 8:02 am) "the next generation RDV is going to be built on the upcoming Lambada platform" But isn't that platform ... forbidden? -Jason
#519 of 2391 Re: Back from Lutz Lunch [editor_karl] by bigdaddycoats May 11, 2005 (10:53 am)
Replying to: editor_karl (May 10, 2005 3:23 pm) 2006 VUE I am guessing that this is the mid-cycle enhancement for 2006. Redesigned interior and exterior. I believe production begins this summer.
#520 of 2391 Re: Karl [bigdaddycoats] by editor_karl May 11, 2005 (2:50 pm)
Replying to: bigdaddycoats (May 11, 2005 8:06 am) I was kind of hoping for a response about post #488 that I wrote. Curious as to your take at what I was trying to convey. And for those who didn't see it, the theme of his comment was: I am not sure exactly what my point is here. So lets say it is this - the media (in general) praises the vehicles that only a small percent of the consumers buy and dismisses the qualities that the majority desires. I agree with you 100% -- with regards to most publications. I have long believed that too many "enthusiast publications" write to only "enthusiasts" readers which, honestly, make up maybe 10% of the car-buying public. But there's a double-edged sword here. If you're an enthusiast you seek out information on cars, and generally you don't want to read about the four-cylinder, automatic version. If you're a four-cylinder, automatic buyer, you probably don't read enthusiast publications, you just buy new car when you need one (every 4-6 years) and call it day. Not much sense in creating an automotive publication for these guys, at least not one with daily or weekly updates because these readers will only stop by twice a decade. There is a small fringe of readers who break this rule. These are guys who are, by all measurements, enthusiasts, but they still want to see a comparison test on four-cylinder family sedans. And there are those people who aren't really enthusiasts, but they do like to read the "buff books" and/or automotive Web sites on a regular basis. In both cases, these people don't want to hear about the exotic/supercharged/top-speed record holders every day/week/month. Instead, they want to hear about how the volume-selling, $20,000 sedans stack up against each other. Can one publication please all of these readers? Not a traditional publication. But maybe a modern automotive Web site with multiple facets. Stay tuned...
#521 of 2391 Little Red Corvette (convertible) by editor_karl May 11, 2005 (4:32 pm)
OK, so I'm ready to modify my former opinion of the C6. Previously I have driven two C6 Corvettes. An automatic with Z51 suspsension (orange), and a manual without Z51 (dark blue). Neither was an ideal set-up, and neither car blew me away to say the least. I felt like the steering was too slow and heavy in the automatic car, and body roll was excessive in the manaul car (the one without Z51). Neither car felt particularly fast, either. Today I instrument tested a Z51, manual shift convertible (red no less). This was also my first experience with a convertible C6. This car instantly won me over. It feels quicker than the last manual I drove (even though it is a heavier convertible), and it feels more buttoned down than the automatic that also had Z51 (again, even though it is a convertible with theoretically more body flex). The car is by no means perfect. The 2-3 upshift is waaaaay too difficult to execute smoothly because of the notchy shifter, and there was massive interior squeak from around the dash in the slalom (presumably from the body flexing, which was causing the dash to flex against the door panels). It took several acceleration runs before I could confidently carry off the 2-3 upshift with any real confidence and speed, and I'm certain it was still costing me at least a few tenths in quarter-mile time. But it still pulled impressive acceleration and slalom numbers, not to mention braking. Here are today's numbers (acceleration times corrected for conditions): 0-60: 5.40 ¼: 13.59107.7 Braking, 60-0: 117 feet Slalom: 67.2mph These numbers are roughly equivelant to the Corvette coupe in our recent Corvette vs. 911 comparison test, though slalom speed is higher in this car. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=104144 That's pretty amazing when you consider that this was a convertible. I'd like to put this car up against a 911 Cabrio. I'm not necessarily convinced it would win, but it should be much closer than that comparo was, and the overall driving characteristics would make me consider this over a 911 Cabrio -- with price factored in (after that last comparison test I was basically saying, "I don't care how much more the 911 costs, I'll take it over the 'Vette and each macaroni and cheese for three years if I have to!"). We have this car for the next 12 days, and I'm writing the follow up road test on it. I'll let you know how it performs over an extended period.
#522 of 2391 Re: Back from Lutz Lunch [editor_karl] by explorerx4 May 11, 2005 (4:50 pm)
Replying to: editor_karl (May 10, 2005 3:23 pm) editor Karl, just want to say thanks for the opportunity to have some input into your meeting with mr lutz. although i missed it, i just hope everyone can appreciate that gift from you. i'm a ford guy ever since my dad came home with a '56 fairlane that had an engine with thunderbird valve covers on it. i want gm to do better than they are doing now. i talked my mom into buying an '03 malibu after buying a chrysler product every 10 years since 1964. so far she has had zero problems with it. Replies to this message: editor_karl (May 12, 2005 5:01 pm) kurtamaxxguy (May 18, 2005 8:48 am) hammen2 (May 18, 2005 11:15 am)
#523 of 2391 Re: Back from Lutz Lunch [editor_karl] by jchan2 May 11, 2005 (5:35 pm)
Replying to: editor_karl (May 10, 2005 3:23 pm) Seems like GM finally is getting its ducks in a row... Yay! Maybe it's time to load up on GM stock... Just kidding. But I'm glad to hear that GM is finally back on track to making themselves profitable. When are the embargo dates? And did Mr. Lutz mention anything about Saab? I would absolutely love to see an all new compact (not midsize) FWD luxury hatchback engineered from the ground up by Saab, priced between $24,500 and $29,500, with a sedan variant and possibly a convertible. When are the 9-2X and 9-7X going to be axed anyways? Replies to this message: explorerx4 (May 11, 2005 5:55 pm)
#524 of 2391 Re: Back from Lutz Lunch [jchan2] by explorerx4 May 11, 2005 (5:55 pm)
Replying to: jchan2 (May 11, 2005 5:35 pm) saab already has the 9-3. it's not a hatchback. they only were good sellers when the volume was low. saab's big issue at this point is dealers.
#525 of 2391 IMO... by davem2001 May 12, 2005 (5:25 am)
Can one publication please all of these readers? Not a traditional publication. But maybe a modern automotive Web site with multiple facets. Stay tuned... Just IMO, my ideal magazine would be somewhere in-between the "cars as appliance" Consumer Reports approach and the "here's 20 pages about the latest $200K Ferrari" approach of the "buff books"
#526 of 2391 Well I think... by 210delray May 12, 2005 (5:33 am)
...of the traditional magazines, Car & Driver comes closest. They have the most road tests by far, and many of the cars tested are ones the average person can buy. For example, the latest issue has a comparo of midsize pickups. Replies to this message: editor_karl (May 12, 2005 5:16 pm)
#527 of 2391 210delray by davem2001 May 12, 2005 (5:52 am)
Yeah, I think you're right - Car & Driver seems to do a little better job than the others of testing some "mainstream" cars that people can actually afford.