Ask the Car People.SM


My Car Match

84 messages,  Last post on May 29, 2012 at 6:15 PM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum.

What is this discussion about? Car Comparisons

Messages Page 8 of 9

#65 of 84 Re: Q. about match "engine" [rhardy21] by ateixeira

Dec 16, 2011 (1:02 pm)

Replying to: rhardy21 (Dec 16, 2011 9:46 am)
Yeah, it would be nearly impossible to get a random sample. They would not be interested enough to fill out the forms.
 
If I designed it I would take any and all bribes else just tell people what I think they should get.

#66 of 84 Re: Q. about match "engine" [ateixeira] by roadburner

Dec 16, 2011 (6:27 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Dec 15, 2011 1:54 pm)
I still don't see how my top match was a Camaro. It never even asked me if I wore a mullet(I don't BTW).

#67 of 84 Re: Q. about match "engine" [roadburner] by plekto

Dec 17, 2011 (9:49 am)

Replying to: roadburner (Dec 16, 2011 6:27 pm)
The tool has a huge defect in it in that it doesn't allow you to select RWD vs FWD or exclude cars with automatics. I tried it and all it gave me for choices were a bunch of FWD jellybean rental boxes.
 
When I had a choice between a Kia, a VW, and a Nissan subcompact as the first three choices, all I could think was "where is the "none of these" option.

#68 of 84 Re: Q. about match "engine" [plekto] by roadburner

Dec 17, 2011 (11:23 am)

Replying to: plekto (Dec 17, 2011 9:49 am)
When I had a choice between a Kia, a VW, and a Nissan subcompact as the first three choices, all I could think was "where is the "none of these" option.
 
Exactly!

#69 of 84 This one would be easy... by iluvmysephia1

Dec 18, 2011 (11:29 pm)

When I had a choice between a Kia, a VW, and a Nissan subcompact as the first three choices, all I could think was "where is the "none of these" option.
 
Kia. Though the very best choice out there, Mitsubishi, is not a pickable pick there. Keep trying.

#70 of 84 Re: Q. about match "engine" [plekto] by rhardy21

Dec 19, 2011 (10:31 am)

Replying to: plekto (Dec 17, 2011 9:49 am)
We debated quite a a bit about what kind "must have" options/attributes we should allow people to choose between before we made their recommendations. RWD vs. FWD vs. AWD was right up there on that list. Unfortunately there are many things like that and if we showed all of them,it wouldn't really be a recommendation engine so much as a filtering tool.
 
With My Car Match, we know we're making a big assumption that people can make trade-offs between all the vehicle characteristics we show on the three cars. The reality is that there are some things people would never give up for anything. For you it sounds like it's RWD. For others it's something else. I have envisioned a version of MCM where we let you choose a couple of "must have" things before we have you start choosing between sets of three cars. The back-end gets a bit more complicated, but I can see how it would appeal to some people to have a bit more control. Maybe we'll get there with a future version.
 
About the wish for a "none of these" option when looking at the three cars, we don't want you to pick the one that you would actually buy, just the one that's better than the other two, given all the attributes shown. It's purposefully made to be difficult (i.e. showing you all FWD) so that you consider other attributes when making your choice.
 
Maybe try and think of it as this scenario: You have a friend who lives in a strange place where only the three cars shown are available. Your friend has to have a car and asks you to help decide which one to get.
 
Hope that helps.
 
Rob
Edmunds.com product manager

#71 of 84 Re: Q. about match "engine" [roadburner] by ateixeira

Dec 19, 2011 (1:23 pm)

Replying to: roadburner (Dec 16, 2011 6:27 pm)
It never even asked me if I wore a mullet
 
Important feedback for the hosts!

#72 of 84 I still don't get it by qbrozen

Dec 19, 2011 (2:11 pm)

I just tried this again and intentionally tried to force it to give me RWD coupes by picking coupes/hatches at the onset, up to $35k, and always picking the fastest one of the 3 choices, and always picking RWD when given that option (which only happened twice).
 
You would think this would give me the Mustang, Camaro, 1-series, Genesis coupe... any of those. Nope. What do I get? Kia Forte. Followed by the Accord coupe (HUH??), Altima, and Civic.
 
Genesis #5 and Camaro #6. BMW and Mustang nowhere to be found in the top 20.
 
This undoubtedly needs more work.

#73 of 84 Re: I still don't get it [qbrozen] by ateixeira

Dec 19, 2011 (2:21 pm)

Replying to: qbrozen (Dec 19, 2011 2:11 pm)
Well, if you picked RWD twice, you probably picked some other configuration more often.
 
Accord V6 coupe is quick, and you said coupe at the get-go.
 
I think part of our surprise is that it does not use criteria the way we're used to (driven wheels in this case), or traditional brand preference (they're not even mentioned).

#74 of 84 Re: I still don't get it [ateixeira] by qbrozen

Dec 19, 2011 (2:33 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Dec 19, 2011 2:21 pm)
Yes, unfortunately, several times it gives you 3 options of FWD cars. I do find that to be one of the faults in the system that needs tweaking. I think drive wheels is way up there in selection criteria for all buyers. How many times have we heard "I NEED AWD" or "I can't live with FWD" or "I'm afraid of RWD"?
 
I would keep brand preference out of it, though. I mean, if you know what brand you want, you don't need to use the tool anyway.

Messages Page 8 of 9

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement