Some Great Americans

As previously alluded to, I'm as bummed about the fate of Detroit as the next guy, and so I thought maybe I could do my small part to help. As anyone who's familiar with this blog knows, I'm a big fan of compact imports, and I've helped my fair share of friends buy Mazda3s and compact VWs. But my import-philia doesn't necessarily mean I'm anti-domestic. Who, then, better to introduce a list of great American iron to you than someone who was raised in the heart of import country?

The fact is that while American cars have been catching up to their import competitors by leaps and bounds in recent years, it takes quite a while for public perception to do the same. So without further ado, I present to you a list, by segment, of American cars you should go out and buy right now. Oh, and as my mother once said, "Do as I say, not as I do." ;-)

Saturn Astra: Although GM has clearly starved its Saturn arm of marketing muscle, the fact is many of its new cars are winners. This is especially true of the Astra, which as brought over pretty much as-is from Europe, where it competes with the top-selling VW Golf and the superb Euro Ford Focus. It's a bit of a step down from those expensive competitors, but a big step up from the compacts the US market is used to. It combines handsome looks with lively handling, high efficiency and great space usage to give compact buyers the total package. 

Chevy Malibu: This car is quite simply one of the best competitors in the midsize segment. It matches or surpasses the Japanese leaders in style, handling and value, and is a major leap forward for the General in this segment. 

Pontiac G8: GM's answer to the Chrysler 300, this one has a more widely appealing style (well, at least it'll age better, I think), and better handling. It's basically a BMW 5-Series on a budget, and is what the Pontiac brand should be all about. Ooh, and soon you can get it with a truck bed out back, a la El Camino. Word.

Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky: These roadsters were Bob Lutz's first brainchild when he got to GM, and they're still as exciting as they were then, especially in GXP/Red Line forms. But grab one fast, because GM is not planning to renew their lease on life. 

Chevy Corvette: This is all-around the best sports car value on earth. Coming in flavors varying from awesome to double-awesome Z06, to triple-super-throwdown-awesome ZR1, these cars regularly match the performance of those costing twice as much. Not to mention their beauty and their amazing efficiency (26 highway for a 430-hp pushrod V8?!!).

Saturn Vue: Another rebadged Euro product, this CUV is attractive and upscale. Too bad, once again, that GM has choked off the division's marketing juice. 

Ford Edge: This crossover is handsome, handles well and has Ford's great 3.5L V6, the American answer to the Nissan VQ, but smoother. When I was at the ad agency, I even got to work on claims that it's faster than a BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne (the V6 models, of course). 

Ford Flex: If that's your style (it's certainly not mine), then this is a great vehicle. The interior package is amazing, despite its lower roofline than competitors like the GMC Acadia and Honda Pilot. The materials they use are fantastic, it has that same 3.5L V6, and it also boasts some really cool features, like the Sync multimedia system and an in-car fridge...and you can get a contrasting white roof, just like on a MINI!

Jeep Wrangler: I recently had the pleasure of taking one of these things off road at Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Grounds, and it was a blast. The thing is so ultimately capable, and it's stayed true to its roots all these years. And now you can get one with four doors. 

Dodge Ram: I haven't driven it myself, but my colleagues tell me it's the best-riding truck out there, thanks to its now coil spring rear setup. Amazingly, they did it without any degradation to the previous truck's capabilities. Add to that the new actually-attractive interior and innovations like the Ram Box bed-side storage, and we have a winner. 

Ford F-Series: These trucks are tougher than a mofo. At the agency I got a chance to hear about the durability testing they put 'em through, and it did more damage to the engineers inside than the truck itself. It's pretty brutal. Their capabilities are unmatched by anything of similar size in the world, and the new generation of Power Stroke diesels is not only brutally torquey, but clean as a whistle. If only they weren't ugly...

Cadillac CTS: I while ago I posted that this was the first American car I'd actually buy myself. The rest of the cars on this list are great cars, but they just don't suit my taste. But this one, well it's got great looks, a phenomenal interior, a powerful direct-injection V6 available with a stick, and a great sport suspension. This is a fantastic car.

Lincoln MKS: This is a perfect example of a great car for other people, but not for me. We drove it back to back with the Lexus GS, and this car blew that one out of the water in several ways. The interior is top notch, and it's got great looks. With the available AWD and 20" wheels, it makes no difference that it's based on the Taurus' front-drive platform. Though that happens to be one of the safest in the world. This is what a Lincoln should be.

Buick Enclave: This is the best value in luxury CUVs, even though many buyers won't give Buick the credit it deserves because of recent history. The Enclave is gorgeous inside and out, and it shares the space efficiency and solid feel of the rest of GM's Lambda large crossovers. It may seem pricey for a Buick, but it's dirt cheap compared to an Audi Q7. Maybe people will chuckle at the country club, but we all know your self esteem is more secure than that. 

Coming soon--the Ford Fiesta: Don't laugh. This isn't your hippy cousin's ratty old Fiesta. This is the most exciting small car on this side of the Atlantic since the Mini Cooper. You may have noticed that my list of cars was dominated by GM, while Ford has the edge (no pun intended) in trucks and CUVs. But Ford is about to unleash a slew of sweet rides, including the Euro Fiesta and Focus. The Fiesta comes first, and it'll blow the Chevy Aveo sky high, with great styling, great handling and a great interior. It's grrrrrrreat!

So get out there and BUY BUY BUY!!!

The Big Show, take 3

The Lincoln MKT: when I first heard the name I thought Lincoln truck! I don't think this is quite the impression that FoMoCo was going for, so hopefully this name doesn't carry over to production. And really, who would want to buy a Lincoln Market, anyway? From the front, this crossover looks markedly better than its Ford Flex platform mate. The Flex to me looks awkward in its proportions, especially next to other handsome crossovers like the GMC Acadia. But its interior package is efficient and spacious, so all it really needs is a better wrapper. This Lincoln could be that wrapper, except for its maligned rear end. It's been the object of pretty universal scorn, and if Ford could just touch up this area, they could have a hit on their hands.

Also, with the receding hairline look of that funky roof, it looks like a cross between Rob Corddry and Count Dracula.

The Ford Explorer America concept is well-executed, and it retains many of the current Explorer's SUV-ish styling cues despite its new unibody construction. In fact, with Honda trying to toughen up the Pilot, the two seem to have converged at a common point in terms of attitude. The Explorer seems to win out, though, with its slightly more original styling.


As for the Verve concepts, all I can say is, "Pleeeeeeeeease bring these to the US!" The press seems convinced this is inevitable, in the form of Ford's upcoming B-car, but this carries some contradiction. Peter Horbury seems convinced that Ford should stick with its "bold, American" chrome-grille-bar styling, and the Verve is clearly more in line with Ford's European kinetic theme. A Ford insider I talked to had his doubts about the Verve styling coming here, as well. I really hope we're both wrong about that. The chrome theme works well for crossovers and larger cars like the Fusion, but Ford's designers have clearly had trouble translating it to smaller cars like the Focus, partly because they didn't have quite as much room to squeeze in all three chrome bars. I'd much prefer they just dump this look, and go with kinetic across our entire lineup, taking a similar tack to Mazda, which has brought a similar look to both the Euro and US versions of the next-gen Mazda6, despite their size difference.

The three concepts from Chrysler were pretty underwhelming. The Jeep Renegade concept was especially dumb, since I'm pretty sure I've seen basically the same execution before. But I really don't have the interest to go look it up. The Dodge ZEO was just plain ugly, and the Chrysler ecoVoyager was the epitome of the jelly-bean styling that minivans, particularly Chryslers, were bashed for in the '90s. I won't sully this post with pictures of these...things.

Both Dodge and Ford introduced replacements for their full-size pickups, and both were conservative revamps. I recently posted about Ford's nasty little habit of slapping new fascias on a vehicle and then hiding all the improvements under carryover sheetmetal. What I couldn't mention in that post, but already knew, was that they've done it again with the F-150. Okay, that's not really true, as Ford claims to have changed every body panel on the new truck. But its profile is pretty much identical, as are the body hard points, though Ford has extended the SuperCrew body. And now this redesign conservatism seems to be spreading north to Chrysler. Both the new F-150 and Dodge Ram are improved vehicles, with thoughtful features abounding. But they've become obsessed with the notion that truck buyers don't like change, so they've hidden it away.


The improvements to these trucks are similar, but different. To start, both are acknowledging the growing dominance of the crew cab body style. While Ford is stretching its crew, Dodge is adding a real one for the first time (at least for a light-duty truck). Its Quad Cab just wasn't cutting it, especially with the intro of Toyota's new Tundra CrewMax goliath. The other major area of improvement for both pickups is cargo utility. Dodge is going about this by making pretty much every hollow cavity in the truck available for storage. This ranges from the spaces in front of and under the rear seats, to the bed sides that are getting a lot of attention. Ford, on the other hand, is concentrating on new doohickeys to make the existing bed more useful, such as its tailgate and cargo side steps, and its folding bed extender. These are all great innovations that will make a lot of truck owners very happy. Now if Ford and Chrysler could just hire away some of GM's design staff...

The Hyundai Genesis is another example of how Hyundai is doing a lot of great things, but just can't seem to get their products quite right. Along with styling that is certainly derivative, they've chosen to adorn the front with a strangely stylized grille that is classic Hyundai. And a company rep at the show explained their bizarre badging strategy, which will include a Hyundai logo upfront but no Genesis nameplate in back for the V6s, and no Hyundai grille logo but a rear Genesis badge for the V8. Um...

The Land Rover LRX looks awesome, and I really hope they don't pull a Jeep, and take a sweet rally-inspired 3-door SUV and turn it into a bland 5-door any-ute (think Compass).

I was very excited by the new Mitsu Lancer Ralliart. Finally Mitsubishi has an answer to the base WRX, and since the new Impreza now looks like pretty much every other compact car, the Ralliart could be in a position to steal this niche from Subaru. I'm not crazy about the chrome ring around its snout, but I've thought the Lancer is a fantastic looking vehicle since I first saw it, and it deserves to be the car that saves Mitsubishi in the US.

And finally, a thought that's been stewing in the back of my mind for months: Who the hell is gonna buy the new BMW X6? It seems to combine the worst aspects of SUVs and coupes to create anti-synergy. The extra ground clearance of an SUV--which no X5 drivers use anyway--serves to raise the center of gravity, successfully compromising handling. And the coupe roofline squeezes the heads of the rear passengers and the cargo area's dimensions quite effectively. If this design appeals to you, I award you the lofty rank of Idiot First Class. Makes me long for the days when Chris Bangle was a Bimmer-phile's biggest problem.

Well, that's my take on this year's show. Now go ahead, comment away. And don't hold back. Call me a schmuck if you want. You might be right.