Archive for The Motor Forum talking cars since 2006          The Motor Forum Forum Index -> In the Mags Guitar Zero Autocar shite fountain We want scrappage, scrappage is ace, lets have a page of the magazine begging for scrappage. .......a few months later.... Boo hoo, boo hoo - looks what's been scrapped, what a waste !!! http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/243548/ Cuuuuuuunnnnnnts.   BeN I see a Suzuki X90. No bad thing that one was scrapped. Nice Guy Eddie Yes, I had forgotten they had taken all the praise for the Scrappage scheme having been introduced. Twelfth Monkey Bit harsh, I think. PG Actually GZ they did another one this week that made me go "oh dear". In the group test with the 5 series and the XF recently, they said that the new E class had a ride like smooth honey and was the winner of the test, almost on the strength of the ride quality This week the ride of their new E class (that has replaced the E coupe) was described, under ride quality as "not uncomfortable, but just a little too fussy for an E class". Well make your fuckin' mind up guys.     tali PG wrote: Actually GZ they did another one this week that made me go "oh dear". In the group test with the 5 series and the XF recently, they said that the new E class had a ride like smooth honey and was the winner of the test, almost on the strength of the ride quality This week the ride of their new E class (that has replaced the E coupe) was described, under ride quality as "not uncomfortable, but just a little too fussy for an E class". Well make your fuckin' mind up guys.     That's typical of people with cushy jobs - they try to maker it look harder than it really is. DaveGibson PG wrote: Actually GZ they did another one this week that made me go "oh dear". In the group test with the 5 series and the XF recently, they said that the new E class had a ride like smooth honey and was the winner of the test, almost on the strength of the ride quality This week the ride of their new E class (that has replaced the E coupe) was described, under ride quality as "not uncomfortable, but just a little too fussy for an E class". Well make your fuckin' mind up guys.     If you check back to the group test, PG, you'll see that that Mercedes was running on 17" rims while the new long term car is running on 18s. The group test also commented that the BMW was hamstrung, in the ride deartment, by being an M-Sport model. This issue acknowledges that 18s are detrimental to the Mercedes' ride so I think your assertion that they are being inconsistent is unsound. TimR I remember when the Rover 75 came out and they said at the start of the test it wasn't meant to be a sports saloon so they wouldn't test it as such. Then, of course, they criticised it for not being a sports saloon. Do you think they're noticing the effects of older age now and they've changed their view? Whatever it is the personnel at the magazine don't seem to be doing a very good job and are ludicrously inconsistent on many issues (apart from generally not liking Alfas, MiTo Multiair excepted). PG TimR wrote: I remember when the Rover 75 came out and they said at the start of the test it wasn't meant to be a sports saloon so they wouldn't test it as such. Then, of course, they criticised it for not being a sports saloon. They also tested an X Type SE against a BMW 3 (in some sport spec or other) and an Audi A4 sport spec, and lambasted the Jag for not being a sporty handler.   Turbonutter TimR wrote: Whatever it is the personnel at the magazine don't seem to be doing a very good job and are ludicrously inconsistent on many issues Don't think you'll find Autocar have exclusive rights to inconsistency though......CAR and EVO spring to mind as well. Often it is different testers within the mag though Frank Bullitt Re: Autocar shite fountain Guitar Zero wrote: We want scrappage, scrappage is ace, lets have a page of the magazine begging for scrappage. .......a few months later.... Boo hoo, boo hoo - looks what's been scrapped, what a waste !!! http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/243548/ Cuuuuuuunnnnnnts.   Agreed Guitar Zero Just to add to the e-class bumblery - note the quote from a Allan someone that in his opinion - the Merc six pot diesel isn't a patch on the BMW and Jaguar units. Hmmm - whereas Frankel stated in no uncertain terms that it was the Mercedes unit that was superior to the Beemer and Shagwaaah engines. Now - whilst journalists are entitled to their opinion and there is an element of subjectivity in every road test, how can it be acceptable to have two completely contrary opinions made by " experts " in the same magazine at roughly the same time. Surely it completely negates the validity of any road test conclusion simply because the result would have been completely different if someone else had written the review. Personally, if I was writing an article in Autowipe - I would only want to compare apples with apples. There seems little point whittering on about handling and ride quality when one car is on 19s, the other is a wanky sport model with 18s and Mercedes have sent an SE spec car equipped with rimmage so small that the wheel nazis would rather mince their dicks with a tenderising hammer than be seen driving it. Matt I thought the E-class looked OK with small wheels, but the XF is too modern blancmange to pull off small wheels, just like countless modern cars. gonnabuildabuggy oddly my boss has just acquired an a6 on 19"s which actually look too big for it. Turbonutter Guitar Zero wrote: Now - whilst journalists are entitled to their opinion and there is an element of subjectivity in every road test, how can it be acceptable to have two completely contrary opinions made by " experts " in the same magazine at roughly the same time. Surely it completely negates the validity of any road test conclusion simply because the result would have been completely different if someone else had written the review. . That goes on all the time - I remember John Simister ( a 205 gti owner ) saying how good the 16valve Astra was back in the days of "Performance Car".......and only a couple of issues later a completely contrary view from one of the other long term writers. "EVO"...with the Focus RS handling..... "Car" with the E36 on launch. Exactly as you say, it depends on who writes the test and the particular 'spec/example/roads driven on' of the car in question. Maybe also the hospitality and free gifts offered by the press team   Guitar Zero Surely then, the only reasonable way to adjudicate in such instances is to have comparison tests conducted by 4 or  5 road testers and they come to a concensed opinion that becomes the default editorial position. Subjectivity should be ironed out as much as possible - otherwise why bother ?. It's fine if you only ever have one Jedi master road tester, but when you have so many opinions you end up with one car being the best and worst in the class at the same time - which is clearly bollocks. Good job I don't work in PR or I'd be giving Chas Hallett a proper earful. What's even worse is when one journalist is consistently unconsistent - the worst offender being Chris Harris. Twelfth Monkey Guitar Zero wrote: What's even worse is when one journalist is consistently unconsistent - the worst offender being Chris Harris. Absolutely.        The Motor Forum Forum Index -> In the Mags Page 1 of 1