Ford, Chrysler make '2012 Automobile Magazine All-Stars' list; GM left in the dust

MLive.com ^ | November 13, 2011 | Michael Wayland

[AAABEST]

General Motors Co. may be the largest of Detroit’s Big Three, but it is the only one to not be represented on Automobile Magazine’s ‘2012 All-Stars’ list.

The magazine, which ranked the 2012 Audi 7 the best vehicle of next year, feature vehicles from Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC on the top 10 list, but left GM in the dark.

Ford drove onto the list with its compact Focus, which was awarded car of the year by the magazine in 2000, and the highly-acclaimed Mustang Boss 302, which the magazine dubbed “the best Mustang ever.”

January 2012 issue, Automobile Mag: “The Boss 302 is the best Mustang ever, but that's merely a footnote to the real story. The big news is that Ford's newest bad boy not only puts an epic whupping on its traditional rivals -- we're talking to you, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger -- but also stands tall against perennial bullies like the BMW M3.”

[AAABEST]

...and the highly-acclaimed Mustang Boss 302, which the magazine dubbed “the best Mustang ever.”

Lets see, for around 40 grand, I can have an underpowered, overpriced, impractical Chevy Dolt, or I can have this:

444 HP - with no turbo/forced induction

7,500 RPM redline (stable to 8,400)

0-60 3.93 seconds
YouTube video

1/4 mile: 12.3 seconds @ 115.8 MPH

Capable of 1+ lateral G

Laguna Seca lap times:
BMW M3 1:42.96
Audi R8 1:40.75
BOSS 302 1:40.21

Motor Trend at Laguna Seca Raceway:
BOSS Beats BMW M3, Corvette Z06, Mercedes SLS AMG, Porsche Cayman, Porsche 997 Carrera, V12 Aston Martin.
LINK

Bests 6.2 liter Camaro SS lap time by over 2 seconds at New Jersey Motorsports Park
YouTube Video

Destroys 424 HP Camaro SS on 1 mile straight-drag:
BOSS 33.11 seconds/150.16 MPH
Camaro SS 35.54 seconds/146.32 MPH
YouTube Video

[ltc8k6]

Just don’t be too hard on the Chinese transmission...

[Pelham]

I’ve seen some really great looking cars recently and was surprised to find that they are Cadillacs. This in a neighborhood where it’s not unusual to see Ferraris, Maseratis, and other exotica.

[Peter from Rutland]

I’ll be buying a Dodge truck sometime this month. Doing my part to stimulate the economy!

[Vendome]

Vroooomm!!!!!!

[drbuzzard]

There are some nice Caddy’s out these days. They look good and have very good performance (comparable with the German stuff). However I’m not willing to give any money to the companies that got bailed out, so I won’t be considering them in the future. Shame Ford doesn’t make a decent luxury sport sedan.

As for the Mustangs, I can’t imagine why anyone would find those appealing. Yes, they look good, and are quick in a straight line. But with a solid axle rear suspension, they are laughable in the corners. I cannot understand why the car magazine in question would possibly give them any great review. Again, while I won’t be giving money to Government Motors, the Camaro is pretty clearly a better performance platform. It’s got a better engine and better suspension(ooh, an independent rear suspension, gee you can get that on a bloody $15k Corolla or Elantra, but you can’t get that on a Mustang).

[RoadTest]

“I’ve seen some really great looking cars recently and was surprised to find that they are Cadillacs. This in a neighborhood where it’s not unusual to see Ferraris, Maseratis, and other exotica.”

That’s good news! General Motors does something right once in a while.

[RoadTest]

” But with a solid axle rear suspension, they are laughable in the corners. I cannot understand why the car magazine in question would possibly give them any great review. Again, while I won’t be giving money to Government Motors, the Camaro is pretty clearly a better performance platform. It’s got a better engine and better suspension(ooh, an independent rear suspension, gee you can get that on a bloody $15k Corolla or Elantra, but you can’t get that on a Mustang).”

The spirit of Henry Ford I just hasn’t quite gone away. He hung onto the single leaf rear suspension (one spring for both wheels) long after it ceased to be appealing to customers.

[Pelham]

I don’t see any reason to avoid GM because of the bailout. After all Chrysler got bailed out in 1979.

I’m not against temporary assistance to major American industries as long as it is temporary and the taxpayer gets fully repaid. The Arsenal of Democracy was called that for a reason, and Peter Navarro’s “Death by China” is a worthy addition to this argument.

The Caddies are striking in appearance but I haven’t seen anything about how they perform. I’d like to find that GM has implemented what W. Edwards Deming taught the Japanese. There was a time when “Made in America” meant quality.

[Sledge]

Quote - “Yes, they look good, and are quick in a straight line. But with a solid axle rear suspension, they are laughable in the corners.”

Might I point you toward the posted lap times?

Laguna Seca lap times:
BMW M3 1:42.96
Audi R8 1:40.75
BOSS 302 1:40.21

Even the GT can keep up with the M3.

[RoadTest]

I agree with you, but I think GM should have gone through a normal bankruptcy and reformed, in order to dump the unions.

[drbuzzard]

>I don’t see any reason to avoid GM because of the bailout. After all Chrysler got bailed out in 1979.

I wouldn’t buy a Chrysler either. As said by RoadTest, I don’t much care for the hanky panky in the current bailout. There are laws regarding bankruptcy and they were ignored.

>The Caddies are striking in appearance but I haven’t seen anything about how they perform.

I have a 2006 STS V8 with AWD. It’s got plenty of power and handles curves well for it’s weight (still a heavy car).

The CTS series has some really impressive performers (the V cars are just amazing).

[drbuzzard]

What a professional driver can do with a car with lots of power and a sketchy suspension vs. what joe average can do is a very large difference. Though I would be curious to see more different track times. That one may well favor straight line performance (don’t know myself).

[Sledge]

Most of the video reviews and comparisons of the new Mustangs point out that while the M3 and other (high dollar) independant rear suspension cars are more sedate and better behaved on the corners, the torque and power range of the Mustangs pull it ahead in the long run.

You have to admit that Ford has hit it out of the park with the new Mustang 6 and 8 engines as well as taming the solid rear axle.

[AAABEST]

As for the Mustangs, I can’t imagine why anyone would find those appealing. Yes, they look good, and are quick in a straight line. But with a solid axle rear suspension, they are laughable in the corners. I cannot understand why the car magazine in question would possibly give them any great review. Again, while I won’t be giving money to Government Motors, the Camaro is pretty clearly a better performance platform.

One reason that I can see why you "can't imagine" and "cannot understand" things is because you don't bother to read what's posted right in front of you.

As far as Laguna Seca track times go (i.e. CORNERING), the BOSS is not only far outpacing everything in its class, it's besting cars that are multiple times its sticker price - Porcshe, the M3, Vettes, Mercedes AMG, even the V12 Aston Martin.

Laguna Seca track times are posted above. LS is one of the toughest proving grounds for handling available, which is why it's looked to as a benchmark. Here's what the track looks like:

As far as the Camaro goes, depsite the fact that the Camaro runs a 6.2 liter engine compared to the 5.0 liter engine in the BOSS, the BOSS literally destroys it in every manner, 1/4 mile, 0-60, 1 mile straight drag and lap times on every track where both have run.

[Pelham]

A black CTS 3.0 coupe is one of the Caddys I’ve been seeing around the neighborhood. Beautiful lines on that car. There’s a couple of others, one may be a CTS-V wagon.

This is a neighborhood that will spend a lot on cars so my guess is that these are as good as they look.

A few months back there was a Roaring 20s party and someone brought a 1938 Packard Darrin convertible. Looked like this one:

http://www.supercars.net/Pics?viewCarPic=y&source=carGal&carID=3644&pgID=1&pID=955854

[RoadTest]

That was a pretty good commercial.