QOTD: What Is The Biggest Case Of Misplaced Hype For A New Car?

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

In the now-infamous article on the Scion FR-S and the relentless hype campaign leading up to its launch, I invoked the Chevrolet Camaro as an example of how a new car can be praised as the Second Coming of Christ during its debut, only to have cooler heads prevailed down the line, when the novelty wears off and its flaws become apparent.

Thanks to reader and contributor Jeff Jablansky, I was able to dig up perhaps the most egregious example of this phenomenon.

For the true car snob, nothing is held in higher esteem than the British buff books. Even as sales of the American color mags declined, people would willingly shell out upwards of $12 for a copy of CAR, EVO or the print edition of Top Gear. Their ruthless criticism of certain cars (sometimes warranted, sometimes not), hyperbolic tales of driving derring-do and beautiful aesthetics lent them a credibility that no American publication could match.

How could one not love a publication that summed up Kia’s sub-par sub-compact offering with “ Her name is Rio, and she’s crap“? Unfortunately, when it came time to review anything homegrown, no superlative was spared for even the most wretched garbage dredged up by the post-Thatcher automotive industrial complex.

The Jaguar X-Type, as we all know, was a less than stellar car. Despite being based off of a Ford Mondeo platform, they were as reliable as an old Mark II, and failed to offer grace, pace or space. And yet CAR magazine is effusive in its praise, even going so far as to state that “Even the Impreza WRX ought to be worried”.

That might be the only statement more ludicrous than Peter Robinson’s assertion that the Toyobaru is better than the Porsche Cayman. The Toyobaru is at least in the same league as the Cayman, as far as being a sports car goes. The only similarity between the X type and the WRX is that their monikers share the 24th letter of the alphabet.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Ryoku75 Ryoku75 on Sep 13, 2012

    New Beetle: Despite even getting its own video game (Beetle Adventure Racing) and starring in many others (Midtown Madness), the real New Beetle was just a Golf with a poorly designed body, good luck replacing... well anything in a body that was more suited for a toy than an actual car. It was also nothing like the old VW Bug. Chevy Sonic: Remember the Daewood\Chevy Aveo? Thats what this is except for being uglier. Kia Soul: Actually I take that back, I wouldn't know a thing since this cars target audience consists of hamsters.

    • Dr. Claw Dr. Claw on Sep 18, 2012

      At least the "Sonic" (comical badging; it's an "Aveo" everywhere else) is not nearly as dismal as the Aveo that preceded it. It's a much more substantial car. Or rather, it feels that way. Which, I guess is far as you can get hyping an Aveo. I also feel the VW New Beetle served its purpose. I see so many on the road that while it doesn't quite match up with the Golf, maybe it wasn't meant to. I think people were just happy to see the "Beetle" back. Now the current Beetle is more like it.

  • Azmtbkr81 Azmtbkr81 on Sep 13, 2012

    2011 Ford Explorer. I don't understand how turning the Explorer into yet another milquetoast crossover generated so much hype, especially considering Ford already had a number of very similar offerings on the market.

    • Danio3834 Danio3834 on Sep 13, 2012

      I agree. It certainly wasn't ground breaking. It is essentially a re-packaged Taurus X/Freestyle (which never recieved much attenion). Suddenly slap an Explorer badge on it, carve up the sides and it's 2011 North American Truck of the Year.

  • Lorenzo Are they calling it a K4? That's a mountain in the Himalayas! Stick with names!
  • MaintenanceCosts It's going to have to go downmarket a bit not to step on the Land Cruiser's toes.
  • Lorenzo Since EVs don't come in for oil changes, their owners don't have their tires rotated regularly, something the dealers would have done. That's the biggest reason they need to buy a new set of tires sooner, not that EVs wear out tires appreciably faster.
  • THX1136 Always liked the Mustang though I've never owned one. I remember my 13 yo self grabbing some Ford literature that Oct which included the brochure for the Mustang. Using my youthful imagination I traced the 'centerfold' photo of the car AND extending the roof line back to turn it into a small wagon version. At the time I thought it would be a cool variant to offer. What was I thinking?!
  • GregLocock That's a bodge, not a solution. Your diff now has bits of broken off metal floating around in it.
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