Those cars are far from perfect, being built on an ancient platform (their interior design and space utilization are pretty horrid by mod3ern standards), but my goodness does 737 lb-ft of turbo-V8 torque sound like something I need.

Touché.

I’ve realized that I’ve been a bit over-zealous. I hadn’t even considered the change in industry standards. Please excuse my foul demeanor.

Not necessarily. We could be evaluating build quality on the basis of different indicators.

Moreover and more importantly, because these cars are at least partially hand assembled, that can mean substantial variation in the build quality of any given car compared to another.

Additionally, Robert drove the Bentley several years ago. Industry standards and what was expected was different (the reference point of an S-Class was not the same as it is now, since the S-Class was completely replaced between now and then).

certainly longer than the few hours you’ve spent with the Speed.
I had it every day for a week.

Furthermore, I find it quite peculiar that the same vehicle you perceive as humdrum, garish, and pedestrian is the same vehicle you assumed I hadn’t driven.
You find it quite peculiar that I don’t associate you with being humdrum, garish, and pedestrian?

Then of course, there’s your review.

And? The fact that Farago and I disagreed means what?

What did you think of the Speed when you drove it?

There’s no “house line” on TTAC’s reviews. Each of our reviewers is free to call it like they see it.

Robert Farago says about the Continental GT, “Every inch of the GT’s cabin that isn’t covered with piano-grade wood or satin finish aluminum or what was once Wilton carpet is slathered in perfectly-stitched, glove soft, dizzyingly fragrant leather”

Robert Farago says about the Flying Spur, “The Bentley’s cabin quality easily trounces the Mercs, Bimmers, Masers and even Audis of the world, and gives nothing away to the Roller. The Spur’s materials and workmanship– fragrant leather seats and surfaces, burled wood, mechanically dampened “brightwear” (Bentley-speak for switchgear), plush carpeting, etc. — are eerily perfect.”

Then of course, there’s your review.

I wonder how the whole experiment with cars in the low six figures is going to play out. You can buy as many ‘05 Continental GTs as you want for $100k. 911 Turbos from that year are mostly in the $80s. The M-B S600 is in the $50s, and you couldn’t pay $50k for an ‘05 QP (bad transmission problems that year IIRC). In contrast, a 2005 F430 has suffered little if any depreciation. Will the Speed suddenly forget to depreciate?

This segment depends on people who have enough money to take the depreciation hit. One wonders how willing this cohort will be over the next few years.

PS – I thought that the automotive equivalent of Paris and Lindsay was a rental car: Easy to get but you never know who’s been in there ahead of you.

A lot. See my post above [painfully] detailing how lackluster it is. But your laundry list demonstrates much of what’s wrong with it.

Tell me, does it make sense to you for a car costing $213,000 to have merely competent handling, vague steering, a clumsy transmission, bad build quality, out of date gadgets that don’t work, and shoddy build quality?

The Lindsay Lohan/Paris Hilton comparison is actually very much a good analogy.

Neither the car, nor those two women, have anything remarkable about them. There is no reason the Bentley should be so expensive or “well regarded” by car lay-people other than the logo. There is no reason Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton should be so famous, either.

The biggest problem with this car: it’s popular and nothing else. Why should you buy a Bentley in the future? What’s remarkable about the brand? What does it stand for? Expensive and … ?

It’s a fad. Just like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. They will go out of style. Bentley will, too.

1. It handles competently but not brilliantly because it’s heavy.
2. It’s steering is vague.
3. It’s transmission is clumsy.
4. It’s build-quality is not up to the price of the car.
5. It’s gadgetry is not quite state-of-the art.

Ergo, it’s the automotive equivalent of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton? Not quite fair, I say. I won’t even go so far as to comment that this is about as meritorious as a very similar analogy used in the on-going political campaign.

Surely, a car must be judged in the context of its genre. So the car doesn’t handle brilliantly; could that be calling the glass half-empty rather than half-full? There are people who like large cars with lots of finishes and gadgets that add weight. I suppose the Speed might be found to have steering that’s more vague (not less sharp) than say, a RWD like the Merc CL? But the Speed has AWD, which does provide benefit under certain driving conditions. More to the point, ought the F430 be faulted for being heavier than a Lotus Exige?

I suppose this piece ought to be read in the same spirit that one reads a Jeremy Clarkson review. If so, then I should remember to do so if I should encounter similar in future.

Second, this car really is the epitome of the ‘more money than brains’ class of auto purchasers.

If you’re going to spend this kind of cash on four wheels, it better make you smile every time you drive it; I’m thinking Ferrari F430 or a 911 GT.

Don’t assume for one moment that the people who buy cars like this are the slightest bit worried about steering.

They are buying IMAGE, Leather wrapped everything and reliability.

I see alot of these in Manhattan but every now and then you see guys with em in the suburbs and the ones sitting on used car lots with lots of miles.

guys in these just wanna drive a Bentley. Most of em have NO IDEA Volkwagon makes them. The Bentley GT is probably the hottest street car you can have in my city. If rappers rap about it and you can’t afford it – it must be good, right?

I’ll just take an S8 and a couple of years off work…..

Not the implication at all. My point was that so called “exotic” cars are generally exotic feeling. The Bentley is not.

Most of the cars I mention at the beginning vary wildly in price. The Rolls is well over $300,000. The Maserati is $100,000, the Aston Vantage is $120,000.

Thank you for the correction Sir.

Didn’t drive one because I was with my father at the time and he was more interested in getting some lunch…

One minor correction to the review: it implies that the Maserati is in the same price range, when it’s actually much less than even the regular Continental.

By that standard the Bentley has not been bangleized. Its rear end is decidedly old school. Indeed, one might even call the Bentley’s rear boring except for some nice detailing. The look is understated rather than loud, as is Bangle’s tendency.

Careful, Berkowitz. TTAC has a strict anti-flaming policy…

At a time where the luxury car market has been awash in terribly bangled styling fetishes, the Continental stands out as an elegant (if not terribly original) design.

Actually Sir, the Continental features, just like many other luxury vehicles a Bangle Butt, even if it’s not as obvious as in other car modles.. You can find more on this at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangle-butt