Intellichoice Names VW R32 "Best Overall Value in Its Class" Yeah, Right.
Intellichoice is a scam. Their owners– Source Interlink Media– also own Motor Trend, a buff book with about as much editorial independence as Marines Magazine. Intellichoice pretends to be an objective number cruncher, focusing on cost of ownership calculations. Every year, they announce their "Best Overall Value of the Year" (BOVY) awards at the Chicago Auto Show. Methodology? "This insightful value rating factors the accumulated ownership costs of depreciation, maintenance, repairs, fuel, fees, financing, and insurance to identify the true standout models in each class." Needless to say, Intellichoice doesn't reveal the specific calculations involved. And if that's not enough to convince you that the whole thing's a con, consider that the VW R32 just won the BOVY award for the "Base Sport" category. We call bullshit. The R32 is the all wheel-drive uber-Golf (base sport?) that's over-priced, over-produced and over here. Check out this chart from Yahoo Autos comparing the relative predicted residual values for the R32 vs. the GTI (never mind any number of Japanese base sport competitors), and then tell me the fix ain't in. Shame on VW– and any other manufacturer– for using (paying?) Intellichoice to promote their vehicle.
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IC is completely above board and that point is not up for review. Zero editorial impact within our data-driven award process. You may disagree with some of the winners, but that would be for your own personal/editorial reasons. A full write up on how we identify these annual winners is noted here - http://www.intellichoice.com/carBuying101/2008_what_is_bovy And thanks for the podcast offer, but we are plenty busy getting the word out as is!
Flujo :
IC is completely above board and that point is not up for review.
Do you have any idea how ridiculous that statement sounds?
Your link tells me NOTHING about the judging process. And your unwillingness to explain this process in a public forum in a ten minute phone call tells me EVERYTHING about your transparency.
I am saddened but not surprised by your response to our request for clarification.
That's exactly what I was thinking. This article--especially the comments section--should be bumped back to the front page so more people can see such a ridiculous response.
Flujo - I appreciate your response, and welcome your criticism, also. Could I reword my original question to somehow change its perception to curiously convenient instead of conspiratorial and convince you to speak to Mr. Farago? A vast pistonhead audience awaits...