Quote of the Day II: Car and Driver Jumps the Shark. Again. Still. Edition.

by Robert Farago

Published: October 5th, 2009

quote of the day ii car and driver jumps the shark again still edition

A member of our TTAC faithful brought this Car and Driver BM photoshop scandal to our attention in a comment posted under a recent Ask the Best and Brightest. I let it go unremarked at the time. But now that Autoblog has picked-up the Car and Driver cudgel and beat the mag over the head with it, the story has officially mainstreamed (not to verbize or anything). Whatever credibility and good will the Alterman regime has generated at Car and Driver just disappeared in a puff of imaginary tire smoke. Imagine blaming the writer for browbeating the art department into faking a drag race to mislead the reader. And then calling deceived readers idiots. As someone who grew-up devouring Car and Driver, this is the final straw. Enjoy the slide boys. There’s no coming back.

John Phillips became so attached to the BMW X6M that it – appropriately enough – triggered many irrational responses. One of these was his insistence that we photoshop the BMW beating the clearly superior Chevy Nova. Any attempt to dissuade him – by telling him, for instance, that only an idiot would believe a BMW SUV could beat a purpose-built drag car – just resulted in heated calls to the suicide hotline and even more foaming at the mouth than usual.

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4 of 42 comments

FreedMike on Oct 06, 2009
ajla : October 6th, 2009 at 12:05 pm Also, for what it’s worth, in this month’s C&D they called the current 3-series tired and ready for a reboot. What the same 3-series they just had beat up on a G37, TL, and A4 back in June? The same one that’s going to be on the “10 Best” list again? Was it an Edmunds-style, “We don’t like the 135i because the 335i is so wonderful. But, if the 3-series didn’t exist the 1-series would be the best car on the planet. Also, BMW is the greatest auto company of all time. Plus, no bias here because we don’t like the Honda Pilot.”? You sure they weren’t talking about the 5-series? That line has only been getting 2nd places lately. I think that C/D just delivers glancing criticisms to BMW in between fawning worship and comparison victories to make sure readers don’t get confused and think they are reading Roundel. OK, then you tell us what they're missing about the 3-series. Why shouldn't it have won that comparison test? Which should have won? It's one thing to criticize, quite another to formulate your own argument.

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TZ on Oct 06, 2009

At the risk of repeating the comments of others, anyone who was "deceived" more than likely didn't read the article. Context is important.

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Ajla on Oct 06, 2009

@FreedMike: OK, then you tell us what they’re missing about the 3-series. Why shouldn’t it have won that comparison test? Which should have won? If you want me to say that the 3-series is a bad car, I'm not going to because it isn't. However, I do not consider it to be God's gift to the automotive landscape. That seems to be Car and Driver's feeling. I personally like the C-class and CTS more than the 3-series. IMO, BMWs are the ultimate Mazdas. They are nimble and have very good steering, but unless you are driving flat-out the experience is poor. The brakes are grabby, the runflats roar relentlessly, and the ride isn't nearly as composed as some of the competition. Here's an old TTAC review that sums up how I feel about BMWs: BMW 535i Review I know that Car and Driver is an enthusiast publication, but it isn't like they rate an Elise over a Boxster. I'm not asking for a Lexus to win, but giving some credit for balance in sport sedan comparo would be nice. _________ That particular comparison test against the A4, TL, and G37 was flawed because they didn't have the cars equalized. Two of them were automatics and the as-tested prices had a $10,000 range. This caused the scoring to be messed up. Was it really that impossible to round up a 328i, TL, A4, and G37 that all had the same transmission and came in around $38K? I have no idea which car should win because I haven't driven a G37 or new A4 yet.

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FreedMike on Oct 06, 2009
ajla : October 6th, 2009 at 5:43 pm If you want me to say that the 3-series is a bad car, I’m not going to because it isn’t. However, I do not consider it to be God’s gift to the automotive landscape. That seems to be Car and Driver’s feeling. I personally like the C-class and CTS more than the 3-series. IMO, BMWs are the ultimate Mazdas. They are nimble and have very good steering, but unless you are driving flat-out the experience is poor. I have no idea which car should win because I haven’t driven a G37 or new A4 yet. Thanks for that reply. I've driven the 335i pretty extensively (much to the frustration of my local BMW dealer), and I've found the ride is mainly a function of what suspension package you prefer. The sport package indeed comes with a pretty flinty ride, but the base suspension is no slouch, and while it doesn't ride as comfortably as a CTS, I didn't find it unreasonably harsh. I also think the CTS is an excellent car in this class, but it's skewed more towards comfort than performance. Not to say it's not capable or that it's a poor choice - far from it - but it's not in the same league as the 3-series or G37 for driving involvment. I'm into going fast, so I know where my money would go, and that would be either the 3-series or the G37. Other folks may have other priorities, and Godspeed to them. If you haven't done so yet, drive a G37 and let me know what you think. Personally, I'd rate it above the 328, but behind the 335. As a value, it beats either BMW handily.

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