Features

The Summing Up For 2006

0 Comments 02 January 2007

By Brendan Moore

01.01.2007

Let’s cut to the quick. Here are some lists of cars that caught my interest for various reasons in 2006. My point of view, so if you have another, I have no problem with that.

Mostly because my opinion is still the correct one.

Cars in 2006 that are in tune with the Cosmos

Honda Fit – Wonderful and more than enough car for most households
Nissan Versa – Close, but not as good as the Fit, but better in the crash tests
Saturn Aura XR – Great effort from GM and equals Camry or Accord
BMW 335i Coupe – the essence of what is wonderful about BMW cars
Infiniti G35 – So very close to the BMW 3-Series now and good-looking, too
Mercedes-Benz E320 Blutec – Happy marriage of luxury and diesel
MazdaSpeed 3 – Wow, like a nuclear roller skate.
Volkswagen GTI – Perfect blend of performance, utility and price
Audi RS4 – Very expensive, but somehow worth it
Ford Fusion – Lots of fun, good build quality – can you believe it?
Porsche Cayman – Preferable to a Boxster, and that’s saying a lot
Scion xB – Slow, but cool little box-on-wheels that will steal your heart
Saab 9-3 Combi – Bag the SUV, this is sport and utility together in one vehicle

Cars in 2006 that were jarringly discordant

BMW M6 – Fast but somehow not fascinating
BMW 650i – Encapsulates everything that is going wrong with BMW
Toyota FJ Cruiser – Cartoon that apes a classic
Dodge Caliber – Wanted to like it but it’s so wrong on many levels
Chrysler Sebring – Kind of a mess attached to a great stereo
Jeep Compass – Puking now
Isuzu i290/i350 – Warmed-up leftovers of GM product that was bad at start
Nissan Stanza – Great car for people who don’t like cars
Nissan Quest – Soporific
Chevrolet Uplander/Buick Terraza/Saturn Relay – Simply craptastic
Chevrolet Impala – Rental car in your driveway
Volkswagen Passat – styling gone wrong and price has really climbed
Lexus LS 460 – The most luxurious interpretation of boring
Lexus LX 470 – See LS 460, and add in environmental crimes
Hyundai Azera – Could have been made in Soviet bloc
Lincoln Mark LT – Failure in so many, many ways
Kia Optima – Ugh
Honda Ridgeline – Japanese El Camino, but with only the V6 engine
Honda Element – Weird, not half as good as the Scion xB

Bittersweet farewells to models going away

Porsche Carrera GT – Rocket with no compromises, but heart-stopping price
Volkswagen Phaeton – Wrong company for this car
Ford GT – So delicious in every way
Ford Taurus – Ford starved this once-great nameplate to a slow, ugly death
Acura RSX – Wonderful car, but Civic Si has made it superfluous
Pontiac GTO – Very good coupe, but looks didn’t match performance

COPYRIGHT Autosavant – All Rights Reserved

«
»

Share your view

Post a comment

What we do

We love cars and the car business, no matter where that takes us - United States, Japan, Germany, France, China, Brazil, Australia, India, the U.K, etc. You get the idea. No subscription fees, no sign-up, no sign-in - all you have to do is just show up and start reading. We provide both opinion and information. We have two writers in the EU, one in Asia, and five in the U.S. We focus on the United States (because we're here), but we want our readers to have the benefit of seeing a global picture regarding automotive products and industry. We hope you enjoy the site.

Used Car Bargains – Updated Monthly!

This is stored on our Used Car page - just click here and you will go there post haste. Which models are bargains month after month? Which models are bargains as of the past few months and may not be in the future as the price of gasoline continues to rise? We know, and we have added some more bargain used vehicles to the list this month, so check it out.