Sunday, September 21, 2008
There Are Lots Of New Cars That Are Undiscovered Gems
The cars that are selling well right now are all crossovers, fuel efficient small cars, anything with a big lithium battery in the engine, and anything with a Toyota symbol on the front. There are lots of cars that don't sell so well, but are very good cars. The Audi A3 is basically a GTI with an Audi body on it, but there is a lot more than that. It looks better than the VW, doesn't cost a lot more, and most importantly has the optional magnetic ride suspension. The A3, like the GTI is the Hot Hatch at its best, but the magnetic suspension means it's an Audi TT with a practical shape or a better handling, more practical GTI. Ford has some cars that don't sell well, but are good. The new Ford Taurus has a great 3.5L V6, a Volvo S80 chassis with four wheel independent suspension, it costs the same as a Toyota Camry, and is a Top Safety Pick. The Taurus SEL costs $23000, the same amount as a 4 Cylinder Camry XLE and the Taurus Limited is $28000, the same as a V6 Camry XLE. The Taurus looks better, drives better, is much safer, and much larger than the Camry, I know which one I would buy. The Lexus ES350 sells fairly well, but Hyundai has the Azera which is much better. A fully loaded Azera with 263hp, a navigation system, and more luxury features is $32000, $2000 less than the base price for an ES350. In 2004 Lexus brought out the RX330 (now RX350) and since then the only changes have been a pointless, overpriced hybrid version and a new 3.5L V6. Hyundai has the Veracruz which looks better, has higher safety ratings, two more seats, and a lot more features than the RX350. A fully loaded Veracruz Limited is $10000 less than a $48000 similarly equipped RX350. With gas prices going up Land Rover sales are going down quickly, but the LR2 is very good. The LR2 is built off the Volvo S80/V70/XC70 and has the same 3.2L I6 as those, meaning gas mileage isn't too bad. The LR2 drives well because of its chassis, but there are two similar cars I would rather buy. The Volvo XC70 is better, it has more space and an optional 281hp turbocharged T6 engine. The Subaru Outback is a station wagon and therefore doesn't sell well, but the Outback is completely brilliant. A fully loaded 2.5 XT Limited, the fastest version is $35000 and that gets you great some of the best build quality and reliability of any new car. One quality the Outback has is its great chassis, the Outback is built off the Subaru Legacy and unlike most crossovers has great handling. The Outback is every car most people will ever need. There are more of these undercovered gems of new cars, the Ford Explorer, Hyundai Santa Fe, and Nissan Pathfinder are some others. Just because a car doesn't sell well doesn't mean its bad, but you do have to be careful, all the left over Isuzu's don't sell at all because of their terribleness.
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