SeCsTaC

http://www.autospies.com/article/in...?articleId=3782

The most disappointing cars we saw this year
12/29/2004
The Spies hope all of you are enjoying a great holiday season. Get ready for a busy next three weeks or so...Almost all of the media outlets have a 'Best of' but only the Spies have the courage to bring you the most disappointing cars/trucks/suvs.

This is DEFINITELY a list you DO NOT want to be on.

The most disappointing cars we saw this year


1. 2005 Honda Odyssey- So much was expected with this total redesign since the old van was the standard of the industry. Well Honda, in our opinion you've lost your reign at the top to the Toyota Sienna. The Sienna is a better looking product and it's Lexus-like finish now makes it 'THE' minvan to buy in this highly competitive segment. You guys had your chance and you blew it. The new Odyssey design is 'Frumpy' at best and there are really no revolutionary new features on the latest version. How can we prove we're right? Go try to buy one and you'll here a word you don't hear very often on new cars at Honda dealers...DISCOUNTS! Dealers are ALREADY discounting these vans heavily and are secretly reporting to us they are disappointed in the new product.


2. Acura RL- Is everyone else driving a different version of the RL than us? Or are they scared to death to jeopardize the huge ad dollars Acura is throwing at them? We drove this thing and couldn’t believe how awful this thing drove. It was heavy feeling and the steering was absolutely numb. It felt like a 1995 E-class gone WAY wrong. The suspension is so brittle and stiff (maybe due to the SHAWD?) that is very uncomfortable over rough pavement. Then there was the space issue. This car is TINY inside the cabin! It feels slightly larger than a 3-series and even the TL feels more roomy. Acura will tell you the specs say there is more space in the RL than the TL but we didn't see it. Go sit in both and you make the call. It’s not even close. Now let’s talk about the exterior design. How can their flagship not be the best looking car in their product line? We think the TL beats it there as well. Now price…$50k for the RL? You have got to be kidding us! Not a chance this things worth over $40 grand. The only redeeming feature? The dash/console design and the best nav system on earth. Keep those, scrap the rest and start over. BMW, MB, Lexus and Infiniti are laughing in their halls!


3. Ford 500/Mercury Montego- The only two words we need to use to describe this for you to understand our true feelings are ‘Chrysler 300c’. The 500/Montego are the antitheses of the Chrysler and that IS the key problem with these two must win/destined to lose vehicles for Ford.


4. Jeep Cherokee- After seeing SO many promising concepts at the shows, this one is a real let down. When I saw it for the first time my jaw almost hit the floor. The concepts showed so much promise and excitement. we thought for sure when we saw the Chrysler 300, the Cherokee would be even cooler. Boy, were we wrong!What's up with that front end? YUCK! The most important seller in their product line turns out to be a dud.


5. Cadillac STS- If we had never seen the 300c or the Cadillac Sixteen concept, we may have a more favorable opinion of this car. But WE HAVE and that’s what bugs us about this car. It’s just too darn bland. Where is the ‘Escalade’ of sedans? Why does it have a Chrysler logo? All Cadillac had to do was produce a smaller version of the sixteen and they would have had a winner. The sixteen looked like it meant business…the STS looks like it’s ready for entry at the 2005 Mediocrity convention. So much expected here and so much to gain but they’ve missed the opportunity of a lifetime to really take charge. Our advice to the Caddy team…you’re in like 10th place…ROLL THE DICE!!!!!!




From reading that ish, the guys that wrote it seem very unprofessional. Oh and I found this on clublexus first, as they constantly like to talk shit about other cars =P.

goldmemberer

Unprofessional is right; this hardly deserves to be posted. Only mocked.

The cars they listed are valid to a point, but their points aren't all backed up well.

cusdaddy

terrible article.. Almost every car on he listed is excellent

gavriil

I guess I have to go drive the RL.

I agree about the Cherokee. They exaggerate about the Ford 500, it's not the antithesis of the 300, it's just worse than the 300. It's a huge step ahead from the Taurus though, that's for sure.

I somewhat agree with the Odyssey, but they still exaggerate.

I mostly disagree about the STS. Bland yes, but certainly not a disappointment.

einsatz

One of the clublexus kids probably wrote that crap

kansaiwalker1

Everybody and their mothers have best/worst 10 car lists. Who cares what a bunch of punks at clublexus thinks? Just buy and drive whatever you like.

sipark

Honda and Acura bashing from clublexus... Could it have been 1sicklex?

Crazy Bimmer

Looks good to me

Justin.CL

Whats with all the comparisons to the 300c?

Beltfed

They had the same type stupid article last year that everyone mocked, the people at Autolies are retarded and not to mention thieves of automotive related news/photos.

heyitsme

They make some valid points, especially with the odyssey not pushing toyota back on its heels-although I do think honda did out do the sienna by a nose.

RL not having the best exterior styling out of the Acura cars is right on the button imo, I have no idea why they changed the Acura face with this one car.

Sts did unfortunately lose too much of the art and science that the CTS used to shake up cadillacs image. Too soft compared to the xlr, cts, and srx.

SeCsTaC

oh and it was indeed posted by 1sicklex

Maximized

This site keeps amazing me.....They are a bunch of amatures who constantly write articles that have no substance and/or credibility. Autospies is the National Enquirer of the Automotive Industry.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

And Acura is laughing all the way to the bank. Dealers around here and all up and down the East Coast can't keep the RL in stock.

heyitsme

Funny I don't see more on the road then.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I see them everyday.

gavriil

Hehehe...

gavriil

Hehehe...

gavriil

Hehehehe....

gavriil

Hehehehe...

You guys are gonna kill me today

phile

Surprise surprise...

gocubsgo55

Ah, the same sicklex that wanted to buy an RL while he was over here.

If I had the power, I'd buy him a Civic and leave it and its keys in the driveway just to piss him off. I'd leave a letter saying Honda thanks him for all the great things he has done for the company.

proaudio22

New car thing. I doubt it'll last long. I totally agree with the article on the RL. What a disappointment. Overgrown and overpriced Accord.

Beltfed

No more overpriced than anything else in its class, for an overgrown Accord its been getting pretty damn good reviews in the car rags.

It will sell well for quite awhile I would imagine, most new Acuras do.

phile

I love how people keep bringing up the Accord as if it's a bad thing. The Acura Legend from the get go was an Accord...how is this anything new? And why should it even matter; the Accord itself is an excellent vehicle.

proaudio22

Very true, and exactly my point. However most people would probably pick the other overpriced cars in the class over the RL. If the RL was priced below them, it would sell more IMO. Acura still isn't highly regarded as the other "names".

Part of it is prob just like it says above, noone wants to really badmouth the car. In addition to that, who knows what greasing of the palms was done by Acura. New styled car just released, rave reviews = sells cars.

Ken1997TL

You know, the more people bash on the RL, the more seriously I'm looking towards purchasing one. I loved it.

These people are the same ones who say "Chrysler 300" and "refined" in the same sentence.

Black CL-S 4-Life

AcuraFan

The sales won't last long because its current success is due only to the "new car thing"? I doubt it. Critics were saying the same thing about the TSX but that sold more than anticipated in the first year and has only increased since. I think the RL will do just fine.
TSX -> amatuer critics hated it / professionals loved it / sold better than expected
RL -> amatuer critics hate it / professionals love it / we'll see how it sells

I know it seems kinda silly to compare RL sales with TSX sales, but I think Acura has finally gotten their head in the game and making class leading cars (the RL included).

proaudio22

How is the RL class leading?

F23A4

For the record, I've test driven the Odyssey and Sienna thoroughly and the 05 Ody is MUCH nicer than the Sienna IMHO. For the money, Honda gives you A LOT of minivan for the money versus the Sienna (of which Toyota nickel and dimes customers for every option). And with VCM capable of 28mpg Hwy, it's not something that can be easily dismissed on long road trips.

There are only three features the Sienna has over the Ody that I DO like: HIDs (XLE Limited $$$$), AWD availability (XLE Limited $$$$) and 17" wheel pkg (XLE). Typical of Toyota, most of their cars cost thousands more than similarly equipped Hondas and Nissans. (But I have to admit that the Sienna did feel like a Lexus MUCH MORE than the Ody felt like an Acura, which it didnt.)

I will say that my local Honda dealer was willing to discount a Touring model ($35k) by two grand which did kind of surprise me. Then again, it seemed like they were overstocked on top-of-the-line Touring models but understocked on EX-L models (on the EX-L, they wouldnt budge on price).

And for the record, I'm already seeing A LOT of Ford 500s on the road already that arent rentals (unlike the Taurus). Ford will make some good money on this, no doubt. But what Ford should do is bore out that Duratec to 3.5L.

IMHO, the STS (like the CTS) is a nice departure from its competitors with some good performance to boot. Caddy IS going in a good direction IMO; like Nissan, they dare to be different.

Terrible article in general with very little thought put into it.

AcuraFan

Well, I would say it's class leading by new technology (DVD-Audio, SH-AWD, real time traffic). I think it's class leading in value (features/price). I think it's class leading because of the critical acclaim it's getting (such as knocking the 5 series off the C&D Ten Best list). But then again, that's just my humble opinion.

heyitsme

I think it would be class leading if it had those new gadgets on top of those already in use by other companies in the 40-60k price range.

bigman

they need to get that 300C shaped dildo outta their asses.

MADCAT

Its funny how people think TL's with all their value is considered cheap.

Buying a BMW/Lexus in base form then buying all the options equal to a TL/RL isn’t a smart buy in my books, it just buys you bragging rights.

SeCsTaC

thing is though, lexus drivers think their hot shit when i dont really see whats so hot? their cars are boring as shit, half their models are modified toyotas so wtf? i mean if mercedes was flauting their shit saying how much nice their cars id just be like whatever because its true for the most part. but Lexus... what the fuck do they offer thats so awesome? that reliability shit is starting to be a tired argument a good one no doubt but just tiring. Lexus is nice for what it is, old people/people that want a nice comfy lux cruiser, but thats all i see them as.

iNteGraz92

they are idiots who think calling acuras overpriced accords actually hurts us or something. accords are great cars and are great bases to make even better cars. everytime someone says tl/rl is JUST a souped up accord, it just makes me laugh at their stupidity and bias.

DownUnder

Good post man.

LiQiCE

The people over at Autospies are mostly German car loving snobs. Their readers are too. Read most comments to their articles, if its a Japanese car or American car it sucks, if its any German car it rules. Their writers are the same way ... You'll see their bias because sometimes the snobby comments made are by their writers!

I stopped going there because it was a waste of my time unless I wanted to read about how great German cars are and how bad everything else is.

chiawei

Wrong. The new Odyssey especially on the top end model does not match up well with Sienna. Odyssey has advantage on the base LX model over base LE, because honda made side SRS and VSA standard across the range, resulted in Odyssey LX about $2k cheaper (but you get less equipement, because those extra 2k in Sienna LE gets you one power door vs none on LX, alloy wheels, stereo upgrade).

Odyssey's interior is cheap, the interior volume is smaller than Sienna. Other than a better navigation screen and a much better steering response, the Odyssey is no comparison to toyota.

More over, Toyota's pricing are almost identical to honda this time around. A touring with Navi+RES is about $700 cheaper than Sienna XLE limited with Navi+RES. But sienna comes with HID with height adjustment control, Laser cruise control, two 115V outlet, 3 rows of sunshade, and a longer warranty.

Odyssey is not selling as well as honda had hoped. That's why discount is already being given. You can find Odyssey without navi for mere $500 over invoice right now, and $1500 over invoice for a navi model.

As far as VCM goes, Honda publishes a high MPG that really does not exist. Go to both siennaclub.org and odyclub.com and take a look. You will find out that in real world Sienna post better gas mileage than Odyssey.

Odyssey weighs close to 500 lb more than a similar Sienna.

I was going to trade in my 04 sienna limited for a 05 Odyssey touring because the honda navi is one of the best OEM navi out there. But everything else is a step or two behind sienna. I spend a month test driving the Odyssey. Just can't get warm to it. Ended up keeping the Odyssey and upgraded sienna navi to 05 version, which is actually more powerful than Odyssey navi.

Personally I don't really buy into what autospies says. But I really think autospies hit it deadly on the nail that both RL and Odyssey are dissapointing.

RL for a flag ship acura car you need a V8. 300 HP looks good on paper but with output at higher RPM and not really a efficient automatic, this is not a world class performer.

The competition is getting much tougher. The W211 is getting an upgrade in the V6, the E60 is also getting a valvetronics L6 as well as a new 4.0 and 4.8 V8 in near future as well a AWD. Nissan already has M35/M45 waiting to go. Lexus is waiting for new LS to debut before bumping up GS to GS350 with 280HP. The RL at most only has about one year advantage on paper before competition's on slaught.

Odyssey did not raise the bar like it did in 99. Instead, honda actually missed the target set by sienna this time around. That's why sales is not as brisk as honda had hoped and no one is paying premium to get into Odyssey. The 99-04 Odyssey was still commanding close to MSRP with almost no discount until 04 Sienna arrived. This time aroud, honda dealers is already discounting heavily on the new Odyssey just two month after market introduction.

This is the simple truth. RL will not be a big seller. Consider E350 will probably outgun the RL in acceleration. The E60 530i, 540i will both outgun RL easily as well as outhandle it. The GS350 with 280 HP and 6 speed automatic will also probably beat RL as well. Lexus is stupid to only allow GS300 for 06 and not upgrading until later. But still, take a look into competition, RL has it work cut out.