Well I am glad you agree. Any legit journalist or auto writer would not make such a silly comparison.

 

Well, the beauty of America, and the internet, is that we all have the right to publish our own opinions. The whole idea of a review is that it is the subjective opinion of an individual(or in some of the auto reviews, a group of people). Even in the published auto rags. It's ALL opinion. Don't let it get under your skin.

And yes, I agree that the cars are generally not in the same class.

However, you do occasionally get shoppers who don't know or care about vehicle classification. I cross shopped across various classes with almost every purchase I've made. When I bought my LS400, I almost bought a Trans Am instead. When I bought my Fusion, I had been giving Cruze a good hard look(esp since I could have bought one new for the price of my used Fusion).

 

Well-cared for T/A's may end up being collector's items, especially now that Pontiac itself is history. But, of course, with the LS, you wound up with a car that is far better made, and, unless you want to do burnouts and show off, a far nicer car to drive and be comfortable in every day. I never was impressed with the build-quality and materials used in the 3rd and 4th-generation F-bodies, and, of course, the much better 5Gen model was restricted to the Camaro.

 

Yeah, you can see the poor build quality in my friend's 4th gen Formula. The interior is about busted to hell, and the passenger's seat moves around.

I still want to own one for a fun weekend car.

 

I watched the Motor week segment yesterday on it and it is a HUGE step up over the last gen. Not bad but I dont think its going to topple Camry or Accord

 

It's not trying to topple the Camry or Accord, but they would like to maintain the volume of the previous 200 and Avenger with just this 200. Not every car guns to be #1 in its respective segment for sales volume. It's definitely not just a value buy anymore, I think it can stand alone as a compelling purchase, just needs to overcome the stereotypes that people have in their minds about Chrysler and/or the 200 itself. And that is no small task.

 

Certainly it won't reach the Camry/Accord level of sales, but the Camry/Accord also don't offer a V6/AWD combination...especially at that price. With the Camry/Accord, you have to move up to the Venza/Crosstour for the V6/AWD.......they are separate, more expensive lines.

In their favor, though, the Camry and Accord DO offer time-tested reliability, something that the all-new 200 is basically rolling the dice on.

 

You have made it clear you don't like MMarshall's reviews--but you keep reading them--why?!

The new Audi A3 and CLA 250 each start just under $30K--why? To appeal to luxury car buyers? No--to appeal to family sedan buyers who think "For the price of a loaded Accord, I can have a MB/Audi, etc." And I guaranty that some of them, after looking at the luxury brand, and realizing all the extra money you have to spend to get a back up camera, keyless start, nav, blind spot monitor, leather, etc, etc, will come back to the mainstream brand because they think they will get more for their money. That's how Hyundai got where it is today.

That doesn't make the 200C a "competitor"; but they may lure a certain class of customer considering a luxury brand.

 

Yessir, it's all about the badge which is why the former two exist you stated as well as models like the 320i are also sold. To the manufacturer it's all about that extra sale for #1 even though models like this dilute the brand. Seemingly they make up for it by offering higher end models that are past the six digit mark as well as offer customization services and exclusivity.

So exactly like you say, the consumer gets a choice between a fully loaded Accord/Sonata or a stripped down luxury badge. Are they direct competitors? No. Are they crossed shopped or at the very least 'considered' based on the above? Yes.

 

Thank you. I'm willing to accept constructive criticism from those who want to be courteous (and even make some changes in the way I do the reviews, such as when I started adding images 6 or 7 years ago, and done some further organizational changes since then). But to those who just want to complain for complaining's sake, or to rail on and on about so-called "Citizen Journalism", I say either Get a Life, or try doing a few "Citizen Reviews" of their own.

Good post. You make a good point. For 30K, you don't get what I think is a very impressive Audi or MB. But you get an upper-trim level 200 with a very plush interior, a V6, AWD....and a longer drivetrain warranty than the most German brands give you. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes all three give you 4/50 bumper-to-bumper including the drivetrain. Chrysler gives you 5/100 on the drivetrain.

 

It's not unlike comparing a Highlander Limited vs a base RX350, or a Pilot Touring vs a base MDX. I realize that many people choose the lux version for status; but definitely not all...

 

I've said it before--Al Haas writes an autos column in the Philly Inquirer just about every Sunday. I guess he's a "journalist" because he is published in a nationally known paper--but he writes some of the worst crap I have ever seen, never dislikes any vehicle, and his articles just end, almost like the editors cut out the last 1/3 of the article. But, he must command respect because he's a journalist?? Just stupid.

You should take over his column, actually....

 

I haven't read Haas' columns, and can't comment directly on them. But, from what I've seen, I agree that, in general, newspaper reviews usually aren't as well-done as those in car magazines, auto-testing organizations, or Consumer Reports.


Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment, but I'd rather do reviews here with you guys (and ladies) on CAR CHAT, sometimes at the request of CL members, than work for some big-city paper editor who is just concerned about the newspaper's bottom-line. I worked for some 35 years....now I'm in retirement.

 

I'm also having trouble understanding how someone who can solicit opinions on a purchase of a car from a forum full of total strangers has the stones to criticize a car review from an experienced reviewer in that same forum.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...4-corolla.html

 

Agreed, MMarshall is free to express his feelings about a car all he wants (and frankly I appreciate his reviews). He doesn't break forum rules, is not rude and simply provides his insights. Don't listen to the critiques MMarshall, keep doing your thing!