Ok, so the Avanti was the last gob of phlegm choked up by a hemmoraging company. But at least it was a futuristic, innovative, fast gob of phelgm.
I can see how appearances change with the context. Twenty years ago, I thought the E-Type Jaguar had the most beautiful, smooth lines. Now it looks like a battered aircraft drop tank with a gruesomly upright windshield haphazardly stuck on. And gimcrack chrome doodads festooned all over. Yuck. How could it have ever looked aerodynamically viable?
Even as all the new cars move towards used-bar-of-soap sameness, I like the way they look. I can just see the molecules of air gracefully parting to let the car through with the barest hint of laminar drag.
That said, the foor-dour bars of soap include:
Acura TL
Dodge Intrepid (handles fairly well, but reliability ?)
Ford Contour (may be an SVO version coming soon)
Ford Crown Victoria LTD (cop engine, cop tires, cop suspension...)
Honda Accord EX (like you've never seen one of these?)
Infinity I30 (upscale Maxima)
Lexus ES300
Mazda Millenia
Mazda 626
Mercedes E-class
Mitsubishi Galant (like whatever...)
Nissan Maxima - I wouldn't want one, but I guess it has a good engine.
Oldsmobile 88 (you may want to pay extra for the 'touring' suspension)
Olds Cutlass Supreme "...the least appealing of the GM family sedans" -CR
Pontiac Bonneville "...one of the best large sedans" -CR
Saturn SL2
Toyota Camry
Some of these are ridiculously expensive, others are simply hideous. The ones that aren't both might include the Camry, 626, Contour, Accord...
You can still take that Accord down to Jackson Racing and have them 'tune' it for you. The insurance company will still think of it as a stock car.
-zm |
