Recently I ran across a post on an auto enthusiast forum about how the lacking of the fold-down rear seat in the HS250h is the deal breaker. The poster argued about how other hybrids like the Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Insight, Nissan Altima, Saturn Aura, Toyota Camry and Toyota Prius all have it so it appears Lexus is “cutting back” for not including the feature. Well, I did some “googearch” in my own spare time and found out the following…

Toyota Camry Hybrid:

In a closer look, this is the amount of access room (or the lack of…) that one gets from the fold-down seat with the batteries in the trunk:

Nissan Altima Hybrid:

According to about.com, in the Altima hybrid…

Hybrid battery eliminates a fold-down rear seat

Chevy Malibu Hybrid / Saturn Aura Hybrid:

The Malibu Hybrid is a mild hybrid, which means it’s a joke comparing to Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) system… Saturn Aura Hybrid uses the same system as the Malibu hybrid.

Sure in the picture it appears to be the Malibu hybrid has tons of access with the fold-down rear seat but the reality is that the battery pack is much smaller comparing to the Toyota/Lexus systems. The reason is due to the GM’s hybrid battery pack only powers the motor/alternator for engine assist as well as restarting the engine from AUTO STOP mode and does not independently driving the wheels like the Toyota’s HSD.

Toyota Prius:

Toyota Prius is a hatch back, which allows it to have more room in the trunk area. As you can see from the picture, in that area of interest, the cabin is also much taller comparing to the Camry hybrid.

Honda Insight:

Honda Insight almost has the identical shape as the Toyota Prius, so the reasons above can also be applied here.

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Image sources: [ About.com: Hybrid Cars and Alt Fuels ]

It puzzles me everytime when people say Passat is the “driver’s car” of family sedans and other aren’t… I mean, all the sedans are products of compromise, some are compromised more than others, that’s it, to say that the Passat is a “drive’s car” while others aren’t is just ridiculous in my humble opinion.

I understand that most of us can only afford one car so we want the best balance of comfort, practicality and performance (I am in the same boat). Then my question is, if that’s the case, why would I want to get a VW? There are true RWD sports sedans out there that costs less than a comparable VW and performs better, for example:

VW CC VR6 Sport FWD: $39,015
VW CC VR6 4Motion AWD: $40,115

(I picked VR6 because that’s the only model that comes with the V6, VW doesn’t offer V6 for Passat anymore)

Infiniti G37 Base: $33,250
Infiniti G37 Journey: $33,700
Infiniti G37 Sport: $34,250
Infiniti G37 X: $35,750

BMW 335i: $40,300
BMW 335ix: $42,300

Lexus IS350: $37,295

MB C350 Sport: $39,750

Then there are those who just want a comfortable and yet reliable A-to-B commuter. Based on the simple comparison I did they have even less reasons to pick VW over the other family sedans:

VW Passat: $27,600

Toyota Camry SE: $25,840
Honda Accord EX: $26,805
Nissan Altima 3.5 SE: $25,680
Mazda MAZDA6 S Sport: $24,330

(I picked the V6 models to compare with the turbo-charge 4 banger Passat just for giggles, we all know that the I4 models cost even less than the prices shown above…)

So… Can anyone tell me what’s the point of VW?

Recently I got into a debate with a friend about whether or not Honda/Acura has been a disappointment in the last several years, so it got me thinking… How far exactly did Honda/Acura fall compare to its status and reputation back in the late 80s and 90s, I mean Honda used to have the best value in terms of price and performance back in the 90s, they also didn’t look bad at all. When Acura and Lexus first started as the two first Japanese luxury brands they were head-to-head all the way till the mid-90s. The first and second generation Acura Legends were magnificent cars, the interior fit-n-finish can rival some high end cars today such as the LS460. However, Lexus has really pulled away in the last 10 years…

I know a lot of people are still in their 90s cave pretending that Honda was still the poor man’s BMW it used to be and that’s exactly what Honda wants you to do, they are riding on past reputation. However, the truth is that their cars all got bigger, interiors got cheaper and Acuras got a whole lot uglier. They used to have “fun” cars at relatively obtainable price like the CRX, Integra and S2000 but not anymore. They hung the NSX out dry for more than 10 years without any major update before killing it, when the NSX first debut it’s the first Japanese supercar that can rival the European exotics but by the time it goes out, many sports sedans can give it a serious run for its money…

Also, Honda has always said they will make Acura a first-tier luxury car company, however, everything that they are doing or did contradict to the goal. No V8 and RWD? Sure I agree that due to the fuel economy restriction it’ll be less likely for people to opt for high displacement V8s in the future. Personally I think supercharged/turbocharged V6 is the way to go, but that wouldn’t stop those people who is willing and able to pay for the V8 luxury car and there will ALWAYS be a group of people like that. In a way, here in America people associate V8 with luxury and there are still people who wouldn’t even sniff at a car if it doesn’t have 8 bangers under the hood. By the way, let’s take a step back drop the V8 discussion for a while, but how is Honda planning to make Acura first tier without a true flagship? Huh?

Ok, maybe Honda is doing better on the other fronts, such as the green technology like hybrid you say, after all they are one of the first companies to offer a mass produced hybrid, the Insight. The truth is that the new Insight is so terrible that it’s the first car Jeremy Clarkson has ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so he didn’t have to drive it any more… The Honda Insight returns a worse fuel economy than the 2nd generation Prius but is only $2000 cheaper than the new Prius, the fit-n-finish and material use make the car felt like a tin can and the rough idle and transition between gasoline and electric make you feel you are riding a lawn mower. Don’t believe me? Read up the reviews for the new Honda Insight then you be a judge yourself.

So to summarize, Honda can’t do performance, can’t do luxury and can’t do green… It just amazes that there are still people yapping about how Toyota is “boring” and Honda makes “drives’ cars”. I got two words for those people…

WAKE UP

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It is a common belief within the auto community that most Japanese (especially Toyota/Lexus) cars lack the “soul” as compare to the German makes. Personally I don’t know what kind of “soul” do the German cars have but I do know that different auto manufacture usually has different design philosophy so it’s obviously that the products from different makes would have different characteristics. To say that the Japanese cars have no souls by having different characteristics is like saying just you have no soul because you have a different belief than me. Makes sense? Of course not.

Here are 2 examples:

1. Honda was built by engineers and it still is. Engineers are very sensible and logical animals, they rarely go out and do things following their hearts, instead they follow their brains. So Honda products usually are very balanced, have above average performance and great ergonomics but not as flashy as others. Myself I am an engineer so I totally understand that philosophy, because to us, functionality outweighs everything.

2. Toyota on the other hand are built by bunch of marketing experts. They know that the buying public WANTS hot rods but NEEDS appliances so they go out and build appliances. On top of that, they stay true to their primary buying demographic. Using Lexus as an example, this company was built on emphasizing the words “luxury” and “comfort” so even for its sports-orient sedans one can still see those traits more than its competitors. Due to this, often times some performance aspects are sacrificed but they end up making the best balanced sedan of “sports” and “luxury”.

So at the end it’s not that the Japanese cars don’t have souls, it’s just that they have different souls. World will be a boring place if everything is the same, right?

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Wards has just announced the ten best engines award for 2008, and the winners are:

• Audi AG: 2.0L TFSI turbocharged DOHC I-4 (A4 Avant)
• BMW AG: 3.0L turbocharged DOHC I-6 (135i Coupe)
• BMW AG: 3.0L DOHC I-6 Turbodiesel (335d)
• Chrysler LLC: 5.7L Hemi OHV V-8 (Dodge Ram/Challenger R/T)
• Ford Motor Co.: 2.5L DOHC I-4 HEV (Escape Hybrid)
• General Motors Corp.: 3.6L DOHC V-6 (Cadillac CTS)
• Honda Motor Co. Ltd.: 3.5L SOHC V-6 (Accord Coupe)
• Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.: 4.6L DOHC V-8 (Genesis)
• Toyota Motor Corp.: 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Lexus IS 350)
• Volkswagen AG: 2.0L SOHC I-4 Turbodiesel (Jetta TDI)

Overall I think this is a good list, the only engine that I don’t think it’s deserved to make the list is Audi’s 2.0T I4. I had a previous generation Audi A4 for 2 weeks back in 2007 and came away very disappointed, the reason is due to the craptaculour turbo lag. I am the kind of guy who admires simplicity over complexity especially if both achieve the similar result; that’s why I was never a fan for any force induced engines. More components in the engine bay means higher probability on things to break and not to mention the legendary “lag” for turbo engines. However, after driven the BMW 335i with the 3.0 twin-turbo I6 my view has been changed a bit, even though there is still a slightest lag when step on the gas hard but this minor shortcoming does not out shadow the overall excellent performance. So when I got a chance to drive the A4 for 2 weeks initially I was really excited, but I learned quickly that not all turbo engines are created equal and now I am a firmer believer that natural aspirated is the way to go (especially with similar performance).

Another one that probably does not belong to be on the list is the Honda 3.5L V6. Although a capable engine and a good one in its own right it just does not measure up against the newer generation V6 from Toyota, Nissan and even GM. Last but not least, kudos to Hyundai for having the 4.6L Tau V8 made the list, based on all the articles it seems like that V8 is just as good as any in the auto industry today.

(Source: Wards)

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In a Nutshell: The car of the future is now just about ready for the present.

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In a Nutshell: A well-built, relatively inexpensive way to save gas, but with a jerky powertrain and overly-plastic interior.

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