The new Vauxhall VXR8

[clutch-monkey]

To be fair, the UCP community is actually pretty goddamn civil compared to most other online discussion places that I have seen - and people here are often docile, until they are insulted.

i recommend he try boostcruising.com.. more active for his tastes maybe.. and as for civil? haha

[whiteballz]

By the way OCN - RE the initial insinuation about my mother..

See quote:

somewhere like your mums place, where it would appear theres plenty of traffic ...

I laughed pretty hard at that. I'd like to thank you on behalf of my mother for your patronage and allowing my father to afford that E3 HSV He's been lusting after.

[ozzycarnut]

if you guys arnt the biggest bunch of hypocrites on the net, i dont know what is.

its amusing, throw a turd on the ground and watch all the flies pounce on it. you guys are absolutely pathetic.

[S.O.S]

Nah, i'm one of those brainless people driving something average with no knowledge of cars and dont know any better as well. I picked up a BF2 XT a couple of months ago.

Terrific mate. WTG. and welcome to that not so exclusive club.

[whiteballz]

if you guys arnt the biggest bunch of hypocrites on the net, i dont know what is.

its amusing, throw a turd on the ground and watch all the flies pounce on it. you guys are absolutely pathetic.

Soo, If we're the flys.. What does that make you?

[henk4]

There has been some unnessesary toe-stepping going on in this thread, and I have removed some posts making reference of that. I would like to ask everybody to refrain from uncivilised remarks and to not get provoked if somebody disobeys this request. I will take care of the latter.

[S.O.S]

Soo, If we're the flys.. What does that make you?

LMAO!!!!!

[csl177]

There has been some unnessesary toe-stepping going on in this thread....

Henk, that's the understatement of the month.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

no problems with me. consider me gone, along with 79300 of your other members

looks like you could do with a refill there clutch, i'm not talking about your beer either

better 1 member with a modicrum of sense than 79,300 without.

If you're going to be a whiny one then the door has a nasty habit of hitting you on the way out.

Good manners dictates not coming into someone's home with your expensive Italian loafers covered in the proverbial and insisting it was the carpets fault. If we don't agree with your opinion it's not because we're right, or wrong, it's because the facts don't stack up.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Wheels has been accused of this in the past. However, I think they are a bit Volkswagen biased if anything at the moment. The odds on favourite to win the 2010 Car of the Year is the VW Polo. If the Polo does win it mean mean VW wins the award two years in a row. All comparison tests involving VW seem to go VW's way. Also, most Ford v Holden tests in the last few years have gone the way of the FG Falcon. So, I'm not sure that Wheels is all that Holden biased.

They're a magazine starved for content the same as any other magazine. Holden have formed a pretty close relationship based on leaks, concepts and exclusive drives, certainly.

the FG Falcon is a better product but was not the best of it's year, something the VE Commodore actually was.

The Volkswagen snobbery is a bit rich though - too much time spent in Europe I think for these boys.

I guess the M3 would be quicker on a track.

It would depend on the track. Certainly history dictates the M3's of old could match the VL Walkinshaws.

At least the high depreciation of the BMW 740iL means that they become more affordable after a few years for those willing to take a considered risk on a used Euro luxury car compared to a new Aussie or Euro executive sedan.

But they're buying a used car with similar features to a new one, all for the sake of brand snobbery and advanced features that aren't that advanced. It seems a little illogical in my book purely based on the figures.

As to what justifies the depreciation? Nothing I can think of - and like new Fords or Holdens it is best to let someone else take the initial depreciation hit.

I completely agree - new cars are overpriced across the board compared to what the market is willing to pay for them.

The depreciation is justified by the markets initial lack of pick-up on the models, taxes and import duties that ramp up the price further at sale, and what the market actually thought the car was worth.

[fpv_gtho]

They're a magazine starved for content the same as any other magazine. Holden have formed a pretty close relationship based on leaks, concepts and exclusive drives, certainly.

the FG Falcon is a better product but was not the best of it's year, something the VE Commodore actually was.

I'll give some perspective from more of a Ford biased perspective. Wheels' association with Holden extends to some pretty big advertising dollars. You could probably pick up any recent Wheels magazine and one of the first pages will be a double page Holden advert. Theres the annual Holden calender as well. Thats nothing concrete of course. Wheels have admitted though how their magazine buys rise and fall with the presence and absense of Holdens on their cover. As for FG, i dont have the ammo to argue they made the wrong decision, but ive heard from reliable sources the manual XR6T they commented had a heavy clutch was an auto.

[motorsportnerd]

Yes, Holden does spend some pretty big advertising dollars. The opening two pages have traditionally being an advert for some Holden or other for decades. Pick up a Wheels mag from the 1980s and inevitably the opening two pages are either a Holden advert or a cigarette advert. However, magazines rely on advertising for survival and I've seen Wheels get stuck in to various Holden models over the years - so I'm not sure that this proves any bias. Besides, any other advertiser could spend more money and get the opening pages or sponsor the Wheels calender.

I've heard the stories about the FG tests in the 2008 Wheels Car of the Year where they commented on the manuals but tested the autos. This could be true. Or it could simply be that they did indeed have autos on the test but since they had tested manuals in past issues they were just bringing up the heavy clutch based on past experience.

While Wheels has at times over the years seem biased towards Holden, Ford, Mazda or VW, I think they have been more biased against Toyota over the years. Though this is probably because Toyota builds efficient white goods and Wheels champions drivers cars.

[henk4]

While Wheels has at times over the years seem biased towards Holden, Ford, Mazda or VW, I think they have been more biased against Toyota over the years. Though this is probably because Toyota builds efficient white goods and Wheels champions drivers cars.

What you say about Wheels' preferences is a generally observed trend all over the world. Razar sharp steering is preferred by the journos over comfort or practicality. In reality 95% of the car buyers prefer the latter as they also have to deal with other people in their vehicles and may even have things to carry. Journos get the car for a couple of days and spend most of their time in it alone hence overproportionally highlighting the driver experience.

[Kitdy]

What you say about Wheels' preferences is a generally observed trend all over the world. Razar sharp steering is preferred by the journos over comfort or practicality. In reality 95% of the car buyers prefer the latter as they also have to deal with other people in their vehicles and may even have things to carry. Journos get the car for a couple of days and spend most of their time in it alone hence overproportionally highlighting the driver experience.

If you are looking for more consumer oriented reviews, there are magazines that cater to that - What Car? in the UK is an example.

Newspaper's car sections are more consumer oriented as well.

[Ferrer]

What you say about Wheels' preferences is a generally observed trend all over the world. Razar sharp steering is preferred by the journos over comfort or practicality. In reality 95% of the car buyers prefer the latter as they also have to deal with other people in their vehicles and may even have things to carry. Journos get the car for a couple of days and spend most of their time in it alone hence overproportionally highlighting the driver experience.

Most car buyers don't read car magazines.

It's the razor sharp steering sort of people who usually read them.