I spotted the similar cover stories while buying something to read on an unexpected free lunch hour. The tests were conducted in Germany (including the Nordschleife) so I guess they pooled their resources for the trip. C/D ranking: M3, Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, Audi RS5. M/T ranking: M3, RS5, CTS-V. The Caddy needs (deserves!) a better transmission: The current unit is reviled by everyone from these guys to the Top Gear crew. I hope GM is listening. Linkies: Motor Trend article Car and Driver September 2010 Not to punch a gift horse in the mouth, but: Reading two issues of C/D in as many months only served to confirm how much that rag has deteriorated, in the decade-plus since I canceled my subscription. Prose content aside, publishing dozens of medium-resolution photographs on the web site does not make up for the tiny, badly Photoshopped castoffs in the print edition. For crying out loud, the RS5 was a different shade of red in every single shot.
Funny you mention how much the magazines have deteriorated. I just went though some of my old magazines and just about any issue of C&D from the 80s is so much better than anything they have put out recently. They had a great bunch of writers and their articles were top notch. Now I can hardly tell the difference between any of the 3 (MT, R&T and C&D). Peter Egan is the only reason I pick up R&T anymore. As a side note, I even found an ad for Satch's Lotus in an old Autoweek!
I totally agree. +1 on that. One would think that to be an auto journalist, one should know SOMETHING about automobiles. Instead, all three take the easy route by kissing Pacific Rim manufacturers tails. If it's made by an American or European manufacturer, don't expect ANYTHING resembling fair and balanced reporting. Thank GOD for Roundel!
Pick up a copy of the Mercedes Benz Club magazine (Star?) or one from the Porsche club (Panorama). You'll read 100% biased reviews where (insert either MB or Porsche) are so vastly superior to their competition that it's not even fair to compare them. Additionally, their parent companies never do anything wrong. Roundel, although naturally BMW biased, is the most balanced club magazine I've read. At least they're not afraid to criticize BMW when they deserve it. You never read a single negative thing about MB or Porsche from their club magazines. Roundel mentioned the C&D test results in this month's issue. You would never see that in either of the other club magazines. "Instead, all three take the easy route by kissing Pacific Rim manufacturers tails." I read an article where they were comparing the Audi A4 versus a bunch of other cars, including the Acura TL. The one detail I remember is that they ripped the Audi's audio controls because of the way stations were selected via the steering wheel (it didn't just go to the next station, it went to the next preset). The funny thing is, the TL did the exact same thing (I owned a 6 speed TL at the time) but they seemed to be ok with that because they never mentioned that negative feature.
