RE: PH Blog: give McLaren a break

[ukaskew]

McLaren can't win with this, in my opinion. Pretty much every review said it was spot on, then marked it down for lacking character (which is a slightly less ridiculous way of saying it doesn't have any faults).

[Kenzle]

IanO said:

We should give the MP4-12C a proper name - whilst it has a code like a washing machine, you treat it like one. Either just McLaren F2, like the Audi R8 or Noble M12. Alternatively a real name like Lotus Esprit, Ferrari Daytona - just not the McLaren Woking.

How about the 'McLaren Bruce'?

Y'know, like the 'Ferrari Enzo'...

[paranha]

Mclarens MP4-12C DONT need a break---They can do Very well without the sad comments , and did a passable job!!!! on Saturday 26th May---Finished FIRST & SECOND at the World GT1 race in Navarro--from back of the grid----------------------------------------------------Ferrari,s 10th-------------12th------MUST Do Better!.

[toppstuff]

There are plenty of people who would pick the McLaren over a 458 easily and instantly, without hesitation.

I have no desire to own a 458. Yet I definitely want an MP4 12C.

[Gorbyrev]

Yes Dan, agree 100%. We don't need to cut them slack, we just need to let them be what they are; a builder of extraordinary cars that take a different route. Every reviewer has commented on the superlative ride. As I've posted before LJK Setright stated "what's good for the ride is good for the handling". Whatever soul or passion reviewers reckon is missing, the ability to extract more performance in relative comfort is a gift few cars afford, especially more recent offerings from the land of the bratwurst that seem to rely on billiard table tarmac to keep composure. Calling a McLaren MP4 is just like calling a Ferrari Testarossa, it refers to a great car of the past. And finally, the visibilty and narrowness issue also aid real world performance. I have not driven an MP4-12C or a 458. Nothing north of a GT3 and an R8 for me. But I stood beside a 458 today and it is huge. 911's work, in part, because they are realistically road sized (though they are getting chubbier), they aid a blat down a country lane or narrow road without the fear that width will be an issue. Compactness matters and in modern supercar terms, the MP4-12C is compact. There, said my piece, hope to drive one but may not due to day job. But McLaren deserve our support for bringing something new, dersirable, brilliant and interesting to market. Best of British!

[Dave Hedgehog]

Kenzle said:

IanO said:

We should give the MP4-12C a proper name - whilst it has a code like a washing machine, you treat it like one. Either just McLaren F2, like the Audi R8 or Noble M12. Alternatively a real name like Lotus Esprit, Ferrari Daytona - just not the McLaren Woking.

How about the 'McLaren Bruce'?

Y'know, like the 'Ferrari Enzo'...

it would surely be the mp4-barry or mp4-jason

[peter450]

I think a lot of the lack of character points were down to the lack of noise, i've not heard one myself, but most of the early reviews i read raised the issue of a lack of aural drama/compared to other supercars, and this is a pretty important part of the supercar experiance IMO

As for the whole we love to knock our own tone i totally disagree

Lotus, Jaguar etc have often been given pretty favourable coverage for there new cars

[Baryonyx]

We really should be right behind McLaren and Noble. Lotus lost it years ago, TVR fell apart just as they took their cars to another level of excellence. Cosworth as we knew and loved them are long go e.

Our best marques are as good as any car you could mention.

[DickHerpes]

I used to like British cars but then Clarkson told me I value interior plastics.

[6R4 GORDI]

The McLaren for me is so much more special than the 458, not to mention faster, lighter,better built, more economical, slightly more acceptable in the real world and not quite as noisy meaning you might just hold onto your license a bit longer, McLaren MP412C for me any day, sort it out people!!!

[drpep]

I completely and whole-heartedly agree with you on this article. The MP4-12C is a wonderful creation in it's own right; not least because it's British.

It's fantastic how quickly they reacted to press feedback (Evo etc) too. A very responsive company. I'm sure Ferrari had a few unsettled nights when this came out.

[Chris9999]

Not very often that you get to say this, but I pick up my brand new 12C this Saturday . With the McLaren it either suits you or it doesn't, for me it is perfect As for the 458, one of the most exciting cars that I have ever driven and perfect in a V8 Ferrari kind of way.....

[paranoid airbag]

Monty Python said:

And we wonder why there's so little manufacturing in this country - everything that's made here seems to get panned. What happened to patriotism?

A feeling/opinion that patriotism is exactly what caused such a drastic collapse in the uk market in the first place. Similar to the US's industry now - a bloody minded attitude of 'our stuff is just better' just gives the manufacturers excuse to do nothing about a growing discrepancy in quality until there was simply no way of ignoring it anymore - and no way of closing the gap either. People are compensating for that attitude now in the hope of telling manufacturers they can't get away with laziness disguised as 'character' anymore - if they want to sell, they need to make a good car.

Given that I'd agree that, to make it into the car marketplace at all at the moment is astonishing. It's not an industry friendly to start-ups.

[Animal]

Chris9999 said:

Not very often that you get to say this, but I pick up my brand new 12C this Saturday

Lucky bugger!

I saw my first 12C in the flesh a couple of weeks ago. It looked spectacular in white and sounded just as fast as it looked (probably doing no more than 50mph). I may have whooped, I definitely stuck my head out of the window to gawp and I may have yelled something like "Nnnnff" or, more likely, "Porn!" as it passed me.

I've always been uncouth, sorry.

My choice? McLaren.

[baby g]

My vote goes for calling it the McLaren Dennis. A nod to its creator and a little fire engine chic for good measure.

[Caractacus]

The Mclaren Remuera is my offering, paying homage to where it ALL started for Mclaren, back in Remuera, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND.

[MonteV]

I've come to understand, perhaps erroneously, that all tested Ferrari's have been doctored and tweaked beyond what you get if you pay for it at the dealer's. Testers are prohibited by Ferrari to publish anything about the current model range unless it's been delivered by Ferrari. So perhaps this will doctor the opinion of most testers toward the Ferraris and away from the Macs.

[anonymous-user]

part of reason is that the original was a hard act to follow; it was some kind of ultimate and hard for a more practical car to match that.

[Inertiatic]

I've never understood the 'it lacks character' comments. The car is reviewed as being brilliant but they mark it down for something immeasurable and subjective.

Too many wannabe Clarksons who are desperate not to upset the tifosi :-)

The name is fine. Its just a name. At least its less grasping than 'Lamborghini Gallardo LP540-4 Superleggera ltd edition tommy hilfiger' or whatever the latest one was :-)

[f1colin]

Caractacus said:

The Mclaren Remuera is my offering, paying homage to where it ALL started for Mclaren, back in Remuera, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND.

One mighty fine suggestion!