Sychophantic (and biased) motoring media?

[loose cannon]

Of course you do as will most on here, I don't discount any road test's in the media but I do try to route out the bull if it's at all possible, my antagonistic post sorry about that, has derived from the fact of being slightly bored today and the fact I tried to watch a few episodes of thinking tackle, which is a program about fishing which is totally biased due to the fact they want you to buy Korda fishing gear and pre bait the swim with £120 quids worth of bait and top up daily and sit there for 3 to 7 days on a lake that has been pre baited and everyone else banned from fishing it for weeks sorry yeah I'm sad I go fishing but I'm tight a can of corn can of spam and a bag of boilies which last me months

[twoblacklines]

SidewaysSi said:

Steering feel, chassis balance, agility, body control, oversteer etc.

I don't want this to be another Audi bashing thread as certain people like that sort of thing but in general they offer very little for the keen driver.

Again more BS.

Mostly people compare a sub 3 month chassis age car to a 10 year old chassis car and then base their reviews on that.

Chris Harris compared an Rs3 to an m135i...the rs3 based on a car that came out in 2003 and the bmw that came out in 2012 and then wonders why the bmw feels better?

I see the same when mclaren fanboys sit there mouthing off about ferraris they have never driven. They always compare the 675lt to the 458 when the 488 is more of a direct comparison.

[SidewaysSi]

twoblacklines said:

SidewaysSi said:

Steering feel, chassis balance, agility, body control, oversteer etc.

I don't want this to be another Audi bashing thread as certain people like that sort of thing but in general they offer very little for the keen driver.

Again more BS.

Mostly people compare a sub 3 month chassis age car to a 10 year old chassis car and then base their reviews on that.

Chris Harris compared an Rs3 to an m135i...the rs3 based on a car that came out in 2003 and the bmw that came out in 2012 and then wonders why the bmw feels better?

I see the same when mclaren fanboys sit there mouthing off about ferraris they have never driven. They always compare the 675lt to the 458 when the 488 is more of a direct comparison.

It's hardly BS and I am not entirely sure what the age of the car has to do with fun? For instance, there are plenty of 70s and 80s cars which I would much rather drive than brand new stuff. Much of the joy of the car world for me is that you don't need something new or even expensive to have a blast on the road if you value things like steering, handling etc. Comparing the 675LT to a 458 Speciale would be a very interesting comparison and I am not sure it is entirely clear cut.

Audis have never offered me the steering feel and chassis balance I look for in a car so they really hold very little interest. I would much rather have an equivalent BMW or Mercedes than an Audi, be it new or 30 years old.

Take my old E36 328i for instance - as a driver's car, it is not perfect by any means but it's a damn sight more interactive and oversteerable than the equivalent A4. I entirely understand why people like and buy Audis - it's just that none of those qualities appeal to me at all.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Why are people always sobbing about "weight" whilst ignoring "power to weight"?

Sure, modern cars are heavier but they are also a darned sight quicker - both on the straights AND round the corners.

[Stickyfinger]

SidewaysSi said:

Stickyfinger said:

Mr2Mike said:

twoblacklines said:

For example AUDI are brilliant but all they get is hate and "go buy a bmw instead innit" comments.

That's because BMWs are (or at least have been) far better drivers cars than anything equivalent that Audi makes.

Within a very small set of brackets they maybe.............define "drivers car" please

Steering feel, chassis balance, agility, body control, oversteer etc.

thought so....has it been round "the Ring" faster as well ?

Why not
Comfort, Grip, Equipment, Economy, Price....etc.....as said, a limited set of brackets.

[KM666]

Stickyfinger said:

Mr2Mike said:

twoblacklines said:

For example AUDI are brilliant but all they get is hate and "go buy a bmw instead innit" comments.

That's because BMWs are (or at least have been) far better drivers cars than anything equivalent that Audi makes.

Within a very small set of brackets they maybe.............define "drivers car" please

Something that doesnt have similarly wooly steering feel to a Mercedes Sprinter van?

[Stickyfinger]

KM666 said:

Something that doesnt have similarly wooly steering feel to a Mercedes Sprinter van?

What ever directs your boat

[Janesy B]

twoblacklines said:

Agreed.

For example AUDI are brilliant but all they get is hate and "go buy a bmw instead innit" comments.

Some people even tell potential R8 owners to buy an M6 instead ffs.

I see you still haven't got a life.

[SidewaysSi]

Stickyfinger said:

SidewaysSi said:

Stickyfinger said:

Mr2Mike said:

twoblacklines said:

For example AUDI are brilliant but all they get is hate and "go buy a bmw instead innit" comments.

That's because BMWs are (or at least have been) far better drivers cars than anything equivalent that Audi makes.

Within a very small set of brackets they maybe.............define "drivers car" please

Steering feel, chassis balance, agility, body control, oversteer etc.

thought so....has it been round "the Ring" faster as well ?

Why not
Comfort, Grip, Equipment, Econnñomy, Price....etc.....as said, a limited set of brackets.

Because in the main I am not bothered about comfort, equipment, economy etc. Any BMW built in the last 40+ years will be perfectly acceptable for me.

And being a driver's car has very little, if anything to do with those factors.

[EnglishTony]

The most sychophantic & biased motoring media I've ever experienced is in Germany. Be grateful for the internet & the opportunity to read tests written by British motoring journalists. I am.*

• Unless somebody is bigging up yet another 911.

[macky17]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Why are people always sobbing about "weight" whilst ignoring "power to weight"?

Sure, modern cars are heavier but they are also a darned sight quicker - both on the straights AND round the corners.

Because speed isn't everything and you can't compensate for added mass with power alone. You end up with added inertia, wider tyres, larger brakes, greater complexity, etc. etc. steering feel gets lost in the equation and consumables get more expensive. As for faster around corners - not convinced. What are you comparing to what?

I've always found Chris Harris to be pretty objective. Also, magazines such as Evo and Top Gear who run long termer garage cars give a pretty balanced impression.

And yes. Audi = lovely cars but darn they're dull.

Edited by macky17 on Saturday 23 January 18:16

[Jasandjules]

funkyrobot said:

Far too many people have an agenda, and will stick to it when doing reviews etc. They are probably scared that if they say something negative, they won't get the next car to take a look at.

I think you are right.

But then I can't help but feel if I was a journalist and the company refused to give me their next car, I'd be all over that like a rash with comments like "It appears the newer car is just as awful as the last one, so they don't want me to find out" etc.

[unpc]

You need to ignore the fawning and read between the lines but it's only a long time after the launch do testers come clean.

[SidewaysSi]

unpc said:

You need to ignore the fawning and read between the lines but it's only a long time after the launch do testers come clean.

Has there been many complete changes of opinion years later? I am struggling to think of many cases to be honest.

[Stickyfinger]

SidewaysSi said:

Because in the main I am not bothered about comfort, equipment, economy etc. Any BMW built in the last 40+ years will be perfectly acceptable for me.

And being a driver's car has very little, if anything to do with those factors.

Then get a Lotus.7

Who drives cars ?....LOTS of people are not you or some Road God Journalist who falls into the "It has gone round the ring in" bs.

"Drivers cars" is just what you think it should be.

[LordHaveMurci]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Why are people always sobbing about "weight" whilst ignoring "power to weight"?

Sure, modern cars are heavier but they are also a darned sight quicker - both on the straights AND round the corners.

Not just about speed if you actually enjoy driving. Weight affects handling, braking, cornering & more. A lighter car on narrower tyres will probably have more steering feel & feel more nimble, more alive.

Sadly most people just see the traffic light GP as everything.

[SidewaysSi]

Stickyfinger said:

SidewaysSi said:

Because in the main I am not bothered about comfort, equipment, economy etc. Any BMW built in the last 40+ years will be perfectly acceptable for me.

And being a driver's car has very little, if anything to do with those factors.

Then get a Lotus.7

Who drives cars ?....LOTS of people are not you or some Road God Journalist who falls into the "It has gone round the ring in" bs.

"Drivers cars" is just what you think it should be.

I do not understand what you are saying with that last sentence.

I don't class myself as a "road god journalist" or give a monkey's about ring times. All I want is a car that is good to drive and the vast majority of the press reflect this when assessing a car. Hence for me, age of a car has little bearing on how desirable it is to me.

If you want to know about comfort etc, publications like What Car? should satisfy so I am not sure what your issue is. Or is it that you feel comfort and economy should be "weighted" as much as dynamic factors by the press?

[Stickyfinger]

LordHaveMurci said:

Sadly most people just see the traffic light GP as everything.

[spreadsheet monkey]

The perks are too good to risk offending the motor industry PR people by writing a bad review. Nice foreign trips, long term press fleet loaners, priority access to new models...

Read Chris Harris's article on Jalopnik from a couple of years back about Ferrari's manipulation of motor journalists.
http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins

And this from Jack Baruth.
http://www.speedsportlife.com/2010/02/21/avoidable...

“If Woodward and Bernstein had been automotive journalists, the Watergate story would have been a five-star review of Richard Nixon’s personal tape recorder.”

Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Saturday 23 January 19:14

[ORD]

They get priority access to the cars, too.

(As well as the models ... )