Sychophantic (and biased) motoring media?

[SidewaysSi]

twoblacklines said:

RumbleOfThunder said:

OOOH well why didn't you say it was on 07? . Please tell me it's in the imagine trim as well . I'm not into willy waving (a losing game on here anyway), but if you think you can lord it over anyone while you have one of the most insipid vehicle's on UK roads, you can get real.

If BMW were SO MUCH better than all audis then I would own one.

Wait, my last car was a BMW too.

The question is why should I place more weight in your opinion than that of a motoring journo?

I have never driven an Audi that was more fun than the equivalent BMW. If however you look for nice plastics then yes, they probably are better cars.

[ORD]

I am afraid I have to agree on that one.

I think Audis actually get a pretty benign treatment from the press. The A4 cannot sensibly be mentioned in the same breath as a 3er, but it still gets praise. Most Audis are just Skodas with badges that make them aspired to by the lower middle classes.

[coppice]

Christ - that's got me into an identity crisis . Used to have VAG cars- 20odd years of VWs and then a Skoda.If Audis appeal to the lower middle class(and you are ?) what on earth does that make me ? Plumetting to chav status?

Here's an idea- why don't you grow up and judge cars as cars rather than trying to conbine cars with cod sociology ? Do you hope nobody sees you if you are in Hyundai ? And as for a Dacia ...

[LordHaveMurci]

coppice said:

Christ - that's got me into an identity crisis . Used to have VAG cars- 20odd years of VWs and then a Skoda.If Audis appeal to the lower middle class(and you are ?) what on earth does that make me ? Plumetting to chav status?

Here's an idea- why don't you grow up and judge cars as cars rather than trying to conbine cars with cod sociology ? Do you hope nobody sees you if you are in Hyundai ? And as for a Dacia ...

I'd wager that a lot of Audi (mainly, but other cars too) drivers chose them because of the badge & not because they thought it was the best car that suited their needs, I know at least three people this currently applies too.

[Rammy76]

s m said:

highway said:

I remember reading those mag articles about the Tipo. A hateful looking thing from an era where Fiat service and quality was vaguely shocking
.

They were quite boxy but by all accounts a very good handling hot hatch

Rarely see a Sedicivalvole now

I liked the boxy look of my Tipo but granted they were never everyone's cup of tea.

The 2 litre twin cam was a gem, it revved so eagerly yet smoothly with a lovely induction noise. It also rode and handled very well with very direct steering.

The interior was very spacious and was reasonably well made although there were certainly no soft touch plastics! I didn't care, it had a lovely little momo steering wheel and a full complement of dials, that meant more to me.

[Vanin]

coppice said:

Christ - that's got me into an identity crisis . Used to have VAG cars- 20odd years of VWs and then a Skoda.If Audis appeal to the lower middle class(and you are ?) what on earth does that make me ? Plumetting to chav status?

Here's an idea- why don't you grow up and judge cars as cars rather than trying to conbine cars with cod sociology ? Do you hope nobody sees you if you are in Hyundai ? And as for a Dacia ...

I have an Aston Martin, and I look down on him because he has an Audi and is Middle class.
I may be middle class and look up to Mr Aston but I look down on him, because he drives a Ford and is lower class.
I know my place
I look up to Mr Audi but not as much as I look up to Mr Aston because he has breeding.
I may have breeding, but I have no money which is why I sometimes look up to Mr Audi
I may have money,but I am vulgar but I am not as vulgar as Mr Ford
I know my place


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2k1iRD2f-c

[deltashad]

coppice said:

Christ - that's got me into an identity crisis . Used to have VAG cars- 20odd years of VWs and then a Skoda.If Audis appeal to the lower middle class(and you are ?) what on earth does that make me ? Plumetting to chav status?

Here's an idea- why don't you grow up and judge cars as cars rather than trying to conbine cars with cod sociology ? Do you hope nobody sees you if you are in Hyundai ? And as for a Dacia ...

I'm thinking about buying a duster for a family run around. I rented one recently and loved the way it drove, it had far more character than any vag car I've driven.

[ORD]

coppice said:

Christ - that's got me into an identity crisis . Used to have VAG cars- 20odd years of VWs and then a Skoda.If Audis appeal to the lower middle class(and you are ?) what on earth does that make me ? Plumetting to chav status?

Here's an idea- why don't you grow up and judge cars as cars rather than trying to conbine cars with cod sociology ? Do you hope nobody sees you if you are in Hyundai ? And as for a Dacia ...

Confused. There's nothing wrong with Skodas. I've liked every Skoda I have been in or driven. I just wouldn't pay thousands more for one to have an Audi badge on it. That was my point. Front-engine, FWD, numb steering, etc etc - all well and good if you aren't interested in driving, but then why not buy a cheaper version of fundamentally the same car?

I know plenty of people who drive Audis and none of them would notice if you swapped it for something much cheaper but left them the badge to stick on the new car. It's the 'premium' thing that I just don't understand. I think the worst cars I have experienced for a while have been Audis - a Q3 I got a lift in last year was, I think, the worst new car I have experienced: agricultural diesel engine, uncomfortable ride, slow as hell, cramped for its size, etc. I regularly experience all sorts of non-premium cars - Mondeo (decent car), Octavia (decent car), Prius (terrible), Passat (OK), etc; the idea of paying much more for an Audi than those cars is perplexing.

I would have no problem at all driving a Hyundai. I think the long warranty is a genuine and important USP compared to all the other basically similar cars out there. I would certainly piss myself laughing at the idea that someone would feel superior because they were driving another FWD ecobox but with a German 'premium' badge.

[s m]

Rammy76 said:

s m said:

highway said:

I remember reading those mag articles about the Tipo. A hateful looking thing from an era where Fiat service and quality was vaguely shocking
.

They were quite boxy but by all accounts a very good handling hot hatch

Rarely see a Sedicivalvole now

I liked the boxy look of my Tipo but granted they were never everyone's cup of tea.

The 2 litre twin cam was a gem, it revved so eagerly yet smoothly with a lovely induction noise. It also rode and handled very well with very direct steering.

The interior was very spacious and was reasonably well made although there were certainly no soft touch plastics! I didn't care, it had a lovely little momo steering wheel and a full complement of dials, that meant more to me.

Yep, pretty much the class leader at the time dynamically. Don't think people placed as much stock in dashboard stroking back then

[RB Will]

LordHaveMurci said:

I'd wager that a lot of Audi (mainly, but other cars too) drivers chose them because of the badge & not because they thought it was the best car that suited their needs, I know at least three people this currently applies too.

Brother in law and his Mrs (and her family) are well in this group.
Trying to find him a new car at the mo and despite my best efforts no matter how much I try to convince him how good a car he could have for the money using statistics he wont budge from having a BMW or an Audi, despite his current car (BMW320d) costing him £1000s in maintenance.
They all just want the badge even if it costs twice as much.
Both now have loans up to their eyeballs so she has a nearly new Mini and he is still looking for an E92.
her parents rubbished my current car (Octavia VRS) because its a Skoda. In every measurable way it is better than any of the cars in their household but its not a Jag or Volvo or BMW so its crap.
I even have a work client who takes the piss out of my car and he drives a fking VW Sharan.

[chrispmartha]

RB Will said:

Brother in law and his Mrs (and her family) are well in this group.
Trying to find him a new car at the mo and despite my best efforts no matter how much I try to convince him how good a car he could have for the money using statistics he wont budge from having a BMW or an Audi, despite his current car (BMW320d) costing him £1000s in maintenance.
They all just want the badge even if it costs twice as much.
Both now have loans up to their eyeballs so she has a nearly new Mini and he is still looking for an E92.
her parents rubbished my current car (Octavia VRS) because its a Skoda. In every measurable way it is better than any of the cars in their household but its not a Jag or Volvo or BMW so its crap.
I even have a work client who takes the piss out of my car and he drives a fking VW Sharan.

But if he's happy with his car choices why does it bother you?. I've never understood the obsession on here with what other people choose to drive.

Audis are popular and popular for a reason, not everyone, in fact most people don't want 'feedback' through the steering wheel or 300+bhp .

Would I buy an Audi? probably not but that doesn't mean people that do are 'wrong'

[LordHaveMurci]

RB Will said:

LordHaveMurci said:

I'd wager that a lot of Audi (mainly, but other cars too) drivers chose them because of the badge & not because they thought it was the best car that suited their needs, I know at least three people this currently applies too.

Brother in law and his Mrs (and her family) are well in this group.
Trying to find him a new car at the mo and despite my best efforts no matter how much I try to convince him how good a car he could have for the money using statistics he wont budge from having a BMW or an Audi, despite his current car (BMW320d) costing him £1000s in maintenance.
They all just want the badge even if it costs twice as much.
Both now have loans up to their eyeballs so she has a nearly new Mini and he is still looking for an E92.
her parents rubbished my current car (Octavia VRS) because its a Skoda. In every measurable way it is better than any of the cars in their household but its not a Jag or Volvo or BMW so its crap.
I even have a work client who takes the piss out of my car and he drives a fking VW Sharan.

I know a chap who ragged me silly for buying a 'boring' Mk5 Golf GTi, he then went & bought an Audi A4 2.0TDi, changed that for an A5 TDi Cab in, you've guessed it, white
I considered a VRs estate a while back, he neearly burst a blood vessel, it was quite sad really that people live their lives like that.

[RB Will]

chrispmartha said:

But if he's happy with his car choices why does it bother you?. I've never understood the obsession on here with what other people choose to drive.

Im not worried about what other people drive, would be crap if we all had the same cars. Just find it a little bit sad when they only reason people have for choosing a particular cars is "other people will think I'm cool/ rich etc"

I'm not anti BM/ Audi as I have owned both in the past but neither for reasons of trying to make myself look better to others.

[twoblacklines]

ORD said:

I am afraid I have to agree on that one.

I think Audis actually get a pretty benign treatment from the press. The A4 cannot sensibly be mentioned in the same breath as a 3er, but it still gets praise. Most Audis are just Skodas with badges that make them aspired to by the lower middle classes.

Except they aren't, because mostly, Audi do all the work, and Skoda come along and borrow/steal it from Audi and repackage it into a cheaper (and cheaper quality) car.

[Leins]

Is it just me who thinks it's been years since a BMW had really great steering feel?

[ORD]

E90 is nothing special; current 3er is pretty poor. 1 series is poor. Dunno about the rest.

[aw51 121565]

DonkeyApple said:

...

I think that most people buy cars today the same way people buy jeans. They either buy the cheapest pair that does the basic job of being a trouser, or they buy the same as everyone else so as to just fit in and in the assured belief that as they are the most popular they must be pretty good, or they look at publications and media to find out what pair of jeans have the coolest and most prestigious image for their buying power. Three different types of buyers for a pretty uniform type of product. Most of us give the George jeans a swerve, think the Armani ones are a bit silly and plumb every time for the middle of the road Levi or Gap jean. Which currently in car terms is a German car. Nothing flash, does the job, doesn't look too cheap and blends in with the masses.

Like a Cortina - or, latterly. a Sierra or Mk2 or Mk 3 Cavalier - did, back in the day?

PS Nothing personal , just posting a niggling thought that 3-series and A4s are the Cortina of today - but German cars used to be a left field choice for the more wealthy (rather than everyone) just a few short decades ago...

[Ali_T]

Rammy76 said:

I liked the boxy look of my Tipo but granted they were never everyone's cup of tea.

The 2 litre twin cam was a gem, it revved so eagerly yet smoothly with a lovely induction noise. It also rode and handled very well with very direct steering.

The interior was very spacious and was reasonably well made although there were certainly no soft touch plastics! I didn't care, it had a lovely little momo steering wheel and a full complement of dials, that meant more to me.

The best hot hatches of that era were the Civic VTi, Tipo Sedicivalvole and Renault 19 16V, yet if you asked many of today's journos they'd probably mumble something about GTi (the Mk3 was utterly dull), Peugeot (the 309 was painfully old by then) and the Integrale (double the price of the others).

[s m]

Ali_T said:

Rammy76 said:

I liked the boxy look of my Tipo but granted they were never everyone's cup of tea.

The 2 litre twin cam was a gem, it revved so eagerly yet smoothly with a lovely induction noise. It also rode and handled very well with very direct steering.

The interior was very spacious and was reasonably well made although there were certainly no soft touch plastics! I didn't care, it had a lovely little momo steering wheel and a full complement of dials, that meant more to me.

The best hot hatches of that era were the Civic VTi, Tipo Sedicivalvole and Renault 19 16V, yet if you asked many of today's journos they'd probably mumble something about GTi (the Mk3 was utterly dull), Peugeot (the 309 was painfully old by then) and the Integrale (double the price of the others).

I seem to recall the Civic came close to winning a group test when the Tipo was included. I don't think the Renault 19 16v did though ( unless you've got an article in mind )

You're right re the 309 though - it was released about 4 years prior to the others in that class and it wasn't until the 306 GTi that Peugeot regained the class lead

[spreadsheet monkey]

I love PH. Thread starts off by discussing bias in the motoring press, and ends up comparing the merits of the Fiat Tipo and 309 GTI!