No traffic on the Crossfire?

Well, I am glad you respected Jag engineering....but I hope your respect doesn't go back too far...a load of unreliable old-fashioned metal until Ford pumped a bit of money (billions) in...

;-) DAS

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And I never bought any of that crap either.

Yeah, Ford improved reliability. And killed the soul of Jaguar. I'd love to have an old V12 Jag. The Brits used to know how to build *engines* that were works of art even if they couldn't make wiring that would reliably power a night-light. Engines from companies like Napier, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Bristol, and Bentley. And they weren't just called by their displacements, they had names like "Merlin," "Lion," "Sabre," "Centaurus," and "Deltic.". I was pleasantly surprised to learn recently that the incredible Napier Deltic locomotives have been preserved and are in use at rail shows and on excursion runs. Maybe Britain hasn't sold its entire soul to Ford, Toyota, and BMW.

"Chris Mauritz" wrote

No thanks. I have one, love it, and hope to drive it for years to come. I don't think it can be matched at a reasonable price. 73,000 miles of smiles so far.

Gramps

...Morgan, Caterham, TVR, Miniscule Motor Company, Tiny Sales Ltd, Kit Manufacturing Associates...

Lotus has been 'unindependent' since 1986, when GM bought it. Been owned by Proton Malaysia since 1996.

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You're an old (?) Romantic! (And, maybe, a dab hand at DIY repairs...)

When you're yet again failing to start your car on the way to work or having another failure on a wet afternoon then you give a fig about soul....

Jags are fine cars again and the big ones can, I believe, hold their own in any company. And that's thanks to Ford! IIRC, when the new owners walked into the Coventry plant to have their first really good look at their new acquisition they were horrified.

DAS

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It's supposed to be out later this model year. And I wouldn't think the MB C240 or BMW 325 or Jaguar X-Type would be all that much more unaffordable than an Audi.

My personal experience with the A4 has been positive, though I would avoid other Audi models (like the A8). The only real downside is the relatively higher cost of parts (which I'm willing to accept in order to get the other features I want). Believe it or not, the A4 is even cheaper to insure. Go figure.

I really like the 300M and was considering keeping it, but my wife doesn't like to drive it (she's not that tall and has problems seeing over the tall rear deck when she backs up.

Cheers,

VW (and by extension Audi) definitely doesn't have a good reputation for initial quality. That's for sure and it's borne out in the JD Power surveys. That's why I picked up a used A4 from a friend of mine who is

After driving the A4 around for a week, I don't think I could go back to a big front-wheel drive car again.

Cheers,

It looks like I left out the word "affordable"...though the G35 may be...I don't see prices for the new AWD model anywhere.

I don't really have any complaints about mine either. It's a nice car, but I wanted AWD and something sportier.

Cheers,

I take all of that (even the "old" part) as a compliment. (I'm only 40, though).

Well, that's why I have old Dodges and Plymouths instead of old Jags... you CAN drive them every day and they never let you down, yet have a good share of "soul" themselves. But I still salivate over old Jag V12s. And Bentleys when Bentley was independent.

The amorphous cross-bred cars that are coming out these days have less and less appeal. It used to be that individual makes solved the same engineering problem in different ways.Simple and quick example- Carter carburetors versus SU. You'd think that one or the other couldn't POSSIBLY be a carburetor they did things so differently. Not anymore, the name on the part may be different, and the case may look slightly different, but all the fundamental components work the same way. Yawn.

A4 quattro: $30k

C240 AWD (only available as wagon...yick): $40-50k BMW 325xi: $40-45k once it's optioned Jaguar X-type (for the lowest end 2.5): $30-35k

So the only one in your group that's really close in price is the Jag and this is what Edmunds has to say about the Jag:

"Priced to compete with the entry-luxury offerings from Audi, BMW and Mercedes, the all-wheel-drive X-Type falls short in most areas, from driving dynamics to cabin furnishings. Only worth considering if you've got to have a Jaguar."

But I guess if one considers your penchant for ignoring the facts and buying a car solely based on its snob value, I can better understand your recommendations.

Cheers,

No, 4Matic is available on all C-classes sedans.

And you're not adding any options to the Audi? Apples, oranges.

Mercedes C240 4Matic sedan -- $32,760 BMW 325xi sedan -- $30,245 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro -- $28,140 Audi A4 3.0 Quattro -- $33,630 (and the others are 6 cylinders)

All from Edmunds.

Yeah, for the record, I like the styling of the Crossfire (and the related new show cars). If the purpose is to garner [new] interest in Chrysler, then it's sounds like it's working -- I'd have never considered one before.

I also tend to ignore people who think there's still a concept as a "domestic car" so that's definitely not a factor here.

FPtM

After seeing them in magazines, then seeing a nice black one parked in a lot, I can say that print doesn't do it justice. I've seen a few since then, but one thing's for certain: it's one of the few cars that scream "buy me in black!"

FPtM

Yeah and you know, I can see where they're coming from. A lot of reviewers have always complained about the BMW Z4 styling and I liked it heartbeat-stop on-the-spot, no questions asked. So I think a fraction of that "strange" appeal is what I like about the Crossfire. It's a brave design and I think it works.

Now if the rest of the car can hold up?

FPtM

True. And where's the "domestic" version of the Subaru WRX Sti? Ain't one.

FPtM