Letters to the Editors
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Subject: 2005 Subaru Legacy
From: Snow

In your editors' review of the 2005 Subaru Legacy you complain that it doesn't have stability control. Having raced and driven three successive Subarus through New England winters, I'm here to tell you that stability control is not something the average Subaru driver has cause to pine after. Saying, "There's no stability control on my Subaru" is like saying "There's no traction control on my Jeep Wrangler."

The Legacy is not without its flaws (god-awful white dash lights, stereo head unit that can't be replaced, no available navigation system) but lack of stability control certainly isn't one of them.

We beg to differ. In a preliminary study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), electronic stability control reduced single-vehicle crashes by 35 percent when compared to the same models sold in prior years without the technology. All-wheel drive or not, we consider stability control to be a worthwhile addition to any vehicle. — Ed.


Subject: "Confessions of a Car Salesman"
From: Jerry

There have been only a few times that I have been motivated to write a letter in response to an article I read, but I felt that I had to take the opportunity and congratulate you on a terrific, well-written and insightful article. I'm sure that I am not alone in feeling that generally speaking, car salesmen are not honest, and that you expect that when you go through them to purchase a car it is going to be a very unpleasant experience. I can say that I have had both good and bad experiences with car salesmen, and I also could directly relate to the tactics and tools that the author describes.

It helped me to refocus my misgivings on the managers and owners of dealerships, and to understand that the salesmen are only doing what they do because they are being forced to choose these tactics or risk not putting food on the table. Once again, congratulations on a great piece of journalism.


Subject: Pontiac G6 First Drive
From: Eric

Your cheap shot at the Big Three at the end of your article leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I expect much better from my favorite Web site and an American company. Many auto publications have raved about several of the new offerings from Detroit. The C6, Mustang, 300C, Focus and SRT-4 among others have provided much better bang for the buck and styling than many of the Japanese/European cars which have ho-hum derivative styling. Overall I love your Web site, but please think before resorting to American auto bashing.


Subject: Luxury SUV Comparison Tests
From: Jamie

For future comparison tests involving luxury vehicles, I would exclude price as a component of the evaluation or reduce its weighting to less than 2 percent. Only buyers who really can't afford to buy these luxury vehicles give any weighting to their price. It's all about image and performance to the luxury buyer. The only time price comes into the equation is after a decision is made on which SUV to buy. At this time, luxury buyers behave the same way any buyer behaves and tries to get the very best price possible for the selected vehicle. I just think there is a huge difference in getting the best price possible for a selection and making a selection based in any way on which selection has the best price.

While we realize that price is less important when it comes to luxury vehicles, we choose to include it in the scoring as a means to level the playing field between the respective vehicles. Just because one vehicle happens to show up loaded to the roof with options shouldn't give it an unfair advantage against another vehicle that may be less endowed with extra add-ons. — Ed.


Subject: "Fuel Cell Future"
From: Abby

Great article about fuel cell technology! I've been looking for information about the progress of technology development and implementation timelines and haven't found much. Thanks for providing so much useful information. I'll pass the article on to my friends and family.


Subject: 2005 Full-Size Truck Comparison
From: Neal

What a freakin' joke? Titan is the best full-size pickup? What are you guys smoking? You've lost all creditability with every Ford Motor Company employee. Keep up the fine and unbiased work. The new F-150 is the best pickup, period, as the sales figures clearly show.

Let's see here, the Titan proved that it has a better drivetrain, bigger interior, more useful bed and the ability to leave the F-150 in the dust when it comes to towing a three-ton trailer — but the Ford is the superior truck because it sells better? What a freakin' joke. — Ed.


Subject: SmartCar!
From: Julie

We just got back from Europe, and all over Italy and France were SmartCars, I believe by DaimlerChrysler. It is also mentioned in The Da Vinci Code as the getaway car…how can you have missed this?

We spent a lot of time driving in Italy, and our 7-year-old daughter would wile away the road time calling out "SmartCar" every time we saw one, which was quite frequently!

We haven't missed anything. We have an article on the smart brand as well as information about its upcoming U.S. model in our Future Vehicles section. — Ed.


Subject: Follow-Up Test: 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Rumble Bee
From: Anonymous

I found the article on the Rumble to be quite a rambling of personal remarks aimed at nothing more than to piss off a few owners. It's obvious that the writer of the article is way over his head when it comes to what the general public wants or is asking for. As for me, I like the retro themes and would rather have retro than modern-day popcorn machines with four wheels and a Folgers can for an exhaust pipe. Has anyone at your company ever heard the phrase what's old is new again? Before your writer, Karl Brauer, posts another insulting article, he might want to consider to whom these "retro" vehicle are aimed.

Editor in Chief Karl Brauer responds: I prefer the phrase, "if you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with…" well, you've probably heard the phrase. The Rumble Bee package offers no functional advantage over a regular cab Ram, yet it costs $2,600 more. All of the really good things about the Rumble Bee (Hemi engine, 20-inch wheels, etc.) cost extra, so this is a basically a paint-and-graphics (and fake hood scoop) package akin to the 1978 Mustang II King Cobra. It didn't work then, and I don't think it works now. And for the record, my age and passion for muscle cars (particularly Chrysler muscle cars) make me the exact person for whom this "retro" vehicle was aimed at. That's why my review of the car was less-than-glowing.


Subject: 2004 Editors' Most Wanted
From: Chris

Your most wanted sedan AND coupe for under $35,000 is the BMW 3 Series, the undisputed benchmark for its category. The only problem is that there is exactly one 3 Series sedan that sells for under $35,000 — the 184-hp 325. I have always loved the 3 Series, but I would never buy one without enough power to really toss that beautiful car around. You make the same mistake again with the most wanted sedan for under $25,000 when you pick the Passat. It's a wonderful car (we almost bought one), and definitely the class of the almost-premium sedans, but anything other than the base GL and the almost-base GLS is going to run you more than $25,000. Considering the reliability ratings of the VW 4-bangers, I wouldn't buy anything less than the 6, which starts at almost $31,000.

It's never easy trying to put every car on the market into neat categories, but we settled on a system that we think is fair in most instances. This often puts cars into categories that they might not generally make it into, but it's the best way we have to keep the playing field level. — Ed.


Subject: "Points of Differentiation — Style and Service"
From: C

Great article — however one small but important point:

Karl says, "The average-priced vehicle now includes torso-protecting side-impact airbags and head-protecting side curtain airbags."

Unfortunately for today's automobile buyer, this is not completely true. First of all, the most commonly sold vehicles in the U.S. are pickup trucks like the Ford F-150 which doesn't even OFFER side curtain airbags, let alone INCLUDE them. Second of all — a quick search of the most commonly sold vehicles like the Toyota Camry will reveal that side curtain airbags remain, for the most part an OPTION on vehicles — dealers get them on the higher-end LE and XLE versions. Honda has made them standard on some vehicles like the Accord and new Odyssey, but other vehicles like the popular Civic and Pilot don't even offer side curtain airbags as an OPTION. I'd be willing to bet that statistics would show that less than 15 percent of new vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2005 include side curtain airbags.

I think that the automotive industry as a whole is severely lagging in terms of side curtain airbags — while crash test and real-world data indicate that they clearly save lives, most automakers (Toyota, for example) continue to offer them only as an OPTION and usually only on the most expensive versions of a given model. I know this from personal experience — I've been trying to order a low-level (SR5) 4Runner with option GY (side curtain airbag package) for over a year without success. The option is easy to get on the expensive (37-42k) LIMITED models, but next to impossible to get on the more reasonable (especially for those of us with a family) models like the SR5.

Otherwise, was a great article and especially agree with points on customer service.