C&D Best & Worst Makeovers
09-25-06, 06:00 AM
#1
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C&D Best & Worst Makeovers
Car & Driver: The Best & Worst Automovtive Makeovers - Features
Some redesigns rock. Others are tragic.
BY JARED HOLSTEIN, September 2006
At every new-vehicle introduction, manufacturers wax pedantic about rigidity and refinement, evolution and redemption. Sometimes it’s true. Sometimes they’re dreaming.
It’s the job of forecasters, visionaries, and reactionaries within each brand to figure out what you want, or might want, and cobble together an approximation thereof. Coming up with something you want to drive and be seen in, at a price you want to pay, is tough.
This task becomes more grievous when instead of a blank sheet of paper, designers have an existing platform to renew. Throw in budgetary constraints, engineer-on-designer infighting, and random managerial directives, and it’s a miracle any great cars make it out of the factory doors. Ultimately, some models are resurrected with the glory of a phoenix rising. Some are less attractive. And sometimes, they’re total stinkers.
Best Makeovers
Pontiac Grand Am to G6
By the end of its unremarkable career, the ill-named Pontiac Grand Am packed more plastic than a Wal-Mart cashier. Ribbed-for-no-one’s-pleasure body cladding festooned all sides as if to measure its draft in water, thematically appropriate to the car’s nautical handling prowess. The G6 that replaced it for 2005 is better in every way, and its svelte, pleasingly spare body lines account for a big part of the improvement.
Honda Civic Si to Civic Si
When Honda birthed the Civic Si in 1989, enthusiasts were blessed with an eager, light, and inexpensive apex slayer with control arms at all four corners and a then-revolutionary VTEC engine. Things remained pretty fabulous until 2002, when Honda hung the Si badge on an awkward turd with the sporty moves of a Cub Cadet. Honda brought back the magic in 2006, delivering an attractive, remarkably priced driver’s car.
Ford Taurus to Fusion
Ford went Euro in 1986 with its debut of the then-remarkable Taurus, which was improved until it was the bestselling car in America from 1992–1996. After which, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord elbowed their way back to the top and held off the Taurus like the unremarkable car it had become. If you can’t beat the Japanese, join ’em, sort of. The new-for-2006 Fusion uses a lengthened chassis from the lauded Mazda 6, looks the part, feels the part, and funnels a legitimate Ford product back into the meaty middle of the passenger-car market. We liked it enough that it placed second in a recent mid-size-sedan comparison test, beating both the Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Camry.
Hyundai Sonata to Sonata
The last-generation Hyundai Sonata wasn’t a bad car, suffering only from a bout of Mr. Potato Head styling (“let’s throw some Buick back there, some Mercedes headlights up there…”). What’s remarkable is just how solid, smooth, powerful, and attractive the 2006 Sonata is. It beat a benchmark, the Toyota Camry, in a recent comparison test, while costing a full $5000 less, and providing one of the best warranties in the business to boot.
Chevrolet Cavalier to Cobalt
The Chevy Cavalier, valiant emissary of pizza, rental-lot refugee, and monument to mechanical mediocrity is gone, sparing lower backs and tactile sensibilities everywhere. Its replacement for 2005, the Cobalt, might not be the fairest lass, but as an Everyman’s transport, it is competitive and composed, even refined, and—most important for GM—provides a sturdy rung in its ascent from purgatory.
Worst Makeovers
Dodge Neon SRT4 to Caliber SRT4
Chrysler’s turbocharged, Neon-based SRT4 was one of the best performance bargains on the market. It was far faster than any car that cheap ought to be but not terribly refined or sexy. It didn’t matter. Its replacement for 2007, the Caliber SRT4, gets a turbocharged 2.4-liter four that makes a front-tire-shredding 300 horsepower. Righteous! Not so awesome is the fact that the little giant killer is now a Transformer-like wagon thing with a center of gravity more conducive to rock crawling than canyon carving.
Chevrolet Venture to Uplander
The Chevy Venture was a bland, simply styled minivan. The van that replaced it for 2005, the Uplander, is per GM a “crossover sport van.” Apparently this means the giant honker grafted onto the fire wall is supposed to make it look truck-like. This proboscis could land a cameo on Nip/Tuck and makes us want to drive it into a wall just to take off a few feet from the snout.
Toyota Camry to Camry
Toyota took the bestselling car in America, the inoffensively styled Camry, and in an effort to make it appear more upscale for 2007, grafted on a ponderous schnoz and a cellulite-puckered rump, the latter crime more grave. The result looks like an aging starlet who’s had work done, only to be exposed and damned by the invention of HDTV.
Chevrolet Impala to Impala
So what if most last-generation Impalas were sold to police departments and rental-car agencies. They at least had a little personality, with jaunty round taillights and a distinctive C-pillar treatment. Bank robbers everywhere rejoiced when Chevy’s redesigned 2006 Impala resulted in a car with almost practiced anonymity, as though the sketch for this automotive pablum was lifted from a 1980s animated traffic-safety video.
Some redesigns rock. Others are tragic.
BY JARED HOLSTEIN, September 2006
At every new-vehicle introduction, manufacturers wax pedantic about rigidity and refinement, evolution and redemption. Sometimes it’s true. Sometimes they’re dreaming.
It’s the job of forecasters, visionaries, and reactionaries within each brand to figure out what you want, or might want, and cobble together an approximation thereof. Coming up with something you want to drive and be seen in, at a price you want to pay, is tough.
This task becomes more grievous when instead of a blank sheet of paper, designers have an existing platform to renew. Throw in budgetary constraints, engineer-on-designer infighting, and random managerial directives, and it’s a miracle any great cars make it out of the factory doors. Ultimately, some models are resurrected with the glory of a phoenix rising. Some are less attractive. And sometimes, they’re total stinkers.
Best Makeovers
Pontiac Grand Am to G6
By the end of its unremarkable career, the ill-named Pontiac Grand Am packed more plastic than a Wal-Mart cashier. Ribbed-for-no-one’s-pleasure body cladding festooned all sides as if to measure its draft in water, thematically appropriate to the car’s nautical handling prowess. The G6 that replaced it for 2005 is better in every way, and its svelte, pleasingly spare body lines account for a big part of the improvement.
Honda Civic Si to Civic Si
When Honda birthed the Civic Si in 1989, enthusiasts were blessed with an eager, light, and inexpensive apex slayer with control arms at all four corners and a then-revolutionary VTEC engine. Things remained pretty fabulous until 2002, when Honda hung the Si badge on an awkward turd with the sporty moves of a Cub Cadet. Honda brought back the magic in 2006, delivering an attractive, remarkably priced driver’s car.
Ford Taurus to Fusion
Ford went Euro in 1986 with its debut of the then-remarkable Taurus, which was improved until it was the bestselling car in America from 1992–1996. After which, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord elbowed their way back to the top and held off the Taurus like the unremarkable car it had become. If you can’t beat the Japanese, join ’em, sort of. The new-for-2006 Fusion uses a lengthened chassis from the lauded Mazda 6, looks the part, feels the part, and funnels a legitimate Ford product back into the meaty middle of the passenger-car market. We liked it enough that it placed second in a recent mid-size-sedan comparison test, beating both the Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Camry.
Hyundai Sonata to Sonata
The last-generation Hyundai Sonata wasn’t a bad car, suffering only from a bout of Mr. Potato Head styling (“let’s throw some Buick back there, some Mercedes headlights up there…”). What’s remarkable is just how solid, smooth, powerful, and attractive the 2006 Sonata is. It beat a benchmark, the Toyota Camry, in a recent comparison test, while costing a full $5000 less, and providing one of the best warranties in the business to boot.
Chevrolet Cavalier to Cobalt
The Chevy Cavalier, valiant emissary of pizza, rental-lot refugee, and monument to mechanical mediocrity is gone, sparing lower backs and tactile sensibilities everywhere. Its replacement for 2005, the Cobalt, might not be the fairest lass, but as an Everyman’s transport, it is competitive and composed, even refined, and—most important for GM—provides a sturdy rung in its ascent from purgatory.
Worst Makeovers
Dodge Neon SRT4 to Caliber SRT4
Chrysler’s turbocharged, Neon-based SRT4 was one of the best performance bargains on the market. It was far faster than any car that cheap ought to be but not terribly refined or sexy. It didn’t matter. Its replacement for 2007, the Caliber SRT4, gets a turbocharged 2.4-liter four that makes a front-tire-shredding 300 horsepower. Righteous! Not so awesome is the fact that the little giant killer is now a Transformer-like wagon thing with a center of gravity more conducive to rock crawling than canyon carving.
Chevrolet Venture to Uplander
The Chevy Venture was a bland, simply styled minivan. The van that replaced it for 2005, the Uplander, is per GM a “crossover sport van.” Apparently this means the giant honker grafted onto the fire wall is supposed to make it look truck-like. This proboscis could land a cameo on Nip/Tuck and makes us want to drive it into a wall just to take off a few feet from the snout.
Toyota Camry to Camry
Toyota took the bestselling car in America, the inoffensively styled Camry, and in an effort to make it appear more upscale for 2007, grafted on a ponderous schnoz and a cellulite-puckered rump, the latter crime more grave. The result looks like an aging starlet who’s had work done, only to be exposed and damned by the invention of HDTV.
Chevrolet Impala to Impala
So what if most last-generation Impalas were sold to police departments and rental-car agencies. They at least had a little personality, with jaunty round taillights and a distinctive C-pillar treatment. Bank robbers everywhere rejoiced when Chevy’s redesigned 2006 Impala resulted in a car with almost practiced anonymity, as though the sketch for this automotive pablum was lifted from a 1980s animated traffic-safety video.
09-25-06, 12:39 PM
#2
Some of this I agree with... but I still think the Fusion is ugly... the Sonata looks better but stil like a last-gen Accord, and that the writer is out of touch with reality on the new Camry...
everyone I talk to about that car LOVES the way it looks... they say it is the perfect mix of sport and style and its reliable and affordable... which is why its the best selling car in america AGAIN. Toyota knows what they're doing
everyone I talk to about that car LOVES the way it looks... they say it is the perfect mix of sport and style and its reliable and affordable... which is why its the best selling car in america AGAIN. Toyota knows what they're doing
09-25-06, 02:19 PM
#6
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Yeah, this guy is waaay off on the Camry. What's not to love about the styling? Looks a lot better than the Fusion. It's a HUGE improvement over the previous Camry.
09-25-06, 02:33 PM
#7
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I agree w/ the list for the most part especially the new Civic cpe. I like the Civic 4 dr. as well w/ the cpe. grill instead of the standard chrome grill.
The new Camry looks good only in darker colors IMO, like the Indigo Ink for example. The grill area looks very tacky on lighter colors where the lines of the grill are more apparent. The profile does not look as good as the civic sedan profile for example. The rear looks good though imo.
The new Camry looks good only in darker colors IMO, like the Indigo Ink for example. The grill area looks very tacky on lighter colors where the lines of the grill are more apparent. The profile does not look as good as the civic sedan profile for example. The rear looks good though imo.
Last edited by JAC JZS; 09-25-06 at 03:09 PM.
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