pagemaster

While everything about the Bugatti is indeed impressive, the Prius is more significant for the US market than any other vehicle and thus is the car of the decade in America and worldwide.

First introducted in 2001 the Prius is now in its third generation, has introduced Americans to the Hybrid Synergy Drive system, is strong link to Toyota "Green" image and no matter what anyone says has change the way manufacturers make automobiles.

Toyota now has about 10 models between Lexus and Toyota which use the system the Prius introduced.

I believe the current Prius can get 50mpg....


The car of the next decade will once again be a hybrid...but it will be a plug-in hybrid this time around.

I8ABMR

What really impresses me about the Prius not only its efficiency but the price as well. They price it like they are literally going to save the world with them. 22-24k is amazing for a car this advanced, economical, and oh yeah....toyota reliability. I really think the new generation of the prius look nice. The styling is unique but has improved a lot

mmarshall

On the larger Bluetec diesels, that's what the urea-solution is for....to take care of the NOx. It has to be refilled every 10,000 miles or so, depending on the solution-tank size and the rate of usage. The TDI doesn't use the urea solution, but, being a smaller engine, doesn't produce as many NOx particles to start with.....the VW engineers got it to pass the EPA and CA tests without the solution. It is clean enough to pass in all 50 states, including CA, the strictest....something which couldn't necessarily be said for earlier diesels.

I8ABMR

I always wondered what type of prices would an owner be looking at for urea replacement

mmarshall

I think BMW and Mercedes include it in either their factory or dealer service-contracts. BMW, for instance, in the American market, has free maintenance for at least the warranty period.

http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/conte...e/default.aspx

tromly

My first choice is the SC430, second choice is the LF-A !! I just love Lexus cars, and both of these cars are actually affordable .

UDel

For enthusiasts especially I would definitely say the Bugatti Veyron and Nissan GTR.

Nothing has ever been done like the Veyron, nothing even looks like it one the road. The closest car to the Veyron is Bugatti's own EB 110. The Veyron is just such an amazing achievement and sets the standard for record breaking performance and engineering in a sports car. 4 turbos, 16 cylinders, awd, how many radiators?, etc all in a relatively small package that actually drives well and has a luxury interior. There is nothing like it and most likely never will be anything like it unless Bugatti happens to make it.

The GTR just for the sheer amount of exotic killing performance and technology in a car well under 100K and it is finally available in the US. It is such an amazing car and even more amazing when you figure price into the equation.

SLegacy99

Ah, an excellent point that I overlooked. The R320 bluetec has a score of 6, which is excellent for a diesel, but on par with the gasoline version.

I8ABMR

The free maintenance is great but what horror story will it be to change that after the warranty expires??? A BMW is not the best car to own without a warranty.

IS-SV

Is this the stinking diesel and urea thread...

mmarshall

The reason we got started discussing new-technology diesels is that some posters felt that the VW/Audi TDI (Jetta, A3, Passat, etc.....) should be Car of the Decade....the thread topic. I pointed out that, IMO, I did not entirely disagree, but that, IMO, that type of technology will affect the next decade more than the last one.

mmarshall

Supercars like that are fine for the record books (and car-magazine covers) but have little real influence on the auto market as a whole because they are built and sold in such small numbers.

IS-SV

Refresher on OP's original topic (above).

Och

iTrader: (3)

As amazing as the Veyron and other supercars may be, they are all just too irrelevant to deserve the car of the decade award. Sure the level of engineering in these is amazing, but they are limited production cars, with ridiculous price tags, and their makers do not worry about tight profit margins or limited R&D budgets.

As far as the Prius, I personally truly appreciate its hybrid technology. It is certainly a step towards the future, and even for those of you who do not care for the hybrid driv-etrain, it is important to realize that hybrid cars such as the Prius are accelerating the development of new battery technologies. The sooner we get high capacity batteries that recharge fast, the sooner we will have all electric cars. With that being said, I don't think Prius is the car of the decade either. Outside of its drive-train, it doesn't offer much value for the money it costs, and it doesn't make much sense for anybody besides "eco-mentalists" or wealthy people seeking an eco-image.

My car of the decade goes to your mainstream family sedan - the CamCordTima. Yep they might be unexciting and boring, and there's forty of them on every city block, but just think about them and what they offer. First of all they compete in the most aggressive market and the profit margins are razor thin. Never the less, they continue to improve year after year, generation after generation. Just think about what you get with one of these – the amount of features, safety and luxury amenities that was available in cars with double or triple the price tag just a decade ago, engines powerful enough to rival sports cars of a decade ago, continuously improving reliability and longer warranty, better fuel economy despite more weight and engine power, virtually no emissions, and amazingly the pricetag doesn’t increase significantly despite of all the improvements, and even defying inflation.

So if you think creating something like the Veyron is challenging, try creating something like the CamCordTima. Heck, there are FAR more successful super cars than mainstream family sedans. Bugattis, Ferraris, Zondas, McLarens, Porsches, Lambos, Ascaris, Koenigseggseggseggsegg – you name them, and they are all highly desirable and sell every car they build. Even the brand new overpriced Lexus LFA will sell every car they build the second it goes on sale. Things are far more challenging in the world of mainstream family sedan. At least in the USA market nothing has been every remotely close to the success of the CamCordTima in the past decade. Everyone else is trying to do everything to get a piece of the pie, but nobody can get a bigger chunk. The competition is offering lower prices, longer warranties, more features, heavy discounts, and the CamCordTima manages to stay at the top. And it is not easy to stay at the top in the game – one mistake and they will sink. Just remember what happened to the Taurus in the 90ies.

pagemaster

Just so you know....Those CamCordTima's that you talk of are available with hybrid systems....CamCordTima Hybrids were not available in the decade before.