i was thumbing around some mags recently at Barnes & Noble and saw the Oct issue of Automobile Magazine

Their cover story was the top 100 coolest cars, the W124 500E was #90 :-)

forgot what the top 10 were as visions of a W124 500E still dance in my head until i get one

I saw that, I was happy to see my 911 was number 2.

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Eric, 1983 500 SL

The mid-year Corvettes ranked first... Not the coolest cars, but okay....

or been associated with about 6 of the 100, but had also owned 1 or 2 of the bottom 10,..... do I lose all my "atta-boys" with 1 bad decision?

rankings are always subjective....but its great to discuss

kott, i'm afraid you do lose your 'atta-boys' status just kidding

ericdee, i think the 911 should of been first, no other car says cool like the 911

I'da voted for the whaletail Porsche, in particular.... too cool for school.

There's a thread on the 500Ecstasy.com BBS about this article, more in detail, on the "Fizzle" sub-board.

Cheers,
Gerry

nice

No other car has been doing the cool thing as long as the 911.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Well, if you're going to give a car it's props for longevity, the mag had it right - the Corvette's been doing the cool thing longer.

The 'Vette is just the American signature sports car, like the MGB for the UK and the 911 for, well, most of the planet. A US mag was going to pick the Corvette, unless they went with the Mustang.

I don't think the Vette should have won, it has never really done much. Not to mention from 1970- to the latest C5 they were slow, peices of junk. Have you ever driven an early 90's auto Vette? Nothing special, I can see why you can get them for a song. Did the XKE even place on the list? Or what about a Honda NSX? Honda proved that you can have a reliable super car. I personaly don't like the Vette, they are an American car all show and no go. Only in the last few years have they become a performance car, the C6 is the only one I would ever consider buying. But for $50k I'll take a 328 or 911.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

While Vettes don't do (and haven't ever done) much for me personally, you have to look at the readers of the mag when you look at the decisions made.

A few things to consider:

a) they have to sell mags, so they need choices with the broadest appeal and that a large number of their readers will feel good about and agree with

b) your average US reader (the proverbial "Joe Sixpack" or Homer Simpson type) thinks that a Vette is the ultimate sports car in the world and that something like a 911 is no different than a Toyota or Honda. Meaning that the charms and inherent superiority of European cars (not to mention sporting/racing heritage) is 100% lost on this type of person. You can't argue with this type of person -- they became aware of Corvettes when they were 8 years old and loved them ever since -- and feel pride that the 350 in their Chevy pickup is essentially the same motor as that in many Vettes (historically).

c) as much as I hate to say it, Vettes have matured over time into decent cars. Yes they have their problems, and I wouldn't personally be caught dead in one, but they are fast, handle well, are not entirely ugly, and overall give great bang for the buck.

My two cents.
Cheers,
Gerry

Yes the vette only became a sports car in the last few years, they may be fast but they are still junk. Automobile is more of a European car mag, I would expect Hot Rod to pick the Vette but not Automobile. The Vette isn't even all American, the ZR1 had it's engine designed by Lotus.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Automobile ripped off the idea from Car Magazine in the UK; their "100 Coolest" issue came out about 4 months ago, so the editorial lag is about right.

Car also had a 911 as #2 (or maybe 3, I forget); they specified the 993. Their number one car was the 300SL Gullwing.

And manufactured by Mercury Marine (albeit here in the USA) !!

As far as AUTOMOBILE is concerned -- heck they've been having "SUV Special Issues" and the like over the past few years which make me want to barf. Their original motto was "No boring cars" but they seem to have strayed from this quite a bit.

Also I think there are a lot of people (mainly Americans) who would argue that a Vette only became a true sports car in the past few years. I think they would say that it's been a sports car since at least the early 60s, based on its unique platform, styling and large-engine/small-light body dynamics.

It's a moot argument (my own viewpoint doesn't matter anyway) but I probably would have put the 911 in the top slot and the Vette lower in the top 5.

But then again, and I'm surprised nobody brought this up .... from whom does AUTOMOBILE get far more advertising dollars? Despite what official editorial policy says, advertising dollars DO have an effect on editorial decisions.

Cheers,
Gerry