Jeremy's usual rant

[epp_b]

Originally Posted by cvrefugee

VW did it first:

Nope, I can't disagree with you there.

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally Posted by emil_t

http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...ries/07/2.html

It is quite a good read but ... there are some things i don't get:

Why is the impreza ugly ? I've seen it in real life and i think it really is good looking little car with those let's say interesting tail lights, only issue i have with it is that the wrx sti si a hatch not a sedan.

And another thing ... people don't judget cars primarily by looks, they want history and tradition ... guess why Ferrari is so successful ? Because it makes beautiful cars ... of course not ... nowadays because of formula one success, why do you think there is a C4 named "C4 by Loeb" or why they prefer a mercedes next to an audi ? even if mercedes is down on quality, make quite heavy cars and don't have that much gorgeous design, people think it's a premium brand, it makes them feel that they are superior, wealthier than the meer audi driving mortals, even though it's a slk 200.

i dunno you can argue both ways really

why do people buy the audi TT over anything else? why do those who suffer from genericism all buy minis.... because they look good and look cool. BMW had no history of small front wheel drive cars.... didnt stop people buying them.

all the popular ferraris have been achingly good looking.

not that many people buy the C4...theres certainly not that many about (unlike the focus) and its got to be because the looks are really love them or hate them. i doubt most people even know who loeb is to be honest.

i think JC is right, kinda. ... people do judge books by their covers, we do decide if we like someone within seconds of meeting them....why is it any different for a car?

good looking cars in general sell well (there are exceptions tho like the mazda 6 for instance....).

Audi TT
Mini and its variations
ford focus (still one of the best looking hatches since it was introduced 10 years back)
BMW 3 series (until recently of course, was a good looking car)
Audi A4 (theres loads around here anyway)
mazda MX5


theyre all good looking cars....and they've all sold massively well. of course theres other elements like numpties that get drawn in with the "RWD driving machine" of BMW and the MX5 is just damn good fun. but good lookers do sell!

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally Posted by Buktu

The New Impreza is a very good looking car if you ask me. I really like it. But then again, it's not the first time i disagree with Clarkson on that sibject..

subaru are like jag... they come too soon.


it does look fugly at the moment, but so did the previous ones, and now..... the last impreza was actually quite a good looking car. either their designs mature over time or, they keep making them uglier so that people think the last one wasnt so bad after all.

[Flynn]

Originally Posted by epp_b

Simple answer to why the new Impreza is ugly: Subaru has made a Corolla.

Excuse me? Look up A.E.101 Corolla on the internet; better still-look at my avatar. If you think that is ugly then you need glasses

[janstett]

I don't think the new Impreza's looks are that bad. I don't think they're very good either. Rather anonymous.

The thing that does it for me is that Subaru fans think it's ugly. I got a friend with an '02 bug eye WRX and he thinks the new one is ghastly. Alienating your core consumers isn't a good start.

[zaybxcwd12]

I am,soory, that pple some don't agree with me, but I can see janstett point after looking at the new one I can apprecate the old one. Ita like not only is it a great car but it's looks where quite appealing in a cosmetic sence it has grown on me a little bit, somehow I cant see the new car doing that at all. It is not grossly ugly just not good just dosn't appeall to me at all. Think about it how can this.



Go to this?.

[jayhawk]

Polarizing looks is what the Impreza has been about since the G11 Body was introduced in 2000. Let's face it; people do not buy Subaru's because they are handsome.

I will go so far as to say Jeremy Clarkson is, if compared to vehicles, a Subaru. He ain't pretty, but he has a flair for words.

And the owners themselves are a little eccentric, like the car. I should know. Subaru owners are at the least one of the following:

-eccentric
-flaky
-analytical
-loyal
-non-conformist

If you are a Subaru owner, or specifically an Impreza owner, do not be ashamed or turned off by the newest generation of Impreza; embrace it's weird looks, accept that Subaru will forever be thought as weird. If you are an Impreza owner, ever had, when driving, another Impreza owner wave to you? Do you wave to other Impreza owners?

You only get that with a Subaru. We share a common bond, a sense of pride and community.

[Flynn]

I always thought the Subaru the coolest looking car around; especially in the W.R.X. version. The only one I didn't like was the one with oval headlights.

[P5138]

Originally Posted by jayhawk

And the owners themselves are a little eccentric, like the car. I should know. Subaru owners are at the least one of the following:

-eccentric
-flaky
-analytical
-loyal
-non-conformist

Wow! You're right! I'm 4 of those...

And about the Corolla thing: When I first saw the base model in pictures, my initial reaction was "Toyota's influence is a little too much; it looks like a Matrix." But for some reason now, after seeing it in the metal, I really like it. The STi, especially, (or STI? Which are they going with now?) is stunning!

[TopGearNorthAmerica]

Well, he picks up the thread in today's Times:

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol...cle3209571.ece

I'll agree, the Subaru ain't purdy. But there is one point to not being purdy: if a car were purdy, you'd have second thoughts about flinging it onto a rally track or using it really hard. Which, apparently, is what this Subaru is built for.

Anyway, it's important to note that Jeremy says he didn't enjoy driving it, which comes across as being slightly better-sounding than his review of the Civic Type R. So it's not like he's really scathing.

[-Cpt. J.-]

Number one:
Stick a Aston Martin badge on a car that Jeremy hates and he WILL defend it to the death.

The Impreza never was and I hope never will be a pretty or good looking car. The reason I hate the new Impreza is because it completely lacks any kind of aggressive look. It looks completely neutered. It doesn't bother me that it is a hatch, if it makes Subaru more competitive I don't mind... but imagine if they fail.

Number two:
Only women buy cars that look good/cute. Mostly cute... and red.

[JosefCarlin]

At least if we are to believe the BBC's view of Clarkson, as we should as they have put up with him for more years than he has yellowed teeth. "He is best known to be opinionated and forthright in his views" and I agree. Sometimes those views are even about the car. After spending half of this review throwing cheap shots at Subaru owners and another quarter reviewing the WRX, Jeremy like the inbred aristocratic big eared nitwit he is, stumbles into reviewing the STi.

Apparently Jeremy is confused by computer controlled throttles and traction controls that have more than one setting and then complains about understeer. This is like whining that the light in your bathroom never turns off and how complicated and confusing that switch on the wall is. Oh that, and he doesn't like the sound of the engine, the pipes aren't loud enough. <Insert your favorite "Jeremy Clarkson is over compensating for his own impotent penis joke" here.>

All this is meant to justify his "professional motoring journalists opinion" that despite the fact that the STi is "demonstrably better than the WRX," is "Harder, more taut and noticeably faster," Subaru's are the "the most reliable cars made," "Subaru Imprezas have always been rather intelligent cars" and "so much more quiet and refined than alternatives from Ford and Mitsubishi" he hates it, and that is an end of it.

This review would have been a complete waste of time if I hadn't laughed all the way through, half of the time with him. Damn the man has a way with words!

Originally Posted by TopGearNorthAmerica

Well, he picks up the thread in today's Times:
http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol...cle3209571.ece

[Sebastian]

So do you build cars to sell and use for racin or do you build cars for racing and then sell some?
Where are the priorities?
I think it's more ugly because it once was beautiful and masculine

[Scooby5]

Originally Posted by zaybxcwd12

.... Think about it how can this.



Go to this?.

I'm still figuring out how a BugEye Impreza can morph into a BMW 1-Series

[zaybxcwd12]

My point exactly.

[Scooby5]

^Woosh

[-Cpt. J.-]

Originally Posted by Scooby5

^Woosh

Same side profile... the newImpreza and the 1 series are both hatches.

[Vector]

I think Jeremy is mostly just ticked off because what once was bold, aggressive, too-fast-for-being-a-4door-compact-saloon is now boring and demure looking, without any of the shouty bits that gave it character. Remember, Jeremy hates cars that are beige and don't try to stand out in some way. I agree with him too. I think the new styling is cowardly in it's reserved uniformity. I would have actually considered owning an old STi or WRX but not this new one. Give me styling or give me death.

[NooDle]

What annoys me the most about this topic, is that he lists the cars he owned.
Yes, they're all pretty and stuff, but what he doesn't take into account that he's lost thousands of pounds reselling them

we're not rich. We want a Lambo too, because it looks fantastic and has scissor doors and such

But we need a car for the wife, the dogs, the shopping, etc. it should be able to transport a filing cabinet or work stuff. And because fuel is so expensive they could have called it "liquid gold", we'd like something that doesn't consume too much fuel either

so we end up in an Astra Diesel instead of a Lambo.

*weeps in corner*

He's right about the styling though. When I look at the new Maserate Gran Turismo my knees go all weak. Looks is what sells cars.

And for some reason many people seem to like the new Renault Megane and its enourmous arse. Weird

[petarkb]

Originally Posted by NooDle

And for some reason many people seem to like the new Renault Megane and its enourmous arse. Weird

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