Autos - Best and Worst

Ferrari is back to their winning form, at least in road cars (lets hope the F1 boys can cobble together something someone other than Fernando can score in). The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta has everything Ferrari is known for - Pininfarina styling, V12 engine mounted in front, fast, fast, and beautiful. If Jaguar evokes the feline sensuality of a cat, this thing is the Alpha Tiger, with giant, meaty paws, a steely eyed stare, and a big, scary mouth. What's more, it is all muscle and it doesn't want to be pet. It wants to eat. Its got a cool name, too.

We waited seven years to name a successor to past worsts. And it is worth the wait. These guys have been knocking at the door for about four years: "Hey, what about this dog? We worked hard to make it dog ugly. How we doing?" So says Lincoln with the MKZ. Look at those teeth! Kind of like that guy in 11th grade who always wanted to hang around, had this goofy smile, and generally tried too hard. Could you imagine having to get into one of these in public? Only at night!. BTW, The MKX sedan has been chomping at the bit for the award for a few years with its bejeweled taillights which look like pizza boxes. Maybe (and most probably) next year

This thing is beautiful. The Porsche Cayman. It's fast as well. Designed nominally as an hardtop Boxster, it emerges as a truely original look. Note the Porsche-correct oval headlights (no more of that triangular window crap). Note the proportions front to rear. Harmonious, mid engined six cylinder with 260 plus HP. It should go pretty well. And at $30K short of the 911, I hope Porsche can build enough. Guess they can use the excess 911 production line capacity which will inevitably result. A+. (Click Here to see some other shots of this bad boy.)

The struggle continues. So many to choose from. How about this one? Or this one? (Did you see that snout?) Oh, don't forget these! I really need to come up with some one else to pick on. How about this beauty to the right? Its the Chevy Colorado or Arizona or Idaho or Lake Powell or Las Vegas or some other geographic name depicting the west. Put a guy with a Marlboro and a yellow slicker on top if you really want to rob the best of the west. The front looks like two trucks crushed on top of one another. Hey Chevy! How about firing the headlight, grill, fender, and tail guys? Keep the gas cap design guy but fire everyone else! Good luck to all the poor workers who have to assemble that crap. Cmon, Chevy! Give your workers something to be proud of!

For the first time in the history of Outcrop Acres B&W Awards, a Chrysler product takes Best of Year - The Crossfire SRT. This machine makes a bold styling statement, clearly shedding the "me-too" styling trend all too common with the big two and imports. Its good looks are accompanied by solid engineering (by Chrysler's owners) connecting the wheels to the road. DC demonstrates that American designers can actually "build excitement" (Sorry Pontiac!).

Oh, the confusion. Where to start. How about the General Motors Web Page? Ahh, but which division? No worries, they are all the same car. So which one? How about the styleless Chevy Impala? The Chevrolet Malibu? Or how about Toyota? The Prius is pretty ugly. And Toyota won last year and in years past. Between GM and Toyota, they have won seven of eight Worst Awards. But alas, perhaps its time to introduce a new manufacturer to the fold. And after taking a reasonable wagon platform and sawing off the back roof, Subaru deserves to win this years "Worst of the Year" with their Baja.

The Mazda RX-8 recaptures all that a "Best" should be . . . sensual, understated lines, good performance, uniqueness and no cladding (GM - Get the Point??).

Some of the early candidates included the the entire GM truck range and, of course, the Cadillac CTS. However, Toyota instills little passion in any of their designs. This is the second "Worst" award bestowed on the Celica, though the award could have gone to nearly any car in the Toyota lineup. Note the slab sides and lack of flow.

Retro's a bit old, but this things pretty cool. Doesn't look like the ubiquitous comuter pod. Goes pretty well and (I hear) is very safe.

This thing is amazing. Its a Chevy Avalanche. The guy that got fired for designing the Aztec got rehired by Chevy. Pontiac like cladding and flat fender lines. Not to mention that hideous grill.

Mazda Protege5. First its a Mazda and they Zoom. Second, its got 130 horses and good balance. Third, it looks cool, not like everything else.

I think this one only lasted one year. Can you believe this thing got design approval, much less made it out of the factory? How do you think the folks who had to assemble this thing felt about it? They must have walked out of the factory with bags over their heads!

The new Ford F250/350 Superduty (I think it actually was introduced in 1999). It looks like a truck again. Ford sort of screwed up the F-Series with the F150 - too slab sided and car like. Too aero and Flash-Gordonesk. The Superduty has a spacious cab, good visability, and looks like a truck.

Too bad. I used to own Hondas. But this is a Honda Prelude. What happened to the headlights? Kind of like an Avanti. I guess some people like them, though I suspect this is Honda's way to get more sales for the equally boring Accord.

The Oldsmobile Achieva. WHAT?? Achieva?? What's up with that name? That's like a car named "Dogooda" or "Accomplisha." Plus look at the car. Flat rear fender lines. This designer was not only NOT BOOTED - he/she made it a few more years so that he/she could do the same ridiculous thing to the Avalanche.

The Chevrolet Caprice. Once again, the guy who reviews rear fender design was asleep. Once again they came up with this awkward flat rear fender. Once again, a GM product gets "Worst of the Year." It was hard to find a picture of a civilian Caprice - seems Chevy could only sell them to the government.

The car that started it all. The first of the "Worst Of" years. It was the Toyota Celica. It was very plain, slab sided, with a sleepy front end. This from a company who is hot or cold with this model. Some celica's are very nice while others are hideous (look at the 2002 versions). No doubt, some sort of GM designer exchange program.