Edmunds Daily
Face-Off
August 24, 2009
Ford was kind enough to drop off a Euro-spec 2009 Ford Fiesta into the Edmunds garage last week, showcasing its sub-compact hatchback that's been taking Europe by storm. It will enter the U.S. market for 2011, though we're not entirely sure how much will change beyond the addition of a sedan body style. Our sincerest hope is that the answer is "not much," because the Fiesta is truly an impressive little compact car that could change the way Americans think about small cars.
Yet, that attitude has already begun to turn thanks to the Honda Fit, a marvel of interior packaging and driving fun that has been flying out of dealerships since the previous generation arrived for 2007. As the reigning champ in this class, how does the Fit compare to the Fiesta? While you'll have to wait a bit for a full comparison, we decided to Face-Off this week to give you a taste of each sub-compact's highs and lows.
To Face-Off in true fiesta style, editors James Riswick and Josh Sadlier pondered their chosen defendees over margaritas at Jim's Fiesta Taco Bar and Cantina as Associate Editor Mark Takahashi sat uncomfortably in the next booth jotting down their thoughts over a Bud Light Lime.
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- James Riswick August 24, 2009, 3:00 AM
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- Face-Off
August 10, 2009
This week in Face-Off we battle to determine which is the best car to buy for your Clunker trade-in. Now, instead of going the Sadlier route
and saying Touareg TDI or Mini, we decided to choose from the Top 10 cars purchased in July using Cash for Clunkers trade-ins to make it more realistic. Frankly, people who own $4,500 cars are less likely to go out and buy $45,000 ones.
Of course, this week's participants - James Riswick and Mark Takahashi - don't own Clunkers, so to make this more realistic, they will dabble in some roll playing. Jimmy Richards lives in Carmel, Indiana, and still owns the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Orvis Edition 5.2 his parents bought him in high school as a used car back in 1999. Marcus Highbridge lives in West Paducah, Kentucky, and owns a 1997 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V8 he bought as a new car.
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- James Riswick August 10, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Face-Off
August 3, 2009
It's summer, and what better cars to toss into the Face-Off cage than a pair of convertibles? So slather on some sunscreen, crank up the tunes and don your favorite pair of shades. This time, we're pitting the venerable Mustang GT Convertible
against the sprightly Mazda MX-5 Miata
. Going just by the numbers, the Mustang has this in the bag, but don't count out the Miata (or Magrath) just yet. These things have an unexpected way of going sideways (just like the Mustang).
This is the second time Associate Pony Wrangler Mark Takahashi has defended the honor of his beloved Mustang (perhaps he's trying to compensate for his smaller cars?), but Senior Mazdaphile Mike Magrath is no stranger to the Face-Off format, as he demonstrated as he dispatched every foe on his way to winning the first Face-Off Tournament. From James Riswick's evil genius lair buried deep within the Santa Monica Mountains, the combatants enter the octagon. In the end, there can be only one.
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- Mark Takahashi August 3, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Face-Off
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Mustang GT, Convertible, Face Off, Face-Off, Mazda MX-5, Miata
July 9, 2009
The battles have been waged and the votes have been tallied. In fact, they were tallied thrice because of the incredibly close results (a surprising two votes!) and the fact some people weren't exactly clear in their choice. But nevertheless, congratulations to the Mazdaspeed 3 (and Mike Magrath) for winning the first ever Face-Off Tournament, it can now claim the title as America's favorite hot hatch. With its win, the Speed3 takes home the vaunted Travolta-Cage Cup, which we'll be sending it to Mazda headquarters. It'll no doubt find a place next to past MT Car of the Year calipers and whatever you get when you're named an Automobile All-Star.
Hope you've enjoy the tournament and we're open to suggestions for the next one.
James Riswick, Face-Off Ayatollah
Face-Off Tournament graphics by Mark Takahashi
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- James Riswick July 9, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Face-Off
July 6, 2009
The battles have been waged, the votes have been tallied and our Face-Off Tournament has reached its final chapter. One competitor emerged from the Eastern Division a runaway champion, buoyed by a flood of well-earned public support. But the Mazdaspeed 3's place in the finals comes as no surprise given its repeated victories in Inside Line comparison tests. The Western Division champion had a much rockier route to the finals, claiming a mere two-vote victory over both the Mini Cooper S and the Chevy Cobalt SS. Yet, the Volkswagen GTI stands on solid ground as the original hot hatch and a continued favorite around the world.
Backing the Mazdaspeed 3 will be Vice Admiral of Vehicle Testing Mike Magrath, who is already clearing space on his desk for the Travolta-Cage Face-Off Cup. In his way will be Automotive Editor James Riswick and the scrappy underdog VW GTI.
The cut-off for votes will be Wednesday July 8 at 3 p.m. PST. The winner will be announced Thursday morning. Now on to the finals.
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- James Riswick July 6, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Face-Off
July 2, 2009
Here is the final bracket for the Face-Off Hot Hatch Tournament. For the second time in a row, the Volkswagen GTI squeaked into the next round by a slim two-vote margin (as of votes closing at 3 p.m. Tuesday). And before you cry foul, both myself and John DiPietro did recounts to assure we didn't have any funny business going on. There was a pregnant chad attached to dougtheeng's ballot, but we counted it nonetheless.
The Face-Off Tournament final will be Monday morning at 9 a.m. between the GTI and the Mazdaspeed 3. The winner will be crowned the following Thursday and will receive the mighty Travolta-Cage Face-Off Cup.
James Riswick, Face-Off Ayatollah
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- James Riswick July 2, 2009, 8:00 AM
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- Face-Off
June 25, 2009
The Best from the West. The Battle of the Atlantic. World War II Part 2. Whatever you call it, this Western Division final should be good. The European rival is the hot hatch that arguably started it all, while the American upstart produces numbers that'll have you double-checking that "Cobalt" didn't somehow get mixed up with "Camaro." Heck, it even has launch control - in a front-wheel-drive car!
In the red, white and blue corner resides Automotive Editor John DiPietro and the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, a car so good the dodgy Dodge Caliber SRT4 couldn't put up a fight (by failing to yield a defender who supported it). But even if we could've resurrected Johnnie Cochran, it wouldn't have mattered. In the black, red and yellow corner is Automotive Editor James Riswick and the Volkswagen GTI, a hot hatch that emerged victorious from our tightest and most contentious voting round to date.
Remember, your votes determine which hot hatch (or in the Cobalt's case, hot coupe) meets the winner of the Eastern Division (voting is still open
). The two final cars will meet in the Face-Off Tournament Final on Monday July 6.
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- James Riswick June 25, 2009, 8:00 AM
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- Face-Off, Volkswagen
June 22, 2009
Welcome to Round 2 of the Face-Off Tournament and the Battle for the Land of the Rising Sun. Turbocharger versus VTEC. Brute force versus scalpel precision. Mazda versus Honda. Hot hatches may have originated in Europe, but Japan has carried the mantle through the past three decades here in North America. Some of our favorites over the years have gone to the great garage in the sky, but today's batch would certainly make its illustrious ancestors proud. The two that have reached the Eastern Division final are two of our favorites and judging by the votes, yours as well.
From the Non-Turbo Japan Conference comes the Honda Civic Si, one of the two cars in the tourney that isn't a hatch, but one that's undeniably hot. Defending the Si will be Senior Automotive Editor and Face-Off rookie Brent Romans who'll be thrown into the fire against Vice Admiral of Vehicle Testing and Face-Off villain Mike Magrath. His Mazdaspeed3 defeated the Subaru WRX in Round 1. We'll see if it/he faces stiffer competition in Round 2.
The winner of this will Face-Off the winner of the Western Division final to determine the winner of the Travolta-Cage Face-Off Cup. And remember, your votes determine who gets there.
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- James Riswick June 22, 2009, 8:00 AM
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- Face-Off
June 18, 2009
Hot hatches originated in Europe and continue to dominate the car enthusiast culture over there. Sadly, we only get a tiny sample (pun intended) of Europe's many hot hatch contenders, so this tournament is devoid of such hotties as the Ford Focus ST and RS, Renault Clio 197 and Twingo RS and Fiat 500 Abarth. Yet, we still get two of the best. One is credited with starting the hot hatch category back in 1984, but the other is a descendant of the original front-wheel-drive, fun-to-drive, tiny hatchback. Who gets more credit? We'll leave that up to you.
Hailing from Germany is the Volkswagen GTI, which shall be defended here by Automotive Editor James Riswick. It is about to be replaced by a sort-of-new sixth-generation model, but the current car has lost little of its appeal. Hailing from England with help from Germany is the Mini Cooper S, whose Union Jack shall be carried by Associate Editor Josh Sadlier. Its appeal transcends the typical car enthusiast demographic arguably more than any other contender in this tournament. You don't have to be a car nut to know what a Mini is.
Remember, you decide who wins. The car with the most votes goes on to meet the Chevrolet Cobalt SS in the Western Division final.
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- James Riswick June 18, 2009, 6:00 AM
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- Face-Off, MINI, Volkswagen
June 17, 2009
The ayatollah has closed the vote and certified the results. Despite a late-inning surge, the Mazdaspeed3 held off the Subaru WRX to take the Turbo Japanese Conference title.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the European Conference match, then on Monday the Mazdaspeed takes on the Civic Si.
James Riswick, Face-Off Ayatollah
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- James Riswick June 17, 2009, 9:20 PM
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June 15, 2009
Welcome to the first round of the Face-Off Tournament featuring the hot hatches of 2009.
In weekend action, the Chevrolet Cobalt SS defeated the Dodge Caliber SRT-4 because nobody wanted to defend the Dodge. Believe us, we tried to find someone, anyone. The Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V didn't earn any support either, so that was a cake-walk for the Honda Civic Si in the Non-Turbo Japanese Conference. Sorry, but battles from now on won't be so easy.
Today's Face-Off Tournament round comes from the Eastern Division and specifically the Turbo Japanese Conference. Both cars are indeed hatches and both have turbochargers, but one is all-wheel-drive and the other shunts its ample power to only the front axle. Vice Admiral of Vehicle Testing Mike Magrath carries the flag for the 2009 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 by Mazda, a car that has beaten its competitor in two-straight Inside Line comparison tests (Round 1 and Round 2). Nevertheless, the Subaru Impreza WRX found a fan in Associate Editor Mark Takahashi, who will seek to find favor with you, the judges on this Tournament jury.
Remember, your votes determine who moves on to the Eastern Division final to take on the Honda Civic Si. Now, let's get it on!
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- James Riswick June 15, 2009, 8:00 AM
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- Face-Off, Mazda
June 12, 2009
"One battle's awesome, but a war is so much cooler." - General George Patton
OK, so he didn't really say that, but you'll get to experience the sentiment on Monday when we kick off the first ever Face-Off Tournament. Set-up Elite 8 style, we'll pit eight cars against each other until we have a winner. Each car will get its usual editor representation, but you'll decide who made the better argument to move onto the next round. The Face-Off Tournament winner gets its grille etched on the Travolta-Cage Cup.
The contenders will be the latest batch of $25,000 hot hatches. OK, so there are a few sedans/coupes in there, but it's not our fault hatches aren't popular in this country.
So print out your Tournament brackets and gather your co-workers for under-the-table office pools. We won't tell HR if you don't. Sure, it's not March, but who says madness can't happen in June?
James Riswick, Face-Off Master
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- James Riswick June 12, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Face-Off
May 25, 2009
S does not equal M. Although it seems natural to compare Audi's S line of sport-tuned offerings to BMW's M division entries, we've often found that it's not a fair fight when it comes to performance. In an Inside Line comparison test, the BMW M3 trounced the Audi S5 in our instrument testing - it was quicker in all our acceleration and handling tests, and it stopped 10 feet shorter from 60 mph (100 ft!). Meanwhile, the hardcore BMW still proved perfectly capable as a daily driver. The future Audi RS5 would clearly be a closer competitor for the M3, but what to throw against the perfectly likeable S5? Well, how about the BMW 335i?
From their luxury box suite at the Santa Anita horse track, Josh Sadlier saddles up in the Audi S5 Quattro while James Riswick takes the reins of the BMW 335i Coupe, which is rear-wheel-drive but there's an all-wheel-drive version available for those in frosty climes. It's a battle of German stallions (the cars, not the editors) as dictated to Associate Editor Mark Takahashi who sat uncharacteristically comfortably sipping on a Mint Julip. Now off to the races.
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- James Riswick May 25, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Audi, BMW, Face-Off
May 4, 2009
In case you've been stricken with swine flu and unable to catch up on automotive news, Chrysler went bankrupt last week. And not the "Aww, shucks" bankrupt that happens when you hit the black space on Wheel of Fortune
. Nope, Chrysler has hit Chapter 11 and in the process has entered into a marriage with Fiat (I wonder what this will do to the Italians' credit rating?).
We have nothing but best wishes for this new union, but rather than sending a punch bowl off to Michigan, we decided to Face-Off the two companies' most prized automobiles. Both are maestros of attention grabbing, and both harken back in true retro fashion to roughly the same era of motoring. In one corner, Automotive Editor John DiPietro defends the menacing Dodge Challenger and in the other, Associate Editor Mark Takahashi puts up his dukes for the adorable Fiat 500 (aka Cinquecento) supposedly bound for America. It's a mismatch to be sure, but some of the best marriages are, right?
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- Mark Takahashi May 4, 2009, 9:00 AM
- Categories:
- Face-Off
- Technorati Tags:
- 500, Cinquencento, Dodge Challenger, Face-Off, Fiat
April 27, 2009
For the first time since 1998, you can buy either a BMW M3 coupe or sedan. You can also buy an M3 convertible, but both parties involved in today's Face-Off agreed in writing before hand that it was intended for little girls and wasn't worthy of a defense.
Both two-door and four-door M3 varieties are powered by the same 4.0-liter V8 with 414 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Both feature a six-speed manual transmission, but can be equipped with BMW's new M DCT seven-speed dual-clutch automated-manual too-many-worded transmission. Both feature beefier M3 styling, and are equipped similarly with fat M steering wheels and sublime sport seats. But the two-door features a carbon fiber roof and subsequently no sunroof, which lowers its weight by 55 pounds.
Those are the stats, now on with the battle. In this corner, Vice Admiral of Vehicle Testing Mike Magrath commands the M3 Coupe, while Automotive Commander James Riswick mans the sedan. As Captain Picard would say, "Engage."
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- James Riswick April 27, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Face-Off
April 20, 2009
Wednesday is Earth Day, and in recognition, Edmunds Inc. takes today off. That isn't a joke. We think it has something to do with the fact we burn 1.3 million gallons of gasoline per year in the pursuit of vehicle testing. Yet, Face-Off rests for no one. Instead, we'll be arguing the virtues of two green vehicles that burn completely different types of alternative fuels.
Taking time away from their eco-themed respites, Senior Consumer Advice Editor Phil Reed takes up the mantle of the natural-gas-powered Honda Civic GX, while Automotive Editor James Riswick defends the honor of the clean-diesel-burning Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Donning hemp-sewn T-shirts and chained to a redwood, their thoughts were dictated to Associate Editor Mark Takahashi who uncomfortably sat on a nearby log fending off squirrels.
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- James Riswick April 20, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Face-Off, Honda, Volkswagen
April 13, 2009
You asked for it, and now we deliver ... sorta. The Hyundai Genesis has been compared to several full-size luxury sedans like the BMW 750i because of its impressive performance, enormous interior and generous feature content. Of course, it wears the humble badge of a once laughable car company and costs exponentially less than the Bimmer. Both cars reside in our long-term fleet, so we'll have a full year to decide for sure, but here are our early thoughts.
This week in Face-Off, Associate Editor Josh Sadlier (defending the BMW 750i) and Automotive Editor James Riswick (representing the Hyundai Genesis) relax in the palatial sauna at the El Sandoval Country Club in Pacific Palisades as they mull over which luxury sedan makes the most sense to fellow wealthy dudes. Associate Editor Mark Takahashi uncomfortably sat in the corner next to the steaming lava rocks and jotted down their thoughts.
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- James Riswick April 13, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Face-Off
April 6, 2009
There are multiple ways to get around a crowded city. A car is usually the worst way, as traffic jams reduce your average speed to somewhere south of an 80-year-old geezer's motorized scooter. However, here in Los Angeles, and particularly on the west side, general urban sprawl and a lack of light rail conspire to reduce your commuting choices to the old-fashioned automobile and motorcycle. We thought we'd face off this week those two choices to determine which is better for the daily slog.
In one corner, Automotive Editor James Riswick and the smallest car sold in the United States. Described as a "city car," the Smart ForTwo is designed to squeeze into small parking spaces, cut through spots in traffic others cannot and sip gas. In the other corner, Automotive Editor John DiPietro and his own 1995 BMW R1100 RS. By definition, a motorcycle can park almost anywhere and in California, legally bypass any traffic snarl by driving in between lanes.
May this cross-transport battle commence. Get it on!
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- James Riswick April 6, 2009, 9:00 AM
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- Face-Off
March 16, 2009
There's this silly myth out there that all car media types think alike, but they've obviously never been around for Sadlier-Riswick 135i fisticuffs
. These disagreements can get lively and it's about time we busted that myth.
In Face-Off, we will pit cars against each other, but instead of the full-blown, highly scrutinized, professional comparison test, this will be something different. One editor will defend the honor of one car, and make the case for why they would buy it -- and why the other guy is wrong. In the end, you can decide who wins.
Today: $100,000 super sport utility vehicles. In this corner, yours truly Automotive Editor James Riswick and the 2009 Range Rover Supercharged Autobiography. In that corner, Vehicle Testing Assistant Mike Magrath and the 2009 Mercedes-Benz G550. A coin toss determined who will present their opening arguments first.
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- James Riswick March 16, 2009, 12:02 PM
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- Face-Off, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz
