|
|
|
About mkaresh
|
Reviews by make and model:
Contact information:
If you have a question or suggestion, please use my site's contact form or email me here:
I also encourage people to visit the autos area within the Epinions message boards. If you have an idea, don’t just send it to me. Discuss it there. Also feel free to draw attention to especially good reviews (by others--no self-promotion please) that otherwise might not be noticed. Or discuss how to write better reviews. Or simply chat. I hope to get to know more people in the forums.
Who I am:
In December 2003 I received a Ph.D. after far too many years in graduate school. For my thesis I spent a year-and-a-half inside a vehicle manufacturer studying how and how well it understood the consumer when developing new products. Since getting the degree I've been caring for three young children (school, gymnastics, dance, tae-kwan-do, swimming...) and developing my own business.
The first phase of the latter can be found here: TrueDelta vehicle price comparisons. If you want quick yet thorough car and truck price comparisons (both MSRP and invoice, and adjusted for features), I know of no better site. For my motivations and future plans see the last section below.
In the past, I've taught new product development and consumer behavior at a local university. Once all three children are in school all day (too soon or not soon enough, depending on the day) I might have enough time to again teach a course every now and then.
Two sorts of reviews:
Some auto reviews are based on ownership, while others are based on rentals or test drives. Both can be valuable. Owners can report their reliability history and have more time to discover the nuances of the car. Talented non-owners, on the other hand, often have a fresher, less biased perspective and, especially if they’ve driven many different vehicles, notice things that owners have come to accept as "normal." I personally don’t live in the ocean, but can tell you things about it a fish would never think to.
Those who write reviews based on their ownership experience might want to include the length of this experience in the title of their review and to update their review periodically. This way users who want to read about long-term experiences can find the appropriate reviews easily.
The best auto reviews:
The best auto reviews knowledgeably evaluate the vehicle from a unique perspective. Technical knowledge is nice, but not entirely necessary. What is necessary is to expend the time and effort to truly understand and clearly communicate what one personally likes and dislikes about the vehicle.
To do this, it helps to be aware of what your automotive turn-ons and turn-offs are. And while you’re at it, inform the reader. My own automotive turn-ons include quick, communicative steering (sadly quite rare); precise short-throw shifters with a mechanical "feel" (gotta have a clutch); and largish seats with generous lateral support. Innovative packaging and clean yet aggressive styling also have their appeal. Finally, it’s an extra bonus for me if the car is much better than the general public thinks it is.
Turn-offs include, well, the opposites of these: numb steering, flaccid shifters, and undersized seats. I also don’t care for large vehicles with tight interiors. Smaller cars handle better, so if a vehicle is going to be large it had better be large for a good reason.
You’ll notice I didn’t say a thing about horsepower. Horsepower just isn’t a big deal to me. I want a car that is fun through the curvy streets of my sub at the legal limit of 25, and that feels quick, confident, and responsive when taking turns or changing lanes. Above all, I like cars that talk to me through my palms and the seat of my pants. Sure, a good push in the lower back is fun, but for me it would grow old. Overall I have more fun having to really work the shifter in my relatively underpowered Mazda.
I say "for me" because I know and understand that different people have different priorities. I don’t expect other reviewers to share my own. What I do expect is that reviewers will have priorities, and that these will come through in their reviews.
Why I developed TrueDelta, and what comes next:
Some time ago I began including extensive price analyses in my reviews. Because no website permitted direct price comparisons adjusted for features this was often the most time consuming portion of my review. Very tedious. Worse, prices and incentives change often, so this portion of my reviews quickly became out-of-date.
To solve this problem, I taught myself some programming and created my own website: www.truedelta.com. Feel free to use my price comparison figures (with citation, as with any source) in your auto reviews.
Why this name? "Delta" is used in engineering equations to represent a difference. Many car reviews just compare base prices or "as tested" prices, and leave their price comparison at that. With my own site I have sought to make it easy to determine the true difference between the prices of two vehicles. Check it out, and let me know what you think.
The second phase of TrueDelta involves vehicle reliability research. Even relatively unreliable cars today are much more reliable than the average 1980s car. But people don’t fully realize this. They hear that a car is only "average" or (the kiss of death) "worse than average," and assume it will be in the shop "all the time."
As far as I can tell, this is not the case. A rough crunch of the black and red dots in [consumer-resource-that-does-not-want-to-be-named] suggests that even the least reliable cars will tend to be in the shop only a handful of times during the first five years of ownership.
The problem is, I really cannot tell. And neither can you. The data are not available, at least not to the general public. The second phase of TrueDelta will rectify this by reporting what consumers truly need to know: how many times will a vehicle model tend to be in the shop during the first X years of ownership, and for how many days? So, in the future, when comparing models you plan to keep for five years you will be able to factor in that the "unreliable" one will tend to be in the shop two more times for seven more days. And make your decision accordingly.
If you want to be part of this research you can join the panel at TrueDelta's vehicle reliability page. To encourage participation, only panel members will receive free access to the reliability information at TrueDelta.
My auto-biography:
Comparing vehicles to others you’ve driven, and especially others you’ve owned, can also make for a more helpful and more interesting review. Not only do comparisons tend to make for more vivid evaluations, but they the author’s reference point clear. For example, I know that just about every vehicle sounds quiet to me because the Mazda I generally drive is noisier than 90-plus percent of the four-door vehicles out there. On the other hand, it also handles with greater agility than 90-plus percent of the four-door vehicles out there, so most cars I test drive tend to feel, well, dull.
My previous cars also shaped my perceptions and expectations. The first was a 135-horsepower four-speed 1981 Chevrolet Citation X-11. Though it took roughly ten seconds to get to sixty that was quick in 1983. A tight suspension made for handling that (again, at the time) seemed quite responsive. And for a jarring ride. You had to slam the doors to get them to fully shut. The car was a compact, but could hold myself and five friends (nice, wide back seat) in a pinch.
My next car was a 1984 Pontiac Sunbird convertible with a 150-horsepower turbocharged four hooked to an automatic transmission (the only slushbox I’ve ever owned). The turbo made for brisk acceleration--zero-to-sixty in the low-eights was special in those days--combined with major torque steer. The interior seemed luxurious compared to the Citation, with better materials and much more supportive seats. Today a GM J-car doesn’t feel so hot, but back then the Sunbird seemed to handle very well. People wondered why I bought it instead of a Mustang. But if I let them drive it they quickly figured it out. Compared to that Pontiac, the Mustang GT of the 1980s felt quite rough around the edges and did not handle nearly as well.
After the unfortunate demise of the Pontiac (didn’t see an oncoming white pickup in the glare before attempting a left turn) I owned a 190-horspower 1988 Toyota Celica All-trac Turbo. With considerably more structure--and mass--than standard Celicas, it had a satisfyingly solid feel to it. Despite this mass, the car was pretty quick--once the boost was up. The all-wheel-drive assured secure handling but made for fairly boring routine driving. In contrast, travelling the American Southwest in the car was a blast, especially on unpaved roads that enabled a healthy amount of throttle-induced oversteer. The highlight: a quick run up Pike’s Peak.
I sold the Toyota after moving to Chicago for graduate school. The insurance was going to be insane, and I didn’t much need a car. So I did without one for a couple of years.
When I next sought a car I had different priorities: I wanted something I could leave on the Chicago streets for weeks at a time with no worries. If it wasn’t there when I came back, well, so what? But if it was there I wanted it to start. The solution: a 1985 Ford Escort with a 70-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, five-speed manual, A/C, and not much else. Not even many miles: just 26,000 when I bought it. No one ever stole the Escort, and it always started. So it pretty much met my expectations.
I endured the Escort for a couple years after moving to Detroit to conduct my Ph.D. research. It had almost been fun on the city steets. It was no fun on the 70-MPH highways around Detroit. The last straw: my wife hated it.
To replace it I bought a 1996 Ford Contour SE with a 170-horsepower 2.5-liter DOHC six and five-speed manual. I loved that car. You can read my review here. Very European feel, and very fun to drive. Owing to Ford’s inept marketing this remained a well-kept secret. Which I also liked.
When Ford engineered the Contour V6 they initially fitted a catalyst that didn’t hold up so well. They later learned of this issue, and recalled all cars built after a certain date. Unfortunately, what they should have done was recall all cars with engines built after a certain date. My car fell between the two dates. It was not eligible for the recall but did have the catalyst disintegrate at 66,000 miles. The catalyst was replaced under the emissions warranty. However, the engine lost compression in three cylinders at the same time. The dealer claimed that the two events were unrelated, but through the Ford engineering grapevine I learned that bits of catalyst likely got sucked back into the engine through the exhaust valves. You don’t want bits of ceramic inside your engine.
I was trying to decide how to make this case through official channels (it wasn’t going to be easy or without financial risk) when a Mazda dealer made me an offer I could not refuse. So currently I’m driving a Mazda Protege5. With just 130-horsepower it would have been about neck-and-neck with that 1981 Citation. But the handling sold me. The car’s clean yet aggressive styling doesn’t hurt, either. A year down the road I still love walking up to it in parking lots. The new 3, especially in hatch form, will become dated more quickly.
I’ve also spent a good amount of time in the cars of my family members. My father tends to drive luxury sedans, most recently a Lexus LS 400 followed by a GS 400. For a little over a year he owned a 350Z as a second car. A Mazda RX-8 now fills its spot. (When he tires of the Mazda I'll likely take it off his hands.) My mother drives her third--make that fourth--Taurus/Sable wagon with an ancient Mercedes SL on the side.
My wife’s first two cars since we’ve been together, a 1989 Nissan Maxima (the mushily sprung GXE) and a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue, weren’t really her choices. My father’s business partner had owned the first and I had been infatuated with the styling of the second ever since seeing a prototype. I didn’t want an automatic and she couldn’t drive a stick. Problem solved. She disliked the Nissan. She liked the Intrigue much better. It was comfortable and loaded with features: BOSE audio, sunroof, leather, etc. However, it just wasn’t "her." Especially not with white paint (another deal I could not refuse).
I promised my wife that her next car would be all her choice, and what she wanted was something cute and fun. She loved the New Beetle on first sight, but with the kids she needed a second pair of doors. A Chrysler PT Cruiser , on the other hand...is now in my garage. Specifically, a 2002 Dream Cruiser (the bright gold one--you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen one). As I said, we have different priorities.
How does a family with three small children get by with two compact wagons? It’s actually not hard. I know some people who rush out and buy a large SUV when the first child arrives. The logic escapes me. I do sometimes need a larger vehicle. At those times I go to Hertz.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.