Wagons are perfect for someone who favors diplomatic decisions over democratic ones. And even for someone who wants a quick escape, just in case the choice doesn't work.
Take a detour to Ikea one Saturday? You can spend hundreds of dollars in assemble-yourself furniture and spend the rest of the weekend scratching your head and screaming at an Allen wrench. And then return it in pieces the following weekend while trying to keep the rage to a minimum at the customer service desk.
Have you just started scuba sessions? Dozens of oxygen tanks will fit without drama.
The Bugatti Veyron, as impressive as an engineering feat it is, epitomizes a lot of what went wrong in the 2000s. Yes, it's absolutely amazing that this road-legal car has a 16-cylinder engine, with no less than 10 radiators, and goes 253 miles-per-hour. Every
thing about it is done to the highest standard and frankly I would sell any part of me for a ride in one, let alone the privilege of driving it.
But it's a $1 million car. New. And while it's not like there's one on every corner (unless you live in Dubai), it's not exactly rare or special enough to warrant the price yet. So collectors haven't really embraced it at this point. It's just shocking to grasp the reality that people will actually pay this much for a new car and never realize its full potential.
There are worse offenses of the decade as far as cars go. I notice now that people who in the '90s had Accords, Camrys, and thought a Nissan 300ZX wa
s an exotic plaything for weekends now end 2009 with BMW 3-series and Audi A4s in their driveway, with a Porsche Boxster or BMW Z4 in the garage. It's not like they have any more disposable income than they did 10 years ago, but people have stretched their credit further in order to afford a posh badge.
This phenomenon has done two things. It has cheapened the appeal of premium brands, especially the German ones. That's why Porsche brought us such things as the Cayenne and Panamera. And Audi inflicted the butt-ugly Q7 and BMW brought the aforementioned X6. Other nationalities have had poor offenders, such as Lexus' new HS250h hybrid, which is just a more expensive and less efficient Toyota Prius. That in turn has narrowed the gap of premium brands in terms of quality and engineering. The Hyundai Genesis, for example, is every bit as good as a Cadillac STS, itself a very competent vehicle competing with the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-series. But because it has a cheap badge on it, it's worth 15 grand less.
This brings me to my cars of the decade. There has to be several, maybe 10. The 2000s were just chock-full of new cars and rapidly advancing technology that I really can't narrow it down to a single model.
It's easy to rag on the Germans. For the most part, it's hard to fault the cars. They may be expensive, sometimes ugly and, well...expensive, but beyond this there's not much else substantial to quibble over. That's why I poke fun at the perfection. BMW offers a setting on many of its vehicles to change the timer on the headlights after the car is turned off. But it's not like you can choose from seconds in increments of ten, it's infinite. You can be sitting in your car, like Jeremy Clarkson, and be fussing over the timer.
But it's the attention to detail and pursuit of perfection that begs to be both ridiculed and appreciated. Audi has really been on a role lately. Aside from the misstep that is the Q7, there's not a bad looking car in the lineup. And since they're basically VWs, they're well-built. So it comes as no surprise to me that this year's Green Car of the Year is the Audi A3 TDI. It's a good looking car. It's practical, and at less than $30,000, it's not horrifically expensive. But like every Audi, it's amazingly well put together. There's no silver plastic inside, but real brushed aluminum. None of the panels have gaps you could run even a credit card through. There is a problem though, and it comes from VW. The Jetta TDI was last year's Green Car of the Year. And now you can get the same engine in the new Golf TDI, which can be had with either two or four doors. But here's the thing-- I'd still have the Audi. It might be insane, and a contradiction to what I've said before, but there's something about the A3 TDI I never realized before sitting in it and seriously considering it. But this car really is the best of all worlds. It has a designer label and it's practical. It's quick but it also does 42 MPG. People will look at your key, see the Audi logo and be impressed, more so than a VW. This car allows you to be image-conscious and pragmatic at the same time. I'm sold.
