|
|
|
|
IntelliChoice Value Rating
The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.
One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.
What is a good car value?
A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.
But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?
For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.
This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)
Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.
Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.
So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Review From Motor Trend Magazine
First Drive: 2008 Lotus Elise Supercharged
The Anti-Godzilla: A sportster that's everything Nissan's mighty GTR is not
By Frank Markus
This year's high-performance headlines are all about Nissan's gigantus GTR, a two-ton nuke lobbed at Newton's laws of physics. Meanwhile, way below the fold in mouse type we read that Lotus has quietly strengthened its longstanding alliance with fellow Brit, Sir Isaac, by introducing an Elise with Exige S power and 63 fewer pounds worth of "resistance to motion." Granted, a lightened Lotus is no newsflash, but there's quite a bit more to this one than appears at first blush. For one thing, the engine is quite different from the Exige S's. Both start off as Toyota 2ZZ-GE 1.8-liters, but you'll note right off that there's no intercooler and air scoop blocking the rear window of this one. Instead, an entirely new intake manifold by Magnuson incorporates an Eaton M45 Roots-type supercharger that blows a slight boost directly into the intake runners with no detour through a heat-exchanger. This setup shaves 17.6 pounds off the engine's weight, at a cost of just two horsepower and 12 pound-feet from the Exige S motor's output (leaving 218 and 153).  Elise Supercharged model gets a more demure rear spoiler than that of the Exige S, but it's still functional, reducing lift considerably near the car's claimed top speed of 150 mph. Supercharged Elises get new wheels, a unique spoiler, and a single central exhaust pipe. Inside, the gauge graphics are swapped to white-on-black, soft-touch paint dresses up the dash (it's lighter than foam or leather), and featherweight ProBax seats are designed to rotate the pelvis slightly, better distributing the occupant's weight and dramatically improving blood flow to the legs for greater comfort and less fatigue during long stints in the saddle. (Lotus is first to market with these new-age seats.) Ordering is simplified with two major packages, Touring (niceties like leather or faux-suede seat upholstery, carpeting, sound insulation, an iPod connector, and an artful extruded-aluminum cupholder for $1600) and Sport (Bilstein dampers, ultralight forged wheels, sport seats, traction control, and twin oil coolers for $2600). A limited-slip diff is offered ($1790), but dealers are counseled to steer owners away from this option unless they plan to autocross extensively, because on normal twisty roads it actually detracts somewhat from the handling behavior. And that would be a travesty. From the moment you slip into that form-fitting seat (a task roughly akin to wriggling into a scuba-diving dry suit without the baby powder), it's obvious this platform is optimized for handling, and this configuration is particularly sweet. Its Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 tires offer less extreme levels of grip than the Exige S's Advan A048s. You can probe the limits of this car's grip on a mountain road at sane speeds, which is simply a whole lot more fun than wheeling through the same corner at the same speed nowhere near the limit. With just over 800 pounds of car and driver pressing down on the front wheels, the steering is incredibly light and accurate-the rival of any Porsche's. When attacking a set of switchbacks like the ones scaling California's Mount Palomar, one starts out with an instinctive death-grip on the rim but soon realizes this squelches some of wiggles and twitches the steering rack is sending to describe the nuances of grip and surface texture. Light finger pressure on the tiny (foot-diameter) wheel and about thee-quarters of a turn in either direction are all that's needed to negotiate most switchbacks.  
|
America, Lotus Project Eagle has Landed
Group Lotus plc unveiled the first glimpse of the eagerly awaited Project Eagle at the 78th annual Geneva International...
03/09/2008 | 22:03 PM
|
|
Tesla WhiteStar In Right State To Grow As It Goes
Hot on the heels of the pre-order success of the Tesla Roadster, Tesla’s all-electric sports car, comes word that...
04/23/2007 | 21:04 PM
|
|
Sports Cars that have Luxury and Speed
New sports cars made their mark in 2007 and expect things to continue into 2008. Many of the world’s car makers...
01/02/2008 | 13:01 PM
|
|
Hybrid 'Hot Rods' of the (Near) Future
If your idea of an eco-friendly car is akin to a souped-up golf cart, with timid acceleration and languid performance,...
09/10/2007 | 13:09 PM
|
|
Editors' Coolest Car Challenge: From Sixty-Four Cars to One
Irvine, CA, August 2, 2007 -- PRIMEDIA Enthusiast Media and XM, the nation's leading satellite radio service, today...
09/07/2007 | 16:09 PM
|
|
|
The New Lotus Elise S
Lotus is back with an entry level Elise that is set to propel the Hethel based sports car manufacturer further up the...
06/09/2006 | 13:06 PM
|
|
|
Lotus Elise
Having driven this thing at Laguna Seca, it's as great as they say. Any sub-2,000-pound rear-drive car with a Celica...
04/13/2005 | 16:04 PM
|
|
|
Lotus introduces its "sport" line
The Lotus Elise and Exige will soon have "bigger brother" sport versions. The new versions will get Lotus Sport badges...
07/05/2006 | 15:07 PM
|
|
|
Audi's answer to the elise...
"Audi plans to build a "baby" TT that will challenge the Lotus Elise, according to AutoExpress magazine. The...
07/25/2006 | 16:07 PM
|
|
|
Lotus Exige gets bio-powered
That is officially the billionth variation of the Lotus Elise....
08/24/2006 | 17:08 PM
|
|
|
|
2007 Lotus Exige S
In the Exige S, everything that was raw about the Exige is accentuated. The onset of power, the torque, the whip of the needle across the tachometer. With that comes a more raw soundtrack. Gnashing me...
more
|
|
2005 America's British Reliability Run
Can columnist Jamie Kitman and Automobile magazine's editors endure a 700-mile charity drive through the Midwest in classic British sports cars? Will you sponsor us to benefit the National Children's ...
more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |