"So, what's the best car?"
If there's one question that C/D editors hear more than any other (apart from "Do you know how fast you were travelin', son?"), that's it. Readers ask it daily, in person and in letters.
We always answer the question with a question: "Best for what? For a family? A millionaire playboy? A widow spinster on social security? O.J. Simpson?" White Ford Broncos won't work for all of them.
What the readers really mean, often as not, is, "You guys get to drive all the world's cars, so given a free hand, what car would you drive?" Here we have a different question entirely.
To answer it, we gathered 12 C/D editors. Each could pick any car he wished, but there were strict guidelines. Foremost among them this: He had to live with the car he chose for five years. It was to be his only automobile. He would drive it daily to work, to the 7-Eleven, across the country, and through Michigan winters. After 60 months, he would give the car back, without depreciation affecting him in any way. He would, however, have to foot the bill for maintenance, fuel, tires; all non-warranty upkeep would be dollars dragged from his personal savings.
Thus, a serious frame of mind was required. A Ferrari F40 would be allowable, but the editor had to explain how he'd keep it running through snowdrifts, and he'd have to explain what he'd do when the thing threw an alternator belt in Malta, Montana, on Christmas Eve.
Cars selected had to be emissions legal in 49 states. They did not have to be current models, but they did have to be available at dealerships; thus, Smith's weird VW EuroVan was eligible. Finally, each editor was to lock himself in his office and make the fateful selection in private. No collusion.
The Executive Editor predicted that five of his colleagues would choose the Lexus SC400 and that another five would choose the Acura NSX. He was wrong. There were no duplications, although three editors selected different models from one manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz.
So what's the best car? Well, if you're asking, "What car would you most readily drive for 60 consecutive months?" then here are our answers. (No one chose a white Ford Bronco.)
Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, $79,163
- Phil Berg, Senior Editor
Mercedes-Benz SL500, $108,100
- Steve Spence, Managing Editor
Rolls-Royce Corniche IV Convertible, $292,645
- Patrick Bedard, Editor at Large
Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon, $32,195
- Mary Beth Lewis, Copy Chief
Mercedes-Benz E500, $87,920
- Frank Markus, Technical Editor
Acura NSX, $78,075
- Martin Padgett Jr., Associate Editor
BMW M3, $36,595
- Barry Winfield, Technical Director
Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, $71,647
- Don Schroeder, Technical Editor
Mercedes-Benz E320 Wagon, $48,040
- Brock Yates, Editor at Large
Volkswagen EuroVan GL, $23,235
- Kevin Smith, Editor at Large
Porsche 911 Turbo, $108,753
- Csaba Csere, Editor-in-Chief
Try it yourself and see. Twist the titanium key, hum along with the 24-valve V-6 purring over your right shoulder, tighten your grip on the impossibly slick shifter, get hypnotized by the tarmac as it gets swallowed between the headlights and you too will fall hopelessly in love.
Could a Macintosh computer or a Walkman be any easier to use? Chastise it for logical Civic-style goodness if you want, but a workplace as user-friendly as the NSX's can't be found on any other exotic. Or some econoboxes, for that matter.
Its efficiency is all that much more startling coupled to its low, lean, two-place bodywork and mid-mounted V-6. That combination usually means trips to the chiropractor's office, but the Honda spares you those back-wrenching histrionics with a comfortable nest beneath its glassy canopy.
The den just happens to ride atop one of the world's most sophisticated chassis. Its trustworthiness makes heroes of those with the smallest abilities. The NSX will lure anyone to the hairiest hairpins, then guide them through telepathically, as deftly as it would needle through the esses at Road Atlanta. That alone is worth vaults of cash -- or a parking lot full of tricky Italian exotics.
Every vehicle has its compromises, and so does every driver. I'll trade away a winter's worth of easy commutes, and the keys to the latest Latin redhead, for the thrill of wringing the NSX through its ratios any day.