[car fanatics]

Photo: Copyright 2012 Garry Gulledge / Car Fanatics Forum
April 9, 2012
By: CF staff

Fisker Atlantic



SRT Viper



Acura RLX



Chevrolet Impala



Hyundai Santa Fe



Infiniti LE



Lexus ES



Subaru Legacy/Outback



Lincoln MKZ


Nissan Altima
Ram 1500 Pickup
Toyota Avalon

[jaybird]

I think the Viper.

[Chevroletguy]

Going to go Impala, bringing class back to the fullsize segment and taking the car back to its roots.

[The Voice of Doom]

Probably the Ram. A pretty thorough mid-cycle upgrade and restyle for a big-volume seller.

[The 'Burg]

I guess it depends on how you define "important". My definition is "relevance to the automaker's position in the market." So with that said:

Fisker Atlantic - Fisker has no market relevance. And I seriously doubt this car will generate any. Just keeping it real...

Dodge Viper - is strictly a halo car for Chrysler. It's gorgeous, I lust after it, but if the Viper vanished from production tomorrow Chrysler would be unaffected.

Acura RLX- The RL is totally irrelevant and the nameplate itself is damaged goods. If Acura wants to make a comeback, they need to resurrect the Legend nameplate - and the car will have to be better than its competition in every conceivable way. Otherwise, what's the point?

Chevrolet Impala- critical for Chevrolet to be successful with this car. If this Impala becomes a fleet queen then the nameplate will also become irrelevant. This is the last thing Chevrolet wants, so the Impala's success is extremely important.

Hyundai Santa Fe- Hyundai is looking for a high-volume seller in the lucrative CUV market and I think they have a potentially strong seller here. There's a lot of money to be made here and Hyundai wants it. Very important vehicle.

Infiniti LE- not so much. Infiniti's bread-and-butter is the G series. Even the M's sales have slowed. I think the JX is more important but it will be facing competition from the Pathfinder. Dumb move by Nissan/Infiniti. Anyway, the LE is still a concept and probably a long way from production - which means it is irrelevant to this discussion.

Lexus ES- brutally important for Lexus. The ES is their volume seller. If the ES fails, Lexus will need a checkup from the neck up. It HAS to be a success for them. Critically important car.

Subaru Legacy/Outback- since this is essentially a mild refresh of the current Legacy, which itself is a minor player in the market, it is also irrelevant.

Lincoln MKZ- critically important for this car to succeed. The rebirth of Lincoln is riding on its shoulders. If the MKZ fails, Lincoln fails. Period.

Nissan Altima- Nissan's best-selling car and the second best-selling car in the US after the Camry. They cannot afford to muck it up. Success is critical.

Ram 1500 Pickup- not at all important. Success is guaranteed. It's a D3 full-size pickup. Dodge, just like GM and Ford, will sell every one they can build. And since all they did was improve upon an already excellent design, they have nothing to worry about.

Toyota Avalon- interesting situation here. It seems like Toyota no longer wants the Avalon to be a traditional Japanese Buick, and they are looking for it to be a "New" Japanese Buick. Which means they are looking for a more youthful crowd. So let's consider the ramifications if it fails. The dealers will react by ordering more high-line Camrys... which makes the Avalon somewhat irrelevant.

So... based upon my conclusions and observations - the MKZ was the most important car at NYIAS. Lincoln's existence depends on it. None of the other vehicles are carrying that much weight on their shoulders.

[Dequindre]

Definitely the MKZ. Like Neburg said, this IS the car that Lincoln is going to make its comeback with.

[redsky]

Ram 1500 > all other.

[bluestinger66]

I agree with burgs analysis comepletely... MKZ is most important to its maker.

[96s-10ss]

Viper

[SRTChallenger-Man]

Viper! Pure bred american supercar and slayer of the europeans, not to mention downright SEXY!

[REVolution]

I am with 'Burg on this also. I fully agree with what he just said.

[jspookss]

Viper> Impala> MKZ

Look. I agree wit neburg on his valid point, but lets face it.. The MKZ wont be the car that puts Lincoln on "the map". Lincoln will still be irrelevant.

The Viper and impala made their way onto the general mainstream media networks. In a positive way. You know how much they hate GM and disdain chrysler. These cars are big news.

[GotMopar?]

I have to go with Ram on this one.

[MOPAR74]

jspookss;195342 Wrote:Viper> Impala> MKZ

Look. I agree wit neburg on his valid point, but lets face it.. The MKZ wont be the car that puts Lincoln on "the map". Lincoln will still be irrelevant.

The Viper and impala made their way onto the general mainstream media networks. In a positive way. You know how much they hate GM and disdain chrysler. These cars are big news.

This.


I still dont think the MKZ will be as big of a hit as SOME seem to think.

[kamikazeKID]

Avalon