Lists, lists, lists

It's getting close to that time of year again.

Once again, various organizations are getting set to deliver their verdict on which new cars are the best on sale today.

Of course, the alchemical and sometimes thaumaturgical calculations and machinations involved in deciding the winners of such awards sometimes leaves non-automotive enthusiasts... and even some enthusiasts... hell... even some of the judges who vote on these things... confused.

As well they should be... there's really no system that can't be gamed to produce any results you want. Since bench-racing is a favorite pastime of most automotive enthusiasts, those of you who know what "0-62", "bhp" and "lateral g" signify can understand this. It's tempting to give scores for performance... or for "value-for-the-money"... such cheap tricks the media employs to convince the manufacturers that their cars should be cheaper and better!

But things get awfully wooly when you start adding subjective scoring to the mix. Some awards are decided subjectively for items that most lay-people will never notice... the cleverness of the engineering of a car's engine mounts... the use of cylinder deactivation for fuel economy... hybrid implementation... etcetera. Such subjectively decided criteria have led to some pretty crappy cars being crowned for no other reason than their uniqueness. I'm looking at you, Motor Trend and "European Car of the Year"!

Others may try to rigidly structure subjective observations into a quantifiable table. But they find that the scoring then gives them an answer that nobody was expecting. Car and Driver has all but given up on its methods of calculation and has created a master subjective score: the "Gotta-Have-It" score. One score to rule them all. Or at least one score to make the numbers look nice and neat at the end of the day. Such baldfaced manipulation is tantamount to an admittance that their scoring system sucks, but at least their "TenBest" list doesn't rely on scoring, but are rather editorial picks debated by the whole staff.

Which brings me to the inspiration for this post: the "C! Awards 2009". This is one list I usually agree with. Because it's a list created by car enthusiasts for car enthusiasts... but with an eye towards practicality and grounded in reality. Well... as real as any list with three categories for high-end supercars costing more than my house can be.

One funny disclaimer, though, for the list. It notes that category winners aren't always comparo winners. Even the new editor-in-chief, James Deakin, says he doesn't agree with every award, but hey, that's democracy.

I find it funny that many people have criticized the magazine for dropping scoring from their comparisons in the past. I don't actually care about scoring. I think the way Top Gear Philippines does it works. Just pick a winner. There was a time C! didn't do this for their comparos, which made them somewhat pointless. I'm ambivalent about the new scoring system. It seems to be continually under development, and criteria can vary from comparo to comparo. What I'm not ambivalent about is the category winners for the "Editor's Choice" awards, since they seem to have picked the right winners given their categories, for the most part, though there are some that could go either way.

It's a challenge facing the "Philippine Car of the Year" panel. With a voting panel the size of a small barangay, it's impossible to sit around a table with some beers to decide the winner, so a scoring system is a must. I haven't agreed with all the category winners in the past, and I still think that older cars still on sale should be made eligible (how do the new cars really stack up to the old guard, I wonder?), but you can't deny that most have been good cars. And if you weren't there, you don't know how or why a car won. It could be that your favorite horse rides like a bucking bronco over potholes and got negative marks from the judges for it (as well it should!), or a car you think is "boring" turns out to be more practical and easier to drive than that flashy new model. This is the advantage of having all the contestants available at the same time and at the same place. It's a proper comparison. Of course Gwyneth Palthrow was great in "Shakespeare in Love" (one of the most controversial Oscars of the past decade...), but how would that performance stand out if you had every Academy nominee for that year reprise the role on stage in front of a voting audience? Exactly. The outcome might have been completely different.

I think what the PCoTY lacks is an explanation of how a winner won, which would satisfy both enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike. A detailed press release... or... hopefully... a publication? :)

As this is a growing organization, there has to be a continuous refining and tweaking of the rules, to make them fair and balanced. Of course, there comes a point where you have to accept that no scoring system in the world will be perfect. At which point, it's up to the judges to be as fair and impartial as possible, to give the best results possible.

Philippine Car of the Year

Last weekend was fun, but tiring. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, I've got to miss one whole double-header of a weekend. Rats. That's over 30 cars. Oh well... I get to go pick up the Ford from the shop, do the groceries and finally buy new SD cards for all my toys. But the guys left on secretary duty (of which I was supposed to do 1/2) are sore at me. C'est la vie.

Link takes you to the cover article on Kotse.com. What isn't on my cover article is how enthusiastic I am about the new Lancer. Obvious, huh? Sure, the Lancer's interior isn't any richer than the horrible rent-a-car interiors of Evos of years past... but it looks good. And who has time to fondle dashboard plastic when they're having this much fun? Many North American reviews have really hammered on the Lancer... somewhat unfairly, I think... but they get really wimpy trim levels saddled with tiny wheel fitment and tires that don't do the chassis justice. With the large 18" wheels (which, by the way, feel perfectly controlled by the suspension), our local Lancer kicks butt. Oh, and it's huge inside, too. This is one compact that feels categorically better than the Lynx/Protege in all ways. (The Mazda3 is too soft, the Focus too heavy, and the Civic too inert in the rear suspension). Okay, so the steering's electric. So's almost everything else on the market except for the trucks and the penalty-box Alto. Good bet for class winner, and possible contender overall.

The Focus TDCi... now here's an interesting car. As compared to the Lancer and the Subaru Impreza on hand, it's not the grippiest car here, but the same basic Focus goodness is there, the keen balance, the predictable handling... now matched to a Dual Sequential Gearbox (DSG) that gives incredibly snappy and seamless shifts. Selling this car on Goodyear Eagly NCT5s makes about as much sense as selling an Everest with 15" steelies shod in the same tires. C'mon, Ford, give this car some real tires.

Another contender for the overall crown is the Honda Accord. Too bad it's saddled with Michelin Energy Eco-tires. Terrible. This car deserves Conti-Sport Contacts, at the very least... the Michelins don't have the ability to control a car this fast, and a bout of hard driving may end in tears for some hapless owner. Oh, and the suspension is soft, too, but underneath that softness is excellent body-control and suspension geometry... An Accord Sport would be terrific, but as it is, the Mazda6 and Subaru Legacy are much sportier handlers, if quite a bit slower in a straight line than the mighty 3.5 V6 Accord.

Oh, and not mentioned in the article is the absolute love I have for the Kia Picanto. It's borderline psychotic, really. I haven't adored a small car this much since the original Beetle... and the Beetle wasn't nearly this much fun to drive, or this useful.