Cars '87: The Best

There is no best car, skeptics say. Styling? Economy? Performance? Fun to drive? No car does it all. Maybe so, but judgment can be made about various categories of cars; and to prove it, we turned over the job of choosing the automotive best of breed in 13 areas--from Best Car Likely to Hold Its Value to Best Engine--to the six experts below. Five are leading auto writers whose work has appeared in this or other publications and the sixth is last year's winner of the Indianapolis 500. Playboy Senior Editor David Stevens, who put this feature together, waved the checkered flag. Gentlemen, start your opinions.

Probably the most widely published automotive writer in America, Witzen-burg was an automotive engineer for eight years before he began free-lancing in 1975. To date, he has published more than 30 articles in Playboy and is listed on our masthead as a Contributing Editor.

Author, editor, columnist, screen writer and the organizer of the One Lap of America road rally, Yates has done it all--and well. And that includes the 32 articles he's written for playboy and his movie scripts for Smokey and the Bandit II and The Cannonball Run.

The editor of Motor Trend from 1981 to 1985, Swan has a broad background in automotive journalism that includes stints at Autoweek, Cycle World and Better Homes & Gardens--where he was the auto editor. Besides free-lancing, Swan also does advertising-consulting work.

The 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner and Driver of the Year, Rahal won six Indy races this past year, equalling only three drivers in Indy history. (He came in third in the CART PPG Indy Car Championships in 1984 and 1985.) He has also free-lanced for Car and Driver.

Best fun to Drive

You may need plastic surgery to wipe the grin off your face if you spend too much time in the MR2," Witzen-burg said. Rahal added that it looks good, too, especially with after market add-ons. "You can dress the little sucker up and never get bored driving it." Runner-up: Honda's Civic CRX Si, about which Swan commented, "For the money, this is about the most fun you can have with your clothes on." Who'd argue with that?

Currently an editor at large for Road & Track, as well as a respected free-lance writer/photographer, Lamm brings years of solid automotive experience to our panel of experts. From 1969 to 1975, he was with Motor Trend; then, until 1983, on staff at Road & Track.

The author of The Loveliness of the Long-Distance Runner (Playboy, January 1986), Jeanes has written automotive articles for many publications over the past 15 years. Currently, he's a columnist for Automobile Magazine and a guest professor at Millsaps College in Mississippi.

Best Handling

It was a tough choice, but the Chevrolet Corvette came out a close winner over Porsche's agile 944S. "If you're on a smooth piece of road, I don't think there's anything that touches the Corvette," said Rahal, and most of our experts agreed that nothing can touch Chevy's fantastic plastic road rocket. "Best ever from American manufacturers," said Jeanes. "Even H. Ross Perot couldn't have improved this aspect of the Corvette." Both Swan and Witzenburg have raced Corvettes; Swan's comment: "Race-ready, right out of the box." Porsche 944S proponent Lamm disagreed. His comment: "There's more to handling than skid pads and slalom test." Drive both and decide, guys.

Best All-New Car

Winner in a close contest over Jaguar's all-new XJ6, this new big BMW is designed to displace Mercedes' revered 560SEL as the world's premiere luxury sedan. "Move that hunk of junk over, Slick, the new Bimmer panzer just hit the autobahn on ramp," said Yates. "One look and you're in love," contributed Jeanes. "One drive and you're addicted." Witzenburg seconded the motion.

Best Sound System

It was five votes to one for Ford JBL Audio, available in high-buck Lincoln luxury models. "More expensive than concert tickets and probably better," said Witzenburg. "At least it's better on the Tchaikovsky scale" was Lamm's opinion. "But I don't know about Bruce Springsteen." Yates and Jeanes agreed, despite self-confessed tin ears, while Rahal voted for the General Motors' Delco/Bose system.

Best Ride

While Peugeot's 505 and Mercedes' superb 560SEL drew praise from our panel as fine-riding four-door sedans of the highest caliber, Jaguar's latest XJ6 garnered the majority of votes. Not to be confused with the previous Jaguar of the same name (which also might have won despite its many years on the market), this all-new leather-lined British feline sets a new world's standard for fine sedans. "Plucky Brits, my ass," said Yates. "They like their creature comforts just like us, and the silkiest suspension of them all proves it." Lamm agreed: "A car's ride is more than just soft springs. This is perhaps the only automobile for which you can describe the ride as 'elegant.' "

Best Pocket Rocket

VW's original made-in-America Rabbit GTI set the standard; the new GTI 16V moves it way ahead of the pack. Don't let its boxy looks fool you; the new 16-valve engine and terrific handling give maximum grins to the dollar. "Pocket rockets are a ton of fun," Yates commented, "but the GTI's over-all toughness makes it my choice." Runner-up, the low-volume Dodge Shelby Charger GLH-S, which Jeanes described as "crude but effective. The Molotov cocktail of cars."

Best Sports GT

Our only double winner, Porsche's latest-generation front-engine rear-drive $61,970 928S 4 luxury sports car finally receives its due recognition as the meanest Porsche on the road and our judges' vote as the Best Sports GT at any price. Its smooth, torquey 32-valve V8 drew praise from Rahal as "a work of art" and from Jeanes as "the highest stage of development from the venerable V8." About the car itself, champion Rahal said, "Dollar for dollar, its sophistication, quality and performance place it head and shoulders above all other serious cars. It's half the price of a Testarossa and just as good or better." Lamm praised it as "perhaps the best-developed automobile in the world."

Best Sports Sedan Under $15,000

Our panel of judges was less than unanimous, but the Acura Integra with the magic 16-valve motor emerged the winner over VW's Jetta GLI, Mazda's 626 GT and Pontiac's Grand Am SE. Yates called it "perhaps the best sports sedan of its size and price I've ever driven. My only beef is its rather mundane styling."

Best Damn-The-Expense Car

Its bear-claw raked styling may be controversial--Rahal called it "mean-looking and a sheer beauty," while others called it ugly--yet few questioned the Ferrari Testarossa's king-of-the-road credentials. Second place went to BMW's new 735i, about which Swan commented, "München über alles."

Best Disco Dashboard

The Subaru XT Turbo's dashboard "isn't an instrument panel, it's a video game," said Swan, and our panel generally agreed that the car's digigraphic display would be right at home in George Lucas' next episode of Star Wars or an arcade full of electronic toys to play. "Atari would definitely be proud," said Witzenburg.

Best Sports Sedan Over $15,000

After years of quirky, eccentric-looking Saabs arriving at our shores, the 9000 Turbo, according to Witzenburg, "may be the sveltest shape from Sweden since Britt Ekland--and almost as spirited." Yates generally agreed, saying that "Saab hit a grand slam with its 9000." But the car's styling, to him, "looks like a Dodge Lancer--which ain't a bad car, either, for the price." Swan perhaps summed it up best with his comment: "Here's one for the road--and a great one, at that."

Best Car Likely to hold its Value

The Mercedes-Benz 300E was the near-unanimous choice for the best four-door sedan--and one that will continue to hold its value, given sufficient tender, loving care. The way to get maximum value from any Mercedes, Lamm pointed out, is to keep it for at least ten years. "The 300E is power medicine on the used-car market," said Yates (and he should know, as he owns one). Jeanes succinctly agreed: "It's no contest." The one holdout: Swan cast his vote for the nimble Honda Accord, calling it "Numero uno among the new snob cars."