Cars '88 The Best

Once Again, We've turned loose five of the best automotive journalits money can't buy--plus race-car driver and Playboy products spokesperson Kevin Cogan--to choose Best car in a variety of categories. Sure, we include Best Car to Impress Clients (its the Bentley Eight, pictured above), but we haven't forgotten that not everyone can afford heavy English metal, so you'll also find expert input on categories that mere mortals can relate to, such as Best Car to Tell Your Girlfriend to Buy. (No, the criteria did not inlude a comfortable back seal.) Some background information on expert panel follows.

Best Two-Seater Under $20,000: Toyotas peppy supercharged MR2 outdistanced all competitors, with four of our six panelists picking it as their favorite form of inexpensive two-seater transportation. "After you buy this car. you'll want to find the most winding road you can to get from A to B," said Kevin Cogan. John Lamm agreed and applauded the addition of the supercharger for 1988. Brock Yates and David Stevens also voted for the MR2 (Stevens called it a "serious grinmobile'). One of our panelists' two dissenting votes went to the Honda CRX Si, about which William Jeanes said, "In traffic, the CRX Si is like a turbo roller skate on racing slicks." Ken Gross cast his lot with the Mazda RX-7. commenting that it had "all the Sturm und Drang of a 944 but at a fraction of Porsches pricing."

Playboy's Panel of Judges

Kevin Cogan: After just 86 starts Californian Cogan, spokesperson for Playboy Products, is ranked among the top 15 in all time Indy Car earnings. He finished the 1987 CART sanctioned PPG Indy Car World Series solidly in the top 20 behind the wheel of the Patrick Racing Team's Marlboro March Chevrolet and is always a name in contention on the grueling Indy Car circuit.

Ken Gross: Author of Driving in the Real World (Playboy, September 1987), Gross is an internationally known and widely respected automobile writer and marketing consultant. His motorcar savvy has graced the pages of Automobile.magazine. Auto Gallery and Automobile Quarterly. His books, on ferrai (Ferrari 250GT SWB The Definitive Road/Race Car) and BMW (Illustrated BMW Buyer's Guide), are two volumes that belong in any car buff's automotive library.

William Jeanes: Editor of Car and Driver magazine and long time automotive journalist with credits in Plavboy--The Loveliness of the Long-Distrance Runner (January 1986) Parade, Automobile Magazine and Sports Illustrated. Jeanes is a past president of the American Racing, Press Association and a member of the National Motorsports Press Association. He was on last year's panel of experts for Cars '87: The Best (Playboy, May).

John Lamm:Road & Track editor at large and well known free lance automotive writer and photographer, Lamm, also returning for his second stint on Playboy's car panel, earned his motor sport spurs with time at Motor Trend magazine and as a Road & Track staffer early in the Eighties. His latest project took him to Japan with World Driving Champion Phil Hill to do a story on the Grand Prix Champion Honda Williams.

David Stevens: A veteran Playboy employee with more than 22 years on the magazine staff. Stevens is the Senior Editor in charge of Playboy service features. "Anything you can drink, drive, eat, smoke, tune, fiddle with or fondle that isn't flesh," he says. Stevens' automotive forays tor the magazine date back to 1970. when he raced in the Mexican 1000 Road Race for a Playboy article titled Baja's Qeuasy Rider. The following year, he crossed the Sahara Desert in a Land Rover for another Playboy story--a journey that took one month. Stevens' personal wheels are a nonrunning 1970 Citroen DS 21 Pallas, a machine that he claims will one day rise again.

Brock Yates: Columnist for The Washington Post Magazine and Car and Driver, author of nearly three dozen articles for Playboy and countless other publications. Yates, it seems, will eventually write about anything that rides, rolls or traverses. He has written for the big screen and managed to find time to squeeze several books into his busy schedule. Is there anything that this guy hasn't done? Last year he sat on this panel for Cars '87, and this year marks the fifth start for his One Lap of America road rally.

Best Superindulgence Car. The vote was four to two for Lamborghini's raging bull of a vehicle, the $130,000 Countach, which commands respect even when standing still. "Put this baby down in northern Australia and an aborigine tribe would worship it," said Stevens. "People stare, wave and even stop in their tracks when a Countach rumbles by. You don't have to prove a thing, except perhaps how you paid for it" was Grpss's assertion. Cogan echoed it, as did Yates, who commented that "Ralph Nader has got to despise the Countach, and that's good enough for me." Lamm's and Jeanes's opposition votes went to the $145,000 Aston Martin Volante, which is no slouch of a machine, either. Lamm said, "You have to see these cars being built to really appreciate them.... A true cottage industry."

Best New Engine: Our panelists gave the BMW 750iL 12-cylinder power plant a clear mandate, with five out of six voting for it. "Just when you thought it was safe to brag about your four-valve four-banger ..." quipped Yates, while Jeanes declared that "the 750iL V12 is nothing more or less than what automobile engines ought to be. It's the Rolex President of power units." Cogan, whose racing career has introduced him to some very potent machinery, pointed out that he is "always for more power. And if it's in a car that handles well, that's twice as nice." Stevens and Gross also cast their votes for the 750iL. Gross, especially, waxed euphoric about the engine, saying that "currently. Mercedes and Cadillac are rushing their V12s to imitate it.

The Germans love to demonstrate that they can balance a five-mark coin on the intake manifoid while the engine's running. It's that smoooooth." Lamm's dissenting vote went to the Honda Civic. "While my head goes with the Honda Civic, my heart is with the BMW. Before the crash in October, I might have chosen the BMW, but now I have to go with the Honda."

More Picks of the Pack

Best Car to Impress Clients: "Impress 'em? Hell, intimidate them!" said Yates about the $98,000 Bentley Eight. "The Eight's posh interior is upholstered and paneled like a proper British club. The price of membership is rather bloody steep, though" was Gross's comment. Stevens agreed, adding that in the Bentley. "nobody will try to borrow your Grey Poupon mustard." Jeanes and Cogan opted for the Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, while Lamm picked the Jaguar XJ6, calling it "the best combination of newness, plushness, snobbishness and worldliness."

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Best Winter Car: It was a dead heat for the Audi 90 Quattro and the Jeep Cherokee. In the Audi 90's camp were Stevens and Lamm, the latter picking it partially because "skiers love the pass-through-seat feature that enables you to carry your boards inside the car instead of on the roof or in the trunk." Yates and Gross picked the Jeep Cherokee. Yates had the opinion, however, that "this tall, tough four-wheel-drive tourer ought to have its spotty quality upgraded by its new owner, Chrysler." Cogan chose the BMW 325ix four-wheel drive ("If you live where it snows, there s nothing wrong with four-wheeling in style"), while Jeanes went for the Range Rover ("Nothing else is so Civilized and capable. The capital C, in this case, is well earned").

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Best Interstate Cruiser: Cogan, Jeanes, Stevens and Yates all voted for the Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, Jeanes commenting that "the Mercedes is the great-big car Detroit still can't quite figure out how to build." Yates quipped that "in it, you can outrun the cops with the kids asleep in the back seat." Gross's choice was the BMW 750iL, while Lamm picked the Jaguar XJ6. saying, "It has the best ride, seats and ambience."

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Best Off-Road Vehicle: "At first glance, one might think the Range Rover is too pricey." said Lamm about Range Rover's incredible $33,000 luxury boondock machine, "but by the time you add options onto some of the other vehicles against which it's selling, it is not that far off in price." Stevens agreed, pointing out that the Range Rover makes a great urban street fighter, too. Jeanes also liked it, though his heart is with the Range Rover's more primitive older brother, the Land Rover. Gross's vote went to the Jeep Wrangler ("It'll eat a Suzuki for breakfast"); Yates liked the Nissan Pathfinder ("Just the thing for a tour of the Iran-Iraq war front"); and Cogan picked the GMC S-Jimmy ("When you are really off the road, you want dependability to avoid becoming a pedestrian").

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Best Car to Tell Your Girlfriend to Buy: The Volkswagen Cabriolet was the topless turn-on for three of our panelists, with Lamm cautioning that you should suggest, rather than tell her: "I like my women to be fun-loving, and that means convertibles." Other votes went to the Honda Prelude Si with four-wheel steering, which, according to Gross, "looks very tricky in new Barbados yellow"; the Nissan Pulsar, whose design, according to Jeanes, "displays that rarest of qualities--uniqueness"; and the Honda CRX Si, about which Yates said. "Just be sure this little sucker isn't cuter than your girlfriend."

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Best Basic Car $7000 to $10,000 (Equipped): It was four to two for the Honda Civic over the Toyota Tercel. Lamm commented that "it was really a tie with the Tercel, but the Honda wins on style points. Yates thought, One puzzles over what might have happened if Honda had been a serious player in World War Two." Stevens and Cogan picked the Tercel, about which Cogan said. "Its a very solid choice for those who are careful with their money."

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Best Convertible Under $20,000: The Ford Mustang GT galloped away with five of the six votes, with Cogan hanging tough for the Toyota Celica. "I always approach the Mustang GT thinking, Well. I wonder how the old fart is doing. Then I get in the car, let that V8 do its work and come away hoping I'll be as up to date when I'm an old fart." said Lamm. Jeanes agreed: "Ford keeps sawing off the teeth on this one and adding claws and muscle. It's just a hell of a car, despite its aged design." Gross's comment: "Great gobs of horsepower and a fliptop that folds. The Mustang evokes those 'finest kind' Fifties feelings, and the sticker wont break your bank account." Cogan's opinion of the Celica: "Built to last, this car should blow your hair for years to come. '

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Best Convertible Over $20,000: The BMW 325i and the Jaguar XJ-S tied for first, with one vote each going to the Ford Mustang GT (Yates picked it even though the car's price is under S20.000, calling the machine "the classiest topless American since Marilyn Monroe posed nude") and the Saab 900 Turbo. "The Jag is a real prowl car," commented Stevens, "and the fact that in 1988 they'll be made on an assembly line instead of being conversions makes them even more desirable." Cogan agreed, saying. "It's a classic now and will continue to be in the future." Lamm and Gross both picked the 325i. Gross's comment: "The Yuppie's favorite fliptop is a cinch to operate ... and its built like a little bank vault stuffed with D-marks." Jeanes called the Saab 900 "a drophead that not only works but also has a personality. A strange personality, of course, but it wouldn't be a Saab otherwise."

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Best Sedan (Domestic): The Lincoln Continental is "the best of a still so-so lot." said Gross. "Americans may build great sedans when they raise their speed limits to autobahn levels." Four other panelists agreed that the new Continental was no con job. "Sorry, General Motors, but Ford has done it again." was Lamm's opinion. "While G.M. makes statements, Ford makes good cars. However, the Pontiac Bonneville SSE also gets high points. Its just that it has a sort of unnecessary G.M. glitz about it." Jeanes agreed that the Lincoln Continental comes closer to the standards set by Mercedes and BMW than anything ever built in this country. Yates added, "Now, guys, hold the opera lights and the moon roof; it's fine just the way it is." Cogan cast the lone dissenting vote, opting for the Cadillac Sedan de ViMe with touring suspension. "A very nice feel for a domestic. Long trips are made shorter in this one."

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Best Sedan (Foreign): BMW edged out Mercedes-Benz in a close decision, three panelists (Gross, Jeanes and Stevens) voting for the 750iL (Gross drove it at 260 kph on the Frankfurt autobahn and said that "even Porsches pull over when they see those flattened kidney grilles") and two (Lamm and Yates) putting their money on the Mercedes 300E. (Lamm called it "still the best four-door sedan in the world. Period") Cogan also went for a Mercedes but picked another model--the 560SEL--saying that "it's expensive, but if that doesn t matter, there is no other choice."

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Best Car for a California Coast Highway: Voting was (concluded on page 154)Cars '88(continued from page 111) all over the map in this category, but the Mazda RX-7 Turbo Convertible squeaked by the competition. Stevens and Gross liked it. (Gross's comment: "New--a bit different and cleverly equipped with a wind deflector. Its price, $21,800, versus that of the RX-7 coupe, is so low it must be a mistake.") Other votes went to the Mercedes-Benz 300E (Cogan), the Porsche 911 Cabriolet (Lamm), the Ford Mustang GT convertible (Jeanes) and the BMW M3.

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Best Over-all New Car: You guessed it; the big Bimmer, the BMW 750iL, pulled votes from three of our six panelists--Lamm, Stevens and Gross (the last saying, "Best new engine and best import sedan. BMW's new 12 is outselling the S-class Mercedes in Germany. Do you suppose they know something?"). Other votes went to the Mercedes 300CE Coupe (Cogan), the Mazda 929 (Yates said it's an "engineering sex goddess in a house dress") and the Honda Prelude (Jeanes, who would have picked the Lincoln Continental "if it weren't available with those awful casket-upholstery interiors").

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Best Suspension: The Mercedes-Benz 560SEL pulled way ahead of the pack with four votes--those of Cogan, Stevens, Yates and Lamm. Lamm explained that while the big Benz was a bit stiff for some tastes, it was still his favorite, with BMW and Jaguar "just back of the Mercedes' bumper." Other choices were the BMW 750iL (Jeanes) and the Jaguar XJ6 (Gross), which "just edged out the BMW 750iL."

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Best Car for Trouble-Free Operation: For day-to-day reliability, nothing beats the Honda Accord, in the opinion of four judges (Cogan, Jeanes, Stevens and Gross). Said Gross, "This car is like a hair drier. You take it out of the box and it works without fail for ten years. Then you buy another one." Other votes went to the Toyota Camry (Lamm: "There has to be a Toyota at the head of this list. Toyota earned that reputation and hasn't forgotten how it was earned. We're talking anvils here") and the Acura Integra (Yates: "These guys are beginning to act like the smug bastards with the 160 I.Q. who ran straight A's in your calculus class").

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Best Engineering Innovation: Honda's latest contribution, four-wheel steering as available on the Prelude Si, picked up five of our judges' six votes. Yates wondered, however, if "it's the first sign of technological overkill." Cogan was the lone holdout, preferring Toyota's supercharging of its MR2. "This car handles well, and when that's the case, adding power is always a great idea."

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Best New Feature: The optional Buick Riviera cellular phone, which is built in and hands-free, got the call from four of our judges, mainly because, as Lamm put it, he'd "vote for anything that would get drivers' hands back on the wheel, which is where they belong." Jeanes agreed, saying, "Now you can ride down the freeways yelling 'Get me Bernie on the Coast' without endangering your fellow motorists. You can even call Buick to find out how that TV-monitor dashboard works." Gross's vote went to Mazda's new wind deflector that's incorporated in the RX-7 convertible: "Long-hairs, take note: Mazda brings you the breeze without the windblown look." Yates chose the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-Rated super-high-performance tires: "Now, if they could only make the car as good as the tires...."

These are our winners for the best of breed in 19 categories for 1988. Take the information and ease on down your own road driving the wheels of your choice. Happy motoring.

And the winners are ...

Best Two-Seater Under $20,000:

Toyota MR2 Supercharged

Best Superindulgence Car:

Lamborghini Countach

Best New Engine:

BMW 750IL

Best Car to Impress Clients:

Bentley Eight

Best Winter Car (Tie):

Audi 90 Quattro and Jeep Cherokee

Best Interstate Cruiser:

Mercedes-Benz 560SEL

Best Off-Road Vehicle:

Range Rover

Best Car to Tell Your Girlfriend to Buy:

Volkswagen Cabriolet

Best Basic Car $7000 to $10,000 (Equipped):

Honda Civic

Best Convertible Under $20,000:

Ford Mustang GT

Best Convertible over $20,000 (Tie):

BMW 325i and Jaguar XJ-S

Best Sedan (Domestic):

Lincoln Continental

Best Sedan (Foreign):

BMW 750iL

Best Car for a California Coast Highway:

Mazda RX-7 Turbo Convertible

Best Over-all New Car:

BMW 750il

Best Suspension:

Mercedes-Benz 560SEL

Best Car for Trouble-Free Operation:

Honda Accord

Best Engineering Innovation:

Honda Prelude Si with four-wheel steering

Best New Feature:

Buick Riviera cellular phone