The Car Aficionado

Welcome to The CAR Aficionado. 

The Conscious Automotive Resource—an acrostic phrase that defines The CAR Aficionado—summarizes  our mission. We are a resource for car collectors and enthusiasts who want to preserve the personal freedoms associated with motorized transportation. Online, we operate a classified marketplace for buying, selling, and trading automobiles. We are like a Craigslist for serious car collectors, except our subscribers can post several ads for no additional fees. 

Unlike any other online buying guide, we offer expert advice with articles on all cars, new and old. Our writers provide an irreverent take on the automobile industry. Nothing is above our critical appraisal, and nothing is sacred. (Sorry, Ferrari.) Through our news feed, readers keep tabs on the pulse of the ever-changing world of car collecting. More than a website, The CAR Aficionado is also available as a quarterly print guide (printed on 100 percent recycled paper with non-toxic inks), complete with up-to-date specifications and pricing information for classic and modern classic (a.k.a. new) cars, as well as some of the best automotive antiques available from private sellers, hand-picked from among our most noteworthy online classifieds. 

Think of us as The Wine Advocate of cars. In fact, we have adapted the following rubric entirely from wine critic Robert Parker. Instead of oenological terms, The CAR Aficionado has substituted automotive words and phrases in place of Parker's more olfactory nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives, and we find that his system works well when applied to automobiles. The CAR Aficionado’s rating system employs a 50-100 point quality scale. It is our belief that the various five-star rating systems do not provide enough flexibility and often result in inflated ratings. The CAR Aficionado takes a hard, critical look at cars, since we would prefer to underestimate the car's quality than to overestimate it. The numerical ratings are utilized only to enhance and complement our thorough driving notes, which are our primary means of communicating our judgments to you.

Driving Notes & Ratings

When possible all of our testing is done in peer-group, single-blind conditions, (meaning that the same types of cars are tested against each other and the manufacturers’ logos are ignored). The ratings reflect an independent, critical look at the cars. Neither price nor the reputation of the manufacturer affect the rating in any manner. We spend three months of every year testing on roads and/or racetracks. During the other nine months of the year, six and sometimes seven-day workweeks are devoted solely to testing and writing. We do not participate in organized car judgings for many reasons, but principal among these are the following: (1) we prefer to test drive a car for its entire fuel range, (2) we find it essential to have properly sized and professional driving gear, (3) the running temperature of the engine must be correct, and (4) we prefer to determine the time allocated to the number of cars to be critiqued.

The numeral rating given is a guide to what we think of the car vis-à-vis its peer group. Certainly, cars rated above 85 are very good to excellent, and any car rated 90 or above will be outstanding for its particular type. While some have suggested that scoring is not well suited to a vehicle that has been romantically extolled for decades, the automobile is no different from any consumer product. There are specific standards of quality that full-time automotive professionals recognize, and there are benchmark cars against which others can be judged. We know of no one with three or four different automobiles in front of him or her, regardless of how good or bad the cars might be, who cannot say, "I prefer this one to that one." Scoring cars is simply taking a professional's opinion and applying some sort of numerical system to it on a consistent basis. Scoring permits rapid communication of information to expert and novice alike.

The score given for a specific model reflects the quality of the car at its best. We often tell people that evaluating a car and assigning a score to a vehicle that will change and evolve in many cases for up to 5 or more years is analogous to taking a sip of wine. Much can be ascertained but, like a taste of an evolving beverage, the car model will also evolve and change. Cars from obviously poorly maintained or defective natures are re-tested, since a drive in a single malfunctioning vehicle does not indicate an entirely spoiled series. Many of the cars reviewed have been tested many times, and the score represents a cumulative average of the car's performance in testing to date. Scores, however, do not reveal the important facts about a car. The written commentary that accompanies the ratings is a better source of information regarding the car's style and personality, its relative quality vis-à-vis its peers, and its value and collecting potential than any score could ever indicate.

Here then is a general guide to interpreting the numerical ratings:

90-100 is equivalent to an A and is given only for an outstanding or special effort. Cars in this category are the very best produced of their type. There is a big difference between a 90 and 99, but both are top marks. As you will note through the text, there are few cars that actually make it into this top category because there are not many great cars.

80-89 is equivalent to a B in school and such a car, particularly in the 85-89 range, is very, very good; many of the cars that fall into this range often are great values as well. We have had many of these cars in our personal collections.

70-79 represents a C, or average mark, but obviously 79 is a much more desirable score than 70. Cars that receive scores between 75 and 79 are generally pleasant, straightforward cars that lack complexity, character, or depth. If inexpensive, they may be ideal for lazy Sunday cruising.

Below 70 is a D or F, depending on where you went to school. For the car, it is a sign of an imbalanced, flawed, or terribly dull or diluted product that will be of little interest to the discriminating driver.

In terms of awarding points, our scoring system gives every car a base of 50 points. The car's sustainability quotient—how environmentally responsible its form of propulsion—merits up to 5 points (a car that emits less than average carbon dioxide levels will score higher than a car that emits more than the average). The car’s general color and appearance also merit up to 5 points. Since most cars today are well made, thanks to modern technology and the increased use of professional engineers, they tend to receive at least 4, often 5 points in each of these categories. The performance and handling merit up to 15 points, depending on the intensity level and dimension of the performance and handling as well as the cleanliness of the car. The driving experience and overall satisfaction merit up to 15 points, and again, intensity of driving experience, balance, poise, and relevance and impact on the market are all important considerations when giving out points. Finally, the overall quality level or potential for further evolution and improvement—aging—merits up to 10 points.

Scores are important for the reader to gauge a professional critic's overall qualitative placement of a car vis-à-vis its peer group. However, it is also vital to consider the description of the car’s style, personality, and potential. No scoring system is perfect, but a system that provides for flexibility in scores, if applied by the same driver without prejudice, can quantify different levels of automotive quality and provide the reader with one professional's judgment. However, there can never be any substitute for your own taste nor any better education than driving the car yourself.