Judgment day.

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Go ahead.
Pick a favorite….

Conversation 38 comments

  1. It’s quite simple really. The third from the top, the 6 hatch. I would buy this one over any of those others.

  2. 1st places – The Mazda 4dr and 5dr. Very sharp and refined design.

    2nd Place – The Accord. Substantial redesign, if a bit clunky.

    3rd place – The Milan, although white is not a great example and these wheels look cheap, it’s a smart looking car. AWD is a plus.

    4th Place – The Altima, this regurgitated Nissan styling was tired three years ago. Cartoonish tail-lamps can’t make up for that.

    5th place – Camry, is still for the anti-car enthusiast. Easily the lamest of the bunch.

  3. Hands down it is the Mazda hatch – extremely nice looking shape (at least from the side). The others are way too boring.

  4. Mazda all over.

    Yhe other cars are RIGHTLY not in sale here in Europe, because people won’t buy them….

    too ugly.

    Ciao…

    Matteo, Italy

  5. all of you kids drink too much sakee
    the best looking car is is obviously the new malibu
    modernand classy and looking nore expensive than all these other cars here

    gm wins again
    this will outsell any of these other crapy cars

  6. Hmm…where’s the saturn aura/pontiac g6 and subaru legacy?

    1. Mazda 6
    2. Nissan Altima
    3. Chevy Malibu

  7. You should include the Saturn Aura in this lineup. That being said, the Mazda 6 wins. I’d rate the rest in a close 2, 3 and 4 the Malibu, Altima (the previous Altima was better looking) and the Milan. Bringing up the rear are the Camry, and wallowing at the bottom, the Accord and Sonata. If the Aura were included, it would be a very close second to the Mazda 6.

  8. In order from top to bottom:

    Yawn
    Boring
    Boring
    Vanilla
    Snore
    Boring
    Shoot me
    I am a tool

    Screw new cars. They all look the same. I’m driving my E30 forever. This post was a great idea Vince. It helps us realize that for all their little differences these are all the same car damn car.

  9. Anonymous said…

    Hmm…where’s the saturn aura/pontiac g6 and subaru legacy?

    1. Mazda 6
    2. Nissan Altima
    3. Chevy Malibu
    October 2, 2007 10:54 PM

    Agree 100%

  10. The Malibu is a real major improvement and one of the nicest American cars, but for my age I would like to see what the Mazda 6 hatch looks like in person.
    May I have another cup of sake

  11. sideway looks/design alone: Camry, followed by Sonata.

    The others look so busy/cluttered.

    I like how Camry and Sonata look very slick & simple (from these pics anyway)

  12. and btw, are those even the standard cars? I noticed the accord has big chrome wheels.

    It would probably be better to capture the side profile pics from each manufacturer’s website, with same color (white)

  13. All of these cars look great in real life, and I think they fit the target market very well. The problem with the Mazda is, though everyone says it looks great now, its not going to look that great in a few years, while the more ‘boring’ Honda and Toyota will still look nice. The current Mazda 3 didn’t look good after a year, and the 6 is also not very impressive anymore.

  14. I’m making my decisions based solely on exterior design, not engineering, interiors, drivetrains or anything else.

    1) Mazda 6 – Easily the best looking midsize in this class to come out in a while. The odd C-pillar detracts little from the sedan’s overall style, and even the 5 door looks great. It’s a smart-looking design without the usual overdone design cues so prevalent in Japanese cars. With the right advertising, this one has hit written all over it.

    2) Malibu – Looks like GM can finally design nice-looking mainstream cars. And while the Malibu is nice looking, the Saturn Aura is nicer and gives the 6 a run for the styling money.

    3) Milan – It’s squarish shape is a nice departure from the swoopy designs of the other cars, giving the Milan an almost unique look. All in all the Milan and it’s FoMoCo cousins are well designed cars, though I like the Fusion best.

    4) Camry – Typical Toyota bland, but the chunky style and short overhangs have grown on me a bit. Not enough to place the Camry higher, though.

    5) Altima – It seems Nissan took the best styling features from the previous Altima (a better looking car that would have placed 2nd here) and combined them with the worst styling cues from the Maxima plus a few boy-racer ricer touches. The result lands somewhere in the middle just south of ugly.

    6) Sonata – The Sonata has a pleasing enough shape, but looks somewhat tired and old compared to the others. Saved only by the Accord.
    
7) Accord – this mishmash of disjointed styling cues — from the blocky Ridgeline grill to the Altima-like wheel arches to the BMW-esque profile to the unsightly gash down the side — makes the “new” Accord look dated already. Not quite sure what Honda was thinking. If the 6 cleared the fences, the Accord is a dribbler in front of home plate.

  15. I have to go with the Malibu. Definitely one of the better American designs of the past 20 years.

  16. 6 Hatch: Best Looking.
    Sonata is not bad( being reworked for facelift, as an 09, March 08, accoridng to hyundaiexchange.com)..
    The rest? OK.

  17. First – Mazda6 Hatchback
    Last – Chevy Malibu

    The front fender of the Mazda6 makes the design a bit awkward but it is good enough.

    Will Mazda bring the hatdhback to the US?

  18. Malibu, a great American design? At least the nose looks okay, can’t say much about the rest of the exterior.

    Sheesh, the side profile is a cloned from the VW Phaeton, which also shows up in the Acura TL. The tail lights are a horrible attempt to do the white circles inside red background that the Passat has, just done right.

  19. Guess the 6 hatch has it by a mile! Not surprising given it looks alot like the 3 which is selling like gangbusters. I would buy the 6 hatch before any other vehicle on there, although I just ordered my C30 a few weeks ago.

  20. The final decision is in….because I know “Everything”
    Frome the top photo down. 6 sedan – nice lines. Accord – The Saturn ls2 of the group, very weak honda, shame on you!, 6 5-door – saabish/but sleek, altima – perfect proportions & style/strong athleticism, camry – you can’t be more boring/ fat looking and very ugly, ford – non descript, saturn – nice german look, hyundai – 100% copy of the 1995 escort sedan.
    Nissan wins!

  21. Great idea Vince. The Mazda 6 hatch looks the best BY FAR!!!

    My second choice for purchase is the Milan, but I got to say it looks kinda blah compared to a couple of the others. Maybe it’s the color.

    The big suprise for me is how good the Malibu looks compared to most of the others.

    The Mazda HATCH is the winner by far. Did you read that Mazda, ANOTHER USA citizen thinks the HATCH looks the best. Maybe you should sell it here.

    JM

  22. I think someone forgot to mention how the Accord doesn’t have 60/40 or even 50/50 split rear seats….just 100/100…..what’s the deal with that?

  23. Are these all the same car, just in different colours ?

    They are so generic that its scary.

    It’s like being presented with seven glasses (all looking the same, equally filled) of wather and being told to pick the one that tastes the best just byt looking.

  24. What about the VW Passat?? Been very happy with mine, and the interior quality is much nicer than any of these other options.

  25. Why did you pick the ugliest Camry, huh Vince? You showed two different versions of the 6, yet you never showed the more attractive Camry SE? Are you biased against Toyota?

  26. “Are you biased against Toyota?”

    You should get together with the guy who thinks I am “pro.Toyota/Anti American cars bias” and have a “We hate Vince” party.

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