I have been an AutoSpies.com Agent for almost a year now, and a loyal reader for the better part of 3 years and one thing is abundantly clear:
It does not matter what brand we are writing about, SOMEBODY always brings up BMW in either a positive or negative light in the comments section.
Agent 001 and myself have been accused of being on BMW's payroll (a fact we wish was true!) and no matter how good a car BMW produces (and they do produce some pretty decent cars) the fact that we share our opinion with the rest of you is fodder for criticism.
But lets get down to the brass tacks here, if in fact we are biased towards BMW - WE ARE NOT ALONE.
The fact is MOST of the monthly publications tend to lean heavily towards a Pro-BMW while ignoring or vastly overlooking Lexus.
But is this stance a medically provable?
Is BMW Bias in your blood?
Is a Lexus Induced Coma possible?
I am not a doctor, but I do have a firm grasp of the obvious, and in reading the latest edition of Car & Driver (April 2009) a story struck my interest that perhaps could be used as basis for establishing a condition that makes a person favor BMW and hate Lexus.
The story (and I linked to it for you to read) has the editors of C&D picking the top five cars in each category. A total of 10 categories where established including the best Pickup trucks, Small SUV's, Premium Coupes, Mid-Size SUV's to list a few.
Here is what caught my attention.
BMW's win 2 categories outright with the BMW M3 Sedan winning the Sports Sedan category and the BMW 3-Series winning the Entry Luxury Cars category.
The M3 Coupe takes second in the Premium Coupes category with the Audi R8 taking top spot.
What blows my mind however is that within the "Sports Sedan" category NO MENTION IS MADE OF THE LEXUS IS-F.
NONE
ZIP
The IS-f is flat out ignored.
Worse than being ignored, A CAR THAT ISN'T EVEN IN PRODUCTION YET IS MENTIONED OVER THE LEXUS!
You heard me right.
C&D lists the M3 Sedan in first, the Cadillac CTS-V in second, Mercedes E63 and C63 as third and fourth place finishers and go on to say, "ONE TO WATCH: Jaguar XFR. The XF is a 10Best Winner, so we think that the upcoming 510-HP performance version should be an absolute knockout."
I love the wording, "we think" the upcoming version should be an absolute knockout.
ON A CAR THAT ISN'T EVEN FOR SALE YET!!!
BMW Bias?
You bet.
Lexus Induced Coma?
ABSOLUTELY!
The IS-f got beat by a car that isn't even available yet.
Something is WRONG with this picture.
Really, really wrong.
The fact is Lexus is not mentioned ONCE in any category.
NOT ONCE!
And honestly I think C&D made a mistake by not including Lexus.
A list that includes cars like the Acura TSX (Entry Luxury Cars) deserve to have at least the IS on it, a car that I am confident most enthusiasts would choose over the TSX.
Bias and coma at work.
Am I the only one who thinks this is wrong???
Go check out the article and come back and offer your 2 cents.
This isn't about BMW winning, this is about Lexus LOSING by not being mentioned.
We didn't make the C&D list, we are simply calling them out on something I believe they are wrong about.
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