My Automotive Sweet 16 Bracket

So, I am developing a bracket of 16 cars to test-drive, based on the NCAA Sweet 16 format. My only stipulation is that the vehicle MUST come in a Manual. No manumatic crap, I love my clutch (which means no Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart). Four divisions, based on vehicle type (kind of).

These are the four Divisions, with my preliminary seedings, which will change with the 2011 model year, I am sure:

Pocket Rocket Hatchbacks
1. Volkswagen GTI
2. Mazdaspeed3
3. Subaru WRX Sedan/Hatchback
4. Mini Cooper S

Pocket Rocket Coupes and Sedans
1. Kia Forte Koup
2. Honda Civic Si Sedan
3. Chevrolet Cobalt SS Coupe
4. Scion tC

Coupes with Bigger Engines
1. Nissan Altima Coupe
2. Hyundai Genesis Coupe
3. Chevrolet Camaro Coupe
4. Ford Mustang Coupe

Familyesque Vehicles
1. Ford Fusion
2. Subaru Legacy
3. Mitsubishi Lancer
4. Volkswagen Golf TDI

I have been told to add
Ford Fiesta
Volkswagen Jetta TDI (and GLI if it rereleases)

If someone would like to help me adjust seedings, or could suggest vehicles to put into the bracket or to be traded in/out of the bracket, I expect to start test driving in July. Also, the divisions need better names. Seriously.

Changelog:
Added (2011) Ford Mustang to 3rd Group, swapped Nissan Altima and Hyundai Genesis into 3rd Group.
Combined WRX Sedan/Hatchback, Switched Forte and tC into Group 2. Added TDI to Group 4.

This is great, we get to watch you choose your GTI over everything else on the market!

* I'd trade the Camero for a Camaro,
* the Fusion for a bicycle, and
* the Altima for a 370z.

I believe the Lancer comes in Ralliart now, so try that one instead.

1. Volkswagen GTI (interior quality, omg motor, omg transmission, cult-following, some prestige comparably)
2. Mazdaspeed3 (plasticy and powerful.. reliability?? smiles like it's drugged)
3. Subaru WRX Hatchback (gaudy but great, best awd on the market (in the 6spd only)
4. Mini Cooper S (feminine aesthetics, but really a superb car by all accounts. in $ trim. Er, S.)

Pocket Rocket Sedans
1. Subaru WRX Sedan (obvious performance and tunability, but again, interior livable daily?)
2. Honda Civic Si Sedan (trading performance and individuality for reliability and palendromes)
3. Chevrolet Cobalt SS Sedan (chintzy, unreliable, vanilla. i hate 'em.)
4. EMPTY SPACE (tells the whole story, doesn't it?)

American-Made Cars Have to Fit Somewhere...
1. Ford Fusion (mundane. go ahead, drive one for kicks. stay awake.)
2. Subaru Legacy (remember the Passat ads? about it being a car that says nothing about you?)
3. Chevrolet Camero Coupe (truck nutz! But what a looker, man. They did well styling-wise)
4. EMPTY SPACE (cough)

Miscellaneous
1. Nissan Altima Coupe (yay, tiptronic! 2.5 NA )
2. Hyundai Genesis Coupe (new platform, tuner kidz)
3. Mitsubishi Lancer (gorgeous aesthetics. ralliart is turboed.)
4. Datsun 370z (Fisher Price™ My First RWD, and all the insurance that goes with that, +a ten-foot blind spot) (But probably a blast to drive.)

This will be exactly like a NCAA bracket... except Michael Jordan is playing on GTI's team

All I see there is a GTI, a WRX, a Speed3 and a bunch of useless crap.

My .02

xCybe said:

* I'd trade the Camero for a Camaro,

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Whoops, typo.

xCybe said:

I believe the Lancer comes in Ralliart now, so try that one instead.

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Ralliart doesn't come in a true manual. Huge disappointment.

xCybe said:

3. Chevrolet Cobalt SS Sedan (chintzy, unreliable, vanilla. i hate 'em.)

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Will probably replace with the new Cruze.

xCybe said:

1. Nissan Altima Coupe (yay, tiptronic! 2.5 NA )

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Coupe comes in a 6-speed manual!


Anyone have any other tips for filling up the bracket?

Reply to the rest of 'em, I had fun writing that

xCybe said:

Reply to the rest of 'em, I had fun writing that

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But I agree with pretty much everything else you had to say! Okay... let's see.

xCybe said:

* the Fusion for a bicycle

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I already have a pretty awesome Trek 2500... one thing that I am worried about is fitting it in the back of the car.

xCybe said:

* the Altima for a 370z.

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Outside of my price range. I should have been clearer on that. $30k is the absolute max with taxes and fees unless I trip and fall and acquire $10k down between now and August.

xCybe said:

1. Volkswagen GTI (interior quality, omg motor, omg transmission, cult-following, some prestige comparably)

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I know. That's why I am here.

xCybe said:

2. Mazdaspeed3 (plasticy and powerful.. reliability?? smiles like it's drugged)

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I hate the smile, but the rest is nice... maybe they will fix it for 2011.

xCybe said:

3. Subaru WRX Hatchback (gaudy but great, best awd on the market (in the 6spd only)

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I can't afford the STi, only the WRX, but I do like driving the WRX even without the STi package - my uncle has an older one, I think '02 (with the oval headlights).... So much power.

xCybe said:

4. Mini Cooper S (feminine aesthetics, but really a superb car by all accounts. in $ trim. Er, S.)

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Every single person that I have asked that is of college age is anti-Mini. I personally kind of like them, and plan on bringing someone along to test-drive with me so that I can show them that it actually is a Go-Kart. Oh, but I really don't think I would like the instrument layout.

xCybe said:

1. Subaru WRX Sedan (obvious performance and tunability, but again, interior livable daily?)

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Same boat as above, but I have only driven the older hatchback.

xCybe said:

2. Honda Civic Si Sedan (trading performance and individuality for reliability and palendromes)

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Love me some palendromes.

xCybe said:

4. EMPTY SPACE (tells the whole story, doesn't it?)

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I am considering replacing this with the Kia Forte Koup or Scion tC.

xCybe said:

1. Ford Fusion (mundane. go ahead, drive one for kicks. stay awake.)

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Yeah, but I have X-Plan pricing so my deal is ridiculous... I can close on the car for below base invoice after taxes and fees. Unfortunately, the 6-speed only comes with the tiny i4.

xCybe said:

2. Subaru Legacy (remember the Passat ads? about it being a car that says nothing about you?)

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I know. AWD is kind of a special case though - I may be driving home to an area that gets over 300" of snow per winter for Christmas or for emergencies, flying is too expensive.

xCybe said:

3. Chevrolet Camero Coupe (truck nutz! But what a looker, man. They did well styling-wise)

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I know, right. Very, very shiny car.

xCybe said:

4. EMPTY SPACE (cough)

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Again, will probably replace with the other of the Forte/tC.

xCybe said:

2. Hyundai Genesis Coupe (new platform, tuner kidz)

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2011 will be better... first model year is always sketchy.

xCybe said:

3. Mitsubishi Lancer (gorgeous aesthetics. ralliart is turboed.)

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Already commented on the Ralliart, but I want to try one just because the GTS or whatever it is is decent.

xCybe said:

4. Datsun 370z (Fisher Price™ My First RWD, and all the insurance that goes with that, +a ten-foot blind spot) (But probably a blast to drive.)

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Already commented on this, outside of my price range.

I can comment on the Scion tC, I had an 07. I think it's a gorgeous coupe, especially the earlier ones without the altezza junk and pedestal spoiler.

That car was immensely easy to work on, in, and around, and I had zero problems with it. I also sold it for a gain, my purchase was 17,5, I sold it two years later for 15,5, owing only 11.



(Always love whoring that pic out.)

However, it's just not a powerful car, and with so many teenage-types owning them, I'm sure the insurance has skyrocketed. The uniqueness it had in 06 is now gone.

I'm interested to see where you land on this one, we seem to be of similar taste.

Did some swapping, as denoted in the changelog.

GTi's are soo cool! I went to go check them out today at the local dealership.... VW did really well on the new design of this MKVI

MGoDoubleMs said:

So, I am developing a bracket of 16 cars to test-drive, based on the NCAA Sweet 16 format. My only stipulation is that the vehicle MUST come in a Manual. No manumatic crap, I love my clutch (which means no Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart). Four divisions, based on vehicle type (kind of).

These are the four Divisions, with my preliminary seedings, which will change with the 2011 model year, I am sure:

Pocket Rocket Hatchbacks
1. Volkswagen GTI
2. Mazdaspeed3
3. Subaru WRX Hatchback
4. Mini Cooper S

Pocket Rocket Sedans
1. Subaru WRX Sedan
2. Honda Civic Si Sedan
3. Chevrolet Cobalt SS Sedan
4. EMPTY SPACE

Coupes with Engines
1. Nissan Altima Coupe
2. Hyundai Genesis Coupe
3. Chevrolet Camaro Coupe
4. Ford Mustang Coupe

Miscellaneous
1. Ford Fusion
2. Subaru Legacy
3. Mitsubishi Lancer
4. EMPTY SPACE

I have been told to add:

Kia Forte Koup
Scion tC
Volkswagen Golf TDI

If someone would like to help me adjust seedings, or could suggest vehicles to put into the bracket or to be traded in/out of the bracket, I expect to start test driving in July. Also, the divisions need better names. Seriously.

Changelog:
Added (2011) Ford Mustang to 3rd Group, swapped Nissan Altima and Hyundai Genesis into 3rd Group.

Click to expand...

Coupes with _V6_ Engines , maybe?

tino

Coupes with _V6_ Engines , maybe?

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You may want to add the 2011 Mustang V6 to the list; with pretty much the same power as today's GT, a little less weight and the new suspension tuning, it should be worth looking at. Since it will have to compete with the Camaro price wise, should be around $24K for the base car.

jgs5607 said:

You may want to add the 2011 Mustang V6 to the list; with pretty much the same power as today's GT, a little less weight and the new suspension tuning, it should be worth looking at. Since it will have to compete with the Camaro price wise, should be around $24K for the base car.

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I know, I just am using 2010 as a jumping off point. The 2011 Mustang is the one I'm considering, the 2010 in my price range is rubbish as far as I'm concerned. A 6 speed manual on the 2011 will make it very worth looking at.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/112_1003_2011_ford_mustang_v_6_test/index.html

Just saw this after my post; looks like the V6 Mustang will leave our GTI's for dead in all performance aspects. Interesting to see if mileage comes anywhere near EPA ratings since that also matches.

Wonder how Insurance companies will see this V-6?

You left off the Mazda RX-8.

Available under your price range, RWD, about the same in terms of speed as the GTI (more horsepower but less torque), handles like an absolute dream, and the interior is amazingly good. GTI good. I had an extremely tough time deciding between the two...

Also...whatever you've heard about Rotary engines....they're invincible. They just run forever, so long as you know to add oil every couple thousand miles. And they make a SWEET noise. Only downside is Mazda has already tuned the crap out of it, so if you want more power, you're going to have to pay to turbo the thing. It doesn't respond much to intake/exhaust or re-chipping.