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IntelliChoice Value Rating
The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.
One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.
What is a good car value?
A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.
But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?
For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.
This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)
Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.
Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.
So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.
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Review From Automobile Magazine
The updated-for-2008 Dodge Viper still isn't at home on the street - it bucks and hunts over road imperfections, constantly fills your ears with driveline and suspension noise, and has one of the most ergonomically challenged interiors of any car on sale today. Despite this, we like the mega Dodge. And we like it even more after driving it at Virginia International Raceway. It was there that we learned that the gang responsible for the Viper, Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology (SRT) group, has gently massaged this man's-man of a car into a true track weapon. As long as you respect the 8.4-liter V-10 in the lower gears, the Viper is very friendly and rewarding to drive on a racetrack. Much of this improvement is due to the fitment of a new, speed-sensing limited-slip differential, bespoke non-run-flat Michelin tires, and a retuned suspension. No, it's not a tactile dancer like a Porsche or a Lotus, but it's amazing how good this Dodge feels lap after lap. Plus, the engine now puts out an impressive 600 hp, which never hurts.  But the most endearing aspect of the Viper is that it remains a gruff beast. Viper aficionados need not worry: your baby has lost none of its "Viper-ness." There are very few new cars that are as visceral when you rev up the monstrous V-10, dump the clutch, smoke the tires, and blast past 150 mph - our tests reveal that the trip to 60 mph flashes by in four seconds flat, and the quarter mile is history in only 12.1 seconds at 123 mph. There also are few cars that overheat their passengers like the Viper, despite a reduction in thermal soaking due to a replumbed exhaust system. As we've said many times, modern sports cars tend to lose their focus with each new generation. But the SRT group has managed to keep the crude and rude hooligan nature of the Viper while fine-tuning it into a better vehicle. Fifteen years after the first Viper went on sale, it is still the car that Dodge always intended it to be.
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2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR
Six hundred ponies, a thousand pounds of downforce, and absolutely no drama whatsoever. Driving a school bus fast has never been so easy.
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Hottest 50 Cars, Trucks, and SUVs for 2006
The new model year is upon us, bringing the darlings of the last auto show season to our local dealers and driveways. From show floor to showroom, these are the most promising new models.
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Hottest 50 Cars, Trucks, and SUVs for 2006
The new model year is upon us, bringing the darlings of the last auto show season to our local dealers and driveways. From show floor to showroom, these are the most promising new models.
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E85-powered Dodge Viper Sets Speed Record
Not very many production cars can surpass 200 mph, and all of them require premium gasoline and a really long stretch of road. But a diet of E85 ethanol/gasoline and one mile of Oscoda, Michigan, runw...
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