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Value Rating
Below Average
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 good news is that the Aveo earned top marks in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration frontal impact tests. All Aveos are equipped with driver and passenger airbags, and for 2006, side-impact airbags are now standard on all body styles and trims. Stopping power is provided by vented disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear. ABS is optional. Given the price-sensitivity of this market, there may be a temptation to save money by omitting ABS, but it is a valuable safety feature on all vehicles. Remember, the laws of Newtonian physics still apply, and when driving around in a car that weighs one-third as much as the monstrous Ford Excursion, you need all the accident-avoidance help you can get. All Aveos are powered by 1.6-liter inline-fours with an aluminum head. This double overhead-cam engine--the Opel-developed derivative of the domestic Ecotec--generates 103 horsepower, but only when it's wound up like rubber band in a model airplane to 6,000 rpm. A variable-geometry intake system allows 107 lb-ft of torque to be developed at a more useful 3,600 rpm. This blesses the Aveo with marginally better performance than most of its $10K rivals, though acceleration is still no better than adequate. Manual transmissions are usually the best option to take full advantage of anemic engines, but the Aveo is fitted with a peculiarly coarse five-speed unit featuring long throws, rubbery feel, and oddly spaced gearing. The optional four-speed automatic is as slushy as hour-old sherbet and is slow to kick down when a downshift is necessary, but at least it's less work than the manual.  The Aveo provides basic transportation. Period. It's designed to get from Point A to Point B as cheaply as possible, and fun isn't part of the equation. That said, Chevrolet at least went to the trouble to retune the simple suspension for 2006--MacPherson struts at the front and torsion bars at the rear--for a supple ride that glides over expansion joints and road imperfections. The quite-limited handling from last year has been improved for '06, though it doesn't possess the dynamic acumen of the $13K-$15K compacts--and that's only fair given the car's price. For everyday driving, the Aveo is satisfyingly quiet, thanks to an intake resonator, dual-muffler exhaust, and other sound deadening material. There's a touch of torque-steer, but it's hardly a deal-breaker. ... >>next page
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2004 Car of the Year Testing
How dare we compare the Pontiac GTO, BMW 5 Series, Acura TL and TSX, Nissan Quest and Toyota Sienna minivans, the premium-luxury
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