2012 Wheels Car of the Year

[2011G6E]

I'd like to know the actual number of car buyers who even bother to ask the 0-100 time or quarter mile time or even horsepower of a car when they buy it.
I would bet lefty that it's way down less than 5% of buyers, if that. Most people stop at "is it a four cylinder or six cylinder?". To be blunt, no one cares anymore...the world has changed. It's a little like Harley t-shirts...plenty of people love the merchandise, but they'll never buy an actual Harley.

Same with the bigger and bigger and more powerful V8's...they sell in dribs and drabs during the year at a dealership...the spectacular FPV's or HSV's out the front get a lot of looks from customers...but people walk straight on and buy an XR6 or SV6 or something. I think people like the idea of high performance cars being available from their favourite maker, but the vast majority will never buy one.

That's where real world car of the year type things come in...yes, we all know you can go and spend $150,000 on a car and get a sublime machine, but what will you actually go and lay your money down on in real life? People with posters of Porsches on the wall will go and buy something like an 86 because it's a "two door sports car" that they can afford on their budget.

Same with hot hatches...why do people think they're so popular instead of people going and buying V8 Falcons and Commodores from FPV and HSV in the same numbers? "Cheap fun" and affordable buying and running costs is the obvious answer.