My Cool Wall

[bimmerlovere39]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_G-Class

I think it has a little bit of heritage

And I mean, c'mon, the G55 AMG has sidepipes.

SIDEPIPES.

SIDEPIPES!!!!

[fndrbndr]

Hm...I'm intrigued by the phrase "upmarket Land Rover."  I think most of the ones I've seen have been in the well-to-do parts of town, and, like many off-roaders, are tested weekly in the gravel parking lot at the kids' soccer game.  My guess is that this is because you see Land Rovers sold in the same dealerships as Jaguars.

[Spiny Anteater]

Perhaps I need to clarify - in my head at least a Land Rover is a Defender (starting to show my age - when I was growing up land Rover only made the Land Rover [not called the Defender then] and Range Rover). I'm going to guess that most of what you see in the gravel are Discoveries. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but I can't believe anyone would put up with the sacrifices inherent in the Defender if they weren't going to take it off road.

Now the Discovery is a Land Rover, but to me it's uncool. I was lucky enough to get a ride in one on the Land Rover urban assault course and the things they can do are incredible. But, they lose their coolness because you know that only 1% of owners will get anywhere near that capability.

[fndrbndr]

Yeah, Land Rovers are, apparently like many makes out there, perceived differently on different sides of the pond.  People who want a workhorse usually get full-sized trucks (F150 was the best-selling vehicle in the US for about 10 years running at one point).  I've seen Suburbans fill that role pretty well in the past too, but they've become fashion accessories.

[fndrbndr]

OK, here are a couple more to consider:

Mitsubishi Lancer?
Mitsubishi Eclipse?
Smart Roadster?

[Spiny Anteater]

OK, here are a couple more to consider:

Mitsubishi Lancer?
Mitsubishi Eclipse?
Smart Roadster?

in my opinion:

Lancer = Seriously uncool (Evo might just stretch to uncool) - at one stage it was called the "Carisma" over here - need I say more
Eclipse - Not on sale over here, but F&F must put this in the uncool category.
Smart Roadster - I'm unsure on this one, the Coupe might be cool, but the roadster doesn't quite have the same "something" about it.

[sk15kev]

OK, here are a couple more to consider:

Mitsubishi Lancer?
Mitsubishi Eclipse?
Smart Roadster?

in my opinion:

Lancer = Seriously uncool (Evo might just stretch to uncool) - at one stage it was called the "Carisma" over here - need I say more
Eclipse - Not on sale over here, but F&F must put this in the uncool category.
Smart Roadster - I'm unsure on this one, the Coupe might be cool, but the roadster doesn't quite have the same "something" about it.

Looks like we agree on this one Spiny.  The Mrs sk15kev and I did the coastal drive from San Fran to San Diego many years ago in a hired car.  When we booked I thought I was going to get a really dodgy convertible, but when we got to the parking lot there was a shiny new Eclipse.  It was a really good car, fairly fun, but can't say it was cool.
I think the idea of the Smart Roadster is cool, but in reality I wouldn't want to be seen driving one.

[fndrbndr]

OK, I think I've gotten most of the cars onto the big board.  I decided the Smart roadster is cool.  On to the new nominees:

Cadillac CTS-The angular feel is a little off somehow. 

Cadillac XLR-  I like this one.  I know, under the body, it's almost exactly the same thing as the Vette.  And yes, I know what I wrote about the CTS.  I think this is another car that gets a little cooler somehow because it's not as ubiquitous.  It's not sub-zero, but it's certainly cool.