Hmmm, let's see: Same contributors, same editing team - same general tone of content.
I think you guys are just predetermining your reads based on something you thought would happen when we changed the URL prefix from autos.ca...
Go read my Ducati Scrambler piece if you don't think we criticise things anymore...
I should point out too - the "autoTRADER era" is a good six years old by now.
let me share my two cents, as my recent shopping with my parents opened my eyes a bit.
while many review sites blather on about HP, TQ, 0-60 times, how many G's it can handle on an onramp, IRS vs torsion beam, limited slip diffs, etc...the reality is, main stream buyers don't care about almost all of it, and likely many don't even know what they are or what they do...while we go on about HP and TQ numbers, and 0-60 times (to a lesser degree), no one actually drives like that on streets (at least on a regular basis, or you'd be pretty good friends with your local constabulary)...as i was researching and getting as much knowledge about potential vehicles to assist my parents in helping them get what they wanted/needed, i was inundated with specs, packages, and pricing...personally, i liked it...my mother made a rough checklist of "must have's" and "would like's"...i was essentially a spec sheet warrior, on a mission to help show them a "top ten" list of vehicles that met their requirements, which they could then without down to a top 3, to eventually choose the best one for them.
on my first day with my mother, i realized it was all in vein...most of the stuff i was thinking about (which is what we read about and often discuss in here) played little or no part in her decision...the actual HP and TQ numbers themselves meant nothing, what was important was how it drove (in terms of feel, ease of parking, visibility, etc)...safety features were talked about (smart cruise control, auto braking, blind spot monitoring, automatic LED lighting, etc)...convenience features were discussed (power hatch, height adjustable passenger seat, 360 camera and parking sensors, smart key, auto climate control and heated steering wheel/seats)...while they weren't big on infotainment itself (it was inevitable at the trims they were looking at), the ease of use and screen quality would certainly be a big plus...then, there were other things that came out, like being able to lift the hood with ease (always easy for us, but for a 5 foot tall, 70 year old lady with a mediocre shoulder, not so much)...the load floor height...the front and rear overhang length and height (so as not to hit the "sidewalk" in their underground parking lot).
in finishing, while some articles may seem like "fluff pieces", they are likely written to cater more to the mainstream shopper, who doesn't know what a torque is, nor what the actual number would really mean anyway...they want to read about how it "glides over broken pavement and absorbs the bumps with ease", not know about the physics behind magnetic ride suspension...they want to know the transmission shifts smoothly, not hear how the DSG can fire off lightning quick shifts faster than your typical Nascar racer does...they want to know the vehicle is easy to drive and park, not about how it's LSD provides effortless drifting while you pile on speed on the onramp, all while shrouding those behind you in a gray-blue smoke compliments of the $25 worth of rubber you just melted off your tires...i enjoy the articles both ways...for the kid in me, and for the realist, knowing that most buyers aren't "us".
