SDNR

1. Which competitor car do you most admire, that ISN'T German?
I guess Bugatti doesn't count ...so I would say Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

2. Which model from you favorite brand do you like the least?
I don't have a favourite brand ...but since my favourite car happens to be an old Mercedes-Benz I will have to choose a Mercedes. My least favourite Mercedes would be the Vaneo.

3. Which current production car do you despise the most?
Hmmm ...I have no idea.

4. Which car company (not just the brand) do you most admire?
That is another very difficult question ....overall I think VAG are very impressive.

5. Which car company do you like the least?
Probably Geely or Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp

6. Which non-German car brand has the brightest future?
Probably Geely or Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp

7. Which German car company is the most trouble right now?
Daimler Chrysler -- but if we are talking specific brands then Opel ....but that is technically part of GM, an American company.

8. Your honest opinion of Lexus?
I don't have any problems with Lexus ...they offer very good products at a competitive price.

9. Your honest opinion of Alfa-Romeo?
I'm almost indifferent to contemporary Alfas ....although some of their antique cars are nice.

10. Should DCX get rid of Chrysler?
I really don't have an opinion about this ....I don't care one way or the other ....whatever is best for Benz I guess.

11. Would you have liked to have seen BMW buy Aston instead of Prodrive?
It would have been interesting ....but I think they are in excellent hands with Prodrive. I am happy with the situation.

12. What do you currently drive?
I use public transport and taxis .....a private vehicle is not practical for me at present.

13. Your single favorite car currently on the market, current production?
For me, it is the Bugatti Veyron .....not because it is so expensive but because it is as close to perfection as a piece of engineering can get in our time -- it is the ultimate expression of automotive engineering.

14. Last time you were involved in a accident?
About 18 years ago ...I was a passenger

15. Was that Accident your fault?
No

16. Favorite 2-seater?
Bugatti Veyron

17. Ultimate current-production luxury car?
Either the Bentley Azure/Brooklands or Rolls-Royce Phantom DHC

18. Which auto exec do you think is the most influential in the automotive world?
Katsuaki Watanabe of Toyota

19. Favorite race car driver?
I don't have one

20. Favorite racing series?
I only occasionally watch F1 ...but A1GP is quite fun

21. Favorite GCZ member?
I have a list of people which continues to grow ....when I joined this (and previous) car forum I had no idea I would meet so many great people.

SDNR

.....something you want to tell us about Marcus?

EnI

1. Which competitor car do you most admire, that ISN'T German?
Aston Martin V8 Vantage

2. Which model from you favorite brand do you like the least?
BMW E87 5dr 1er

3. Which current production car do you despise the most?
All Chinese copycat cars.

4. Which car company (not just the brand) do you most admire?
BMW AG

5. Which car company do you like the least?
All Chinese companies producing copycat cars.

6. Which non-German car brand has the brightest future?
Toyota / Lexus.

7. Which German car company is the most trouble right now?
Opel AG (if DCX can be labeled as Germen then DCX)

8. Your honest opinion of Lexus?
Great products, soulless brand.

9. Your honest opinion of Alfa-Romeo?
Once benchmark for BMW & Audi. Lost its shine in the past, now trying hard to catch up again.

10. Should DCX get rid of Chrysler?
Yes. ASAP! Project-based cooperations with other manufacturers would fit DB better.

11. Would you have liked to have seen BMW buy Aston instead of Prodrive?
Yes, absolutely! Would fit perfectly in BMW Group brand portfolio: filling a gap between BMW & Rolls-Royce.

12. What do you currently drive?
E46 BMW 320d Touring, VW Polo (previous model), Ford Fiesta (latest).

13. Your single favorite car currently on the market, current production?
Aston Martin V8 Vantage

14. Last time you were involved in a accident?
Haven't been yet.

15. Was that Accident your fault?
/

16. Favorite 2-seater?
Aston Martin V8 Vantage

17. Ultimate current-production luxury car?
RR Phantom

18. Which auto exec do you think is the most influential in the automotive world?
DCX CEO Zetche perhaps? Toyota CEO? In German industry that's definitely Ferdinand Piëch - not a CEO, but chairmen.

19. Favorite race car driver?
Ayrton Senna. RIP!

20. Favorite racing series?
F1

21. Favorite GCZ member?
SCOTT27

EnI

...

Btw, it wasn't Prodrive who bought Aston Martin!!!!!

It was a consortium of 4 (Richards personally, 2 Kuwaiti investment firms & an American banker). Prodrive was mentioned in the news along with AM deal only due Richards was Prodrive's founder.

Bartek Sikorski

1. Ferrari
2. Cayenne S
3. Chrysler
4. BMW
5. Hummer
6. Kia
7. Mercedes
8. Copie cuters
9. Acceptable
10. Yes
11. No
12. X-5
13. M-5
14. 18 mts ego hit from the back
15. No
16. M coupe
17. RR Phantom
18.
19. Kimi
20. F 1
21. All forum

Merc1

Nope, I was trying to remember if I ever was involved in one. I haven't been as far as me being behind the wheel, but I've been a passenger in one before.

M

hu§eindesign

1. Which competitor car do you most admire, that ISN'T German?
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage

2. Which model from your favorite brand do you like the least?
- Mercedes-Benz Vaneo

3. Which current production car do you despise the most?
- VW Fox

4. Which car company (not just the brand) do you most admire?
- BMW Group

5. Which car company do you like the least?
- Chinese car companies

6. Which non-German car brand has the brightest future?
- Kia

7. Which German car company is the most trouble right now?
- Mercedes

8. Your honest opinion of Lexus?
-It's becoming more than just an alternative to the 3 big Germans.

9. Your honest opinion of Alfa-Romeo?
- Their design is what's keeping them alive

10. Should DCX get rid of Chrysler?
- without a millisecond of thinking!

11. Would you have liked to have seen BMW buy Aston instead of Prodrive?
- would have been interesting..

12. What do you currently drive?
- I'm a pedestrian

13. Your single favorite car currently on the market, current production?
- The list is long. Starts with Suzuki Swift and ends with the Bugatti Veyron!

14. Last time you were involved in a accident?
- Never

15. Was that Accident your fault?
- ^^^^

16. Favorite 2-seater?
- BMW Z4 M Coupé

17. Ultimate current-production luxury car?
- RR Phantom

18. Which auto exec do you think is the most influential in the automotive world?
- Wendelin Wiedeking (Porsche)

19. Favorite race car driver?
- Not a fan of motor sports!

20. Favorite racing series?
- DTM is kinda interseting..

21. Favorite GCZ member?
- There's a lot of them just noe name a few: Rob, Osna, EnI and Scott27

Gullwing

1. DB9 or koenigsegg
2. In America R Class
3. SC430
4. Mercedes-Benz
5. Lexus
6. looks like Toyota, boo!
7. VW
8. Hate every part of its being
9. Wish it was sold in the US.
10. GOD YES!
11. No, Porsche
12. Mercedes Benz, lots of type, some of them mine, and a owie umm Audi
13. Too many to choose, 911 Turbo
14. Two and a half years ago
15. No, dumb bitch backed into me... in a drive thru.
16. Koenigsegg
17. S63
18. don't know
19. Moss
20. F1
21. don't want to hurt anyone feelings

cawimmer430

1. Which competitor car do you most admire, that ISN'T German?

Lexus LS460: Honestly, this car scares me because it really is a superior challenger to the S-Class. Thank God for its weak brakes and poor load capacity!

2. Which model from you favorite brand do you like the least?

The Mercedes-Benz R-Class. The design isn't that bad overall, but it's not strinkingly beautiful either. On the other hand, the R-Class looks a million times better than a Vaneo!

3. Which current production car do you despise the most?

Lexus IS: The reason? I feel that people are overrating this car big time. Lexus fanboys hail it as a BMW 3-Series killer and insist the Lexus IS350 is the "better sports sedan" because it is faster (in a straight line ) than a BMW 330i. Even on other sites, people who have no clue about cars think the Lexus IS350 is a better sports sedan than the BMW 3er. I've always seen the IS as a wannabe sports sedan. It's more of a C-Class competitor in my eyes.

4. Which car company (not just the brand) do you most admire?

MITSUBISHI. I have always liked this company as far as I can remember. They've always been in the shadow of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda but they've countered with superior technology, quality and have a very successful motorsport history, particularly in the WRC events. Their new designs also appeal to me. I admire them because they've been an underdog when it comes to Japanese cars but have managed to do quite well despite the odds. Mitsubishi also helped Hyundai and Proton start off. Commendable.

5. Which car company do you like the least?

Ssangyong: Butt ugly cars designed by designers with zero talent obviously.

6. Which non-German car brand has the brightest future?

Lexus: In North America. I can't see them becoming successful in Japan or Europe with zero engines choices, zero trim options and not giving the consumer what they want.

7. Which German car company is the most trouble right now?

Audi in North America. Excellent cars that are being skipped over for a BMW, Mercedes, Lexus etc. Why? Thank that bloody show "60 Minutes" for that...

8. Your honest opinion of Lexus?

I respect them, but I could never see myself owning a Lexus. To me, there is more to a luxury car than just starting out with rebadging Toyota's. When you look at the history of BMW or Mercedes-Benz, there are three main things that stick out:

1) Passion & Design
2) Innovation
3) Motorsport Success

Lexus has none of these ideals. The history of Lexus lacks emotion, passion, motorsport success and innovation (adding an extra cog to a 7-speed transmission to make it an 8-speed is not innovation...). In Europe, they don't stand for anything. Sure, they've conquered North America with cheaper prices and better quality (let's not forget that Lexus is so successful because of the RX!) but to the buyers who places emphasis on heritage, a Lexus is a no no. They make excellent cars, but they're also criticized for being boring to drive and lacking something that the Europeans have. When I drive a Mercedes, I feel that something from 1886 made it into my car...

The same thoughts also apply to Acura and Infiniti.

9. Your honest opinion of Alfa-Romeo?

Stylish and emotional cars for the enthusiast. An Alfa buyer is someone who values style, looks and themselves. I've always seen Alfa as a car that radiates emotions and is bought by emotional people who want to be different or make a statement about their tastes.

10. Should DCX get rid of Chrysler?

No. People always like to blame Chrysler for the quality problems at Mercedes but this was something that started in the early 1990s when it was announced that their cars would not be overengineered anymore to save on costs. This was further made difficult when bean-counter minded Schrempp came to power. Chrysler has some great designs and products on the market right now, but all it takes is some better marketing, I believe, to make them successful. Improving quality would also help.

11. Would you have liked to have seen BMW buy Aston instead of Prodrive?

No comment.

12. What do you currently drive?

1985 Mercedes-Benz 300SE (W126), currently deregistered so I tend to drive my family's 2002 Mercedes-Benz E320 Avantgarde (W211).

13. Your single favorite car currently on the market, current production?

Mercedes-Benz CLS (C219)

14. Last time you were involved in a accident?

March 2004.

15. Was that Accident your fault?

Yes.

16. Favorite 2-seater?

Mercedes-Benz SLK (R171)

17. Ultimate current-production luxury car?

Bentley Flying Spur

18. Which auto exec do you think is the most influential in the automotive world?

Honestly can't decide...

19. Favorite race car driver?

My best friend Anton. Lost his license twice.

20. Favorite racing series?

DTM / WRC

21. Favorite GCZ member?

Too many too list...

MikeJ

1. Which competitor car do you most admire, that ISN'T German?
Citroen C6. An executive car that doesn't try to imitate the Germans in any way.

2. Which model from you favorite brand do you like the least?
TT.

3. Which current production car do you despise the most?
Hummer H2. The epitome of bad taste as far as I'm concerned.

4. Which car company (not just the brand) do you most admire?
Volkswagen Group, although the Frenchies come close.

5. Which car company do you like the least?
Toyota.

6. Which non-German car brand has the brightest future?
Toyota...

7. Which German car company is the most trouble right now?
Opel, probably.

8. Your honest opinion of Lexus?
I don't much care for them. Their first generation of cars was rather interesting for the time, but their more recent offerings do not appeal to me at all.

9. Your honest opinion of Alfa-Romeo?
They have produced and keep producing extremely stylish cars that I most definitely could see myself in.

10. Should DCX get rid of Chrysler?
From a financial viewpoint, probably yes. From an enthusiast's viewpoint... no, not really. There have been interesting developments at the Chrysler part of DC, especially at Dodge.

11. Would you have liked to have seen BMW buy Aston instead of Prodrive?
Most definitely not.

12. What do you currently drive?
Anything I can get my hands on.

13. Your single favorite car currently on the market, current production?
I've never really had a single favorite car, something like an S6 might come close though.

14. Last time you were involved in an accident?
Never.

15. Was that accident your fault?
See above.

16. Favorite 2-seater?
Uhm... the SL perhaps.

17. Ultimate current-production luxury car?
Bentley Arnage.

18. Which auto exec do you think is the most influential in the automotive world?
Carlos Ghosn comes to mind.

19. Favorite race car driver?
Häkkinen.

20. Favorite racing series?
F1 I suppose.

21. Favorite GCZ member?
I refuse to answer.