In mid-November of last year, Lotus revealed the U.S. pricing for the 2010 Evora. As one of the most anticipated sports cars of the calendar year, it had seemed as though the Lotus Evora was a prime candidate for GoodCarBadCar.net’s The Good 12 v3.0. But, The Good Car Guy has established $71,230 as the maximum price for Good 12 candidates.
Why $71,230? Well, the reasons are explained further here, but $71,230 is a figure arrivated at after multiplying the average new car price paid in the USA by 2.5. That seems plenty high enough for cars attempting to be “recognized”. Unfortunately for Lotus (perhaps unaware of The Good Car Guy’s standard), their $73,500 Evora was over the bar.
Imagine for a second, however, that the barrier was actually $80,000. Wouldn’t that open up a whole new field of automobiles ripe for consideration? Here are seven cars with their USD MSRP which would have been forced into the debate had The Good Car Guy’s price limit been jacked up to $80K.
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Mercedes-Benz CLS550: $72,400 – Although long-in-the-tooth now, the CLS is still a visual stunner and relatively exclusive, too. In CLS550 trim, the Benz’s V8 churns up 382 horsepower.
Lotus Evora: $73,500 – The aforementioned Evora is a mid-engined monster like its little brother, the Elise, but the Evora uses V6 power and smooths out the Elise’s hard edges.
Chevrolet Corvette Z06: $74,285 – Still a ridiculously good value, the Corvette Z06 didn’t strip any attention away from the basic Corvette in The Good 12 v2.0.
Audi A8: $74,550 – For those looking for a little less drama and a lot more space than can be found in the Mercedes CLS, the Audi A8 is the limousine-like alternative in this price bracket. Sumptuous interior fittings mix with down-the-road verve in an easy manner.
Audi A6: $76,100 – As the only V10-engined car in the group, the S6 stands out. 14mpg in the city would likely hinder its chances, though.
Porsche 911 Carrera: $77,800 – Like it or loathe it, the higher price level would net you a Porsche 911. Few reject the Carrera after driving one.
Jaguar XFR: $80,000 – Barely sneaking in to the group is the supercharged Jag XF. Badged as an XFR, the midsize Jaguar leaps forward with 510 horsepower.
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Based on what made it into the good 12, the highest price is $61200 for the Boxster spyder. For any of these cars to make it instead they'd have to show a very high valllue quotient to be considered against way cheaper cars
911 gets in