The domestic muscle sedan wars are heating up! Much to our delight, all three major American automakers are offering high-horsepower four-door performance sedans. Chrysler was first to strike with the Dodge Charger SRT8, Ford fought back with the all-wheel-drive twin-turbo Taurus SHO, and now GM's just gotten in on the action, with the new 2014 Chevrolet SS. While we won't know how these bad boys compare out on the strip just yet, let's take the time to compare how the three of them look.
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From the front, each car looks slightly sinister with big gaping maws. All three have large grilles split by bumpers. Whereas the Charger SRT8 and Taurus SHO's grilles have continuous lines linking the upper and lower portions, the Chevy looks as if it has two separate grilles, with a jutting, under-biting lower grille.
Along the side, the rear-drive Chevy SS and Charger have flared wheel arches and wide rear haunches. The Charger features sharp creases evocative of the original Charger that give it a menacing presence. The SS has similar lines, but is much more subtle. The Taurus, on the other hand, betrays its front-drive roots with a small dash-to-axle ratio and a tall profile.
In back, all sport spoilers, ranging from subtle on the SS, to the more extreme on the Charger SRT8. All three cars also have prominent dual exhaust systems. Both the Charger and SS have aggressive-looking rear diffusers, while the Ford makes do without.
Of the three cars, the Ford has the tamest interior. The Taurus SHO's interior looks similar to a standard Taurus, with its aluminum-trimmed pedals the primary exception. Both the Dodge and Chevy have interiors more befitting of their sporty intensions; the Charger gets an SRT-specific sports steering wheel, sport seats, and aluminum-finished pedals. The SS has many of the same sport-specific touches as the Charger, like its wide-rimmed steering wheel and sport seats, but with a more upscale look. The seats are covered in suede and leather and its dashboard appears to be finished with luxurious-looking leather padding.
Which big American sedan do you think looks best? Sound off below.
Last week's Refreshing or Revolting featured the revamped 2014 Cadillac CTS sedan. Reactions to the more conservative styling was mostly positive.
Nellarliked it and said: "Cadillac has done a great job with their styling over the last ten years or so. Very original. One of the few makes that hasn't ripped off Audi and VW lines."Imnaholeagree's, "I'm not a GM fan. That said, this thing looks bad ass. Once the V hits I am hoping it eats all the schnitzel out there."
Colonc7was one of the few who didn't like the new 2014 CTS: "Revolting. I think it is too long. I agree with other comments; [the] front looks OK, the side is ugly, and the back is just like [every] other Caddy."
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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