Sport 225 review (not 5th Gear) ...

[Chris.B]

Got received our subscription copy of Evo in the post yesterday.  It's the car of the year edition where they do the COTY awards and the Track Car Of The Year (TCOTY) awards.

In the latter the Westfield Sport 225 is one of the contenders.  It gets a more balanced review than 5th Gear but still come last out of the cars reviewed.

[Blatman]

The other TCOTY cars were?

[cast iron]

The Leaf won COTY          

[Mark Stanton]

and bear in mind that most magazine reviews may be reflected on how much each company spends in advertising within that particular magazine        

[Chris.B]

The other TCOTY cars were?

Exige (Supercharged)

Ginetta G40

Caterham R400

Chevron GR8

[cast iron]

and bear in mind that most magazine reviews may be reflected on how much each company spends in advertising within that particular magazine        

Next you will be saying the world cup bid was fixed

By the way COTY isnt voted for by just one magazine

[Blatman]

So 3 "factory built" kit cars (Westfield, Caterham and Chevron, and we call know how good some factory cars can be...) compared to a car that's had a recent influx of investment (Ginetta) and a production "track focussed" road car (Lotus) with the backing of a firm who's budget for their printer ink probably dwarfs the the other four manufacturers entire turnover put together.

Is that really comparing apples with apples, even without the potential for "editorial bias"?

[Chris.B]

Is that really comparing apples with apples, even without the potential for "editorial bias"?

That's what we thought too when we read the article.  

However, several of the points made in the Evo review are similar to those in the 5th gear one.

[Chris.B]

The Leaf won COTY          

The Nissan Leaf won the European car of the year - it did not win the Evo eCOTY award.  This went to the Porsche GT3 RS.

[Blatman]

QUOTE

However, several of the points made in the Evo review are similar to those in the 5th gear one.

Consistency between reviews is good (and bad) as it would appear to Mr Average that an accurate picture is being painted of the product. This would appear to be not good news for Westfield as now we have two popular and apparently separate and independent reviews coming to at least some of the same conclusions. And this is a problem. Popular is one thing. Accurate and unbiased is quite another. Plenty of folk will simply believe what they are told (whether by printed media or broadcast media) and if they hear the same things more than once it starts to create a brand perception than can be difficult to alter.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Time to start an extensive course of wining and dining the appropriate media, along with maybe a select few car mods and some decent setup.

[KerryS]

Thought it was The Caravan Club that did TCOTY award.....

..as in Tow Car of the Year....  

[stantman]

As remember Mr Plato slated the Elise and the Caterham on previous editions of 5th Gear.

I think he has been spoilt and likes his comfort.

[Martin Keene]

The Leaf won COTY          

The Nissan Leaf won the European car of the year - it did not win the Evo eCOTY award.  This went to the Porsche GT3 RS.

What a shock.

Mean while in other breaking news a bear is seen heading torwards a wooded area with a newpaper...