These ‘showroom showdowns’ are going to be a
regular occurence now. We still express
doubt about their value, especially the latest one. The latest Forbes article puts the Porsche Boxster against the
Mercedes SLK. Again, this is not a actual driving comparison, but a paper comparison. Features, specifications,
performance numbers and price seem to be the typical metrics used for comparison in these showdowns.
Dan Lienart does seem to spend way too much time explaining why the SLK outsells the Boxster. What does that have to
do with whether one car is better than the other, even as an aside? I guess if lemming-like behavior is your thing,
then this kind of information is very important to your decision making process. I am kidding, but a
driving review may have been more helpful. The SLK and the Boxster serve different demographics and have
dynamically different personalities. Explaining the differences on paper is not going to reveal how different these
cars really are.