Fifth Place: 2007 Toyota Camry V-6 (12.9 lb/hp)Those of you readers old enough to remember when the first Camry V-6 came out will probably remember a TV commercial in which an old lady was merging onto a freeway in her Camry. She explained to her geriatric passengers that she used to get white knuckles merging, but her new V-6 Camry was so fast, she no longer got nervous. One of the passengers yelled "Punch it, Margaret!" and the Camry launched into traffic. That V-6 Camry had 153 horsepower. Had Margaret been driving Today's 268-hp Camry V-6, she likely would have launched it into the next county. Even despite a curb weight of 3461 lb, the 3.5-liter V-6 (which is shared with the Toyota Avalon (268 hp, 13.0 lb/hp), RAV4 (269hp, 13.1 lb/hp), and Lexus ES350 (272 hp, 13.2 lb/hp) makes for a very overworked traction control system. And frankly, we don't know what's more disturbing - that a Camry placed so high on the list, or that a small SUV, the RAV4, did.
Sixth Place: 2008 Volvo C30 (13.1 lb/hp)With 227 hp carrying only 2970 lb, it's hard to imagine why Volvo's C30 isn't offered with all-wheel drive. After all, the C30 shares its platform and running gear with the larger S40, which is available with four driven wheels. The C30 has yet to make its way to our Ann Arbor office - we've driven it only in Europe - so we'll wait to put a scarlet B on it (standing for "Burnout" of course). It's just a shame all the tire smoke will obscure that cute little rear end.
