American Cars or European Cars?

korge · Post by **korge** » 27 Dec 2006, 23:57

Pabl0z wrote:They don't sell those cruiseship-sized Ford models over here.

You mean family automobiles? Yeah.. As if there are big and ugly (or just small and ugly) family vehicles in European countries?

Post by **Pabl0z** » 28 Dec 2006, 02:45

Well I bet your view of a "family vehicle" is a lot different from the rest of the world.
Been watching some NHL games streamed for a while now and all the commercials I see for cars are about some big-ass SUV's or similar.
A SUV that I would see as unecessarily big is a "compact" car for you or something like that and then the commercial continues to show an even bigger car and they say "..and if you need room for the whole family..." and in that car you could fit like an african tribe of starving Marvins in there.
Unless the commercials are only for some mormon families...

Your small cars = our normal/big cars.

Post by **TheStig** » 28 Dec 2006, 03:00

In general American cars have a rubbish build quality, but then they are fairly cheap.
The only American brand that is doing well in Europe for a long time now is Ford, but only with special models build for Europe.
Cars like the Focus, fiesta are doing pretty well here, and always did pretty good. The focus was originally build for the EU market when the US was still driving the Escort (wich btw also was a EU purpose car) the biggest cars Ford sells in Europe are the Mondeo and the Galaxy (wich is a rebadged volkswagen sharan) and ofcourse the Transit

But cars like the Crown Vic are way to huge and bulky and completely useless here, same goes for SUV's they do sell SUV's here but in general they are european offroad vehicles or from Azie like the KIA Sorento.
But the chance you will find a Navigator or a Escalade is slim. they are sold here as grey imports but they don't sell well cause they are hugely expensive and have a crappy build quality compared to European cars in the same class/pricerange.

And I think that europe has a complete diffirent view on luxury then the Americans do.

darknight788 · Post by **darknight788** » 28 Dec 2006, 07:13

crown vic huge ? no way i have to watch out for them when backing up b/c i cant see them (true)

korge · Post by **korge** » 28 Dec 2006, 07:30

TheStig wrote: And I think that europe has a complete diffirent view on luxury then the Americans do.

Then why does it seem there is always a stereotype I see where Europeans hate on America? I dont see Americans bashing on Europeans ever that mcuh, Except when it comes to that homo stuff.. (long story on another board)...

xHaZxMaTx · Post by **xHaZxMaTx** » 28 Dec 2006, 08:06

Are you kidding? Crown Victorias are firetrucking huge!

You can't even (comfortably) rest your elbow on the door.

steelsnake00 · Post by **steelsnake00** » 28 Dec 2006, 14:07

korge wrote:
TheStig wrote: And I think that europe has a complete diffirent view on luxury then the Americans do.
Then why does it seem there is always a stereotype I see where Europeans hate on America? I dont see Americans bashing on Europeans ever that mcuh, Except when it comes to that homo stuff.. (long story on another board)...

You bash the British all the time! You hate the French, and the Germans (then again, there's plenty of reason to hate the French). The only European nation you really seem to like is the Irish.

Back onto the cars stuff. US cars are built for the US, where roads are 30ft wide, flat and straight. Explaining sloppy suspention on all but the fastest. American cars are built for the American climate and attitudes, which means for the most part they tend to be large engine'd, slow, unrefined and handle like a bag of toss. But they're cheap and cheerful, and Americans seem to like them; though it might just be your sense of patriotism.

Post by **TheStig** » 28 Dec 2006, 14:32

I'm not hating on the Americans, I got family over there and I love the country's scenery
But do think the average american is overly patriotic. and don't get me started on stereotyping.
When I am in the US, and people ask me where I am from and I answer I'm from The Netherlands, they almost always ask if we all do drugs, If we all smoke hasj?
Most of the time I answer: Yes and we all walk around in wooden shoes with a tulip in our hands.

Now back to cars, seriously don't like the average american car. They do make some nice cars that can be very fast and look good. but in general it is not my style. and they are often not very well build (I don't mean that they are not strong, but the lack of finishing touches and details)

Grez~Supra_RZ-S · Post by **Grez~Supra_RZ-S** » 28 Dec 2006, 18:50

The reason Americans cant build cars for European roads is b/c half of them dont know a place called 'Europe' exists. America is truly the nation of the disposable, I guarantee any average family car from the mid-90s is all but ready for the scrap-heap.

xHaZxMaTx · Post by **xHaZxMaTx** » 28 Dec 2006, 21:12

steelsnake00 wrote:Back onto the cars stuff. US cars are built for the US, where roads are 30ft wide, flat and straight. Explaining sloppy suspention on all but the fastest.

You'd like to think so, wouldn't you? When the Ford GT first came out, it had major suspension problems.

steelsnake00 · Post by **steelsnake00** » 28 Dec 2006, 21:25

xHaZxMaTx wrote:
steelsnake00 wrote:Back onto the cars stuff. US cars are built for the US, where roads are 30ft wide, flat and straight. Explaining sloppy suspention on all but the fastest.
You'd like to think so, wouldn't you? When the Ford GT first came out, it had major suspension problems.

That's because the method used to build them was faulted, which allowed air bubbles to be let into the alloy of the top mounts and anti-roll bars, which weakened them.

At least, it was something similar to that.

darknight788 · Post by **darknight788** » 29 Dec 2006, 06:03

yep that was exactly the problem. what kind of european cars are we talking about here ? there are the big mercedes and bmw's and then there are the small economy cars with like a 1.0 L. id hate to have one of those around here since everybody likes to go atleast 75 mph

Post by **TheStig** » 29 Dec 2006, 12:10

Mate those 1.0 cars can do 75 just fine. I once did 110 in a 1.0 Toyota Yaris.
No wait let me correct that. All 1.0 cars I know of that are build today can do 75 without a problem. but you guys think like ooh my... that thing only got 50 horsepower, but you're forgetting that these cars way under 1000kg.

In europe most speed limits are higher then in the US, or like some Autobahns in germany where there is no limit.

DarrenR21373 · Post by **DarrenR21373** » 29 Dec 2006, 21:49

I have to agree with The Stig re: European small cars. When my old company car went in for a service, the garage normally lent me a 1.2 litre Vauxhall Corsa.

I remember having to get to Croydon for a call, running late, crusing up the outside lane of the M25 at a steady 95 MPH (with plenty in reserve), passing everything from rep-mobile Mundaneos (sorry, Mondeos) to Jags, BMWs and Porsches.

Don't believe that because small cars have low BHP ratings they can't shift! Small=Light as well as economical! The phrase "go-kart handling" also springs to mind.

Therefore, my vote goes to European cars all the way.

xturbo · Post by **xturbo** » 29 Dec 2006, 21:57

I also agree with stig. Here the most popular cars are the Chevrolet Corsa, the Toyota Yaris and now lately the Mazda3. Man, i saw a Corsa smoking a damn Mazda6 in just seconds, even those cars weren't tuned at all. Also see it by the economical view: small cars are a great save of money, and if you do wel, you can save enough money to buy a "powerfull" car

korge · Post by **korge** » 30 Dec 2006, 00:43

TheStig wrote:Mate those 1.0 cars can do 75 just fine. I once did 110 in a 1.0 Toyota Yaris.
No wait let me correct that. All 1.0 cars I know of that are build today can do 75 without a problem. but you guys think like ooh my... that thing only got 50 horsepower, but you're forgetting that these cars way under 1000kg.

In europe most speed limits are higher then in the US, or like some Autobahns in germany where there is no limit.

So what does that mean for a 90hp Civic?

darknight788 · Post by **darknight788** » 30 Dec 2006, 06:29

here in america if your car/truck doesnt have atleast 300 hp it is considered underpowered or outdated. its kinda funny to watch the competition while we the consumers benefit from very powerful vehicles (for the ones like me who dont care about fuel economy)

xHaZxMaTx · Post by **xHaZxMaTx** » 30 Dec 2006, 08:31

Don't listen to Darknight, he doesn't know what he's talking about.

darknight788 · Post by **darknight788** » 30 Dec 2006, 09:07

course i do, i just hate small,underpowered vehicles. one day i hope to get one of these

and run over ricers and those small pwny economy cars

xHaZxMaTx · Post by **xHaZxMaTx** » 30 Dec 2006, 10:08

You know, you're not really helping the American stereotype.

Post by **GT3x24x7** » 30 Dec 2006, 10:28

lol, feeling a little persecuted, Hazmat?

RVD · Post by **RVD** » 30 Dec 2006, 11:30

darknight788 wrote:here in america if your car/truck doesnt have atleast 300 hp it is considered underpowered or outdated.

thats because americans dont care about weight, they just want big engines.

(BTW, i voted european)

weight is very important:
my father drove a 116 bhp Renault Clio 1.6 easely up to 190 kmh. Thats because it weighs a little under 1000 kilos.
Power / weight ratio is IMO the most important term on the racing track: how to get the most horsepower out of the least weight??

Europeans stick to that rule, americans usually don't. Thats why the Ford GT is one of the fastest cars around the track from America. THEN they DID think about the weight.

And, to end my post: The fastest cars are from europe. Just look at NFS Carbon: the most fast cars (Carrera GT, Murcielago, Gallardo, SLR) are from Europe

Turbocharger · Post by **Turbocharger** » 30 Dec 2006, 11:33

Antagonistic post removed.

Post by **TheStig** » 30 Dec 2006, 15:16

darknight788 wrote:here in america if your car/truck doesnt have atleast 300 hp it is considered underpowered or outdated.

You shouldn't worry about outdated cause most american cars are outdated before they reach the showroom. cause US manufacturers tend to use technologies that where used in the middleages, like leafsprings crued transmission systems and axels. with huge unsofisticated engines.

MrPalmont · Post by **MrPalmont** » 30 Dec 2006, 15:45

I would choose Europe cause I love Lambo cars, but cars such as Dodge really gives good impression

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American Cars or European Cars?

American or European? (cars)