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Not knowing much about cars other than what I read in Car Reviews - The General consensus seems amongst reasonably priced Cars that the Japanese - Honda, Toyota and Mazdas, Nissan are the most reliable and good value for money, and German - Volkswagen, Audi, BMWs and Mercedes are perhaps better quality but cost more on average- Some Fords and General Motors Cars are very good in some areas - such as the Ford Driver Assist technology. There decent French and Italian Cars - but perhaps don't reach the quality of German. Then we have the likes of Seat and Skoda which are Volkswagens with a different badge.
For example the last two years in the UK - Car of the year Was the Audi A1 and the Volkswagen UP. I don't doubt there good cars - but I wonder if there just overhyped and the reviewers just go on a good badge and really won't last that much longer than something like a Renault Clio.
My point - has the differences between new cars not reached the point of saturation - and there are only marginal differences for an average buyer in quality between one car and another - for example even Cars which are of seen as of lower quality such a Proton, Ssangyong, Kia or Suzuki, or some of the Citroëns , Alfa romeos, Renaults which traditionally are seen as being a little lower quality that - for the average buyer are going to run for many years and with a good manafacturer warranty- Ok if you ignore the depreciation and often they are much cheaper but the quality is not that much difference.
My current car is a 2000 Renault Senic MPV which as 100,000 miles on it - gets poor reviews for quality and is one worst for depreciation but still runs fine.
Therefore my point have cars not reach the point of Computer Laptops, desktops - with marginal differences and the true quality being very much similar and the car reviewers just giving car of the year for something which isn't that much better than the lowest quality car on the market.- for example buying Sony Laptop is not much better than buying a cheap laptop, just better components and a bit slicker.
I don't really know what the "general consensus" means, but my feeling (and one shared by the non-profit, non-biased Consumer Reports) is that Japanese cars are of the highest quality, period, at any price point. I'm speaking from a US perspective, BTW.
In my view, the main problem with European cars in the US (nowdays synonymous with German and Swedish) is that they tend to be loaded up with new technology that - marginally - justifies the premium prices charged but, in the long run, leads to reliability issues. The abysmal BMW iDrive system comes to mind (great way to wrap yourself around a tree while driving).
We haven't really had representation from mainstream European manufacturers (other than VW) for a long time here. Renault, Fiat, Peugeot and Citroen long ago gave up on the US market, because their cars were (rightly) perceived as unreliable junk (Peugeot less than the others). They were particularly prone to rotting out from the high use of salt on roads in the Northern US. The same can be said for Alfa.
That said, the last time I was in France, I had a Peugeot 205 as a rental and it was an absolute joy to drive. So, I wonder whether it isn't time again for Peugeot to consider North America (I don't think Canadians get a substantially different selection from Americans).
US cars are highly variable though, as a group, much better than they were years ago. My feeling is that the general quality of US cars is, in descending order: Ford, GM, Chrysler. Again, it really depends on the specific model more than anything.
You mentioned little of Korean cars (Hyundai or Kia), so I don't know how available they are in Europe-UK. In my opinion, Korean cars are still a wild card from a reliability standpoint over the long term. But the initial build quality is very promising.
I would agree with you that cars are far less commodities than laptops, BTW. But then, that would make sense given that they are much more complicated and have a much higher barrier of entry for production. There will always be quality/personality differences between car brands.
The only French marque sold in the U.S. (who is most of your audience on this board) is Bugatti. And it's a real stretch to call it a French marque these days. The only "consumer-level" Italian car on the market here is the Fiat 500. After that it's Maserati, Ferrari and Lamborghini.
In the U.S., Japanese passenger cars outsell American passenger cars by a pretty wide margin. That should tell you what we think of our own cars. About the only thing that has kept American marques competitive in their own market ove the last 20 or so years are trucks. That said, the "perception of quality" gap between American and Japanese marques here is closing, thanks largely to the American marques borrowing expertise from its current or former overseas subsidiaries such as Mazda/Volvo/Ford of Europe in Ford's case, Opel in GM's case, and Mitsubishi in Chrysler's case... though that didn't really help Chrysler's perception of quality all that much.
Personaly I think the French build the best small cars today and the best small diesels. I just bought a 2005 Renault Kangoo and for what I need it is great. The 1.5 liter Disel is suprisingly peppy and economical.I have driven a few of the small Pugeots and Citroens and really liked them too.
Way more fun to drive than the Mercedes A Class I drive at work.
With Gas at €1.60 per liter and Diesel €1.45 no more big cars for me!
I really wish Peugeot would come back to the US. I really like their new small diesels in Europe.... Last time I was in France on business, I really enjoyed checking out all the new Peugeots which are not sold here in the US. They seemed like really neat, efficient cars and look great too!
I really wish Peugeot would come back to the US. I really like their new small diesels in Europe.... Last time I was in France on business, I really enjoyed checking out all the new Peugeots which are not sold here in the US. They seemed like really neat, efficient cars and look great too!
Citroen too! Though I haven't driven any of those lately.
Personaly I think the French build the best small cars today and the best small diesels. I just bought a 2005 Renault Kangoo and for what I need it is great. The 1.5 liter Disel is suprisingly peppy and economical.I have driven a few of the small Pugeots and Citroens and really liked them too.
Way more fun to drive than the Mercedes A Class I drive at work.
With Gas at €1.60 per liter and Diesel €1.45 no more big cars for me!
I like Renaults as well and other European Cars
Well Japanese/German Cars are supposedly more reliable - but so what if your buying a new car - are you really worried about if its marginally more reliable - Plus the parts are more expensive - so you pay more for parts changes, services etc. - I reckon the quality differences are now minimal as other European cars and American have had to up their game.
personally I find Japanese cars boring and charmless.
For example the Toyota Prius - is hyped as really Eco Friendly and Fuel Efficent, fine if your doing lots of driving in a city centre, but what if your not - Newer Diesels are just as fuel efficent, and even some petrol cars.
That said, the last time I was in France, I had a Peugeot 205 as a rental and it was an absolute joy to drive. So, I wonder whether it isn't time again for Peugeot to consider North America (I don't think Canadians get a substantially different selection from Americans)..
Peugeot IS in NORTH AMERICA.
Peugeot - Gama de VehÃculos Particulares (http://www.peugeot.com.mx/gama-de-vehiculos-particulares/ - broken link)
When I was working in McAllen, TX, I would see dozens of them each day. It looks like a great little car.
It is a shame that we cannot get one in the US. (Nor any of the other small cars that are produced for the Mexican market.)
Japanese/German Cars are supposedly more reliable - but so what if your buying a new car - are you really worried about if its marginally more reliable -
YES. It's a big inconvenience to me to have to constantly take my car to the shop, then beg for a loaner, and so on. I value my time more than that.
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