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And why are many brands/models of American cars less problematic than certain brands of European cars like Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, etc?
I would guess the reason for that is European cars are not made for long life. European countries are so rigid on car inspection standards, that by the time a car gets to high mileage, there are probably all sorts of things that will get in the way of passing inspection. Europeans buy cars with the idea that after 100K miles or so, they will sell it to somebody from the Middle East who will drive it down to where there are no inspections at all, and cheap labor will keep it running forever. Conversely Americans assume that a car will be driven as long as four wheels can still be lugged onto the hubs.
Note the people that will "never" buy an American car. It's evident that some people will never buy an American car because their social status and self image is so tied up in being a "foreign car person". In such cases this isn't about cars it's about image.
Oh yeah, there's a lot of social status tied to owning a Toyota Camry or a Honda Civic. Whenever one rolls by, every Lumina and Taurus owner sighs with envy, wishing they could afford such an opulent vehicle.
I would guess the reason for that is European cars are not made for long life. European countries are so rigid on car inspection standards, that by the time a car gets to high mileage, there are probably all sorts of things that will get in the way of passing inspection. Europeans buy cars with the idea that after 100K miles or so, they will sell it to somebody from the Middle East who will drive it down to where there are no inspections at all, and cheap labor will keep it running forever. Conversely Americans assume that a car will be driven as long as four wheels can still be lugged onto the hubs.
But I'm talking about problems which develop when the car has less than 50,000 miles and is only a few years old.
Its clear you havent been in an American car in quite awhile.
I've got a couple of Ford Trucks, a 63' Chrysler 300 with the 383, and a HD Sportster.
You want to go double or nothing and guess my weight?
Quote:
Originally Posted by southernnaturelover
There's no reason any car should "rev high like a Briggs & Stratton" unless you're flooring it. Maybe you're thinking of the older cars that only had 3 speed automatics?
No, I'm talking about your typical full-sized rental car with 300-8000 miles on it; PT Cruiser, Ford Chevy whatever piece of junk. You step on the gas and it don't go nowhere. You can tell it's underpowered.
I've got a couple of Ford Trucks, a 63' Chrysler 300 with the 383, and a HD Sportster.
You want to go double or nothing and guess my weight?
What year are the trucks? Go drive an 09 F-150 and get an opinion. And a 63 Chrysler? Im talking about CURRENT American vehicles. And a Harley? No wonder you dont like American cars. If my impression of American cars was based off of Hardly-Ableson, Id run scared too!
I wouldn't buy an 09 anything. Maybe in the year 2019 I might.
Up until recently, I owned everything I drove; 77 Chevy Monte Carlo, 73 Nova Hatchback, 63 Chrysler 300, 65 Buick Special Convertible, 63 Chrysler Imperial Lebaron series, 76 Cordoba, 67 Chevy C10, 91 Nissan Sentra 1.6 L 5-speed, 70 Buick Le Sabre, 74 Mercury Cougar, 96 Ford F-150 that I sort of inherited after it had been paid off (the one with the 300 c.i.d. straight 6 and the 5 speed Mazda transmission)... another 63 Chrysler 300 that I picked up on eBay.
There's nothing wrong with my 74 Iron Head. It runs and sounds great. Maybe if you're too busy posting your 18 to 19 posts a day on City-Data and are afraid of getting your hands greasy once in a while... I consider it a worth while hobby.
The first vehicle that I've ever financed is my late 90s model Ford F-150 4WD. It runs great and has that little 4.6 L V8. Why would I need an 09?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve-o
No wonder you dont like American cars.
Whoever said I don't like American Cars? I like some of them. I don't like all of them. I like some Japanese cars too... because I've driven them! What's not to like about a car that's fast, smooth, quiet, reliable... aka cheap, economical?
Here's exactly what I said, if you'd like to break it down further...
Quote:
Originally Posted by McGowdog
I wish the OPs claims were true. I'm not seeing it. I drive a bunch of rental cars and get a feel for what some of these vehicles are like. A couple of cars that I was really impressed with in terms of power, handling, and even fuel efficiency were the Chevy Impala v8, the Lincoln Continental, the Mercury Gran Marquis... that's about it.
Any typical Honda Accord with a V6 can do what these V8s can do at about 30 mpg. Perhaps a Nissan Maxima or even an Altima could do the same. A Toyota Camry would probably match up well. I'd imagine all these cars still run pretty good after 150K + miles. I know the Honda Accord does. These cars are smooth, stylish, get great gas mileage, are quite, tight and handle like a race car, don't drip a drop of oil nor do they have dirty oil when you change it...
You take a lower end American car and it's a piece of kwrap. It rattles, revs really high like a Briggs and Stratton and they're doggy slow pieces of junk.
If these American cars were better, the consumer would just know, and they'd buy the over-priced pieces of junk. They don't need some consumer guide to show them what's junk and what's not.
A side by side test of a Mitsubishi and a comparable Dodge stripped of their markings will have consumers favoring the Mitsi everytime. Same with the Toyota vs Chevy or Mazda vs Ford.
I'm starting to worry if maybe the throw-away Hyandai isn't so throw away anymore and will outrun the Fords, Chevys and Chrylers.
Detroit better get their acts together; break that Union up and quit paying these lazy bums 90 bucks an hour to sit.
The American Auto Industry makes me sick and this would be a good place to gut and start over in order to get our global economy back in order.
Last edited by McGowdog; 01-28-2009 at 04:28 PM..
Reason: be a good little project for ya
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