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Here in Europe we consider American products including cars inferior
If that were even remotely true, Europeans wouldn't buy anywhere near the number of Ford, Vauxhall, Opel, McDonalds, Levi's, Coca-Cola, Phillip Morris, Nike, Starbucks, or Apple products that they do.
Your opinion very clearly does not represent the rest of Europe's consumers, much less the rest of the world. American products are wildly popular in Europe.
Last edited by tigerphan; 10-03-2014 at 06:28 PM..
If that were even remotely true, Europeans wouldn't buy anywhere near the number of Ford, Vauxhall, Opel, McDonalds, Levi's, Coca-Cola, Phillip Morris, Nike, Starbucks, or Apple products that they do.
Your opinion very clearly does not represent the rest of Europe's consumers, much less the rest of the world. American products are wildly popular in Europe.
Calling Vauxhall or Opel American is incorrect. That's like saying Chrysler is European because Fiat bought it. The Fords we have here are designed by German engineers and build in Europe.
Apple products are 'Made in China', we don't have anything 'Made in the USA' for obvious reasons except a few things like the GM Volt.
I find McDonalds or Starbucks hardly something to brag about.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drro
Calling Vauxhall or Opel American is incorrect. That's like saying Chrysler is European because Fiat bought it. The Fords we have here are designed by German engineers and build in Europe.
Apple products are 'Made in China', we don't have anything 'Made in the USA' for obvious reasons except a few things like the GM Volt.
The Chevrolet Impala and the Tesla sedan were the highest ranked mainstream sedans by Consumers Reports this year. I can speak from experience that the Buick LaCrosse is a fantastic car that has proven popular in many markets.
The Cadillac CTS and ATS are fantastic vehicles with a lot of positive reviews from automobile enthusiasts. The Corvette is an amazing sports car as well. These cars are sold in markets beyond North America, but they are primarily American setups in the traditional sense.
Most modern cars are sold throughout the world, and will be developed with at least some influence from major markets. GM and Ford are multi national corporations that develop products using expertise from around the globe. I think American cars are better than ever right now in part because they are beyond Detroit-specific culture. Cars like the Ford Focus, Chevrolet Colorado, Buick Regal, and Chevy Cruze are designed and built with influence from all major markets in which they participate. They are true world cars that compete on a global scale much like the VW Golf. There's absolutely nothing wrong with designing a one-size-fits all car if the benefits you get from sharing resources outweighs the drawbacks of not being able to fully address market-specific nuances and traditions.
Bot the Impala and Lacrosse you cited are based on a lengthened platform from Opel Insignia.
They've been nothing but General Motors brands for decades. They exist to give European consumers who haven't yet grasped globalization a sense of hollow pride.
Focus, like the Cruze and Fiesta, are global cars designed by multi national corporations under the direction of thousands of talented people in design centers around the world.
In fairness I must say that the US military has adopted many European products that have worked out OK.
On the M1 Abrams tank (which is pretty thoroughly combat proven), the main gun is a German design and the loader's machine gun is Belgian design. The US Army's main machine gun (the M240) is Belgian as is it's Squad Automatic Weapon (the M249).
The M777 towed howitzer is of British origin as is the lighter 105mm gun. Also, I believe that applies to one or two mortar systems.
Even the Army's newer 5-ton and 2.5 ton trucks are based on an Austrian design (the 12M18?), which a lot of people have forgotten. Not sure why Detroit couldn't come through on that one.
It's a two-way street. The Dutch, Belgian, and Danish Air Forces have flown the F-16 fighter for decades and it's seemed to have worked out fine.
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