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Back when I was working on a project in Germany and Austria... I found many of my co-workers didn't own cars and those that did only had a single small one for the entire family.
A VW Golf is considered the ideal premium family car and the BMW 3 series and 6 cylinder Mercedes to be almost over the top luxury automobiles.
Almost everyone I knew with a car had a diesel car since Diesel fuel is cheaper to buy in Europe. Diesels also get 20 to 30% better mileage and License Tags are Horsepower Based and Diesels provide more torque with fewer Horsepower and the big one is that many Europeans believe Diesel is better for the environment.
So, they do it by owning a single small fuel efficient vehicle and they typically do not put anywhere near the number of miles or kilometers of a typical US driver.
\Thing is America is built on highways, cheap gas and the suburbs. These planners in the 40s/50s never thought gas would go up in price.
Live/Work/Play developments lesson the burden of needing a car. Unless you live in NY or another major city, public transportation is a joke.
Diesels also cost MORE than Premium gas. Though a recent study said by 2020, 20% of the cars here will be diesel.
comparing Europe with the US is not practical, Europe is a much smaller region, the distances are not as much and most cities in Europe have fantastic public transportation.
Equivalent of $10 per gallon of gas, in England my Aunt tells me. Lucky for them, the distances arent nearly as great as in the USA , and, most drive 30 mpg + cars.
Back in 2001 in Germany I was paying about 2 Marks per liter,I remember filling up a Toyota Corolla Wagon and wondering how these people do it everyday,of course back then I was happy to fill up as 1 us dollar was worth almost 2 marks. Since then I have never complained about the price of Gas in the United States.....
The distance that Americans communte by car to and from their jobs has increased considerably over the last 20 years. I lived in Germany for a long time, never knowing a German that would drive the equivalent of 80 miles round trip per day. Unlike America, Germany's rural areas also have jobs.
German cities have very well developed public transportation systems so they ride that which also saves money. Germans also do not drive one block to the fast food drive-thru, nor to the grocery store which may be only 3 blocks away. Their cities (and small towns) are not oriented on cars, mostly everything is within walking distance.
There was a time when Americans laughed and snickered at all the little 4 cylinder economy cars that Germany produced, but the Germans continued to refine their autos, putting emphasis on fuel efficiency. They have decades more experience with this than America, while Americans mainained a love affair with V-8s and showed more interest in factors such as: 0 to 60, how fast? (Only wussies drive economy cars!)
I have to wonder, do Germans buy Mercedes and BMWs (the bigger ones like are sold in the U.S.) much? It would seem impractical with the price of gas so high. I lived in Germany in the late '80s/early '90s and it seemed like the average person drover cheaper, more fuel efficient cars.
We have a 2008 C-Class and a Prius, and guess which car goes on the longer trips?
I know many europeans, and they all drive 4 cylinder very small cars. 1. they are more fuel economical 2. they are easier to park, as europe is old and there is not as much space there.
We here in the u.s. will be doing the same, we may still be driving the 6-8 cylinders now, but many people will "trade in" for a 4 cylinder. The american car companies better get on the stick and start coming out with some good ones. Or they will have the "big car" but will not use it for commuting, errands, etc.
Europe has a better mass transit system without a doubt. American cities are good, but outside that NOT. I think we could see a resurgance of the rail system. (hopeful!)
Also I honestly do not think that the american market will turn to diesels because
1. diesel is more expensive per gallon than gas - even though you get a 30% increase in fuel economy - most people will only see the per gallon $. and 2. the initial cost outlay is more - a diesel engine car is more expensive than a gas one. Even though they have greater longetivity - again, people only will see the initial cost.
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then there are the tolls in Europe
Living in Spain, France, Italy, we were spending ~ $100/day on fuel and $100 on tolls 15 yrs ago. Seems that trend is gaining more traction in US also. my co-workers in Germany most often rode their bikes with the grocery baskets to work, and home for lunch too. Something to be said about the convenience of that. Community planners could take a lesson. I liked the 'town-centers' of Singapore, where you had rapid transit between clusters of commerce / housing + lots of green space even with 6 mil people on an island !! And they pay dearly for license permission, then the license and the car... often over $100,000 for the 'privilege' to drive + extra tolls for entering the central business district during rush hour. But the NETS cash cards and readers are nice, works for tolls, parking ... you just 'top-off' when you run low on value.
I agree, the US public is not gonna go for the diesels because of initial expense, fuel $, and the fact that few people need the longevity, or could care for a car that lived to 500,000 miles. That is good for me, as I have 26 of 'em... (bad habit, very cheap to accumulate @ $35 each) Of course I was weaned on the smoke stack of a tractor so that might explain it...
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 04-15-2008 at 09:30 PM..
We have a 2008 C-Class and a Prius, and guess which car goes on the longer trips?
I'd take the Mercer of course!
To answer your question... there is a considerable amount of full-size Mercedes and BMW on the road here. However the preferred size in Germany is the compact/subcompact hatchback (e.g. VW Golf), followed closely by midsize sedan/sw (e.g. BMW 3series) and fullsize sedan/sw (e.g. Mercedes E-class).
Overall: rather station wagon than SUV, rather diesel engine than gas, rather 4cylinder than 6... especially on the compacts.
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