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I wasn't speaking about you. I was speaking about marketing the vehicles, the image some people think they're buying. Much of the advertising does convey that image.
Are you aware of SUV's like the Nissan Murano? They are not made for or marketed toward off road stuff - and there are lots of SUVs like the Murano. They're "pretty" and definitely not off road vehicles. There's a whole line of SUVs that are crossovers. Not all SUVs look like Land Rovers or Jeeps!
But back to the original question - Do Europeans envy the American lifestyle? I'll give my original answer - I certainly hope not. I would hate to think of a continent to the east of us full of discontented, envious people! That being said, as an American, I don't envy the European lifestyle either - whatever the heck that is. I enjoy my visits to Europe and I can see many positives to living there, just as there are many positives to living here, and I'm sure I could be happy living in either the US or Europe.
These sorts of generalizations are always ridiculous anyway. There's no single "American lifestyle" any more than there's a single "European lifestyle." This topic has been beaten to death on this thread, people and countries insulted, stereotypes perpetuated, etc and nothing has been proven other than that some people apparently feel a compulsion to put others' down in order to feel better about their own choices or situation. And that's sad.
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 08-10-2014 at 06:58 AM..
These sorts of generalizations are always ridiculous anyway. There's no single "American lifestyle" any more than there's a single "European lifestyle." This topic has been beaten to death on this thread, people and countries insulted, stereotypes perpetuated, etc and nothing has been proven other than that some people apparently feel a compulsion to put others' down in order to feel better about their own choices or situation. And that's sad.
I still don't think there is that much difference between the European lifestyle and the American lifestyle, in a broad sense.
People like to exaggerate the differences, but at the end of the day it's the same western culture and society.
People like to exaggerate the differences, but at the end of the day it's the same western culture and society.
There might be some cultural similarities but it is not the samne society at all. All a guy had to say about America after making a road trip from the east coast to the western seaborder was: "It's a poor country".
There might be some cultural similarities but it is not the samne society at all. All a guy had to say about America after making a road trip from the east coast to the western seaborder was: "It's a poor country".
That's a sad statement about his state of mind if that's all he had to say after a cross country road trip across the US. That would be akin to me saying, "Everyone lives in small apartments" as my main "take away" after a road trip from Prague to Normandy.
Very small minded, and myopic vision in my opinion.
I live in a Paris inner suburbs in an appartment, I mostly use public transportation but this is not representative of the average French life, this is a representative of the the core life of Paris.
This is as if I lived in Brooklyn, New York.
Except in few other cities, the overral majority of the population in France has a car dependant lifestyle.
The center of many towns are dying because of the suburban shopping malls, big box retails and suburban business park.
The idea of the average people doing there shopping in farmer market and many other dependant shop is clearly outdated, the majority of the people are doing there food shopping in supermarket, especially in hyperpermarket in the periphery.
This is not a new trend, this kind of live have been adopted in the post war boom when France really became an urban country (urban as the opposite of rural) and at this period and it chooses a suburban life.
Today the trend for many famillies is the exurban life, you live a suburban life in "rural" land.
If you stay to touristy centres, you will see nothing of the reality of life of the population.
In most of the case, this is not where the population live, work and have their leisure.
There might be some cultural similarities but it is not the samne society at all. All a guy had to say about America after making a road trip from the east coast to the western seaborder was: "It's a poor country".
I have driven from coast to coast and back again. I found the USA a wealthy country. I notice that what gave me an over inflated impression of the USA was that they all drove around in large cars we could only dream of owning and running because cars and fuel was very cheap to Europe.
I have driven from coast to coast and back again. I found the USA a wealthy country. I notice that what gave me an over inflated impression of the USA was that they all drove around in large cars we could only dream of owning and running because cars and fuel was very cheap to Europe.
The US has always been that way. Before SUV's, there was a brief period of smaller cars. But back in the middle of the 20th Century, it was all station wagons, Cadillacs, enormous cars. I don't understand it, myself. People say, 'Oh, I have kids, I need an SUV or a minivan." But Europeans have kids, too, and don't require hulking cars to move their families around. Americans are pawns of the corporations. Many don't realize the extent to which they're brainwashed.
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