american cars vs euro cars

[ShadowGLI]

I think American Cars have come a long way since the 90's.

For example the Corvette, C6 corvette,

But there are still dumb design que's I dont get.. AKA the new Seabring

I think this car looks great.. takes some Mercedes Que's, however what is with the hood seriously.. who thought that was a good idea..

My biggest issue is finish.. I sit in my girlfriends Chevy Cobalt and I'm just like... wow.. this feels pretty cheap.. even the 15,000 Rabbit I tested before my GLI blew that away as far as pickup and build.

I think VW is presently in a hotspot as far as value vs MKIV's and MKIII models..

I also was really impressed by Mazda and I kinda like Nissan.. Not that crazy about honda.. like the new Camry and stuff though..

American cars just don't have that same "driver orientation" either.. its like they built the car then fit the insides where as a German/Jap car, they built the passenger compartment then built a car around that. (my feeling)

 

[ryedog]

American cars = shit

German cars = quality

x2

 

[DSG_MASTER]

American cars don't drive as well as German cars. I think we can all agree that we buy VW's because they are fun to drive. Most American cars don't have those driving dynamics and are boring. Plus, they don't hold up as well.
:bowvw:

 

[CalBoyTex]

every american car is using old technology that european/jap cars have been using in cars for years!!! They copy then try to say they started it. Like last year when chevy launched the economy Silverado by shuttng down cylinders on the freeway to save gas.. so instead of running on 8 they are running on 4.. This was chevy marketing saying that its their latest technology..Mercedes has been doing this to their vehicles since the 80's...HELLO! I cant hate on american cars though.. I had a silverado and a cobalt ss/sc the engines in both were amazing! the 5.3 in the silverado and the 2.0 in the ss/sc But the interior and overall quality are far from what my gti is..

 

[Jsmitty]

every american car is using old technology that european/jap cars have been using in cars for years!!! They copy then try to say they started it. Like last year when chevy launched the economy Silverado by shuttng down cylinders on the freeway to save gas.. so instead of running on 8 they are running on 4.. This was chevy marketing saying that its their latest technology..Mercedes has been doing this to their vehicles since the 80's...HELLO! I cant hate on american cars though.. I had a silverado and a cobalt ss/sc the engines in both were amazing! the 5.3 in the silverado and the 2.0 in the ss/sc But the interior and overall quality are far from what my gti is..

Cadillac used a fuel-on demand based configuration in the early 80s but it failed miserably.


Another low point during the early 1980s was the variable displacement engine, branded the L62 V8-6-4 engine. Introduced in 1981, this 368 in³ (6.0 L) engine sequentially shut down cylinders as demand dropped. Company marketing hailed the engine as cutting-edge technology, but it proved unreliable and was dropped the next year in favor of a family of smaller aluminum V8 engines rushed into production. The 4100 (4.1 L) V8 engine was used widely in Cadillacs in the late 1980s. It suffered from coolant leaks, warped intake manifolds and warped heads. The 4100's problems cost Cadillac the loyalty of many customers.

 

[kirk180]

I think VW is presently in a hotspot as far as value vs MKIV's and MKIII models..

Great point! There's no thinking about it. VW was and is still in a very hot spot. They slid down in American Auto sales drastically in the recent past (to the #7 importer last year) and were forced to give us the GTI/GLI's of today at the cost they are. And then it was said that for every GTI they sold in the States, they lost money on it. Not to good of a profit margin there. But they were facing a sink or swim scenario. There's even been subtle changes to the interior of the 07 in comparison to the 06 GTI. They now use cheaper plastics and moldings in a few places, eliminated the headlight washers, etc, etc...all in the name of trying to reduce their loses. I'm not complaining and I consider myself rather fortunate to own an automobile that VW didn't do to good of a job off of profiting from. The car takes twice as long to build as those in the same price range as it. So yeah, there's going to be perks to owning the GTI. But the perks went to the buyer and not the company (not what VW would have preferred). Then again most car companies do this when forced into a sink or swim situation.

That's just my 2 pennies, and the articles I've read on it. There's been a number of threads here talking about this before as well.

 

[thomaschh]

To put it bluntly, American cars are canned ass. They feel cheap, they're design poorly and they perform terribly (okay, 95% of them). And did I say they're ugly? Lol. There isn't a single new American car out there for under $30K that I would even remotely consider buying. In fact, there isn't a single American car except Cadillac that I would consider buying at all, and here's why-

DESIGN. As far as design (aesthetic) goes, America has lagged behind the rest of the world for almost 40 years. American cars got big and clunky while others were getting sleek and agile. American manufacturers focused on brute force while foreign manufacturers focused on driveability and design. It's not just cars either, it's damn near everything (except Apple computers - America's singular redeeming mass-produced design bastion).

In fact, the iPod is a perfect example. When the iPod came out there were already 50 mp3 plaers on the market. So why did the iPod kick so much ass? They spent a little f'ing time designing it, that's why. Later they added abnormal amounts of memory, but at first it just looked better than anything else out there. The same goes for Target vs. K-mart, etc. etc. etc.

It's the same with American car makers. They just keep doing the same, lame thing they've always done thinking it'll work again someday and it won't. I'd say that out of any of them Chrysler is doing the best at catching up, but you can't really even give them that much credit because you know all the design is coming down from overseas now. Conversely, I would say GM is in the biggest heap of pooh. That company just refses to wake up. I bet if you lined up similar model pickups from the last 15 years at GM you'd be hard-pressed to figure out which year was which. It's embarrassing really.

And yes, I work in design.

 

[Ballinfrogs]

AND european cars are more looked at as luxury...specially cause the price tag...remember, the car is a status symbol...always has been always will be

 

[kirk180]

Boy oh boy. The joy of forums. There sure are a lot of bias opinions in this thread. "Lagged behind for 40 years"...."Every American car is using European/Asian technology"? These are some pretty broad spectrum statements boys. Let me assure you that things haven't been the same for 40 years and that every American car isn't using Euro/Japan technology. Those who are saying the tides are slowly changing over the last 10 years are absolutely correct. Snap out of it and keep up with what's going on in the auto industry. Those kind of statements are so 10 years ago. There's even German engineers running American auto companies now. I could easily sit here and rattle off a handful of American cars that I'd love to get behind the wheel of. And I think the companies are doing a great job of trying to offer affordable sports cars to America. Nothing good under 30k eh? What about the Saturn Sky. That light weight 2 seater is gonna pack 260 hp and it's been stated that it handles like a Miata. I haven't read a bad review on it yet. And everyone behind the wheel has stated that it's a drivers car (yep! fun to drive). It's been coined the mini or sub vette as well. Let's not talk about the Vette and it's bang for your buck. Heaven knows there's not an auto maker out there that comes close to giving you so much for so little. Not to mention the curves on these cars. Nevermind, I feel like I'm trying to convince a group of kids that their bias bears no weight....but obviously it does. I'm tossing in the towel:help:

Bash on!:biggrin:

 

[danger dan]

actually most american cars warrantys are unbeatable, our warranty is about as shitty as it gets...

 

[Sterling]

100% with kirk. he's a smart man. plus i have chevy pride in me. although i like keepin it old school with the american muscle of the 60's

 

[ShadowGLI]

I think the word that sums up whats missing in many *definately not all though* American cars is Passion.

Cars I'd consider
SRT-4 (for the shear power)
300C (one with descent features)
Charger (the Hemi model is BA)
Saturn Sky (Pontiac is gross IMHO)
Saturn Aura (not the best but not bad)
Chevy Colorado (or GMC verision)
Cadillac CTS(V Preferred)
Cadillac STS(V Preferred)

and of course I'd deal with Subsidiary's
IE
Volvo
Saab
Mercedes-Benz

 

[TAK07GTI]

Does anyone else see the point in answering the question that started this thread. I mean if you cannot see the difference between a german engineered and built car vs ANYTHING AT ALL Detroit can even dream of, let alone produce, something one 50th as reliable as a toyota or a honda, your question doesn't even deserve an answer. Not to be a dick but that is by far the most stupid post I have ever read. I really don't know what else to say.

 

[CalBoyTex]

LOl remmeber when ford but a 4cylinder in the mustang to compete with the fast growing JDM companies!!!!! That was funny shit

 

[TAK07GTI]

OK, again not to be a dick. My coworker asked me to take her out car shopping. She wanted a small suv. We went to Saturn and looked at the VUE because for some reason she thought they were "cute". (This is when I still had my Civic. My car before that was a Saturn SL2). Needless to say, my SL2 left ALOT to be desired. So we looked, test drove, and she considered the VUE. After mentioning 10 times (yes I counted) through out this process that the VUE now offered the Honda v-6 engine, we were off to Hyandai. I said a few choice words to the salesman, got in my civic, which I reminded him that the engine was made by Honda and that is why I bought it. Three hours later she was the proud owner of a loaded Tucson.