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american cars vs euro cars
- Thread starter newtogolf
- Start date
MHS216
Anchors Aweigh
"What can I shaaaayy about this thread that hasn't been said about Afghanistan"-Silky Johnson.
Since I started driving, I've owned 5 VAG-mobiles. I really don't think I'll ever buy anything but a Euro or more specifically, German car. Why would I? If been nothing but happy.
Well, everyone can choose their own reasons for their purchase. I think their are a lot of nice American cars being made today, but based on all the things I was looking for, the GTI is the best fit for me. Other people have different opinions and different criteria, so they might pick something else. No biggie.
kirk180
Go Kart Champion
Words of wisdom:thumbsup:
murcielagoGTR
Ready to race!
yeah, the reason you love them is because they were made from technology developed in Europe :laugh: , Also someone mentioned above that American cars will come back...umm... no..they wont. American automakers have sat on their asses for far too long, and havent "adapted" to the changing world, and consumer needs/wants and now its biting them in the ass :thumbup: It will take Ford/chevy, etc.. 5yrs or more to get to the quality and tech of todays Jap/euro cars, but, think where euro/jap cars will be in 5yrs or more...its literally impossible for American cars to ever match, let alone beat the foreign market :wink:
thomaschh
Banned
Damn you think highly of yourself don't you? America HAS lagged behind most of the rest of the world in every aspect of DESIGN for the last 40 years. Did you even read through my post thoroughly? You're proving my point. It was only when Euro companies began controlling American ones (now we're talking about cars) that they started turning out decent cars again. Case in point: Chrysler. You've got a weird woody for Saturn too. THEY'RE MADE OUT OF PLASTIC. Need I say much more? LOL!
By the way - read the dictionary - there's no such thing as a bias opinion. An opinion is a personal belief based on relevant experience in one's own life or outlook on the world. That means your opinion is no more valid on this topic than anyone elses. The fact that you're a self-proclaimed automotive industry expert carries no weight here. Not hatin', just relatin'.
Carry on.
DSG_MASTER
DSG!!Manstyle!!
How's our warranty shitty? 4yr/50k miles? Free roadside assistance for 4 years/Unlimited miles. Loaner car for longer warranty repairs. Am I missing something?
CalBoyTex
Banned
most american cars.. shit even Hyundai are upping the waranty... hyundai is 10years, GM i think is 5years, hell, vw does have a shity warranty length.. im considering this...
Slipstream
loweritonh&rsports.com
DSG_MASTER
DSG!!Manstyle!!
The 10 year warranty is only fror the powertrain. GM and Hyundai have to offer that to attract buyers. Have you seen the domestics' sales numbers lately? They have ben in the shitter for the past few years. People are not buying the product.
thomaschh
Banned
Da proof is in da puddin'.
Our warranty is better than the Honda warranty, btw. :iono: And the only reason Hyndai and others offer those crazy long warranties is because if hey didn't no one would buy their cars. In peoples' minds inexpensive=cheaply made, and the way to get around that is offer a long warranty as "proof" that the quality is there when in reality it means nothing. It's a marketing gimmick that plays on your mind. It's working for Hyundai because they actually do make a decent car, but it's not working for Ford for example because they make a shitty car. Take for example the Focus. Great potential - well designed and affordable. They sold well at first, but now that they've been out for 5+ years (and look almost identical to the original model) people are seeing how shitty they are, which is why the sales of those cars has fallen off BIG TIME. No kind of warranty can replace having a car that doesn't need it. Would you buy a Focus over a Rabbit (for example) even if they were the same price? I wouldn't...
I will say though that of all the lower priced asian cars I'd consider a Hyundai first. They're not bad cars - the new Sonatas are actually pretty damn nice. I saw one the other night
murcielagoGTR
Ready to race!
yea american car warranties blow fat wang! My folks had some probs w/ their dodge van, and the dealer needed to keep it for w wk, and they wouldnt offer a loner/rental car. Only after my dad went to the "top" dealer manager, did they gets results.
After spending the last month virtually disassembling my GTI interior completely to install an aftermarket audio system and really looking at the engineering details of manufacture it's in my opinion that the fact that VW takes twice the man-hours to build an MKV compared to its competitors is because of over-engineering for over-engineering sake than any "perks". In other words, bad engineering...
This is no Phaeton, much less a Rolls Royce to take twice the man-hours to build one car compared to others in this entry level segment. That's idiotic...
The best example: it takes around 15 pieces of trim and some 30+ torx screws to replace the cup holders for the Euro version with the sliding door. In my M3 it takes... nothing at all. You pull the cupholders out and clip the Euro sliding door there... done.
Another example of over-engineering to the point of lunacy: door panels snap on clips system is made out of 4 pieces. The clip itself is made of three parts and the receiver in the door panel is a separate part plastic soldered into its base. In the BMW: one piece, the clip. The receiver in the door panel is molded into the door panel.
If BMW can reduce and simplify these subassemblies and still charge almost twice the price of a GTI for an average 3 Series, and still the impression of quality and luxury is more than the VW, then VW really messed up the engineering design of this car.
This car has too many single parts, too many bolts, to many intricate subassemblies. That's not something that speak quality because the more parts an assembly has the more prone to rattles/defects can and will have. And of course, the more expensive is to manufacture and produced.
For me that's VW problem right now with the MKV and why it is costing them money to sell each one of them.
Ah, why I chose European over American cars? They drive better and look better inside and out, that's what I'm looking for. The Japanese are closer than the Americans in getting that feel of the road and interior ergonomics that the Eupeans have almost forever. Which it is ironic because I've driven Mazdas and they drive much better than the Ford versions, and the Mazda interiors are better built and look better than the Ford's... and Ford is part owner of Mazda.
I think that American cars were made for a particular customer, a customer that did not expect much out of a car other than regular maintenance and the occasional malfunction. The problem started when everybody else was offering excitement, luxury, styling plus lower price and better reliability. The Americans are coming back strong now after some really black holes for years, but they still have some road to go. Unfortunately, they lost me as a potential customer long time ago...
