Got a new car

[Mango]

This debate will never end.

European cars like BMW and Mercedes appeal to upper class. They are LUXURY cars and they will do luxury cars better than Americans 9 times out of 10. Look at an E-class mercedes, then look at a Cadillac. They are both nice, but the Mercedes is much more refined. BUT the caddy comes with a more powerful engine. So there will always be pro's and cons.

European car manufactuers are held to higher standards. Also, thier assembly workers are the highest paid in the world, and thier laboerers union is the best. So you are paying a premium for that also. But dont compare apples and oranges.

Now, look at sports cars. Two seat Coupes. C5's own. F-bodys own. Where else are you going to get a huge V8, EXCELLENT handeling, blacktop crushing pushrod V8 that will do 14 sec 1/4's out of the box??? AMERICA baby. We invented the muscle car. Europe has nothing to come close for the money. If you want a high output V8 from Europe it costs you 70 grand plus cause you will only get it in an M5/E55 AMG or the like.

[bofh]

I forgot Land Rover and Rover, which are now two seperate companies.

Originally posted by Zumina
and how many of those companies are subsidiaries of Ford and Chevrolet??

Lotus - owned by Proton, who owns Hyundai
Rolls Royce - owned by BMW
Bentley - Owned by VW
Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover - Owned by Ford

Originally posted by Zumina
How many of those cars exibit a hint of reliablity/practical use??????

That depends on what you're looking for. None of them are Honda's, so you have to pay more attention to them than changing the oil every 10k miles. However, if you service them regularly, they aren't any less reliable than my American or German cars. As for being Practical... that all depends what you're looking for. No two seat convertible is practical, no matter who makes it. My Jaguar sedan however, is very practical. I can also assume you think that all Automags are blenders and 'Cockers shoot farther, eh?

Originally posted by Zumina
How many of those companies employ well-paid American designers and engineers

None of the ones that aren't list here.
Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover are the only ones that have been messed with design wise. They still have mostly British design teams, now they have to use the Ford parts bins. Bentley has Germans, and VW parts bins. Rolls Royce hasn't been touched by BMW yet... And Lotus, their engineers invaded Hyundai...

[bofh]

My Anglo friendly rant aside...

American cars do own.

You can argue that till you're blue in the face, but for the cost of less than an *average* years salary, you can't get a better car than an American one.

Even if start throwing the big bucks around, American Cars aren't that outclassed, if at all, by the top-end Euro cars.

[Zumina]

I'm not saying Euro cars are trash. I become annoyed when little 14 year old punk kids revere BMWs and Mercedes as automotive perfection. Stop living in a pipe dream, where you're also married to Pamela Anderson, get a car, and get some EXPERIENCE. I don't care what magazine X said about car Y compared to car W. From what I've seen, the major 'mags do a pretty shotty job when it comes to an in-depth analysis of vehicle. Half the things within an article come directly from the company that produced the car. "our car is the greatest because we use super techno fuel injection coupled with a Zusla electronic system", you're right -- Car and Driver. No need to look into the reliability and actual need of an intricate system. Most of those fine fellows are simply wowed by outside-of-the-box layout and design. did you know the chevy Avalanche won truck of the year?

[liigod]

Originally posted by SprayingMango
Another fellow Veedubber!! Nice man! Check out www.vwvortex.com they have an A3 forum. Click on that link then go to "Forums" then "Volkswagen" then "Golf III & Jetta III". Lots of good reliable information.

Enjoy the car!!!

Lol, the funny part of this is, the only reason i made this thread was to host pictures for vwvortex.com cus u cant upload there. thats why i never checked this post :-D. Im actually an american car fan when it comes to over all, i think they are more comfortable. I go car by car tho, not by nationality. Other than korean cars, id rather drive a john deer . On the topic of audio, im doing a whole 5 inch LCD setup that plays mp3s, vcds,and regular cds. Ive got a neu speed p chip in the mail, and im building a computer for it god i love technology, impress the chicks Ill post pix of that when its done.

[RT_Luver]

I dont care what anyone says. as soon as I raise enuf mney (i'l be about 40) I'm gettin the good ol' American classic 69 Stingray Corvette

[Jim Staples]

not to bust your bubble....
but that's the ugliest P.O.S. i've ever seen...
but im also all 'bout
droppin 350's in a s10 blazer w/ lifts....

gettin a new name.....Blazin4x4x4S10

ah yeah, 4 drs, 4 wheel drive, tahoe pkg baby woo hoo...
eh, yeah...later.

[Gotenks]

heres my new car

finally got the damn picture disk!

[FooTemps]

Re: heres my new car

Originally posted by Gotenks
finally got the damn picture disk!

... what car? I don't see no car... where's the car?

[Hemlock86]

You guys make me sick! Muhahahahah Jetta's are nice cars. Z28's/TA's are my favorite and also very good cars. All the Nazi's are dead. BLah blah blah

No arguing allowed on my forum!

Peace
ed

[71 LS6]

I'll stay out of this, for fear of what I might say. But if you are going to do the exhaust in your new VW, do the WHOLE EXHAUST!! I'm sick of seeing little foriegn cras with 2 1/4 inch single exhaust going out to a gigantic muffler that makes the car sound like one of those 'crotch-rocket' motorcycles. Then everyone says 'wow, he's got a 4" exhaust! that must be fast! exhaust tips do nothing for performance, and look trashy to anyone that knows true performance. I don't like souped-up 4 cylinders anyhow, but if you do anything to the exhaust, get headers, and redo the length of the pipe in 2 1/2." (I would say to go larger still, but that would be unnecessary on a 4-cyl)

Anyway, nice car. I'm glad you like it and that's what counts.

[rhetor22]

I'm not going to get to into this, because i've done it so many times.

But i will say this:

people really, really have it wrong about American cars' handling. American sports cars do not have horrible handling. People seem to think that a mustang turns worse than an underpowered school bus. Mustangs, Vettes, firebirds, yadda yadda, all the new American cars handle very well. Maybe not in comparison to a Porsche, but look how the cars are designed! An American car is mainly a gokart with a v-8 to make it affordable. Porsches are so much more money any how...

Also, people think that a good handling car will eat up a high power car around a curvy race track. This really makes no sense. After the corner what are you doing? You're accelerating. So this is where the high power cars have it all over the handling cars. They may be slow in the corners, but what about after? This is where it comes down to driving skills.

And why don't people ever look at the brakes? I'm amazed that some people don't even care how a sports car stops.

:o

[bofh]

Originally posted by rhetor22
Also, people think that a good handling car will eat up a high power car around a curvy race track. This really makes no sense. After the corner what are you doing? You're accelerating. So this is where the high power cars have it all over the handling cars. They may be slow in the corners, but what about after? This is where it comes down to driving skills.

I have seen with my own eyes, a Lotus Elan beat a 427 Stingray Covette in 15 laps at Lime Rock Park.

The Lotus Elan has a 1500cc engine... And about 120hp. And it trounced the Vette. The Mustangs of the era were even farther behind.

It all depends on the race track. Le Mans is still a power track. And even then, this year the MG's were only 3 seconds off the pace of the Audi's

Of course, these tests don't hold true with modern cars, since the american cars handling has improved greatly. But the Corvette, as greatly improved as it is, is still a whale when compared to modern British sports cars.

[Zumina]

The Elan is a light, tiny, and zippy little thing. The older Vettes were really crappy in the twisties, remember, they were designed to go in a STRAIGHT line. Driver skill is another factor.

I believe rhetor is talking about the new unibody american cars as far as handling goes.

[Zumina]

nice invisible car gotenks