American Cars....
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,565
Likes: 0
From: port huron mi
Vehicle: 2000 hyundai tiburon
^ well said and the same can be said of american cars. for as much money as it takes to build an import you can make a bigger faster muscle car. with more mods for less. hence the name "muscle" car. i could put my dads 66 chevy nova ss against anybody's car on this site and they would be smoked. yea we buy european cars for the curves an how they handle. that is why there is a difference. if america wanted to be like europe we would still be under the control of the brits. in my opinion if you want a car that will handle well. get a cheap european car. but if your desires land you in the realm of power and handling a z06 is the way to go. put it simply, most of us cant afford one like you said because of the rapeage from the gas companies. but that doesnt mean one car is better than another. they each have their own purpose. smile.gif
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,694
Likes: 0
HKC, American cars cost less than European cars, looks is a metter of opinion, and I get 27+mpg out of my 3450lbs 300+hp car.
I think American cars have improved over the past few years and can kick some ass!!!
I think American cars have improved over the past few years and can kick some ass!!!
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 11,992
Likes: 0
From: Washington D.C.
Vehicle: Hyundai Tiburon FX
Most americans are buying SUV's these days for the sole reasons that when the first cars were built they looked like big boxes on wheels which could seat many people together and could carry more altogether. more americans are travelling by car these days thanks to terrorism and they need to carry as much load in their SUV's as possible. They come practical in all sorts of ways, fit in parkings, carry as many people as vans, comfortable, all weather driving...etc.
As for the sports cars, I think european sports cars like ferrari have crowned the sports car titles by having huge engines in very small roadsters. So in the sports exotics class, americans are hardly the first beings to land on the moon.
but americans have specialized in the next best alternative. throwing huge engines into huge cars. and they have kept doing that ever since. not only is bigger safer, but it just means for big highways we need big cars. the problem now is, we are running out of that space since the 1960's and 70's, as well as gasolene to run.
we cannot just look at the cars themselves, we have to look at where they came from and the circumstances upon they arose. europe after WW2 was struck down, economy was low and there was no spare gasolene. the main reason why european cars have been small is due to the fact that the war had its toll, and communism had starved countries to hell. people needed to get around with as little as possible. that meant mass productions of tiny automobiles with tiny engines.
before WW2 in europe there were huge cars, much like the american cars during the 1920's-1930's. My grandparents used to own a car called "Warszawa" in Poland back when Poland was a rich and prosperous country. That car was one of the most popular cars back then, heavy, durable, and consuming! But after WW2 everything went downhill and people had absolutely nothing to work with, no money, no jobs... Everything was compact. Too many packed cities meant the only way to get around was to get a compact car. In the old cities of Croatia, our Volkswagen fits 1cm through the alleyways to get around with the mirrors tucked in. Any bigger and you would have to walk all of your belongings to the house back and fourth.
With that said, sure why buy a 25mpg 4 banger when you can get a 21 mpg V8? Or maybe a BMW which has the same fuel consumption as our little tiburons but twice the horsepower? The sole reason of low payments, low insurance, need to zip in and out through dead stop traffic just to get about our daily lives in an economical fashion. If you ever go to Italy you see lots of exotics, ferraris, porsches...etc, but I'll tell you Rome's traffic is WORSE than any traffic I've ever experienced. Maybe not as bad as L.A. traffic, but why would you need a fast car when you can't use it?
to sum up, american cars are what they are. i try to convince my friend to buy a tiburon for his first car and he said, "my brother would kill me if i did that". his brother owns a '64 Mustang V8. there is a difference between me and his brother. i can drive anywhere i wish to be at any time i desire, he cannot because it's too expensive.
That's exactly simplified to the point. But remember, it's if you have that option to start off with! If each of our salaries was $400,000 per year, would we be on these forums? Nah, we'd be driving F50's and Lotus Elises. On the other hand, if we were in a war torn city, would we be driving F50's and Lotus' or Bicycles?
As for the sports cars, I think european sports cars like ferrari have crowned the sports car titles by having huge engines in very small roadsters. So in the sports exotics class, americans are hardly the first beings to land on the moon.
but americans have specialized in the next best alternative. throwing huge engines into huge cars. and they have kept doing that ever since. not only is bigger safer, but it just means for big highways we need big cars. the problem now is, we are running out of that space since the 1960's and 70's, as well as gasolene to run.
we cannot just look at the cars themselves, we have to look at where they came from and the circumstances upon they arose. europe after WW2 was struck down, economy was low and there was no spare gasolene. the main reason why european cars have been small is due to the fact that the war had its toll, and communism had starved countries to hell. people needed to get around with as little as possible. that meant mass productions of tiny automobiles with tiny engines.
before WW2 in europe there were huge cars, much like the american cars during the 1920's-1930's. My grandparents used to own a car called "Warszawa" in Poland back when Poland was a rich and prosperous country. That car was one of the most popular cars back then, heavy, durable, and consuming! But after WW2 everything went downhill and people had absolutely nothing to work with, no money, no jobs... Everything was compact. Too many packed cities meant the only way to get around was to get a compact car. In the old cities of Croatia, our Volkswagen fits 1cm through the alleyways to get around with the mirrors tucked in. Any bigger and you would have to walk all of your belongings to the house back and fourth.
With that said, sure why buy a 25mpg 4 banger when you can get a 21 mpg V8? Or maybe a BMW which has the same fuel consumption as our little tiburons but twice the horsepower? The sole reason of low payments, low insurance, need to zip in and out through dead stop traffic just to get about our daily lives in an economical fashion. If you ever go to Italy you see lots of exotics, ferraris, porsches...etc, but I'll tell you Rome's traffic is WORSE than any traffic I've ever experienced. Maybe not as bad as L.A. traffic, but why would you need a fast car when you can't use it?
to sum up, american cars are what they are. i try to convince my friend to buy a tiburon for his first car and he said, "my brother would kill me if i did that". his brother owns a '64 Mustang V8. there is a difference between me and his brother. i can drive anywhere i wish to be at any time i desire, he cannot because it's too expensive.
QUOTE
in my opinion if you want a car that will handle well. get a cheap european car. but if your desires land you in the realm of power and handling a z06 is the way to go. put it simply, most of us cant afford one like you said because of the rapeage from the gas companies. but that doesnt mean one car is better than another. they each have their own purpose
That's exactly simplified to the point. But remember, it's if you have that option to start off with! If each of our salaries was $400,000 per year, would we be on these forums? Nah, we'd be driving F50's and Lotus Elises. On the other hand, if we were in a war torn city, would we be driving F50's and Lotus' or Bicycles?