American cars are too big.

IanExMachina · 2011-10-13 17:38:02

I find their large cumbersome size unappealing aesthetically and and hassle to deal with if someone imports them to the UK.

Nova · 2011-10-13 17:49:22

IJBM: Americans drive on the wrong side of the road

>

IanExMachina · 2011-10-13 17:50:54

^

Also that

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-10-13 18:55:41

No, we drive on the right side of the road! :P

Anyway, ontopic: The thing is, when you're in the US and all the cars are big, it's fine. When you're in Europe or the UK and all the cars are small, it's fine. But driving a small car in the US or a big car over there is not a good idea.

IanExMachina · 2011-10-13 18:58:51

I understand the don't drive the US cars in Europe (as you block the roads and can't turn corners etc) but not the other way around?

Nova · 2011-10-13 19:00:57

Because then you can't tell when the little cars are in the parking spaces.

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-10-13 19:01:57

Because if you're in an accident in a European car in US traffic, you will die.

IanExMachina · 2011-10-13 19:04:15

^

Sounds like a problem with American cars to me.

/theyaretoobig

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-10-13 19:05:23

Well, they're very safe. And you can haul stuff around in them.

IanExMachina · 2011-10-13 19:10:08

I'd tentatively argue the safety in EU cars are safer, especially due to stuff like NCAP (and there appearing to be no US equivalent.)

Edit:

I tell a lie you yanks have NHTSA.

However it appears according to them that the prevalence of SUVs and the like you drive are less safe, and imported cars are safer.

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-10-13 19:16:44

Yeah, pretty much any car actually manufactured by a US company is crap in every possible way.

IanExMachina · 2011-10-13 19:19:40

So when you say:

>'Well, they're very safe.'

?

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-10-13 19:20:16

Well, I'm talking about the type of cars we drive in the US, not the ones manufactured here.

Kinkajou · 2011-10-13 19:25:16

Of course US cars are bigger. Their national philosophy boils down to "bigger is better, more is better, ~~and greed is good~~" anyway.

IanExMachina · 2011-10-13 19:30:02

^^

Ok, however it is imported brand vehicles rather than just imported vehicles.

Also your safety ratings are only developed by US car makers and don't match with the standards required by the rest of the word (which follow the European standards).

In addition when looking at fatalities on the road between 1979 and 2002 the rate has been reduced by roughly 16% whereas GB/Australia/Canada have reduced there by around 50%.

Evergreen · 2011-10-13 19:31:06

^^^^^That seems a bit strong. However, I can't counter that very well, except that I read lots of reviews and see fewer and fewer cars criticized for being crap as of late.

But yeah, re: the topic in general- Everything's bigger in America. Our cars and therefore our roads. Our houses too, because we have so much space. But in general, we're obsessed with bigness (and Texans are more obsessed with it than everyone else! :P ) and I see how it can look strange to Europeans and others.

I just don't find most small European cars to be very aesthetically pleasing. I mean, many look pretty cool from a nearly objective standpoint, yet they don't excite me. I don't necessarily love the hugest of American cars, though.

I'm not going to try to insult European cars for their size in general. People who do that blindly while proclaiming the superiority of our big powerful cars and SUVs equally blindly to me fall in the same category as people who stupidly insult the Prius and its drivers as "gay" and say everyone who drives one is stuck up and selfish and only trying to look good while pretending to care about the environment. (Ok, I guess I really don't like Prius-haters. Well, it's kind of personal...)

Kinkajou · 2011-10-13 19:33:14

But yeah, re: the topic in general- Everything's bigger in America. Our
cars and therefore our roads. Our houses too, because we have so much
space. But in general, we're obsessed with bigness (and Texans are more
obsessed with it than everyone else! :P ) and I see how it can look
strange to Europeans and others.

And it's something which will bite you in the ass one day I bet.

Scrye2 · 2011-10-14 01:11:16

Size isnt a so much a style as it is a feature that ties into what you're going to be using the car for. If you're going to be hauling a lot of stuff or equipment, pick up trucks are your go-to car, and they're generally pretty big. If you do a lot of offroad stuff, SUVs are preferable. If you just need an A-to-B car for the city or suburbs, one of those adorable little economy cars would be the wisest choice. If you're an adrenaline junkie, muscle cars are the best thing since sex, especially if you go plinking outside the window. "Hick country" tends to have a lot of mud roads and a lot of the jobs out there require heavy machinery or equipment, so that's why hicks generally buy the big cars like SUVs or trucks. And bigger trucks are generally better at hauling than smaller trucks.

captainbrass · 2011-10-14 12:14:47

^ I could never see the justification for SUVs unless you live up a dirt track in the middle of nowhere. In the US, there is actually a significant part of the population that does. In the UK, very few people do, and SUVs just clog up the city roads like much less cool tanks.

Also worth noting that Americans have been in the "big car" business for a long time - you only have to think of those massive cars from the 50s, all chrome and tail-fins, although they're nicer to look at than an SUV. I think a lot of it's down to lower fuel taxes and cheaper petrol.

Scrye2 · 2011-10-14 14:07:45

All I know is my mustang is tits and I don't care how big it is. SUVs are actually pretty nice cars as well, especially if you play a sport and carpool with teammates. Hockey bags take up some space.

RocketDude · 2011-10-15 03:11:59

Ford Fusion, anyone?

Evergreen · 2011-10-15 13:21:51

^Ford making a good midsize car that, IMO, probably helped them through the financial crisis and continues to get high marks from critics?...

What does that have to do with this thread? The fact that it is, in fact, not really too big?

Also, I must say, there are a whole lot of excellent new subcompacts on the American market. Ford Fiesta, Mazda2, etc...

Scrye2 · 2011-10-16 08:29:56

Ford actually never had a problem during the financial crisis. I recall being told that they denied the bailout money offered to them.

captainbrass · 2011-10-16 08:50:11

Unlike many of the other American car brands, Ford cars have always been quite popular in the UK/Europe, largely because they were prepared to come up with the sort of car that people like over here i.e.one that doesn't drink petrol and works as a city car.

Evergreen · 2011-10-16 11:48:49

^I can remember looking at European Fords on the internet with my cousin back when I was in middle school or something, and thinking they were so much better than what was here at the time. Now that they've finally brought the Fiesta over, we can start enjoying something of a similar small size and high quality as they sold in Europe. For city people, I mean. Other Fords are still just as cool. *Wants a Mustang*

The Mustang was brilliant. Is it fair to say that Ford single-handedly kicked off the muscle car revival with it back in '05 and has continued to lead the category by keeping it awesome? Yeah, I think so. I'd pick it over the competition any day.

Chagen · 2011-10-16 13:37:28

Ford is a badass company.

I mean, in the 1960s they tried to buy Ferrari out, and when Enzo himself said "lol NO", they just teamed together with Lola to utterly destroy Ferrari at Le Mans. Which they did.

That was also the only time an American company has ever won Le Mans. Ever.

"In the spring of 1963, Ford reportedly received word through a European intermediary that Enzo Ferrari was interested in selling to Ford Motor Company. Ford reportedly spent several million dollars in an audit of Ferrari factory assets and in legal negotiations, only to have Ferrari unilaterally cut off talks at a late stage due to disputes about the ability to direct open wheel racing. Ferrari, who wanted to remain the sole operator of his company's motor sports division, was angered when he was told that he would not be allowed to race at the Indianapolis 500 if the deal went through since Ford fielded Indy cars using the company's engine, and didn't want competition from Ferrari. Enzo cut the deal off out of spite and Henry Ford II, enraged, directed his racing division to find a company that could build a Ferrari-beater on the world endurance-racing circuit."

You don't fuck with Henry Ford.

Scrye2 · 2011-10-16 23:02:20

I have always been a fan of the classic body fastbacks, like the 68 Shelby Cobra, but even I have to admit the 2011 Ford GT is one of the sexiest cars on the market. Regardless of whether Europeans find it "too big".

RocketDude · 2011-10-16 23:34:30

^^Ah, that will always be a classic story.

Shame that the newer Ford GT is apparently a real fuel-sucker, even for a supercar.

Scrye2 · 2011-10-17 00:07:55

Yeah, I got an 06 w/ turbo. Pretty good highway gas mileage, absolutely abysmal city gas mileage.

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