Why doesnt the US make decent cars?

[mtawney1313]

GT40, Corvette, high end Cadillacs, Viper, and many more.

[melodramocracy]

ITT: folks who honestly think that horsepower is the only measure of a car.

I alluded to this earlier, but park a ZR1 Corvette next to an Audi R8, or a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, or a Maserati GT, or Aston Martin Vantage (all cars that are about the same price as the vette).

While the 'vette will be more impressive from a performance standpoint in most cases, it will also be dead last in the fit / finish department.

And with less expensive American vehicles, it gets even worse.... the US hasn't figured out yet that there is an emotional appeal with cars that DOES sway assessments. I look at something like a VW Golf GTI, and put a Ford Focus or Chevy Sonic next to it, and again... there's an overall look and fit /finish difference.

In this area, US manufacturers are getting better, but it's not there yet. Even the unquestionably impressive Mustang GT, when matched up against a BMW M3 (a car that it's EXTREMELY close to in performance), isn't even in the same ballpark from a build perspective.

[Deleted]

I think at least European Cars in the US there are import costs, which end up making some european cars expensive in comparison to the US counter parts

[Maleren]

The best car I ever owned was a Saturn, totally US made, never had one problem with it. Now Saturn has gone out of production. It really was the best car I ever had.

[moff]

I drive only german cars, an audi TT roadster right now

but my girlfriend has a 10+ year old ford focus, its still in a good condition and I can understand why this car is so popular
her next on will probably be a ford kuga, so we dont think americans cant make good cars.

[aekya]

They USED to make good cars, in the time when things were built to last and proffit was the objective but never at cost of quality.
Now, they are made to break after 5 years, sometimes less, that is why they suck, built to be replaced, proffit at any cost.
Building to last is very bad for bussiness :P

[aztr0]

Top Gear isn't the place to go for real life car information. The guys at Top Gear test some of the most exclusive cars and complain about even the slightest thing that most regular drivers wouldn't even think about. The U.S. have made some strides for the past few years with their cars, but it'll take more time if they want to change the mind set of people. From personal experience, my father's first car was a Ford '89 Tempo. It often had issues, finally it just died and my father had enough with it, I think he got it in '93-'94. We got a Toyota '89 Camry after that and it continued to run until 2010, it also only had normal maintenance issues, not surprises like the Tempo would provide.

[Meleti]

One thing that annoys me about the German luxury manufacturers is that their cars seem very overpriced in the US compared to, say, Japanese cars. An Infiniti G37 is going to come in around 5-10 grand less than the comparable German car, while a Lexus RX350 is well over 10 grand less than the comparable BMW X5.

[melodramocracy]

Top Gear isn't the place to go for real life car information. The guys at Top Gear test some of the most exclusive cars and complain about even the slightest thing that most regular drivers wouldn't even think about.

Or, they flat out make it up, such as Jeremy stating that the speedo doesn't show up in a Ferrari if you have the nav up.

It's still an entertaining show, but I wouldn't use it to make an actual car purchase decision.

[Porcell]

Or, they flat out make it up, such as Jeremy stating that the speedo doesn't show up in a Ferrari if you have the nav up.

It's still an entertaining show, but I wouldn't use it to make an actual car purchase decision.

It was funny when he sat on that pile of stones though...

Love Top Gear, wish I could get the latest Series here in the States.

[Wolfshark]

They jsut drive cars who use double as much gas as Europeans too.

id say its more like we have to travel three times further to get anything done, i mean the USA IS MUCH larger than Europe.

i also think you are all lame for judging auto manufacturers by nationality, instead of single auto performance, especially since a HUGE chunk of you have never driven more than 10 cars ((for any credible length of time)unless you have horrible luck), let alone makes, driving 5 different BMWs doesn't make you an expert on all things car.

The USA has made MANY great vehicles and continues to today, do a little research and, hell go test drive some "shitty" fords and chevys, you might actually have the knowledge then to make a logical decision, or claim for that matter..

As far as I'm concerned if you can't maintain it yourself with the proper equipment you shouldn't own it..

^^precisely the reason that american cars die^^
cars need more than oil changes, tires, brakes, and washes......
when the engine maintenance light pops on DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

[Deleted]

id say its more like we have to travel three times further to get anything done, i mean the USA IS MUCH larger than Europe.

i also think you are all lame for judging auto manufacturers by nationality, instead of single auto performance, especially since a HUGE chunk of you have never driven more than 10 cars ((for any credible length of time)unless you have horrible luck), let alone makes, driving 5 different BMWs doesn't make you an expert on all things car.

The USA has made MANY great vehicles and continues to today, do a little research and, hell go test drive some "shitty" fords and chevys, you might actually have the knowledge then to make a logical decision, or claim for that matter..

As far as I'm concerned if you can't maintain it yourself with the proper equipment you shouldn't own it..

^^precisely the reason that american cars die^^
cars need more than oil changes, tires, brakes, and washes......
when the engine maintenance light pops on DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

So all these expert testers etc. saying German and especially Japanese cars are just superior in quality all lie because they're anti-america?

Seems a lot of people here jsut talk about raw power and straight lines etc. Seriously, you buy a car because it goes 250KMPH in a straight line? Of course the US made good cars, does that mean their average car is better then German or Japanese or whatever?

[Deleted]

Or, they flat out make it up, such as Jeremy stating that the speedo doesn't show up in a Ferrari if you have the nav up.

It's still an entertaining show, but I wouldn't use it to make an actual car purchase decision.

yeah Top gear isnt exactly a factual show, of course they make stuff up and exaggerate on things, still funny though :P

---------- Post added 2012-03-30 at 04:20 PM ----------

also, fords are pretty reliable, my mother has a had a ford focus for like 8years or something now, still going fine, not a single problem so far and never failed an MOT

[Playintrafic]

Nearly all of the cars you listed in the OP are luxury and/or supercars.

Rolls, and Bently are no longer British owned. Jaguars and Astons are basically the same car. Lexus are just overpriced Toyotas. Infinit = Overpriced Nissans. Acura / Honda... You see where I am going? American car buyers are generally stupid and uneducated.

Ford have started making much better cars in recent years, while GM is still making the same craptastic shitboxes and still can't quite get the idea of quality control down pact.

The newest mustang V6.... 300hp and 30mpg from a v6, yes please. But overall, I'd still take a 3 series BMW, a Toyota or Nissan, or even a Kia/Hyundai over a domestic. The newer Hyundais and Kias are based off the same engine block (different head) as the latest evolution x from Mitsubishi. So they have a very solid engine, and they have more standard features for cheaper than most brands.

I think the biggest reason that the US doesn't make good cars these days, is lake of competition. Yeah we have 3 brands, but shit germany alone Has Merc, BMW, and VAG (Volkswagen Autogroup), Opel, and Porsche.

Japan has Mitsubishi, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, and Honda. And those are just the brands that are imported to the US.

Heck France has nearly as many as we do, PSA Peugeot Citroen, and Renault.

Yes American cars can last quite a while these days. But they still don't hold a candle to things like Diesel Jettas. Go look on youtube and see how many 400,000 mile VW videos there are. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see at least half as many 500,000 mile videos.

I can't think of many American made cars that will do half that without needing an engine rebuild. Though my Saturn did do 22x,xxx on the the original equipment. The belt tension-er did fail on me once, but I managed to change it in the parking lot of an Autoparts store in about 30 minutes. So it was no big deal.

[Wolfshark]

So all these expert testers etc. saying German and especially Japanese cars are just superior in quality all lie because they're anti-america?

My mistake I didn't realize that all the people in this thread were "expert testers".

Seems a lot of people here just talk about raw power and straight lines etc. Seriously, you buy a car because it goes 250KMPH in a straight line?

Moronic indeed.

Of course the US makes good cars currently, does that mean their average car is better then German or Japanese or whatever?

^Fix'd^

My point is that ANY average car will complete the task they are built purposely for, that is going from point A to point B, how often they break is completely up to the owner and/or pilot, most stupid shit that breaks that most people complain about, Transmission for instance, become inoperable because of lack of standard care, Or because the driver of the vehicle is operating it in a way that it was completely and clearly not intended to operate, (or beating on the car for short). Thus reliability is subject to human error more-so than factory fuckups.

Also i understand that accidents happen.. its not your fault you bottomed out by hitting that MASSIVE pothole you COULD have swerved around puncturing your oil-pan... IT IS your fault that you IGNORED the problem entirely and thus have to buy a new transmission for 3-5k instead of buying a new oil-pan for $50-$200.

[Wynnyelle]

The best car I ever owned was a Saturn, totally US made, never had one problem with it. Now Saturn has gone out of production. It really was the best car I ever had.

Currently driving a Saturn and I have to agree. I love this car to death, and I'll be sad when it's time for a new car. It's a 2002, and it's still running like it's new. The only time I've ever had to take it to a shop for something other than an inspect/oil change/etc. is when I wrecked it, which was completely my fault. :P It's a shame that they're out of production. I'd take my Saturn over any other car.

[BLCalliente]

ITT: A bunch (and I mean a whole bunch) of people who don't know anything about cars make that fact obvious to those of us who do.

[Tradewind]

I think what this thread needs is clarification on what is a "US Car." People keep mentioning the Fords, like the Focus...then the Chevy Cruze etc. Not realizing that these are designed and engineered in Europe mostly...and only just being brought to the North American markets.

So what is a "US Car"?

To me, it's a car designed, built and sold in North America. Not just manufactured by a company that just happens to be.

[Playintrafic]

The best car I ever owned was a Saturn, totally US made, never had one problem with it. Now Saturn has gone out of production. It really was the best car I ever had.

You know why they are gone? GM Interference. Saturn barely turned a profit for so long, then GM was like okay you did your own way for too long, your going to do it the way we say you should. 1990-2002 model S-Series, generally very cheap, easy to maintain, and when maintained would last quite a long time. Then GM comes about says to hell with them, make platform cars, produce these more expensive, more complex, less reliable cars that we already probably sell with slightly different bumpers as a chevy or pontiac, or both in case of the Cobalt/Ion/G6...

My saturns were among the best cars I've owned.

My girlfriend's car is a 2004 Saturn ION, and its a piece of shit. Its not nearly as old as my last saturn (1996) yet the interior and exterior are falling apart. Its not ragged out, stuff just falls off. And it had a new transmission installed by the dealer (well chevy anyways) less than a year ago. Trans is already slipping terribly. Its a pile of crap.

The IONs did get a bit better later on. My mom's ION has 77k and the trans is not slipping. And the interior is faring a bit better. Though the door switches (windows/locks) did just quit working for about 12k miles, and I tryed to fix it (new relays, new fuses, was about to just get new switches. Randomly started working again.)

[Wolfshark]

Nearly all of the cars you listed in the OP are luxury and/or supercars.

Rolls, and Bently are no longer British owned. Jaguars and Astons are basically the same car. Lexus are just overpriced Toyotas. Infinit = Overpriced Nissans. Acura / Honda... You see where I am going? American car buyers are generally stupid and uneducated.

Ford have started making much better cars in recent years, while GM is still making the same craptastic shitboxes and still can't quite get the idea of quality control down pact.

This SO much this.

The newest mustang V6.... 300hp and 30mpg from a v6, yes please. But overall, I'd still take a 3 series BMW, a Toyota or Nissan, or even a Kia/Hyundai over a domestic. The newer Hyundais and Kias are based off the same engine block (different head) as the latest evolution x from Mitsubishi. So they have a very solid engine, and they have more standard features for cheaper than most brands.

I will agree with the first 4 but idk about kia/hyundai still not impressed

I think the biggest reason that the US doesn't make good cars these days, is lake of competition. Yeah we have 3 brands, but shit germany alone Has Merc, BMW, and VAG (Volkswagen Autogroup), Opel, and Porsche.

Japan has Mitsubishi, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, and Honda. And those are just the brands that are imported to the US.

Heck France has nearly as many as we do, PSA Peugeot Citroen, and Renault.

I don't think its lack of competition, i would say its more a lack of faith/trust in domestic brands as a whole. Sure we love our trucks and buy shit tons of trucks from our USA makes, but when it comes to cars or generally compact passenger vehicles most people tend to buy foreign.