[TodmordenLad]

BBC News - Why don't Europeans buy more American cars? - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq8kn5v37wxo


To save you the time, I'll tell you why - because they're sh*t.

[Bryans69]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

BBC News - Why don't Europeans buy more American cars? - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq8kn5v37wxo


To save you the time, I'll tell you why - because they're sh*t.

That was exactly my thoughts when 'someone' talked about tariffs on cars earlier in the week.

That and the fact they are the size of buses, with stupidly large and inefficient engines.

[boba-fett]

I do like a few yank cars, but by the time you pay through the nose on tax etc, there are far better alternatives for the money. If we could pay what they pay, there is some nice machines for that money!

[TodmordenLad]

Another way to answer the question is this - the best selling vehicle in the US, apparently 🤢

[boba-fett]

They are about £6k to buy and come flat packed.

[TodmordenLad]

Originally Posted by boba-fett

They are about £6k to buy and come flat packed.

With additional discount if you voted for the orange one 🙂

[Pentland]

Too big
Too fuel inefficient
Poorly spec’d
Poorly built
Horribly styled
Don’t handle and can’t deliver the power.

Oh, and leaf springs.

[cramsnik]

All things considered, I largely agree with most of the above but I've got a soft spot for one of these. I cant put my finger on why, there's just something about it that appeals to me... but it's utterly pointless. Probably only 'good' at going in a straight line and I recon it'd kill within me in a day....

[Pond]

Originally Posted by cramsnik

All things considered, I largely agree with most of the above but I've got a soft spot for one of these. I cant put my finger on why, there's just something about it that appeals to me... but it's utterly pointless. Probably only 'good' at going in a straight line and I recon it'd kill within me in a day....

Also, in the UK, only bought by drug dealers and lower league footballers. Actually scrub the footballers; just drug dealers.

US cars are crap. It's just a thing. Even the UK (RHD) Mustang is crap. I looked at an 18 month old V8 recently and the wheel arches were rusty.
It's a common problem with Mustangs and Ford don't like honouring their warranties either apparently.

When the rest of the world were driving around in 1.6 litre 4 pot crap-heaps and the US had 15 litre V8s which were bigger than buses, we thought they were cool.
Now we all drive around in 1.6 litre 4 pot crap heaps with 200bhp and the Americans drive them too.
Except Trump fanboys, who still drive huge pick-ups just to go to the shops. The Americans are quite stupid; why buy a 'pick-up' when an estate car carries the same but is covered from the rain?

[winther1]

"The EU's 10% tariffs on cars imported from the US far exceeds the 2.5% tariffs the US – currently - charges on cars imported from the EU."

Sure, bump it up to 10% for EU imports - perhaps it will give the US car manufacturing a boost

[winther1]

Originally Posted by cramsnik

All things considered, I largely agree with most of the above but I've got a soft spot for one of these. I cant put my finger on why, there's just something about it that appeals to me... but it's utterly pointless. Probably only 'good' at going in a straight line and I recon it'd kill within me in a day....

First of all, it looks great in my eyes. And every drive is an event. For adrenaline, fun and zero fucks given to the environment and running costs, I think this is a great option

[Wills2]

For years the UKs best selling car brands were Ford and Vauxhall (both US owned) Vauxhall has since been sold by GM, Tesla sells 50,000 cars are year in the UK as well.

Plenty of BMW SUVS are made in Spartanburg (US) my X3M was but was not the better for it as some of the quality wasn't great.

When it comes to specific US market cars they don't fit in the UK, it's that simple plus a Mustang GT starts at $45,000 (£35k) over there but starts at £56,000 over here and the tariff is just 10% not 60% so that's another barrier, our fuel is much more expensive so naturally we need efficient cars not Ford F150s.

Wait till he finds out Japan doesn't buy many Xboxes but Americans buy millions of PS5s and Nintendo switches.

[agentorange]

America makes almost no cars as such, it's all crossovers, body-on-frame SUVs, and pickups. As somebody who has lived in the US for over 25 years, I can explain a few things.

One of the reasons US cars have been crap in the past is the attitude of most Americans to driving. It is something they have to do because of the layout and sprawl of most cities and limited public transport. Driving is considered a chore by most and they have no interest in braking and handling. If you need those things you're driving too fast on a twisty road. This lead to most here considering the car as an appliance.

As such, that appliance needed to be cheap to buy and run. Hence drum brakes were still a thing well into the new millennium, and tyres hard as rock to last 50k miles were the norm. To keep costs down for the motorist, the government even mandated corrosion resistant exhausts, and only three types of headlights were permitted for a while in the 70s and 80s. With this appliance mindset, the big 3, Ford, GM, and Chrysler, saw no need to spend money on innovation or good build quality, resulting in what Americans call mid-sized cars being sold at ridiculously low prices. You got a lot of metal for the money, but sometimes there were big gaps between the assemblage of parts.

These days, American cars are better, but still often fall short European, especially British, expectations. A lot of that is because of the structure of the market here. A smaller vehicle with lots of equipment just does not fit the plan here. It can put the price too close to that of a larger, less well equipped car.

If you want truck culture explained, we need another thread.

[cramsnik]

[Altamate]

Originally Posted by Pond

Except Trump fanboys, who still drive huge pick-ups just to go to the shops. The Americans are quite stupid; why buy a 'pick-up' when an estate car carries the same but is covered from the rain?

Your opinion, but both my sons have eurowagons one Audi and the other VW. They are great for putting 1 or 2 dogs in the back. Neither has anywhere near the capacity of my GMC 1500 CC 6.5’ box truck with a canopy on it. And CC means it transports 5 or 6 people depending on front seat configuration. The back seat could fit 4 people wide if they just put in the extra seatbelt, all while carrying 3-4 times the stuff a wagon can. The Suburban/YukonXL is the ultimate wagon.
My prior 2500 GMC truck with the 6.6Duramax was a 550hp, 1000ft/lb beast that had 330,000km on it when I sold it at ten years old. No rust in a country where salt on the roads is a way of life.

Maybe all of you did not forget about the Corvette, but nothing Europe makes is a better value in that market.

[boba-fett]

Originally Posted by Altamate

Your opinion, but both my sons have eurowagons one Audi and the other VW. They are great for putting 1 or 2 dogs in the back. Neither has anywhere near the capacity of my GMC 1500 CC 6.5’ box truck with a canopy on it. And CC means it transports 5 or 6 people depending on front seat configuration. The back seat could fit 4 people wide if they just put in the extra seatbelt, all while carrying 3-4 times the stuff a wagon can. The Suburban/YukonXL is the ultimate wagon.
My prior 2500 GMC truck with the 6.6Duramax was a 550hp, 1000ft/lb beast that had 330,000km on it when I sold it at ten years old. No rust in a country where salt on the roads is a way of life.

Maybe all of you did not forget about the Corvette, but nothing Europe makes is a better value in that market.

You are very lucky, I really dislike this place over the pond (no pun) recently.

I still would not have a truck though! and why do I think Banjo duel when these trucks you speak of are talked about in detail!

[TurboWeasel]

Originally Posted by Altamate

Your opinion.....

Maybe all of you did not forget about the Corvette, but nothing Europe makes is a better value in that market.

Yes a lot of Brits are opinionated and narrow minded I'm afraid, and have a false view of America because they believe everything the media trots out, and haven't been there enough times, or to enough different states to get a more informed opinion.

Anyhoo..... Europe also doesn't make anything as accomplished as the Corvette in that price range either. Europe is all about charging as much as much as possible for as little as possible, and all missold under the false banner of "Quality".

[TurboWeasel]

Originally Posted by cramsnik

All things considered, I largely agree with most of the above but I've got a soft spot for one of these. I cant put my finger on why, there's just something about it that appeals to me... but it's utterly pointless. Probably only 'good' at going in a straight line and I recon it'd kill within me in a day....

No fingers need putting on anything, it's a very cool car, period.

[Altamate]

Originally Posted by boba-fett

You are very lucky, I really dislike this place over the pond (no pun) recently.

I still would not have a truck though! and why do I think Banjo duel when these trucks you speak of are talked about in detail!

Fuel here is $1.45CAD/L today, I have paid as much as $2.00/L. Having rental properties to look after and a Boat to pull around makes the decision to own a truck very simple for me. If I didn’t need all that space, I would rather drive a sedan or a sports car, but the truck is very pleasant to daily drive, they have come along ways in comfort level from 30-40yrs ago.

If someone thinks I’m a hillbilly or a redneck, that is their mistake….. or maybe I am. Deliverance was a great movie.

[Nibbles]

Got to love American trucks. These were a couple of little ones we parked the FF Range Rover in between.

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by Nibbles

Got to love American trucks. These were a couple of little ones we parked the FF Range Rover in between.

[225]

Originally Posted by Nibbles

Got to love American trucks. These were a couple of little ones we parked the FF Range Rover in between.

Just look at the size of those parking spaces! Only jealous as its just stupid here with cars getting bigger yet spaces getting smaller.