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In Reply to: RE: Germany's favorite sports's car. Take a guess. posted by Michael Samra on September 20, 2016 at 18:00:09
Starting at 1/3 of the price of the cheapest Porsche, buyers would have to consider it, even with the appalling handling and braking at high speed, terrible fuel economy and problem transmission.
Cheers,
John K
Follow Ups:
I'm not sure it's a 3rd because the porsches are built in Germany..It is still a great feat.Anyone can go buy an expensive supercar and brag how wonderful it is but when you can take an off the lot mass produced car and do a few mods and run with it,that would give me a greater feeling of accomplishment.
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken
A lot of baby boomer Germans like American retro style. I have a friend in Bavaria who has had a string of various US Chryslers and Fords, a lot of convertibles, as weekend summer fun cars.
Of course, he has a 300 series Mercedes as his work/autobahn car.
One of the most fun and surprising things he had for a while was a PT Cruiser diesel - You may laugh!
It was the Austrian made one with full Mercedes driveline - Electric blue, lowered, suspension done and a lot of work on the turbo diesel - doubled the boost. bigger intercooler and cold air box, new exhaust. It could sit on the autobahn at 240kmh - top speed limited by the engine redline!
Cheers,
John K
Just from driving around I'd say that the PT Cruiser is the best selling US car in Europe by a huge margin. I see 5 of those for every other american car. Most of the others are Chrysler 300s or ageing Crossfires. Basically all models that originated when Daimler owned them.
this summer when wifey and I attended the F1 race at Silverstone and toured Highclere Castle. That was a nice handling little car.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Vauxhall still owned by GM?
Vauxhalls are Opels in the rest of Europe and yes they are still owned by GM.But like Ford Europe their cars traditionally have little or nothing to do with american-market GM cars.
Every now and then there is a model that crosses over like Ford Europe's Focus and I think that will happen more and more in the future but both have their own european design studios and rearch facilities. Which is understandable since the market requirements were so very different between North America and Europe.
PS: The Corsa is one of he nicer small cars.
Edits: 09/23/16
I've found the PT Cruiser to be a piece of crap. My brother in law had one and it was about to fall apart at 100k. Working on it was a nightmare.
Indeed, the US market gets only poorly engineered and assembled small car models from American manufacturers. Which is why I've been a Honda consumer for more than thirty years.
My first new American car, a Pontiac Trams Am, was an absolute joke and piece of junk. It will also serve to be my last car produced by an American manufacturer. I'm delighted to hear that the UAW is dying.
I do, however, have a 2017 Ridgeline on order which is made in Lincoln AL sourced largely with American parts and (motivated and caring) labor.
I think one problem is that engineers design for the conditions at hand.
America always had vast amounts of space, cheap fuel, extremely low speed limits and taxes.
In Italy for example they HAD to design small cars because large ones simply do not fit into their towns and cities. I used to know a few rather well off Romans and despite the fact that they could afford practically anything they all drove tiny little cars because driving a Ferrari regularly in Rome is the complete opposite of fun. In the '80s they tended to buy Innocenti. That was a company owned by de Tomaso who built a Bertone-rebodied Mini which could be ordered with leather interior and AC (a rarity in those days except S-class Mercs, Jags etc).
Hers is the Austrian build. Our RHD Chrysler 300s and Voyagers also came from the Austrian plant.
The PT is a very solid little car, and actually extremely roomy with the right touch of retro and very clever use of space. It has worked very well for us ferrying around 2 kids, shopping etc etc, and if I need to move something really bulky, the back seats come completely out of the car to convert it into a small delivery van. Clever.
The cream coloured one she has is IMO the most stylish of the paint options.
Sadly, I think only Europe got the turbo diesel option. My mates one in Germany was a scorcher!
Cheers,
John K
I always fancied A PT Cruiser with 4wd, raised suspension and offroad tyres myself.
Most Cruisers here have the 2.2L Mercedes TDi motor.
The 2.4 petrol seems a bit weeny with 140hp and 130 lb-ft compared to the diesels 150hp and around 230 lb-ft. For not much cash you can chip it to 210hp (no mention of torque).
I could get that look.
African style!
Cheers,
John K
You could be stylish in the outback! :-)
The Ford Falcon is a sweet machine and it would sell like crazy over here in the states..
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken
1974 Ford Falcon XB Coupe. 351C, toploader 4 speed, 9" diff. leaf springs - almost Mustang running gear.
This is the same shell as the black Max Max car.
Cheers,
John K
You guys had much less restriction so you could design and build the cars in those days to perform well.It wasn't until the early 2000s that we gained more freedom to build the cars people wanted.
This is the main reasons we started bringing the Aussie designs to the states and you guys already had the designs we used so that brought down development costs for Ford and GM.
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken
Brilliant engine and dynamics.
275kw according to the brochure, but a lot more inreality. And all it took was a bit of induction work, injectors and a tune and you could get 350+kw, no problem at all. The ZF 6 speed auto was a joy.
Cheers,
John K
A Mustang costs no more than half of a 911 in Germany which is not surprising because Germany has higher labour costs than the USA. The hourly rates are similar but german workers are entitled to 6 weeks paid holidays per year they can take whenever they want.
Legally you can't easily modify your own car there. Cosmetic and lowering are ok but anything more and it will be cheaper, easier and less time consuming to buy a more powerful car to start with.
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