Anyone else dislike cars that are not American?

[Defiant]

This might sound funny coming from me because I do currently own an Eclipse and a Nissan (also two Chevys). But I find it really difficult to find an interest in non American cars. If I follow a car review youtube channel, or read motortrend I skip thru all the foreign bs and look for the new ZL1, Raptor, GT350, CTS-V etc.. The sly weekly Dodge Demon teasers have been friggin awesome. I remember everybody raving about how the new Camry looks like a NASCAR (it does NOT) and I was like ew.. wtf. Japanese "robotech" designs look like shite now, and in 10 years will look like even uglier shite when they become outdated. Plus most car manufacturers have switched to automatic for their performance lineup, except the big three.

Since it's spring time now, there have been a few car meet events scheduled on facebook and they always have a EVO or 300zx type car as the cover banner. These are cars that I used to think were cool, and now I look at them as cheap flimsy kids toys. Without an engine swap they will never make a manly V8 rumble. They sound quite shite. When I get the Mustang idc if isn't fast I will have a sweet exhaust sound that they could never replicate, and every time I drive by the burble will remind them that anything less than 8 cylinders was designed off of compromise.

Their face when a V8 passes by:

It's funny seeing people argue that their turbo I4 or V6/I6 is so much better than a old lowly 260hp N/A V8, yet they would be nothing without boost. As if a V8 can't be boosted too.

I think my biggest turning point was a few weeks ago I met up with my buddy at a gas station, we both reversed into a couple parking spaces to talk a bit (I was on a trip in CA) and we also discussed cars. We both ended up popping our hoods and at that point I looked around and felt like such a god damn no good ricer. A civic and eclipse parked like that with the hoods up just felt silly, and wrong. Cringe. That was the first time I truly felt embarrassed by my car. And also the noise it makes, sure it sounds 'good' for a 4 cyl, but at the end of the day it aint no V8 mayne.

Can't wait to sell the kids toy now.

 

[shorty]

I felt this way until i bought an 06 saab aero. changed my mind on imported cars.

 

[Defiant]

I had a Saab 9000 aero. 284whp/331wtq sure was fun for a while but torque steer, no traction, blowing transmissions, and the the general feel of a 200k+ mile car made me decide to sell it.


oh and it was also annoying how every bolt and screw on the car was a torx head bolt, even the clutch slave cylinder.

 

[ttocs]

what is an "american" car now? Toyota is a huge employer here in southern indiana with I think 3 of their car/van lines coming from here(It might only be 2 idunno for sure). Your missing out on many many many cool cars that your writing off just because its not american. Cars are cool, doesn't matter where they come from, except chevy's of course .... I don't like the general "ricer" atttitude either but there are some very very fast 4-6 bangers that would leave your feelings hurt.

 

[Defiant]

what is an "american" car now? Toyota is a huge employer here in southern indiana with I think 3 of their car/van lines coming from here(It might only be 2 idunno for sure). Your missing out on many many many cool cars that your writing off just because its not american. Cars are cool, doesn't matter where they come from, except chevy's of course .... I don't like the general "ricer" atttitude either but there are some very very fast 4-6 bangers that would leave your feelings hurt.

Toyota is Japanese

American car brands I like:

Ford, Chevy (Cadillac, Buick), Dodge (Jeep), Tesla etc.. They just look / perform better than anything else. Especially price wise. The only time I like the foreign brands is when it comes to crotch rockets, I hate Harleys with a passion LOL.

After owning tons of different cars from different brands from different continents I always found the American stuff to have a good price, reliability, and even though they are boaty sometimes they were decent to drive daily. Early 2000s Jap cars look better than a lot of early 2000s American cars I'll give em that, but the tables have turned now with new cars. And idc if a Toyota or Honda or w/e is built in the USA that doesn't make them American. Pretty sure Honda and VW have plants in Mexico does that make Honda and VW Mexican?

And yeah sure there are some fast 4-6 bangers but that doesn't make them all fast. A V8 is always superior.


Oh and its kinda funny that after I made this topic I went to drive the Eclipse and after about 30 minutes it started running horribly, my wideband read that the car was pig rich. It was stalling/sputtering etc.. couldnt give much gas, build boost or hold idle. Barely made it home. Yeah def need to get rid of this thing. Gotta solve that issue before I sell it first ofc.

 

[Burninriverdiver]

I can appreciate them all, I love tho sound and tourque of my mustang gt but I can't argue the high revving fun my woman's 07 si or Scion FR-S has to offer. I don't think you HAVE to choose sides. A well built/ fun car is a well built/ fun car regardless of who made it

 

[ttocs]

so your saying the new porches or exotics do nothing for you? Hell I saw an R8 go by the other day and I would have taken it over a demon any day but again to limit yourself to one nationality seems silly. Do you do the same with music? Think of all the amazing artists you would miss out on if you only listened to american music artists? Sure it would save you from beiber but there is soooo much missing that I am not sure it would be worth it.

How did you come up with this idea that non-american cars are boring or just not worth following? Sounds like one of those things that you were taught as a child by a father/brother and just accepted it as scripture. I have realized I have a few of these things that I don't like simply because I was told not too and it was just stupid when I realized why I didn't like it.

Toyota is Japanese

American car brands I like:

Ford, Chevy (Cadillac, Buick), Dodge (Jeep), Tesla etc.. They just look / perform better than anything else. Especially price wise. The only time I like the foreign brands is when it comes to crotch rockets, I hate Harleys with a passion LOL.

After owning tons of different cars from different brands from different continents I always found the American stuff to have a good price, reliability, and even though they are boaty sometimes they were decent to drive daily. Early 2000s Jap cars look better than a lot of early 2000s American cars I'll give em that, but the tables have turned now with new cars. And idc if a Toyota or Honda or w/e is built in the USA that doesn't make them American. Pretty sure Honda and VW have plants in Mexico does that make Honda and VW Mexican?

And yeah sure there are some fast 4-6 bangers but that doesn't make them all fast. A V8 is always superior.


Oh and its kinda funny that after I made this topic I went to drive the Eclipse and after about 30 minutes it started running horribly, my wideband read that the car was pig rich. It was stalling/sputtering etc.. couldnt give much gas, build boost or hold idle. Barely made it home. Yeah def need to get rid of this thing. Gotta solve that issue before I sell it first ofc.

 

[Defiant]

I can appreciate them all, I love tho sound and tourque of my mustang gt but I can't argue the high revving fun my woman's 07 si or Scion FR-S has to offer. I don't think you HAVE to choose sides. A well built/ fun car is a well built/ fun car regardless of who made it

I'm the opposite, after owning so many torqueless (high rpm) cars I found torque to be the best thing to have on a daily basis. Obviously you don't need 302 lb-ft all the time, it's just nice to have. I've driven a new Accord with the 2.4l K24 or whatever it is and it was low powered yes but torquey enough for a lil engine I guess, probably fine for most people. It still doesn't compete with a V8 man, there are a lot of countries where a V8 is damn near outlawed, I'm glad to live in probably the only country where you can have a 427 ci V8 and still not pay much for gas. I would hate to fart around in a 1.0l peugeot lol! I know I don't have to choose sides, but after being on the import side my whole life and not liking American muscle I've come to the conclusion that imports suck. I drove a GSR swapped integra, it was lightened and had mods and a strong vtec kick going all the way past 8500 rpm but all that noise and it barely went anywhere. Very odd sensation. I prefer the feeling of power rather than actually having it, you know? Also if you like high revving you can mod a V8 to rev high and have the best of both worlds!

so your saying the new porches or exotics do nothing for you? Hell I saw an R8 go by the other day and I would have taken it over a demon any day but again to limit yourself to one nationality seems silly. Do you do the same with music? Think of all the amazing artists you would miss out on if you only listened to american music artists? Sure it would save you from beiber but there is soooo much missing that I am not sure it would be worth it.

How did you come up with this idea that non-american cars are boring or just not worth following? Sounds like one of those things that you were taught as a child by a father/brother and just accepted it as scripture. I have realized I have a few of these things that I don't like simply because I was told not too and it was just stupid when I realized why I didn't like it.

Never been much of a fan of exotic supercars, the only ones I like is the Ferrari F50 and a UGR equipped Gallardo. Even then it's like ehh, I rather have a Ford GT, Viper, Hennessey Venom etc.. Shoot not even talking about owning, I rather HEAR any of those over a foreign exotic lol. I used to like the Audi R8, I was an Audi fan I owned a twin turbo Audi S4 and a couple VWs and sure they were a lil fun but overall felt soulless and sterile. Not even gonna talk about the oil leaks, repair costs, and general quality qualms.

I learned to like only American cars on my own, being that I come from a strictly import background. I used to dislike American muscle, I made tons of jokes about turbo 4 bangers shutting down huge V8s. I was a die-hard Mitsubishi fan for 7 years. I've owned plenty of Euro and Asian cars and just came to my own conclusions. The stuff America puts out is just great (especially the more recent stuff). Even then, you have classics, and even early 2000s you could get a Corvette for cheap!! Idk man just no reason for me to look to foreign anymore, if I could have a 500 ci V8 I wouldn't hesitate.

 

[Frank.JD.Perez]

My love will always be with american and always bias towards mustangs, but i like and appreciate all cars...for the most part... crappy electric cars and priusi (like cacti) can all be blown up...

 

[Defiant]

My love will always be with american and always bias towards mustangs, but i like and appreciate all cars...for the most part... crappy electric cars and priusi (like cacti) can all be blown up...

Lol! I don't like the Prius either (the new one is so ugly Google search it!!!) but of course if you gotta have electric, Tesla (American brand) is king. 10 second cars from factory is cool in my book. If I had a torquey 10 second electric car to daily while having a V8 monster for weekends I'd be pretty happy man.

And yes I can appreciate all cars too, from an engineering standpoint. I have a lot of respect for koenigsegg, their cars are truly incredible and the guy that runs the company is very smart. But really, it's like appreciating Saturn. Sure it's a massive planet, it looks pretty, and is super interesting to study. But I could never touch it, nor get close enough to truly appreciate it.

Here in good ole USA you can have a high powered V8 in many cars for any price range, it's not out of reach. I think the country of Norway (or one close to that region) has stupid high taxes on engine displacement, so everyone drives hybrid/electric. I'd bet you a lot of those people would have muscle cars if they weren't so suppressed.

 

[ttocs]

that is just such an interesting point to pick as what makes a car good. What about the pontiac aztec? the pinto? American so both are cool right?! Prius is an ugly car granted but its also pretty comfortable for a daily driver that can get well over 300 miles on an 8 gallon tank.


Funny that the mustang then is on the lower end of how much of it is made in the USA as far as domestic cars goes.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/top-cars-north-american-parts-content-67627/

Does the amount its made in the usa matters or just the brand location?

 

[Defiant]

To throw some more fuel on the flame: I never got the whole jdm fad. People go out of their way for JDM parts on their usdm Japanese cars. The integra type r is a cool car for what it is but going thru the trouble to convert it to right hand drive is nonsense. Seriously imagine how frustrating it is having to deal with driving rhd in a lhd country. I'm sure the novelty wears off quick. I've heard of people getting pulled over because the cop didn't see anyone in the drivers seat lol!! Maybe it's like a distant culture fetish. I mean, a lot of people do like those weird jap cartoons. There's a strong fetish for their culture. Maybe that's part of it? I know in Japan they drift 30 year old Chevy vans but I'll probably never understand why

 

[Defiant]

that is just such an interesting point to pick as what makes a car good. What about the pontiac aztec? the pinto? American so both are cool right?! Prius is an ugly car granted but its also pretty comfortable for a daily driver that can get well over 300 miles on an 8 gallon tank.


Funny that the mustang then is on the lower end of how much of it is made in the USA as far as domestic cars goes.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/top-cars-north-american-parts-content-67627/

Does the amount its made in the usa matters or just the brand location?

Doesnt bother me where they make it what matters is where they were founded, where their HQ is, where most are sold, and who (what country) they're marketed to. It's the American culture that has built great cars, which is IMO, the best culture (at least for me). Why anyone would pick a Prius over a Chevy Volt is beyond me.

 

[ttocs]

Doesnt bother me where they make it what matters is where they were founded, where their HQ is, where most are sold, and who (what country) they're marketed to. It's the American culture that has built great cars, which is IMO, the best culture (at least for me). Why anyone would pick a Prius over a Chevy Volt is beyond me.

Well the prius does start at almost $9k less then the volt but the location of the head office is much more important then the numbers/reliability, ect?

 

[Defiant]

Well the prius does start at almost $9k less then the volt but the location of the head office is much more important then the numbers/reliability, ect?

Look at motortrends test, the volt won by a country mile. Volt has a bigger battery (over 2x bigger), farther electric range, more power, much better acceleration, handles better, brakes shorter, has better brake regen, looks a lot nicer etc.. It also gets a larger government incentive narrowing the price gap between the two.

 

[Monsterbishi]

Many Americans have no idea that the automotive world outside their shores is orders of magnitude greater than what they know of, and that many of the 'imports' that you hold in such low regard are crap quite literally from the compromises made converting them to LHD.

Look at the LHD NA Miata's handbrake, or all the cars you have with auto seatbelts...

 

[mcglsr2]

So first off, it's all about personal taste. People like what they like, so that means this is just really a tomato/tomahto conversation. But it's still interesting none-the-less.

Personally, I am not hung up on brands, American or otherwise. I'm glad there are other brands out there, nothing wrong with being spoiled for choice. However, there are a lot of preconceived notions about brands - which is neither good nor bad. I'm just saying.

I have a varied assortment of cars. Add to my current cars, I've also owned a Shelby CSX (still do) and a Saturn (my dad has it now). My parents, during my life, have owned an Escort, a Focus, a Merkur XR4Ti, an old 80's Fiat Abarth, a 69 Dodge Dart GTS (still have it), a couple MG's, and an Omni. Plus the CSX I mentioned. Add to that my cars: 95 Mustang GT, 2011 STI, 2012 Audi A4 Quattro and a 99 Toyota 4Runner. So a fairly diverse group of brands. I would consider myself a car person (though, according to Clarkson, since I've not owned an Alfa yet, I'm not really an enthusiast).

And here's the thing: I honestly don't prefer one brand over any other. Each has it's own set of pros and cons. It just comes down to appreciating the car for what it is. I'm not trying to convince you like other brands. If American is where it is at for you, then okay, cool. It's all good. But after reading some of your posts, I would venture a guess that what you care more about is actual performance, and perhaps perceived performance. In your mind, that performance is accomplished by a torquey V8, rather than a FI 4 cylinder. And that's okay. In your case, it sounds like your non-American brands are just average cars. I'm not trying to offend. I'm just saying, they are not exciting cars. Go drive some exciting non-American brands. Things might look different to you. I love my STI. It is a very enjoyable car to drive. "Don't you miss the torque?" you might add? Well no, of course not. That's the magic of FI. My STI has just as much torque as my 95 Mustang. Not quite in the same RPM band, but the power is there, I assure you. It's just a different driving experience. And sure, you can FI a V8. But in the grand scheme of things, that only gets you so far. On the streets, in my STI, I was able to keep up with a friends Charger Hellcat. His V8 was supercharged. He had more than twice the HP I did. And the STI still held it's own. Think about that. I'm sure in an "official" drag race he'd beat me. Drag racing isn't really the STI's bag. But in the real world, the advantage is not as large as you might think it is.

The way I see it is like this: cars have a personality. And each car has it's own personality. Some are big and torquey, some are lumbering, some are small and peppy, and some are just plain boring. The trick is to drive the car in a way that matches it's personality. If you drive a high-revving FI 4 cylinder like it's a V8 that peaks at 4600 RPM, well you aren't going to enjoy that car very much. You will say "this sucks, this car is slow, what's the point, where's my torque." If, instead, you drive it like the high-revving FI 4 cylinder it is, revving it out to 7K and keeping the revs up in the range, I think you will find it's quite exhilarating, and will actually hold it's own against the low RPM V8. Is one better than the other? Personally, I think of course not. That's like saying California girls are better than Irish girls. Like the brand, it doesn't actually matter where she is from, what matters is her personality

The whole JDM thing is based on a couple things: the biggest being culture and being different. The Japanese have a really, really cool culture when it comes to cars. They are very much what we would call gear heads. This resonates with people over here that are also gear heads/into car culture. Also, it's exotic. It's not from here, so it automatically gets a sort of mystical power, just like anything that is foreign does. And this doesn't apply to just Americans loving JDM. There are other cultures out there that like American things, the most obvious being Hollywood and music. Part of the draw for them is that our stuff is foreign to them, and thus part of the mysticism. Sure, there are people that take the JDM thing too far. These people exist in all kinds of different things, not just car culture. But don't let them put you off JDM Yo. Think about it this way: most of the people are just as in to cars as you are. Their priorities might be a little different (you: torque; them: stance), but they are car people all the same. We have that in common, and that's cool

 

[ttocs]

on the same notion of swapping everything out for JDM parts, I don't get paying big $$$$ for import parts for my mustang but we all know I am in the minority there. Its all about making your car unique isn't it?

 

[Mack]

What is an American car?

Between 1965 and 1967 Ford produced Ford Mustangs in the Ford Factory in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. These cars, the N-code Mustangs, are exactly the same as American Mustangs, made from parts that were shipped from the US. Are these Mustangs not "American" because they are assembled in Europe?

As I understand, the Toyota Camry is built in the US (N-Carolina?), especially designed for the US market and has more US-produced parts than a random Chrysler. Is it a foreign car because of the Toyota badge? Is the Chrysler built in Mexico from Mexican parts an American car because Chrysler is American? Or is Chrysler also foreign because owned by Fiat?

The Mercedes M-class is developed in Germany but all M-classes (for the entire world) are built in the US. Is the M-class an American car? Is an M-class in Germany an American car because built in the US, and foreign in the US because it's a Mercedes?

Parts of cars come from all over the world and cars are assembled everywhere. Location is total irrelevant for the quality of cars.

So if the location of the assembly plant, the origin of the parts and the origin of the brand are not relevant for making a car "American", what is?

 

[Mack]

For reference: http://www.autonews.com/article/201...-camry-returns-to-no.-1-on-most-american-list