those silly little European cars

[rambling man]

What's with those silly little European cars. For those of you in Europe, many of us over here call them "Mr Bean cars" because he's always driving one. An Escort or a Cavalier looks roomy next to one of those things.

Im not talking about MG's or little BMW coupes..they are death traps but have a little class

How could you drive a family around in anything smaller than a Ford Taurus I will never understand. Give me something big and expansive that won't crumple like a styrofoam cup if it hit a telephone pole at 10 MPH.

We're getting an SUV next month. We take too many long trips requiring lots of luggage for our Cavalier and our old Caddy isn't holding up as well as she used to. IWhich SUV over the past three years has been most reliable, of the American made ones I mean....

 

[Closet Desire]

silly cars?

For starters, when I filled up my Merc last night, it cost about $54 and that's good for about 200-250 miles. Smaller is cheaper to drive. Next is that driving down most streets or parking is easier in something smaller. Nothing is more entertaining--or annoying--than watching an SUV that can't park or even turn the corner without causing traffic in two lanes to stop.

The cars here are adapted to the driving conditions so they are more tightly spring and more responsive than most cars in the US. I don't mind driving a Taurus or a Sebring when I'm in the states, but it would torture to drive it here. Let's just say the pace is a bit more vigorous.

Just glancing out my window I'd say the average size car is slightly larger than an escort--lots of Volvos, Saabs, Mondeos, BMWs, Golfs, Passats--that sort of thing. More dangerous? No, not really. You're not likely to run into a wannabe cowboy in an F-150 or have a wanker in a Cadillac rear end you. Rule of gross tonnage.

Speaking of things that crumple like a styrofoam cup at 10mph--you obviously haven't read the crash tests on SUVs in 5mph parking lot collisions (repairs of up to $6,000) or taken note of the high speed injury data (even smaller passenger cars outperform SUVs). I think the info is still on CNN if you search the archives. They have an interactive program that allows you to choose a model and then view the test results from both the government and the Nat'l Insurance Institute.

BTW--it's that "crumpling" of a car that keeps you from dying in a collision. Like they say, it isn't the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop.

 

[*Lazer*]

If you are going to drive your family around in a SUV and think they are safer think again. The instability of SUVs when making sudden turns or manuvers is well documented. If you want safety drive a Volvo.

I just love the SUV mentaliy that "I gots this big ass truck and now I can drive right up onto that guys tail on glare ice and it will stop on a dime". I hate those big heaps of shit. They block view, hog space, encourage assholes to drive off road and wreck the ecosystem. Not to mention the fuel matter. My next favorite thing is to see an SUV driver with a car phone. Isn't that just special as they drive over two lanes ahead of you at eighty miles an hour. What a bunch of wankers.

 

[Myrrdin]

For the UK....

Another financial consideration is that taxes are lower on small cars. Car taxes increase with engine size .

 

[Mischka]

SUV over the past three years has been most reliable, of the American made ones I mean....

That's a relative question. Not a single SUV is as reliable, safe, or fuel efficient as a mini-van, and they afford no more space than a station wagon. If you and your family truly need the space, I emphatically suggest either a mini-van (go to www.consumerreports.com for the lowdown) or the ultimate in safety and family comfort, the Volvo station wagon. Not as "sexy" as an SUV, but both options will save you money and peace of mind.

 

[Pokerman]

We have a mini-van, it's great. The fold down seats means we still have plenty of room to go to Cosco without having to take out the stroller, like we did when we owned a 'regular' car.

The only down side is fuel. A family-sized sedan will get much better gas mileage and takes fewer gallons per fill-up than a mini-van.

 

[Closet Desire]

taxes...

I didn't mention these, but taxes for a car with less than 1.4 litres is about £52/year and over that is about £85. The states I've lived in had much higher taxes on cars. I had paid as much as $350 year for taxes on a car in the states. My insurance here is much lower as well...about $500 a year on a Merc.

 

[Myrrdin]

CD

Thers also a reduced tax rate for cars under 1 litre engine capacity for these little urban runarounds or second cars

 

[YoungGun69]

Do you know why the Yugoslavians named their car the Yugo?



CAUSE THEY WERE ALLWAYS YELLKING AT IT.....YOU GO!

 

[rambling man]

All good points, but....

Unlike most urban/suburban owners, I really do enjoy taking the family into the mountains, especially to our special campsite that is inaccessible to an automobile that you want to actually keep in good condition.

Also, we have a full sized sedan, it's just not big enough for our long trips to see family in other states. Four people need a lot of crap to get by for a week.

I hate those people who bully other drivers with the size of their vehicles and think they are oh so cool with their cell phones. Lazer makes an outstanding point there. I don't really need the biggest one out there, but we definitely could use an Explorer sized vehicle

And if we are talking about the environment, what we need is a replacement for the internal combustion engine. I mean really, this technology hasn't been improved much relatively to other things since before the Wright brothers flew their airplane. 12% efficiency just does not cut it anywhere else.

 

[Closet Desire]

Hmmmm...

...it's sort of a matter of what you're used to.

Don't get the idea I'm criticising you because I'm not--you should buy whatever you like and enjoy it. When I grew up families were larger than they are now and cars were smaller. Six of us used to travel cross-country to see family in a Dodge Coronet (that's 1965 I think). Over here there were five of us, including three teenagers, who have travelled cross-country or into Europe in a small Merc sedan (about the size of an Accord). You adjust your needs to what's available.

Americans tend, in general, to travel with far more than they need. Anyone standing outside of customs at Gatwick can quickly pick out the Americans from the English or Europeans by how many suitcases they are hauling (well, okay, you have to ignore some other things like the awful clothes and the fact that nearly every American is chomping on a piece of gum...light humour).

My neice came over here with three suitcases for all the stuff she "needed". Turned out she didn't need most of it afterall.

Happy shopping...

 

[Xander]

Oh c'mon...I got plenty oif room in my Cavalier....and its stabli and fast too...hmmm maybe I should challange Angel to a race.......


Granted its not a car for the big family..but still enough room to pack 3 people and take it for a long drive.

 

[OUTSIDER]

Why do we have small cars....?

Easy their what fit our need's, we have small roads some of which have been in constant use for more than 2000 years and if your roads are only six foot wide then you don't build car's that are seven foot wide, fuel is expensive here so you use a smaller higher revving engine rather than a big low revving one which use's more fuel and since our roads are tight and twisty you need good suspension for quick turns rather than long travel soft suspension like you guys have.........ect.....ect....ect


Look at it as some kind of mechanical natural selection

 

[YoungGun69]

Oh c'mon...I got plenty oif room in my Cavalier....and its stabli and fast too...hmmm maybe I should challange Angel to a race.......


Granted its not a car for the big family..but still enough room to pack 3 people and take it for a long drive.

What model do you got?

I bought the 2001 LS recently.

 

[Aussie Worm]

I think American made cars are the most ugliest things ever. They look like someone found a brick and put some wheels on it. No shape or style.

 

[riff]

I bought a 2001 Jetta two weeks ago.

Farfegnugen!!!

 

[YoungGun69]

I think American made cars are the most ugliest things ever. They look like someone found a brick and put some wheels on it. No shape or style.

YOU STILL LOOKING AT THE CARDS MADE IN THE EARLY 80'S?

The cars now look very stylish.

 

[Aussie Worm]

Compared to European and Asian made cars, American cars have no style. Yes I do admit that American car designers have discovered curves in the last decade.

 

[Xander]

What model do you got?

I bought the 2001 LS recently.

I got a 90 Model....Boosted a little bit...ahem

 

[Problem Child]

Compared to European and Asian made cars, American cars have no style. Yes I do admit that American car designers have discovered curves in the last decade.

All those Australian cars are pretty stylish though.

 

[pabloback]

rambling man stay in your truck and leave the real driving experiences to us europeans , with smaller betterhandling cars that love the bends found on country lanes and mountain passes.

 

[Xander]

rambling man stay in your truck and leave the real driving experiences to us europeans , with smaller betterhandling cars that love the bends found on country lanes and mountain passes.

Preferably doing 65 as the minimum speed ......

 

[KillerMuffin]

rambling man stay in your truck and leave the real driving experiences to us europeans , with smaller betterhandling cars that love the bends found on country lanes and mountain passes.

I ran over one of those once. It was very ugly. Of course, it was stuck and had no business being where it was. Smaller, betterhandling cars that love the bends found on country lanes and mountain passes are only good for those horribly tame road things. Hey, it was stuck 'til breakup and looked exactly like the road. Poor German guys. Pabloblack should keep his happy little ass in his happy little car in his happy little roads in his happy little country. The US of A is like 5,000 miles (tons more K) from LA to New York with most conceivable terrain features in between.

Rambling man, if you MUST get an SUV, forget american. Yeah, I know, Ford sux, Chevy is worse, and Dodge, yech, overpriced and needs repair off the show room floor.

Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Isuzu, you may like the Trooper. Go jap. Kills me to say it, but dammit all. Oh yeah, and do yourself a favor and wait a few years. Congress is mulling the CAFE rules right now and SUV gas mileage is probably going to seriously increase in the near future.

Oh yeah, ramblin man, tread lightly or I'll hunt you down and kick your ass.

 

[rambling man]

I like those big boxy cars, lots of room in the trunk

I know you weren't criticizing, C.D. Really I started this thread to try and get a spark going in the room.

As for Americans packing more than others, this is not just vacation. In World War I and II Americans carried more stuff, ate better, and I think were paid better than their Allied counterparts. I read the British resented not only the Americans but also the Aussies and New Zealanders for their higher pay

We carry lots of clothes on vacation because we (my family , not Americans) change clothes a lot and also like to be prepared for whatever might happen. Thus we have the suitcases, as well as the cooler full of drinks, etc.

 

[cactiphile]

Recently I had a brand new Fiat Cicencento (how ever u damn spell the silly word!), as a courtousy car while my good old Beetle was in the shop.

My Beetle is 30 years old, but had better handling and less rattles, that this little damn Fiat. The only good things I could say about it was that it was economic, used half as much
as my gas guzzler Beetle, and the fact it had a clock...

Hasn't car developement gone anywhere in the last 30 years to
make a small economic car thats actually safe and drivable?

Cactiphile

PS I don't pay tax, classic car status means it free