for me, best would hav to be the Japanese, but the ocals here come up with some of the best value for money cars in the world
for me, best would hav to be the Japanese, but the ocals here come up with some of the best value for money cars in the world
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I strongly agree!Originally Posted by NoOne
My friend had a Lexus 430 for about a year then changed to a Mercedes S500. I had ride in both cars a lot and we both agreed that the Lexus was more comfortable, more roomy and quieter. Truth!
But the Mercedes has lot more 'class'
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It depends on what you mean by "better" cars.
I chose Japan because I define "better" as being superior engineering/reliability. You could just as easily define "better" as referring to performance, ergonomics, asthetics, sales, owner satisfaction, history (of a company), legacy (of a model), manufacturing, fuel efficiency, capability, environmentally-friendly, etc....
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I Personally chose australian cars...not many are as hardy of as good for the money....and they a very easy on the wallet to fix comapred to a jap car....japs have second...america thrid...we have some common parts make them cheaper to fix....Originally Posted by fpv_gtho
And nothing else rates a mention to me...german cars are boring...itias they seem to build cars that brak down...french have a tallent for that as well...
Well i dont know if everyone is going to agree with you there Falc, but the way i see it, 10 years ago the Germans were leading on quality whilst the Italians seemed to be the best for performance, but i cant say the same today. I strongly thing Japan has now got better quality than Germany, but mainly because it seems Germanies standards seem to be slipping, perhaps with things like the X5 being built in the US. Australian manufacturers are 10x what they were 10 years ago now and edging onto the global scene, but still they're just a spec in the ocean. America seems to be improving their quality but its sneaking in under the radar, so no one seems to notice. As for Italy, well Ferrari has come under fire pretty strong from fellow Italians, Germans and the odd American. France, well theyre rather controversial, a love it or hate it situation, especially with cars like the new Megane. I think their technology is on the level, but i dont like French designers
I am the Stig
I'd have to say the Germans. Cars like the BMW M5, Audi RS6, Mercedes E500 do everything so well and are so desirable that, as Falc said, they are 'almost' boring. If you threw me the keys to any of the above three cars, I'd take them in a second. Also, cars like the new VW Golf and Opel (Vauxhall/Holden) Astra show that the Germans also know how to make extremely good, efficient, excellent handling, high quality compact cars.
The Japanese rate second. The German cars may be extremely good and classy, but they do tend to lack soul, especially these days. The Japanese are actually producing cars that stir the passion - Subaru Impreza WRX, Subaru Legacy GT, Nissan 350Z, Mazda RX8, Mazda MX5, Toyota Supra Turbo and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 are current standouts. Skyline GTR and Mazda RX7 Turbo are recent standouts. Each of these cars attracts very passionate fans(though it has to be said that some of these fans give these cars a bad name), and to do so they must stir the soul.
The current mid-size cars from the Japanese, such as the Honda Accord Euro and Mazda 6 show that the Japanese are more than capable of building non-performance cars that still offer a degree of passion and driving enjoyment.
In third, for me, are the Australians. The hot Falcons and Commodores stir the above mentioned passion. Also, whether we're talking the bread and butter Falcons and Commodores or the hot versions are probably the best value for money cars in the world.
Well im comparing alotof things and perofrmance is very low down on the list...the reason because we are in a huge industry here and the biggest majority vehicals are the family saloons...and the things that are important about them and in no order Fuel ecconmy,Reliablility,Cost of parts,insurence,practicality,useable performance etc etc....Germans cars are far to expensive to fix...even worse then ultra expensive jap cars....american cars are cheap and while nast and apprently have numerous problems arnt as bad as the select (what the media chooses to share) shares with you...i have chatted to numerous american who are quite happy with the cars they have/currently own and breakdowns are not very prelavent...and in the few cases they where they where very cost effective to fix....
I still think German cars within my parametres are themost boring cars on the planet!(for their price tag)
I stand by my statements of italian cars....and the french cars though i will add that you are right there technology is just as good as anyone elses...just doesnt seem to last as long....
Originally Posted by Falcon500
well i dont know if its because of the market or not, but it seems American cars attract a low resale value. ive seen a report saying new Impala's have about 35% 3 year resale value, compared to the locals getting between 50-60%
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Wel;l becuase between model they usually change every year....and for exmaple like ford who pull in as much money as some oil rich companys every year or chevrolet whith even more resources...its not overly expensive thing to do...and in three years the cars while similar have numerous diffrences...some of the time...and if you look closley new cars in america are cheap compred to mostother places as well...even the genral cost of liveing is quite cheap there....
well they do get a better deal on the GTO than we do for the Monaro. they get it for about $10K less, yet the performance times claim its as fast as the GTS
I am the Stig
Well one thing i didn learn from a few amricans was these times are possible...but....they are always and i mean always done in the bestpossible weather Cold and not humid...usually have no spare and with a drained fuel tank...and in some cases (apprently GM where bad for this) had their 1/4s on a slight incline going down this is what i was told and i actually believe most of it...other then the incline part now that is just wrong...isnt there laws against that?Originally Posted by fpv_gtho
well everyone uses diffrent methods, but the ones used by the Americans have always been a mystery to me. Wheels for one put half a tank of petrol with 2 people, whilst Motor have a full tank but only the driver. Wheels usually only do 2 runs as well which is a bit cheeap i think.
i think as long as they made it clear the methods for testing, there shouldnt be wrong with it. the troubles would come when comparisons are made with conflicting methods
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Well personally i think there should be a test fully stipped out...like the american one an optimised figure...then they should return it to normal comparison...so you know what it could do in a perfect world...but alsoknow what it normally does...
Especially if you add all the other marques, here are some I have remembered:Originally Posted by Coventrysucks
Delfino
Ascari
Tiger Racing
Lola? Williams? If we're gonna include racing teams and manufacturers we'll be here all week (TWR... BAR... in fact over half the F1 teams... oh and weren't a load of Indycar chassis made in the UK until a few years ago... well half the WRC teams are based in the UK anyway).
Doesn't it all depend on what you mean by 'best'? If you want mad cars with no carpets (sometimes no body panels even) and plastic switch gear, that can go round a circuit faster than any other (even faster than your Tifosi beloved Italian posermobiles and stuff), then yes British. If you want a car you can drive your mum down the shops in then there are better countries. For track-day performance buy British, just expect to get wet driving home with no stereo, and your shopping on the passenger seat.
Meio
Italy all the way, it's hard to beat Ferrari or Lamborghini. Italy also makes amazing motorbikes.................Ducatti...
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