What American cars do you like?

[Matra et Alpine]

Where was the GT40 actually designed at? That was my point, wasnt it designed here and built in the UK?

It was a Lola chassis, an improvement on their Mk6

It's neither British nor American, it's a perfect harmony of both.
This usually only gets raised when the American flag gets waved a little too strongly about the GT40. It's roots and succes are British engineering based. It's financial backing is American and the new GT success will be pure American.
As was the norm in the 60s and 70s ( and 80s, 90s, etc ) the Brits are great at the ideas and crap at the manufacturing LUCAS 'nuff said

[CdocZ]

Its the same question in Australia. Is a Commodore an Australian car? US built V8, imported transmissions, Australian built but US designed V6. Most confusing. Its Australian-ness comes from the fact they are rear wheel drive , large sedans. Still the design stems from European Opels.

i think ucp needs to have a bunch of discussion threads, to find the average opinion of these things. i mean, how do you really tell wether a car is from a certain country anymore? so many parts come from otherplaces. also, how do you actually define "supercar"?

[Matra et Alpine]

Even when the parts come from a country, the design can be from somewhere else.
is it the design, or the manufacture ?
For tax purposes it's always the manufacture.
We built a whole bunch of our instruments in Australia to take advantage of the local breaks on "Australian made" products The boards came from Germany, the metalwork from America and most of the components from Japan and the high-tech components from Scotland. Screw them together in Melbourne and call it Australian

Same with cars no doubt - of all flavours. So Britain got lots of new factories when it loked liek wew woudl be IN Europe. Some now moving work into mainstream Europe

[CdocZ]

true, but also, what about the engine, cause, like crisis said, alot of australian engines are american imported engines. alot of the exterior design is sometimes done by other places too.

[Spastik_Roach]

Take my mums Toyota Corona for example. Parts made in Japan, but assembled in New Zealand.

What is it?

[CdocZ]

that happens alot here too. but what if its japanese designed, assembled in mexico, and shipped to the u.s.?

[crisis]

true, but also, what about the engine, cause, like crisis said, alot of australian engines are american imported engines. alot of the exterior design is sometimes done by other places too.

CDs Blaupunkt, seats Lear Industries made in South Australia, dont know who owns the company (unless its part of Lear as in Jet). Gearboxes, diffs, engine managment, fuel system. It gos for all cars from all countries really.

[SlickHolden]

I think if a car is designed in a country and put together there with parts from around the world then it's still that countrys car.

Like dick smith made dickheads. The tips were german? the sticks something else, the box something else also but it was all put together here, And called Australian owned and made, He made a great point with that it's easy to bullshit the public.

but with the Commodore. We now build the V6, the V8 was to be made here but i read Chev threw a spanner in the works and now it's not worth it with Gen4 around the corner.
the opel insperation for the commodore is just that, Stick them side by side and the cars dont have wheelbase length width height weight cabin size boot size engines tranny's suspensions in common. No matter how much the look is 20-40% there it's never going to be close. The VE GTO U.S made will have more in common with the VE Monaro then the VT had with the Omega. I don't think one car has all it's own made parts anymore. If we said 10 years ago that a commodore would have a BWM Tranny in it's car we would have been arressted for being on something

Hey my pc was made by myself i bought all the parts and put them together, They are from overseas but hey it's 100% Aussie Owned and made

[DieterCabral]

Well I like the Vette C6, and the new Mustang...

let me explain why is it that Europeans, and Latin Americans ( I live in Mexico) hate American cars... lets take the new 300c.... what do you see when you analyze its design, its engine, and the overall rating of this vehicle... the first thing you can see is that it has BLING BLING written all over it... I know that this whole Kitsch (the art of bad taste) is a hit in the USA... I know you guys love your Escalade EXT with 26'' Giovanna and whatever chrome gizmo you can get into it... prove of this whole culture is "pimp my ride" where the objective is to make the car as physically unattractive as possible… like I said I understand that you guys like this, that you think “hey its cool to have lavender-to-green paintjobs”; however, to rest of the world that has access to Alfa Romeo and in general to all of Pininfarina’s and Giugiaro’s designs we realize that this whole 8.6 litter engine that “only” produces 500 hp is a waste, the 300c is garbage, the Magnum R/T, the Crown Victoria, all of them are in my opinion not worthy of being compared to a M3 or to a Boxter S ( compared trough price range)

Well I respect your opinion if you believe that a Firebird is a fantastic car, but I would ask you to reconsider and think about the “luxurious” interiors of this “car”…

[Slicks]

Well I like the Vette C6, and the new Mustang...

let me explain why is it that Europeans, and Latin Americans ( I live in Mexico) hate American cars... lets take the new 300c.... what do you see when you analyze its design, its engine, and the overall rating of this vehicle... the first thing you can see is that it has BLING BLING written all over it...

To me it looks like a nice luxury crusier, I dont see any "bling."
http://www.fast-autos.net/chrysler/300.html

I know that this whole Kitsch (the art of bad taste) is a hit in the USA... I know you guys love your Escalade EXT with 26'' Giovanna and whatever chrome gizmo you can get into it... prove of this whole culture is "pimp my ride" where the objective is to make the car as physically unattractive as possible… like I said I understand that you guys like this, that you think “hey its cool to have lavender-to-green paintjobs”;

Uhg I hate that so much!

however, to rest of the world that has access to Alfa Romeo and in general to all of Pininfarina’s and Giugiaro’s designs we realize that this whole 8.6 litter engine that “only” produces 500 hp is a waste, the 300c is garbage, the Magnum R/T, the Crown Victoria, all of them are in my opinion not worthy of being compared to a M3 or to a Boxter S ( compared trough price range)

Alfa isnt really anything to brag about... IMO almost all of their designs are really tacky. The only ones that I can think of that I do like are the 2003 8C Competizione Concept, and the 1967 Tipo 33 Stradale.
The whole "8.3L not making enough hp/l" is a ricer argument. Look at things that actually matter, like weight and torque. You know that displacement does not represent size or weight right?
The 300C is a very respectable luxury sedan, the Magnum R/T is a ugly, but supposedly nice wagon, and the Crown Vic is a grandma car, that isnt taken seriously anywhere. And where they being compared to the M3 and Boxster? Both the M3 and Boxster are WAY more expencive...
M3 $47,000USD (with no options)
(2003 when new)Porsche Boxter S $51,000USD
05 300C $32,900USD
Magnum R/T $30,000USD
05 Crown Vic $25,000USD

Well I respect your opinion if you believe that a Firebird is a fantastic car, but I would ask you to reconsider and think about the “luxurious” interiors of this “car”…

Why not compare cars that are in the same price and class? You do realize you just compared a low dollar muslce car to a high dollar luxury sedan, and super high dollar GT? The T/A's interior is fine for what it is, its not supposed to be that luxurious, its a friggen muscle car! Im buying a T/A when I can find the right one, do you think Im buying it for luxury? Hell no, I want a brute, crude muscle car.
look at these nice american interiors
http://www.fast-autos.net/dodge/chargerrt11.jpg
http://www.fast-autos.net/cadillac/ctsv12.jpg
http://www.fast-autos.net/cadillac/xlr16.jpg
http://www.fast-autos.net/cadillac/sts11.jpg (yes, thats real wood)
http://www.fast-autos.net/ford/05mustang35.jpg
http://www.fast-autos.net/buick/velite20.html (real snake skin shifter boot)
http://www.fast-autos.net/pontiac/solstice16.html
And those are are still much cheaper than a Boxster, or M3...

[Fleet 500]

Doesn't that put more ware and tare on the engine? I respect the fact you prefer high reving engines, I enjoy them too. But It's nice to have a wide torque curve you can use at almost any RPM

I think so. A high revving engine, on average, is going to wear faster than a low-revving engine. That's one reason why I like '60s and '70s Cadillacs- their slow-revving engines not only produce more than ample torque, but they also last forever!

[fpv_gtho]

I think if a car is designed in a country and put together there with parts from around the world then it's still that countrys car.

Like dick smith made dickheads. The tips were german? the sticks something else, the box something else also but it was all put together here, And called Australian owned and made, He made a great point with that it's easy to bullshit the public.

but with the Commodore. We now build the V6, the V8 was to be made here but i read Chev threw a spanner in the works and now it's not worth it with Gen4 around the corner.
the opel insperation for the commodore is just that, Stick them side by side and the cars dont have wheelbase length width height weight cabin size boot size engines tranny's suspensions in common. No matter how much the look is 20-40% there it's never going to be close. The VE GTO U.S made will have more in common with the VE Monaro then the VT had with the Omega. I don't think one car has all it's own made parts anymore. If we said 10 years ago that a commodore would have a BWM Tranny in it's car we would have been arressted for being on something

Hey my pc was made by myself i bought all the parts and put them together, They are from overseas but hey it's 100% Aussie Owned and made

I made a thread ages ago actually about some article that was highlighting the local content of the Falcon, Commodore and locally produced Camry's, Avalons and Magna's. The Falcon was clearly ontop with close to 80% local content, the Japanese were around 70%. Holden refused to comment on the Commodore, so that gives you a good indication of how local "Australia's own" is

[SlickHolden]

It's a unfair one on them but
Engine V8 U.S or really Canada V6 U.S Tranny U.S. Thats a big part of the car, If it was done when they had local trannys and home made V8 i'm sure they would have jumped in there. Maybe now they might with the Alloytech in VE ??

[Blitz_]

Hmm so raw power over refinement? i still choose a classic muscle car, eg mustang, charger, over euro trash any day, i can live witout a pish posh interior. I bought the latest model of Motor, read it, it explains how companies such as BMW, try to make driving easier, but end up making things more complicated - e.g the iDrive syste, totally unnessary, and in the end drivers dont get to really use half of the features whacked onto the car.

That is y i still luv my old skool muscle cars, my dads charger, runs 13's all day, reliable as hell, raw power, lacks refinment and that iz what gives it its character, the things that are wrong with it make it so much better than the mercs and beemers that go around town, they even turn thier heads when we zoom by.

[fpv_gtho]

Hmm so raw power over refinement? i still choose a classic muscle car, eg mustang, charger, over euro trash any day, i can live witout a pish posh interior. I bought the latest model of Motor, read it, it explains how companies such as BMW, try to make driving easier, but end up making things more complicated - e.g the iDrive syste, totally unnessary, and in the end drivers dont get to really use half of the features whacked onto the car.

That is y i still luv my old skool muscle cars, my dads charger, runs 13's all day, reliable as hell, raw power, lacks refinment and that iz what gives it its character, the things that are wrong with it make it so much better than the mercs and beemers that go around town, they even turn thier heads when we zoom by.

Well i for one could live without the shit dynamics of any muscle car as i'd want to be able to take it in more than a straight line at any sort of a decent speed.

A decent interior doesnt have to be pish-posh either, it just has to have everything in the right place