Foreign Interests

[Fleet 500]

ROFL.

You would be walking Fleet when your "town car" got stuck on roads like THIS

As stated, different roads, different cultures, different "ideal" cars !!!

That road reminds me of Big Tujunga Canyon and Mullholland Highway. They are not as narrow but also have a lot of curves.

Us Cadillac guys have driven our cars (of several different types- Cadillacs, Lincolns, Buick Wagons, GMC pickup) up the twisting road in the San Gabriel Mountains up to the 5,000 or 6,000 foot level.
On the unpaved roads, we use the GMC; all the others one of our luxury cars (yes, they can make it all the way up).

[henk4]

the problem is that cars get stigmatised by the country of origin. A recent german test for 8 hatchbacks had the VW golf coming first, but sharing this position with the Kia C'eed. Yet I think very few people of this forum would consider one, firstly because it is "Korean".
The problem is that this stigmatising is being practised by many motoring journalists as well in their description of cars, without making their own proper judgement. Actually tests would be much more objective if the journalists were not told what marque they were currently driving....
Those who think a Corvette is a big car, they should have a look at the actual dimensions, it is not bigger than an average middle class sedan.

[henk4]

That road reminds me of Big Tujunga Canyon and Mullholland Highway. They are not as narrow but also have a lot of curves.

Us Cadillac guys have driven our cars (of several different types- Cadillacs, Lincolns, Buick Wagons, GMC pickup) up the twisting road in the San Gabriel Mountains up to the 5,000 or 6,000 foot level.
On the unpaved roads, we use the GMC; all the others one of our luxury cars (yes, they can make it all the way up).

I would suggest you to take your Cadillacs to the inner city of Naples (Italy,not the US )

[roosterjuicer]

im pretty sure people all over the world want ferrarri's and lambo's and porsche's. i consider ferrari and porsche to be some of the greatest sports car companies in the world, i dont care who you are, if you are into cars you would love to have a porsche or a ferrarri.

i have to disagree with the statement "i know that most foreign cars are better than american cars" that is just incorrect. within the past 8-10 years most of the major car companies have become pretty much even-steven as far as reliability goes. this wasn't always the case, but it is now. thats why the big three have begun offering better warranties to back their cars up.

really, what it all comes down to in the end is personal preference. ford fusion, toyota camry, chevy impala, honda accord, saturn aura, ect... are all well made, practical, decent cars. they are all pretty much even on power, fuel economy, looks, handling, ect... so really it all comes down to personal preference. none of those cars are really better or worse than eachother, it just comes down to you.

With the smart fourtwo or the new bettle, yeah you could drive around town in those and most people would think you were a woman but you'd be getting great gas mileage. but 'cmon, where's the fun? where's the walking out to your driveway and being satisfied with the car you are driving. personally i would much rather having something roomier with more power that still gets decent mileage. but once again, it all comes down to personal preference.

as far as which sports car i would like...i would love to be given a 550 maranello or a 612 scaletti. however if i had to buy my own car myself, corvette hands down.

[kingofthering]

Well... Smart would be great in a city like San Francisco because of the absurdly small parking spaces but unfortunately, people might think you're gay and that might hurt your ability to pick up a chick other than Quiggs's mother.

[Fleet 500]

=jediali;694797]The culture difference is key. Am I right to say that most Americans (maybe not you reading this) would be happy doing the same speed all day and not care that you cant control the gears manually and also be happy with a car thats designed to not last as long as it should.

It would depend on what car. I don't mind driving my '76 Cadillac limo or '95 Town Car at one speed. Which I usually do when on the highway- just set the cruise and climate control at 70 (70 mph and 70 degrees) and relax. With my '69 Fleetwood, though, I frequently shift manually through the gears. With its power and huge low-end torque, it fun to do that.
I don't understand the last sentence... "a car that's designed to not last as long as it should." ? The cars I like are/were designed to last a long time.

Many mid stream american cars "feel" disposable. They have to be cheap for a reason. I dont want to put the (wrong) words in the mouth of any Americans but arent older, traditional influences frowned apon by most? Have I been watching too much "the good the bad and the ugly" by JC ...yes!

Seems like you're forgetting the many reliabilty problems of certain models of Audis, BMWs, Porsche, VW and Mercedes. Those are much more disposable than my Lincoln.

url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaJA7_BD1K8[/url] (wait till after intro)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdqu8GsA6i0

Lol. The first one above... too bad that guy didn't stop by the weekly car gathering I go to. He could go for a ride in one of the 11- or 12-second cars. He would change his mind very quick regarding his opinion on the cars Americans drive.
The second one above. I have seen that one before. Nice to hear the deep-tone, powerful American car engines. I hear those in person at the car show mentioned above. Truly incredible, the sound.

[Matra et Alpine]

With the smart fourtwo .......... where's the fun? where's the walking out to your driveway and being satisfied with the car you are driving.

Get the Brabus version.
Nephew runs the Brabus coupe and can beat Elise in some places
AND he can get 50+mpg
WHen we did the Prodrive day with eh RX-8 we went for a blast around the roads in his Brabus Smart Coupe and the RX-8. I'd more than twice the power for sure, but with so much extra weight, width and wheelbase there were many places he just pulled way ahead of me !!

[Fleet 500]

I would suggest you to take your Cadillacs to the inner city of Naples (Italy,not the US )

Why? They were built for the roads in America. That would make as much sense as trying to drive a VW Beetle with 6 or 7 passengers.

I should point out that a Cadillac owner in Belgium manages to drive his cars on the roads out there.

[henk4]

Why?

just to prove that you simply cannot get anywhere with your Cadillac....(while a smart will get you anywhere your caddy can go )

[Fleet 500]

just to prove that you simply cannot get anywhere with your Cadillac....(while a smart will get you anywhere your caddy can go )

Except a drag strip. Even a horse could probably win that race! Or a highway uphill onramp.
But let's not compare real cars with toy cars!

[roosterjuicer]

and also be happy with a car thats designed to not last as long as it should.

i have owned 3 american cars in my life. 97 silverado wrecked at 160,000 miles. 1996 gmc sierra sold to my little brother at 180,000 miles (he's put 8,000 miles on it so far) and now ive got a 1997 suburban with 130,000 miles. all these vehicles have not had any major problems or fallen apart or anything. from my personal experiences every american car i have ever owned has lasted like it should.

edit: i forgot to mention my camaro but its only got 77k on it but it is a 92 which means it has laster pretty long too

[henk4]

Except a drag strip. Even a horse could probably win that race! Or a highway uphill onramp.
But let's not compare real cars with toy cars!

any smart is capable of highway speeds well above the US limits

[The_Canuck]

Exactly. I might as well just ride a bicycle if it came to the point I had to consider owning a Smart.

I think he can make the same argument for larger American cars

[Ferrer]

Those who think a Corvette is a big car, they should have a look at the actual dimensions, it is not bigger than an average middle class sedan.

The problem with the Corvette lies in the width not the lenght.

[Fleet 500]

any smart is capable of highway speeds well above the US limits

And cause a backup of traffic taking 60 seconds to get to highway speeds!