>So has anybody noticed that America's car industry sucks ass?
No I think you're the first one.

>>>/o/
or
>>>/pol/

Because our car culture promotes buying American cars for the sole reason that they're American, and then we give them lots of money to bail them out when they stick their heads in their asses business-wise.

>>35722645 (OP)
I noticed that too, but the real reason is american consumers. People are sheep and judge on looks instead of mechanics and engineering. This is why shitty cars continue to sell, because people buy them.

meanwhile engineers usually buy nissans or honda or some other jap box thats reliable and not shit.

Go to America. You won't see much bikes, but many cars. Even the roads themselves look as if they were designed only for cars.

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>Italy beats us in super cars

mfw the Dodge Viper ACR has a faster Nurburgring time than Maserati, Pagani, and Ferrari

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>>35722750
Go to America. You won't see much walkers, but many hoverounds. Even the sidewalks themselves look as if they were designed only for hoverounds.

>>35722773
>>35722773
>implying design isn't whats most important

>>35722807
>America makes a faster car for a fraction of the cost

>BUT MUH HAND EMBROIDERED LEATHER SEATS

>>35722807
A nice blend of nice design and speed is what people desire.

>>35722783

God those people piss me off. They act like the sidewalk is a road. Like I have never seen someone in a fatty wagon look at a pedestrian, they act like they're not even there.

>>35722645 (OP)
>Germany beats us in high end models
WOA THERE BUDDY!
I'm going to have to stop you right there motherfucker
"German Engineering" Is complete trash
"high-end" and "supercars" are nothing more than shitty buzzwords
European cars are like fucking Apple products, only rich dumbassed buy into it
Japan at least makes god-tier every day cars though

>>35722865
tip them over

We have tesla. We will probably win everyone over on Eletric cars

>>35722877
>German Engineering is trash

Are you stupid?

>>35722885
have you seen the electric ssl by mercedes?

>>35722905
BMWs are shit
get over it

why is this thread in /r9k/

>tfw many people bicycle where I live
>tfw great conditions for bicycling

feels good man

>>35722645 (OP)
>opinions

Why don't you try backing any of these claims up with facts? Not to mention America's car culture is worse than most of Europe and even worse than Japan in some aspects.

>>35722914
Yeah and its gonna be fucktard expensive. I'm talking about Electric cars for the everyday user. Tesla is far ahead of the game right now.

>>35722915
I don't own a BMW but damn they are great, have driven in multiple of them and damn they feel good.

I'm a neighbor to Germany and German engineering is top tier.

>>35722975
oh you mean like the chevy volt?

>>35722915
BMW makes great cars.. You seem irrational. They have a long line of racing history. Just because every car they make isn't an M3, M5, 1M, or twin turbo 335is doesn't mean that they are shit. Stay mad poorfag.

Also Germany makes a lot of other cars you know.. Mercedes, Audio, VW, etc, etc.

>murica
>first world country

My sides just went orbiting.

>>35722885
My gut instinct tells me that it won't be the next worldwide success though

>>35722645 (OP)
Well japan has great everyday drivers like the civic and Camry also have awesome high end models like Infinities and the GT-R supercar is cheep as fuck and a seller drive. It's pretty much the best bang for your buck supercar there is and it's even faster then most.

>>35723024
Audi also owns Lamborghini. Which is owned by VW or something lol.

>>35723027
Wasn't there something wacky about the standard for charger design?

I can't remember what it was in reference to though.

>>35722974
^^^^

We're lagging behind in a lot of things dude. America isn't all that great it makes itself out to be. War and meddling and feminists are our forte.

>>35722970
>Live in third world country.
>Be in constant danger while cycling because it's either shit drivers almost running me over all the time or niggers trying to rob my shit.

Feels shit man.

>>35722645 (OP)

>So has anybody noticed that America's car industry sucks ass?

shit hit the fan during the early 80s.
ever since build quality and looks were thrown out the window.

its slightly recovering though, build quality and relyability are decent now adays in american vehicles, but still are no match to the european and japanese counterparts.

this is why detroit is all fucked, and why american cars are always cheaper than the equivalent japanese or german vehicle, no matter in what part of the world you're in

>>35723145
What? Most medical breakthroughs in the last 100 years have come from us. Most of the internet came from us. Most of just about every technology came from us. We are the only country actively exploring space. As far as cars, we have the gt40, the cadillac cts, corvette zo6 (which dominates world FIA GT2), we also dominate every sport in olympics.

What are we lagging behind?

>Internet speed
Not a technological problem. It's a business problem and an infrastructure problem. It's easy to give a country the size of rhode island a fiber infrastructure to every home.
>sociological problems
Not related to technology.

Uh... American cars are actually p good now. All the American car companies have been doing some neat stuff after the bail out which is surprising considering they lost a *lot* of engineering and design talent when they were going under. Some random things off the top of my head:

Cadillac IVI is now all Linux based

Ford has done some great work in the HMI department too (not talking about M$ MyTouch, but Sync and OpenXC -- interfacing your car with an arduino!)

The new Camaro looks fucking awesome.

The current Mustang is the best bang for your buck low-tier performance car (yes, even against the FT86... see one of the million threads made on it on /o/ every day for more info)

The Ford Fiesta is a great compact car.


I don't think there's as much of an issue with maintenance and reliability these days either as technology has allowed every car manufacturer to significantly up the QA and testing for pretty much every part manufactured.

In fact right now its the Japanese car industry thats stagnating because of shitty Japanese culture. I drive a Subaru made in 2008. But the engine in that car was made like, 5 years before the car even came out (SOHC 2.5L Boxer). Sure it 'works' and its powerful, but its old and has literally no new or innovative tech.

>>35723260
No, that's called import costs and registration restrictions. have you even been to japan?? no american car is cheaper than japanese cars (in japan). Also the culture is completely different. Japs buy jap in the same way rednecks buy american.

Driving a viper is a pain in the ass.

German cars when you first buy them are great, but after a few years turn into complete dog shit. Most American cars are shit except for a few of the newer sedan models out right now like the new Impala and Taurus.

>>35722645 (OP)
>has a strong car culture -easily the strongest car culture on the planet
Yet the biggest muscle car meet up is over seas.

>>35723356
this japanese car market, or asian car market in general is really bad. not only that, but they rarely innovate they only copy tech and they copy design.

>>35722783
>You won't see much walkers, but many hoverounds.
Only in the shittiest parts, and every fucking walmart, but other than that I don't see many in SoCal. Also 10/10 filename.

>>35722645 (OP)
why put forth effort when for decades you can get buy on buy murkan, and then when that stops working you can convince the gubment to supplement your profits because you're "too big to fail"

>>35723149
on the bright side, that's pretty much the same experience as if you lived in new york

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>>35723580
Lol, yeah IDK why people have this image of America. Only the shitty places (it's a big country) have people like that. I live in Socal too, outside of Del Mar, It's pretty normal as I'm sure all big metropolitan areas are.

>>35722999
Not even close, the volt is a joke.

The model S starts at $62,000 and the economy model they're introducing in a year or two will start at $30,000. A bit pricier than the volt but you're getting a lot more for your money.

Tesla is also the only electric car company with the initiative to put in charge stations nationwide. By 2015 you'll be able to drive your tesla between any point in the US and charging at any of said stations is free for the life of the vehicle.

The traditional car companies don't stand a chance with their electric models unless they have some unbelievable tricks up their sleeves.

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>>35723681
Amtrak has some pretty cool trains. I've taken the Acela, which was really nice, but I also did a trip from Boston to Seattle on Amtrak. I'd actually recommend doing it west to east because the timing's better for what you can see during the day.

>>35723681
That's a nice area if it's where I'm thinking of, I think i went to the beach around there a week ago, fucking beautiful homes over there.

>>35723824
In that diagram, japanese cars would be a thinkpad

Reasonably tough and absurdly functional but reserved and boring

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>>35723715
I've never been on a train ;_; I've wanted to though, maybe I'll take the san diego to LA one surfliner I guess it's called. apparently it only goes 90mph, shame.

>>35723817
yes, very beautiful area, but I can't afford to move out of my parents house lol

I wish I got the chance to use a properly fast train.

On the line that I use we only have Diesel engines and they suck.

>>35722645 (OP)
>All three countries have a piss pppr car culture compared to America, and have smaller populations...how are we lagging behind? It defies logistics

Our cars are consumption goods, not investment goods.

>>35723930
Hey man I know that feel, you're not alone. Just gotta keep working and keep saving I guess, at least that's my strategy, best of luck to you

>>35723940
I used to live in Tokyo and let me tell you, bullet trains are glorious… incredibly fast and they feel like you're gliding on a cloud.

>>35723910
Most of the Amtrak trains are slow. I believe the northeastern region is the only place they ever top 100mph. The Acela tops out at 150mph.

This isn't because of some retarded policy, it's just that there are very few places in the US that you can get a train going that fast without fear of hitting a freight train. My train to Seattle got delayed at least two hours in the Cascade mountains because we got stuck behind a broken down freight train.

>>35723824
>German cars
>Maintenance costs

I'm gonna put this up for debate, a lot of cards that belong to the Wolksvagen group use very, very generic parts and that obviously cuts the prices quite a bit if repairs are necessary.

Our old Family car was a WV Golf and basically half the engine was from an Audi.

I don't know if thats true in the present times but It sure was in the past.

>>35723982
Dedicated consumer tracks are needed badly along with widespread track networks. One should be able to get anywhere without breaking the bank, and amtrack's prices don't cut it.

>>35722645 (OP)
Actually, the way you describe it sounds pretty good for you:
America loves all kinds of cars but doesn't manufacture them.
Japan, Germany and Italy produce all kinds of car but dont use them.

Basically they work for you.

>>35722645 (OP)
>america
>first world country

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>>35724103
yes, by the very definition of the term.

>>35723994
You may be completely right, tbh I just pulled all that info from what i have experienced not any data or statistics. I've had two BMWs (x5 and 3.25i) and both have been great up until they were paid off, then the x5 had a bunch of issues with the battery, headlights, door controls, onboard computer etc. so that's where I'm basing my opinion.

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>>35724132

That feel when Russia is a 4th world country with so many beautiful women.
I just wish I could go and save them all.

>>35724132
Why is south america developing country and russia undeveloped?

that's bullshit im from argentina but would much more rather be russian, i mean they put people into space for god's sake.

Actually i would prefer being russian than to be american.

My personal opinion is that U.S manufacturers all went to hell in a handbasket starting in the late 70's and early 80's when they started making cost saving more or less a religion so that they could have bigger short term profits. The place where this showed the most was in the materials used as cars started using cheap plastics more and more.

Since then the car buying audience and the designers have continued using cheap low quality materials as if this was the only way to do it and it has wreaked havoc on the reputation of american cars. Today American cars, even the more expensive ones, are known for being plastic snotboxes with cheap plastic interiors, overall flimsy design, bad build quality, having parts that need to be replaced really often and being very prone to breaking down. The situation is made slightly less dire by the fact that american car manufacturers basically stopped exporting their cars to europe and instead focused on their european subsidiaries a number of years before american cars all went to hell.

Sure, the stuff actually designed by Ford's european branch is much less shit, but it's nether designed nor built in the U.S. GM's main european branch, Opel, is however generally the laughing stock of european car enthusiasts due to things like lazy design, low quality materials and dreadful reliability.

In essence, the U.S car industry went to hell because an overzealous focus on cutting costs for short term profits and because of sticking to this philosophy, even with expensive brands like Cadillac, it's not going to improve any time soon.

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>>35724103

What do you guys think of some of the British cars out at the moment. The Astons look pretty good, and so do the maclarens.

Ford has been doing really well recently. The Focus and Fusion are very competitive. If I was in the market for a compact or midsize sedan they'd be my 2nd choices behind the new Mazda3 and Mazda6.

>>35724303
>they put people into space

you...you really........

>>35724352
I thought McLaren was German now

I used to only by GM cars, then I was forced to do funds and availability to buy a Toyota Corolla...I will never buy another American car again
The one good thing I can say about American cars is that the seats tend to be better, which is nice, but I prefer my car not leaking oil and anti-freeze etc

>>35724020
Amtrak is basically hamstrung by poor funding. If we decided to treat affordable rail transit as a public good and got them to cut prices by 50%-60% with federal funding picking up the slack, even the service they have now could be much better.

>>35724303
You're a fucking moron. That's an old First/Second/Third world map from the Cold War. First World (blue) is the US and our allies. Second World (red) is the Soviet Union and their allies. Third World (green) is unaligned.

>>35724446
Well, it's not entirely accurate. Yugoslavia, China and Vietnam weren't allies of the Soviet union

>>35724406
Nah McLaren automotive is still british owned. There race team is a joint venture though with mercedes.

>>35724526
Those were all Communist bloc countries and thus considered Soviet aligned by the US.

>>35724526
Socialist country basically with links to Russia.

Vietnam had help from Russians in the war.
China got their socialism from Russia.

>>35724334
>Canada
>Third World
Is that how Americans see it?

>>35724587
It's a troll image.

>>35724587
no, it's not. that's a joke map.

>>35724587
It's Cold War era map.
1st = US aligned
2nd = soviet aligned
3rd = not aligned with either.

3rd world in that terminology had nothing to do with running water, GDP, or education.

>>35724587
Yes. Merica! Merica! MERICA!

>>35722645 (OP)
No shit Sherlock, welcome to the reason Detroit has to file for bankruptcy and part of the reason for the shitty economy problems of late.

>>35722724
Everyone I know swears by japanese econoboxes because they just wurk.

Maybe it's a cultural thing, but most people here still remember how badly 90's american cars used to suck ass.
It's the same reason why they won't go near Hyundai, because they were utter shit in the 90's.

>>35724394
Yes i really believe the russians have a space program, i can't really think a way in which this statement is wrong but im guessing im about to be surprised

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> So has anybody noticed that America's car industry sucks ass?

yes but I hear the motorized shopping cart industry is literally booming right now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yTTEezGZuU

>>35724578
>>35724560
Yes, but they are still declared themselves neutral and part of the third world.

>>35724705
see >>35724417
I used to be all...Mericua! fuck Toyota...then I owned one....now I wont own anything thats not japanese and preferably Toyota

>>35724705
Hyundai is god tier

>>35724715
it's not wrong (although their main launch facility isn't even in their own country!)...

but you're going to move to...Russia...because of their space program? did you ever think about the rigged elections...the killing of political dissidents?

>>35724848
hello, i live in argentina, that's a walk in the park compared to what we have here

>>35724805
>>35724806
>>35724705
>mfw japanese econoboxes are the most targeted cars for chopshopping because they're so old, still on the road, and parts are in high demand

>>35724724
fugg yeah spurdo and le amerikkgan bear :DDD