No offence but I think the other way around. American cars look, feel and drive like crap and garbage compared to European cars, imo.
I drive Range Rover and BMW (Benz in the past) and can not think of driving anything else. Japanese are ok. So it's just a matter of personal preference and what type of your personality is. ;-)
I wasn't referring to the engineering of the car - I was referring to body design and finish. Unless something changed radically, I would never buy an American car. Back in the early 1970s, I owned what was probably the worst American car ever made (with the possible exception of the Ford Pinto, which tended to explode when hit), the AMC Gremlin. With the exception of the HVAC and maybe the brakes, everything that could possibly go wrong in a car went wrong in that car: valves, rings, electrical system, wheel bearings, oil leaks; even the seat back retainer wore out and I had to create some contraption to keep the seats up. The car had three things going for it: the AC was great, even in the Mojave Desert; it was a hatchback with plenty of storage room and although it got lousy gas mileage by today's standards, it had a very large gas tank, maybe 22 gallons, so it had long range. I've never owned an American car since, although counter-intuitively, my Acura (which is supposed to be the American division of Honda) was built in Japan and my Honda was built in the U.S.
And I was also primarily referring to reasonably priced cars. Range Rover and the main BMW lines don't fall into that category, although when I see BMW's on the street, there's no "wow" factor for me. In addition, BMWs don't have good repair records and I'm most definitely not interested in any car that's going to need a lot of maintenance because I feel about as good as having to get a non-warranty covered repair as I do about a tax audit. And with all the recalls the Japanese manufacturers have had, I think they've lost most of their credibility, even if still superior to most American cars. So I guess that's why I'm driving a 12-year-old car. Luckily, I live in NYC where I don't have to drive very often.
I have a hard time believing that macho American drivers (of either male or female gender) would accept self-driving vehicles. They simply drive too aggressively most of the time to give control over to the car, since I assume the car will follow traffic laws, not drive above the speed limit and not arbitrarily switch lanes. Many American men won't even let their wives or girlfriends drive when they're in the car. If drivers didn't have this need to feel "in-control", they'd probably use public transportation in many more cases. I can see the bumper stickers now: "Real Men Don't Drive Autonomous Cars" (assuming they can spell 'autonomous').
In the Volvo video, the autonomous cars are driving fairly closely together and mention is made that by doing this and reducing drag, fuel efficiency is improved, but after driving for decades and purposely not tailgating to maintain safe distances, I think I would go crazy if the car maintained much shorter distances.
I also have a hard time believing that autonomous cars are going to be so well designed and so bug free as to never be involved in an accident while in that mode. And then the first class action lawsuits will happen (especially in the U.S.) and it will quickly be all over. Remember also that in the U.S., most driving laws are State, not Federal controlled (except on some interstate highways that get Federal funding). So you could actually have individual States that are paranoid about self-driving cars and ban them.
I’m with Tim on this one - 'middle managers' my ar*e. I’ll bet my BMW 530 is a lot more fun to drive than a Bentley Mulsanne, even if the Bentley is a staggering 0.5 seconds faster 0-62mph. How could [I]anyone[/I] drive a car that sounds like an ointment, let alone the Universe's Greatest Designer (and I don’t mean god)?
Honestly Jony, that Bentley is one fugly car: it looks like a Chrysler from the front and Beamer in the middle and an old Daimler at the back. ‘Integrity' is emphatically not a word that springs to mind.
@zoemtb - can you name me one American car that has the build quality of a BMW, Mercedes or a Lexus ? Or explain why there are so many European cars in the US and so few US-built cars in Europe ? (Remember that European Fords/GMs are all built in and mostly designed by Euopeans for Europe).
My BMW 530 has just done 150,000 miles. I’ve had it from new and nothing (apart from the bulb in the boot/trunk) has ever gone wrong with it. Like my Mac, it just works.
[QUOTE]@chelin Funny British cars are just a tad bit more crappy than american cars...engineering-wise they suffer from the same incapability of building vehicles that seems to be due to the English language.
[/QUOTE] I’m not exactly sure what [U]your[/U] language means here, but could you name the ‘British' cars you’re thinking of ?
I’m genuinely interested to find out what you think a ‘British' car is, since most of the cars made in Britain aren’t owned by British companies. Bentley is owned by Volkswagen; Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover are owned by the Indian Tata group; MG is owned by Nanjing Automobile Group; Lotus is owned by a Malaysian Company; even the Mini is made by BMW (who also own Rolls Royce). Off the top of my head the only [I]British[/I] British cars I can think of are TVR and Aston Martin. Perhaps you’re referring to some long-dead brand like a Bond, Austin, Morris or Triumph. The Brits certainly know how to engineer a good car - just not run the company that manufactures it !
Finally, let us not forget that Steve drove a Merc SL55 AMG - now that *is* a fun car.
Isn't one of the self driving cars selling points safety? Driving conditions can be factored in, and reaction times should be much better. If a car suddenly brakes on a highway the cars a mile behind could brake within a millisecond if required. Sudden turns down side roads may not work but those sudden turns are hardly safe at any rate. I think the problem with self driving cars arises when there is an accident and the question of liability comes up. There is also the ethical conundrum - if the self driving car has to make a choice between crashing into a pedestrian on the sidewalk with a child in a stroller, or hitting a single person on a pedestrian crossing - how will it decide? The person on the crossing could be a child and the stroller could be a wheelbarrow. Or in another scenario - how will it choose to kill the passenger it carries or the person blocking the way? How will it asses the risk and if all goes wrong who is to blame?
Obviously run over the android user first???? Or the one who has insurance
I’m with Tim on this one - 'middle managers' my ar*e. I’ll bet my BMW 530 is a lot more fun to drive than a Bentley Mulsanne, even if the Bentley is a staggering 0.5 seconds faster 0-62mph. How could anyone drive a car that sounds like an ointment, let alone the Universe's Greatest Designer (and I don’t mean god)?
Honestly Jony, that Bentley is one fugly car: it looks like a Chrysler from the front and Beamer in the middle and an old Daimler at the back. ‘Integrity' is emphatically not a word that springs to mind.
@zoemtb - can you name me one American car that has the build quality of a BMW, Mercedes or a Lexus ? Or explain why there are so many European cars in the US and so few US-built cars in Europe ? (Remember that European Fords/GMs are all built in and mostly designed by Euopeans for Europe).
My BMW 530 has just done 150,000 miles. I’ve had it from new and nothing (apart from the bulb in the boot/trunk) has ever gone wrong with it. Like my Mac, it just works.
I’m not exactly sure what your language means here, but could you name the ‘British' cars you’re thinking of ?
I’m genuinely interested to find out what you think a ‘British' car is, since most of the cars made in Britain aren’t owned by British companies. Bentley is owned by Volkswagen; Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover are owned by the Indian Tata group; MG is owned by Nanjing Automobile Group; Lotus is owned by a Malaysian Company; even the Mini is made by BMW (who also own Rolls Royce). Off the top of my head the only British British cars I can think of are TVR and Aston Martin. Perhaps you’re referring to some long-dead brand like a Bond, Austin, Morris or Triumph. The Brits certainly know how to engineer a good car - just not run the company that manufactures it !
Finally, let us not forget that Steve drove a Merc SL55 AMG - now that *is* a fun car.
You're forgetting Morgan, and A.M. was owned by Ford for a while; Maybe still is.
Comments
No offence but I think the other way around. American cars look, feel and drive like crap and garbage compared to European cars, imo.
I drive Range Rover and BMW (Benz in the past) and can not think of driving anything else. Japanese are ok. So it's just a matter of personal preference and what type of your personality is. ;-)
I wasn't referring to the engineering of the car - I was referring to body design and finish. Unless something changed radically, I would never buy an American car. Back in the early 1970s, I owned what was probably the worst American car ever made (with the possible exception of the Ford Pinto, which tended to explode when hit), the AMC Gremlin. With the exception of the HVAC and maybe the brakes, everything that could possibly go wrong in a car went wrong in that car: valves, rings, electrical system, wheel bearings, oil leaks; even the seat back retainer wore out and I had to create some contraption to keep the seats up. The car had three things going for it: the AC was great, even in the Mojave Desert; it was a hatchback with plenty of storage room and although it got lousy gas mileage by today's standards, it had a very large gas tank, maybe 22 gallons, so it had long range. I've never owned an American car since, although counter-intuitively, my Acura (which is supposed to be the American division of Honda) was built in Japan and my Honda was built in the U.S.
And I was also primarily referring to reasonably priced cars. Range Rover and the main BMW lines don't fall into that category, although when I see BMW's on the street, there's no "wow" factor for me. In addition, BMWs don't have good repair records and I'm most definitely not interested in any car that's going to need a lot of maintenance because I feel about as good as having to get a non-warranty covered repair as I do about a tax audit. And with all the recalls the Japanese manufacturers have had, I think they've lost most of their credibility, even if still superior to most American cars. So I guess that's why I'm driving a 12-year-old car. Luckily, I live in NYC where I don't have to drive very often.
This is the best video explaining the new system. I saw a much earlier video but this looks pretty interesting
Neither video below actually explains how the technology works but they show examples and you get a bit of a sales pitch
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/81734.html?rss=1
I have a hard time believing that macho American drivers (of either male or female gender) would accept self-driving vehicles. They simply drive too aggressively most of the time to give control over to the car, since I assume the car will follow traffic laws, not drive above the speed limit and not arbitrarily switch lanes. Many American men won't even let their wives or girlfriends drive when they're in the car. If drivers didn't have this need to feel "in-control", they'd probably use public transportation in many more cases. I can see the bumper stickers now: "Real Men Don't Drive Autonomous Cars" (assuming they can spell 'autonomous').
In the Volvo video, the autonomous cars are driving fairly closely together and mention is made that by doing this and reducing drag, fuel efficiency is improved, but after driving for decades and purposely not tailgating to maintain safe distances, I think I would go crazy if the car maintained much shorter distances.
I also have a hard time believing that autonomous cars are going to be so well designed and so bug free as to never be involved in an accident while in that mode. And then the first class action lawsuits will happen (especially in the U.S.) and it will quickly be all over. Remember also that in the U.S., most driving laws are State, not Federal controlled (except on some interstate highways that get Federal funding). So you could actually have individual States that are paranoid about self-driving cars and ban them.
Honestly Jony, that Bentley is one fugly car: it looks like a Chrysler from the front and Beamer in the middle and an old Daimler at the back. ‘Integrity' is emphatically not a word that springs to mind.
@zoemtb - can you name me one American car that has the build quality of a BMW, Mercedes or a Lexus ? Or explain why there are so many European cars in the US and so few US-built cars in Europe ? (Remember that European Fords/GMs are all built in and mostly designed by Euopeans for Europe).
My BMW 530 has just done 150,000 miles. I’ve had it from new and nothing (apart from the bulb in the boot/trunk) has ever gone wrong with it. Like my Mac, it just works.
[QUOTE]@chelin Funny British cars are just a tad bit more crappy than american cars...engineering-wise they suffer from the same incapability of building vehicles that seems to be due to the English language.
[/QUOTE] I’m not exactly sure what [U]your[/U] language means here, but could you name the ‘British' cars you’re thinking of ?
I’m genuinely interested to find out what you think a ‘British' car is, since most of the cars made in Britain aren’t owned by British companies. Bentley is owned by Volkswagen; Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover are owned by the Indian Tata group; MG is owned by Nanjing Automobile Group; Lotus is owned by a Malaysian Company; even the Mini is made by BMW (who also own Rolls Royce). Off the top of my head the only [I]British[/I] British cars I can think of are TVR and Aston Martin. Perhaps you’re referring to some long-dead brand like a Bond, Austin, Morris or Triumph. The Brits certainly know how to engineer a good car - just not run the company that manufactures it !
Finally, let us not forget that Steve drove a Merc SL55 AMG - now that *is* a fun car.
Obviously run over the android user first???? Or the one who has insurance
I’m with Tim on this one - 'middle managers' my ar*e. I’ll bet my BMW 530 is a lot more fun to drive than a Bentley Mulsanne, even if the Bentley is a staggering 0.5 seconds faster 0-62mph. How could anyone drive a car that sounds like an ointment, let alone the Universe's Greatest Designer (and I don’t mean god)?
Honestly Jony, that Bentley is one fugly car: it looks like a Chrysler from the front and Beamer in the middle and an old Daimler at the back. ‘Integrity' is emphatically not a word that springs to mind.
@zoemtb - can you name me one American car that has the build quality of a BMW, Mercedes or a Lexus ? Or explain why there are so many European cars in the US and so few US-built cars in Europe ? (Remember that European Fords/GMs are all built in and mostly designed by Euopeans for Europe).
My BMW 530 has just done 150,000 miles. I’ve had it from new and nothing (apart from the bulb in the boot/trunk) has ever gone wrong with it. Like my Mac, it just works.
I’m not exactly sure what your language means here, but could you name the ‘British' cars you’re thinking of ?
I’m genuinely interested to find out what you think a ‘British' car is, since most of the cars made in Britain aren’t owned by British companies. Bentley is owned by Volkswagen; Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover are owned by the Indian Tata group; MG is owned by Nanjing Automobile Group; Lotus is owned by a Malaysian Company; even the Mini is made by BMW (who also own Rolls Royce). Off the top of my head the only British British cars I can think of are TVR and Aston Martin. Perhaps you’re referring to some long-dead brand like a Bond, Austin, Morris or Triumph. The Brits certainly know how to engineer a good car - just not run the company that manufactures it !
Finally, let us not forget that Steve drove a Merc SL55 AMG - now that *is* a fun car.
You're forgetting Morgan, and A.M. was owned by Ford for a while; Maybe still is.