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Which country makes the best cars?
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Which country makes the best cars?
Canada
4%
 4%  [ 2 ]
France
2%
 2%  [ 1 ]
Germany
29%
 29%  [ 12 ]
Italy
7%
 7%  [ 3 ]
Japan
34%
 34%  [ 14 ]
Korea
12%
 12%  [ 5 ]
Sweden
2%
 2%  [ 1 ]
United Kingdom
4%
 4%  [ 2 ]
United States
2%
 2%  [ 1 ]
Other
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Total Votes : 41

Author Message
The Perfect Cup of Coffee



Joined: 17 Jun 2007

PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That guilt trip the NA autoworker unions try to lay on people is such b.s. I voted for Japanese as I've seen my parents and friends continually by NA crap cars, new and used, that break down for the stupidest reasons. Meanwhile a friend back home bought a '98 Civic that runs like a damn immortal god or something. Simply refuses to break down out of spite.
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Muffin



Joined: 01 Mar 2006
Location: Turkey

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have had two Toyotas and they were very reliable. The only problem is if you do need a new part they are very expensive. Ditto German cars I have heard.

My parents have had many Toyotas but their most recent one was a newer model manufactured in Britain and it has not been quite as good.

On a recent short break to the UK I picked up a 15 year old Nissan at auction. It went like a bird and I sold it on to a student friend who has had no trouble with it.

Japanese cars are built to last but they are not very exciting.
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dogshed



Joined: 28 Apr 2006

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm a big Subaru fan. Unfortunately the only pickup they make is the Baja.

I wish Mazda made a pickup and other cars with the rotary engine instead
of just the RX8.
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MissSeoul



Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Location: Somewhere in America

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

the1andonly wrote:
www.consumerreports.com

Japan makes the top cars.



What "SamSung" did on Japan made electric products, Hyundai will do same things on Japan made cars in future.
World wide name recognition of SamSung is higher than Sony, that's what " Consumer Report " said several years ago.
Also American consumers put SamSung ahead Sony.
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pest2



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MissSeoul wrote:
the1andonly wrote:
www.consumerreports.com

Japan makes the top cars.



What "SamSung" did on Japan made electric products, Hyundai will do same things on Japan made cars in future.
World wide name recognition of SamSung is higher than Sony, that's what " Consumer Report " said several years ago.
Also American consumers put SamSung ahead Sony.


I dont think so. Back in the 80s, Japanese cars were being engineered TOO well. The result was that they'd never break down and people never bought new ones... So they de-engineered them. Plus, their reputation was already so good, the pressure was not on them to improve anymore, as much.

Similar phenomena with USA cars, earlier.

I think we are seeing the peak/plateau of quality in Korean cars. Soon, it will start to decline.

German cars have ALWAYS been good. This is because its just a part of German culture to engineer things well -- both logically and creatively.

Korean/Japanese cars copy German cars and American cars. Period. No innovation. Sometimes Japan takes an idea and improves on it.

Its off-topic, but the same could be said for electronics. What has Korea ever invented in the electronics industry???Laughing Electronic Korean-English dictionaries, maybe... They just take someone else's idea, copy it, make it cheaper and maybe better if they're lucky...

BTW, Samsung cars are actually all of design of Peugot, of France. Peugot set up a factory to build cars in Korea but it wasn't making them money... so they sold it off to Samsung. Samsung got all the designs and production methods from Peugot and didnt change them a bit...
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pest2



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What cars are produced in Canada???

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rocklee



Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah I was just about the mention that (sorry my knowledge of Canada is not withstanding).

I'm surprised people would rate Korean cars higher than British! (let alone Italian!!!) Guess people have never heard of Aston Martin, TVR, Maclaren, Noble, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mini, Lotus or Ariel.

Ok 99% of the people out there may have never heard of the Ariel Atom, but as well as fast, luxurious and full of character, British cars are also very innovative. Something I find all Korean cars lacking in.

The Aussie option is indeed needed. Their Holden cars are actually doing very well internationally (middle east and UK) and has been been featured in films (Transformers).
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rocklee



Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BS.Dos. wrote:
Think we need to clarify "best"

Functional?
Reliable?
Economical?
Practical?
Aesthetical?
Greased Lighteningical?


I think most people are voting on economic cars.

We're not billionaires here. Wink
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pest2



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rocklee wrote:
BS.Dos. wrote:
Think we need to clarify "best"

Functional?
Reliable?
Economical?
Practical?
Aesthetical?
Greased Lighteningical?


I think most people are voting on economic cars.

We're not billionaires here. Wink



Yeah, I think you're right. But the question is "which country makes the best cars?" not, "which country makes the most economic cars?"...

Leave it to the readers/posters of Dave's....

What is the best car in the world? Rolls Royce? Mercedes? Lamborghini? Lotus?

I know it ain't no friggin' Hyundai Sonata.
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idonojacs



Joined: 07 Jun 2007

PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 5:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think we have a winner:

Quote:
August 12, 2007
Behind The Wheel | Bugatti Veyron 16.4
Volkswagen�s Wildest Bug By EZRA DYER

GREENWICH, Conn.

IN terms of sheer speed, power and history-making levels of engineering excess, the Bugatti Veyron is a success. Bugatti�s parent, Volkswagen, set out to build the fastest production car in the world, and it did. There is a photo of the thing right there in the 2007 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, under the heading, Fastest Production Car. It is said to achieve a top speed of 253 miles an hour, and that�s faster than any production car ever....

The Veyron is rather expensive � about $1.4 million, although sometimes the price is quoted at $1.3 million or $1.5 million, depending on the exchange rate. (At this level, the price should be quoted in terms of a larger monetary unit anyway, like Ferrari F430s or Christie Brinkley divorce settlements.)....

Depending on your prior exposure to big-horsepower cars, the initial second of acceleration might not seem out of the ordinary � even with all-wheel-drive, a car has only so much traction off the line, and a Porsche 911 Turbo can spin all four tires out of the gate, too.

But quickly, almost too quickly for your brain to process, the Veyron speeds straight out of your frame of reference. Once the Veyron�s hooked up and putting its 1,001 horsepower to the ground, there�s no comparison I can invoke that will help you understand it, unless you�re a Navy fighter pilot or a circus clown with extensive cannon experience.

When you floor the throttle of the Veyron on the highway, the sensation is as if every other driver slammed on the brakes. Except they didn�t. They�re still doing 70 miles an hour, but you�re blurring the space between the guardrails like an antiproton in a particle collider.

In most cars, you expect a reduction in acceleration as you move up through the gears � longer gear ratios and aerodynamic drag eventually trump horsepower. But the Veyron is different. First gear is quick and violent. Second gear takes slightly longer but seems equally violent. By third gear, you�re worried about your driver�s license and your life, and the thrust shows no sign of relenting. (Did I mention the violence?)

Mission control, something is wrong. The booster rockets don�t seem to be dropping off....

But by higher speeds, I definitely mean faster than I cared to drive in suburban Connecticut. For example, if you hit the brakes and look in the rearview mirror to see the spoiler extended high and angled down in air-brake mode, you�d better hope there are no constables nearby, because that trick doesn�t come out of the bag unless you�re going at least 130 m.p.h.

I was informed of this by none other than Pierre-Henri Raphanel, a Bugatti test driver, who was riding shotgun at the time and probably had little desire to see the air brake in action on the Merritt Parkway....

Ferrari would never build a car like this,� he said. �They simply don�t need to. They could give a car 700 horsepower and sell out a production run of 400. So why bother going to all the trouble to make it 1,000 horsepower?

�Nobody else will ever make a car like this again. This will be the high point for cars powered by an internal combustion engine.�....


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/automobiles/autoreviews/12AUTO.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all

Do you realize you could drive across Montana in about 2 hours and 15 minutes in one of these?

But just think what you could do in Texas. It almost might make driving across the state bearable.

And there's more!

Here's another article, and a better picture:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/automobiles/12LEASE.html?pagewanted=all
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SeoulFinn



Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Location: 1h from Seoul

PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 5:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

At a country level I'd say that Japan makes the best cars. Just think about the reliability, functionality, variation, low cost of maintenance (plenty of spare parts available) etc. But would I buy a Japanese car after driving one for more than 10 years? Probably not. I don't like Honda that much, but I admit that Toyota makes some really well made vehicles suitable for carefree use. Not that flashy but it will still take you there.

Right now, if I was looking for a new "better" car, I'd go for Audi A6 Quatro. Audi is expensive to buy and keep and not so reliable in the Finnish winter, but I'd still love to have one. Well, that or SAAB or Volvo. At least the Swedish cars were/are built to last and won't die when the temp drops to -20 C or lower. Alfa Romeo, Seat, Fiat and some other Southern European brands used to have difficulties of functioning in cold weather.
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Jizzo T. Clown



Joined: 27 Mar 2006
Location: at my wit's end

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not sure about the best, but my favorite cars are Japanese. Every American car I've owned (as well as my parents) has mechanical problems within months of buying it. Chrysler sucks. I miss my Nissan Frontier, which is waiting for me back home (very fun to drive!):

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