Google| Subject | Re: Ideological differences between big 3 german, americans and jap trash |
| From | -hh |
| Date | 2014-02-26 16:52 (2014-02-26 07:52) |
| Message-ID | <a1fca9e1-b26c-4e06-a929-30cdfbad9a59@googlegroups.com> |
| Client | |
| Newsgroups | comp.sys.mac.advocacy |
| Follows | Brake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLC |
| Followups | David Fritzinger (45m) |
Brake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLC wrote:
Brake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLCI know that it varies across the EU. Based on my own impressions (and driving in EU) I'd probably put German drivers at the top; UK, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden as above average, Dutch, Belgians and French close behind. For Spain, I hven't really spent enough time there to say for sure, ditto Czech, Hungary, Norway, etc ... didn't really make an impression either way. For picking who's in last place, I'd nominate Italy, although much of that is attributable more to Vespas in Rome; IMO, the Autostrada in Northern Italy didn't seem too bad to me at all.
On 2/26/14, 15:48, -hh wrote: [...]-hhBrake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLC
A lot of this in the USA was due to factors of (cheap gas + marketing/profits + Govt Regulations) which conspired to drive a huge increase in the number of SUVs/Light Trucks being purchased...from roughly 5% to 50% since 1990.
I assure you that an average car buyer in the urop is not a whole lot different than that in the US.
In any case, between narrow streets/roads, good public transportation infrastructure and high fuel prices, the generic EU buyer isn't anywhere near as tempted by marketing to go buy a three ton SUV. When one looks around for what's on the streets of places like Munich, there's clearly more big Mercedes S's and Porsche Panameras than there are Q7's or X5's.
-hh
However, this huge increase was not aligned with a commensurate increase in the consumer use cases which call for this type of vehicle as the solution. As such, the consumer is buying a product with features XYZ but really only using Y...the rest of the attributes are because they think they need them, or they're lazy, etc. They get XYZ because the OEMs are good at marketing, packaging and upselling.
Brake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLCA little, but not a lot: the USA's regulations still have a strong tailwind to favor the Light Truck industry, which is generally populated by more products from Detroit than from EU. Another good example is how the US regulations also kept a foot firmly down on the neck of diesels for so long to similarly try to exclude them from competing on the US market as well.
Well I though with obamaCAFE on their neck the automakers had to squeeze that additional half a foot per gallon out of their behemoths.
FYI, a bit over a decade ago, there was another US attempt at protectionism through a set of Federal regulation to try to counter the Hybrid "threat" from Japan (Toyota & Honda). The proposed regulations called for nothing less than a racing class fuel cell to be employed because of the potential fire hazard of a fuel cell with electrical subsystems. During the regulation's "Public Comment" period, the Japanese manufacturers stated that they had no reservations about adopting such a safety system - but they also pointed out that as per the criteria, the proposed new rule would not only apply to hybrids, but also all other modern cars equally (since all cars have an electrical system today and 12V is enough to cause a spark and fire). Lo and behold ... that proposed new rule very quietly went away.
Apparently it's harder to do with permanent awd setup as evidenced by FHI resorting to me-too obamadrive in 2014 Subaru Fartster giving up symmetrical power distribution between the axles.Functionally, it is all just a hidden tax being imposed by political cowards: instead of it being in plain sight at the fuel pump to then let the consumer-driven market decide the winners/losers, it is hidden in the cost of pretty much every vehicle. FYI, what's now also on the up-and-coming list of should-be-silly economy measures are "Auto Stop/Start" engines.
FYI, over here, manual transmissions are now also on the Endangered Species List because of government regulations that are trying to drive for higher fuel efficiencies. Going back to the question of "who has the worst drivers?", less than 7% of US vehicles have manual transmissions, which means fewer well-engaged drivers:-hhBrake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLC
FYI, you apparently missed the posts where Nashton revealed that he's just a "mash the pedal" straight-line type. Feel free to ask him why - - despite his prior declarations - - he's now spent more than $70K for a vehicle that cannot do 0-60mph in < 6sec.
Well, I suppose it could if it weren't for a slushbox that will be fried ...
<http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/driving-stick-pros-cons-manual-transmissions-article-1.1247896>
in the attempt due to the strain awd drivetrain will put on it oilcooler present or not. If he's the drag race wannabe I wonder why I have expended the verbiage at all. His vocabulary could have stayed at the "torque steer" level.He's more of a "Walter Mitty" type, with his self-imposed haze of ego massages.
Nashton, why haven't you saved a few pennies buying a bulldozer such as SRT4 or a mazdaspeed3 to feed your drag racing needs and wants?Because he believes that he needs a third row of seats to carry the now-missing kids who are hours away at University. Even though he could have bought something smaller and had enough money left over to buy them each their own car to use: such contradictions make it even more glaringly obvious that his choice was all about him, and not really about what's best for his own family.
And even his "prestigious" Audi Marquee comes in 4th on the Autobahn list. So much for his ego massage ;-)Brake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLCRight, I don't want an understeering bulldozer regardless whether it's 4pot turbo mazdaspeed or a 6 pot boat anchor of maxima. Thanks.-hh
BTW, any idea how far down the Autobahn's social hierarchy list that a Nissan would be? The lists that I've seen only cover the big five German brands (P-MB-BMW-A-VW).
After all, Q7 Maxima Boy here has claimed that he purchases his Marquees based on their heritage and prestige too.
right. pretty much around the potty level I'd think. Where it rightfully belongs though.
Better leave this one as a reminder of yet another thorn in his side, particularly his lament of woe for how his McMansion isn't in such a lovely hamlet after all.-hhNashtonBrake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLC
OK, but you don't know what kind of condition we deal with up here. It's abysmal. Especially since budget cuts have made road maintenance a non priority. I would have loved to get a Q50, but I'd be digging myself out of ditches and worse.
Why?
Good question, since it has AWD and he's previously claimed that his job is such that he doesn't need to leave home on days with lousy weather. Better pull up the popcorn to kick back for this little show ;-)
In the meantime, its snowing again here in NJ and our season's accumulations so far are now over 5ft (1.5m), plus with the freeze/thaw cycles opening up potholes, the news at work includes one gentleman whose Mercedes had its front coil springs broken by the hammering. Maybe they're not quite as bulletproof as in the old days, but that still takes some doing.
Honda Odyssey had AWD until last year; the Toyota Sienna still has AWD available.Of course, an actual minivan would offer even better people hauling utility, but it wouldn't be as marquee-prestigeous or as fun/engaging of a drive. Of course, an A6 or a 335GT would be better still, and without the whining of insufficient back seat legroom even for adults.Brake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLC
You saw any 4WD or AWD minivans lately (like made in this century for US market) this side of SUVs?
In any case, the *performance* requirement is winter driving, whereas AWD is a technology. A set of dedicated winter snow tires is also a technology, and some winter performance testing conducted by Car & Driver magazine some years ago found that for ~80% of the use cases, a set of dedicated winter snow tires on a 2WD outperformed AWD with All-Season treads. Naturally, having both would be better still, but for the basic "A or B", AWD isn't the first choice. Unfortunately, the continuing disengagement of American consumers to their vehicle also extends to tire compounds and people don't know how to change their own tires anymore ... thus, we end up with no only ditching snows, but we also end up with bloody "Run Flat" products which are unreliable and anti-enthusiast...personally, I've been very disappointed in BMW in particular because of this, at signs are that Mercedes is now also following them down this bad path.
Not sure about Canada, but down here in the USA, it had been that the VW dealership's part counter won't even generally admit that there's shared part#s even for things like wiper blades. The Service Manager won't generally touch an Audi unless you're a good customer begging a one-time favor _and_ the Audi is out of warranty...you're far better just going to a 3rd party independent garage.Brake Dive, Acceleration Squat, Body Roll Works LLCunless you are in the same predicament as I am == few bmw dealers in the neighbourhood == high probability of receiving shitty service in some dept some day and having nowhere to turn.-hh
Well, this does apply for him for Audi ... he barely has one choice within an hour's drive.
does he have any VW fallback options or that's not an option for [s]nob hill wannabes?
And of course, Nicolas will try to blow smoke and claim that I know nothing, but what he doesn't know (even despite a few clues) is what vehicles have been in my fleet over the past 10, 20, 30 years. Suffice to say that there's been a couple decades worth of product from Das VW Automotive Group, which is also why I even gave him a friendly warning a few months ago about how not all AWD systems are the same...especially the DEU ones versus JAP ;-)
-hh
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