Posted on 01/10/2008 2:14:32 PM PST by WesternCulture
I like my beaters.
“I must confess I never thought of Volvos and Saabs as luxury cars.”
- Originally, Volvo wasn’t marketed as a luxury car in the US, but by today the best selling Volvos in the US are the XC70 and the XC90 I think. The S80 is, comparatively, popular cars as well. Whether or not one conceive of them as luxury cars, they aren’t exactly cheap. The V70 is cheaper but still a rather expensive car, just like the SAAB 9-5.
“In my travels (it’s admittedly been a few years) I noticed far fewer Japanese luxury cars (or Japanese cars of any type) in continental Europe as compared to the US, and your list seems to support that.”
- Even though Lexus’s and Infiniti’s are well built cars, most Europeans don’t think they compare to our premium/luxury vehicles. Especially not in terms of handling.
“As cripplecreek implicitly noted, it is common for Americans to own multiple cars.”
- I’m aware of this and perhaps I should’ve pointed it out originally. However, I tried to keep the whole thing simple as there’s plenty of room for discussion and correction here below.
There are a lot of factors involved when people buy a car. The price of fuel is one, the initial cost of the vehicle is another.
But - I think the biggie is how the vehicle is used. We tend to have comparatively wide city streets - even in small towns. We also have the opportunity to drive further. A 1000 mile drive isn’t uncommon here - in Europe that would take you clean across the continent - from the Bay of Biscay well into Eastern Europe. I intend to visit family in Northern Pennsylvania this summer - about 500 miles one way. A tiny little car wouldn’t do.
A European doing the same thing would likely take a train and depend on buses and local trains on arrival. We don’t have as good a public transport system. We need a comfortable car.
Notorious quote of the day: “Quantity has a quality all its own.”
Have you figures for per-capita vehicle ownership?
Getting a welfare check does not eliminate poverty. You can have the nicest house in town, but live in spiritual poverty. When you can't even preach from the bible without being arrested for hate crimes you can live in moral poverty. When you can't even walk down the streets of Malmo without being assaulted you are living in cultural poverty. And when your wives and daughters can't even walk the streets without being called whores and then getting raped, you may live in a country that has eliminated poverty in absolute terms, but the fact is you live in such poverty that there is no hope but to start over in another country, because your politicians aren't doing anything but making matters worse with every passing day.
When a collision forced me into the market again, I broke a string of four Crown Vics to get a Jeep Cherokee.
I like durable, reliable, roomy, powerful vehicles. Since the Vic doesn’t come as a 4x4, I went with the Cherokee. It’s not as roomy as the Vic, but it is more versatile.
My point is that I think you are overlooking the fact that a car buyer here can get every bell and whistle available and put it into a “standard” car, and make it quite luxurious. Also, a bare bones BMW isn’t much more than the little logo on the hood.
Around here, people have trucks that I could live in!
Nothing is said in the article about the possibility of tariffs or other trade restrictions. Japanese cars don’t sell well in Europe, despite being more reliable than any Euro brands. (Big Euro brands like Fiat & Renault were driven out of the U.S. market by their abysmal reliability.) I don’t really know, but I suspect that Euro govts. handicap the Jap imports somehow. The U.S. market is much opener.
Yes, that's why I said we needed to shop in America. And don't forget the taxes thing. In reality people have far more buying power in America - and have seven times as much personal space.
‘Fess up now, what did you do with “Old Betsy”? I used to love your rants about that noble little Chevy! Of course, now that you have the brood, it’s good to know that you’re stylin’.
So good to see you again!
I have an 07 Impala myself. Great car. I agree, some of the lower line BMW’s and Mercedes are not very well equipped for the price. People just want that name. Just know that in Europe, they are used for police cars and taxis - nothing special.
Very interesting.
Another note - it’s interesting also that Japanese nameplates are nonexistent in the Brit and Swede top ten.
I think you are on to something.
A better analysis would have been the capital invested in
transportation. I own 5 cars. When I was in Sweden and Norway, my recollection is that they own one car per family.
If I sold all my “average” cars, I could buy an Aston Martin.
You put a lot of time into that and I am not sure what you are trying to say.”
- Burden of love. I like statistics as well as economics and last but not least: cars!
“1. Swedes are socialist and therefore drive nicer cars? Socialism does actually work.”
- We Swedes don’t view ourselves as Socialists. On the other hand, we have a strong element of egalitarianism in our culture. Americans do not and this difference is a source of much misunderstandings and mud-throwing between our nations.
The prosperity of Sweden and the other Nordic countries comes from Lutheran work ethics, engineering competence, Capitalism and high levels of education. Not Socialism.
Swedes believe it is possible to ‘correct’ the poor and ‘prevent’ people from being unproductive (through tax funded educational measures, big brother surveillance etc). This involves a “big government”, therefore most Americans tend to dislike it. What we call discipline, productivity and order, you label limitation of the individual.
“2. Americans are practical and average but free?”
- My impression is that, in the area of cars, many Americans are very practical yes. Swedes and Germans are more into “buying a car your neighbor can’t afford”.
“3. Europeans make more money than us but drive throw away reaper traps?”
- Only some European countries can compete with the US when it comes to purchasing power when you really have a close examination of the whole matter. I’d say it boils down to Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Scandinavian countries (not Ireland in fact, their GDP per capita is very high, but the wages are low compared to their GDP/capita).
Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple measurement of these things. There are too many factors involved.
Simply put, few Europeans are as rich as average Americans.
“Notorious quote of the day: “Quantity has a quality all its own.”
Have you figures for per-capita vehicle ownership?”
- No, but I think it’s safe to say that an average American owns more cars than an average Swede or Brit.
Hey hay!
Old Betsy got sold for $200 for parts. The timing belt went and it was going to cost more to fix than the blue book value said it was worth. Got a silver mini-van instead. It’s everything I ever hoped it would be, as an insane family man.
How’s things? Are you still Carolina Moonin’ it? How’s the Lounge Lizard and all the rest?
You know we moved to Kentucky, right?
“I unselfishly offer to pair with one of your nation’s Nordic beauties in order to reverse such a trend.”
- I, likewise unselfishly, admit that many Swedish women seem to be attracted by American men.
According to this I must be a poor Brit. I drive a Ford Focus.
I think you’re right.
Here in Sweden, you find the biggest cars in the North, where distances are the largest (driving 100 miles for a night out is a common thing) and people more commonly take their SUV off-road.
Gas-guzzling SUVs make up for about 40% of car sales in this part of Sweden, even though it is poorer than the metropolitan areas of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö (the three largest cities where a large portion of the population lives).
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