douglasr

The Car magazines here in the UK do not have a very high opinion of American cars.
Here are some examples from Car magazine (a Good mag and on sale in the US for a price)

Chrysler Viper: Massively expensive, cheaply built and a pig to drive.
Chrysler Neon: Neon is an Inert gas and its automotive namesake is a similarly empty experience.
Cadillac STS: All the proof you need that American and European tastes are diverging at speed. The STS is massive, brash and worringly vague to drive.
Ford Explorer:A thoroughly nasty offering. Shoddy construction, bloated looks and worringly imprecise driving experience.
Jeep Wrangler: Leaks, creaks and a near total lack of security.
Jeep Grand Cherokee: 4 out of 5 stars - one they like !

Now, dont get me wrong, I dont want to start a flame war here...on holiday in California last fall I hired a Gram Am V6 SE - reasonably fast, reasonable handling and well equiped. For the same money here in the UK, I can only get a mid spec compact (i.e. a Ford Focus).

For those that have owned (or own) American cars - how do they compare with the Japanese and European competition in the US ?

Bruinlax

Wow, are the british actually complaining about american build quality?????

"um hello kettle, this is the pot, you're black"

elanderholm

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bruinlax
[B]Wow, are the british actually complaining about american build quality?????

"um hello kettle, this is the pot,

VisualEchos

American cars in general have a long way to come to reach the Japanese standard of build quality. Just this morning I was behind an '02 Buick and the right rear taillight was full of water, and the left rear was out. When I worked for Honda the guys that used to sell cars for Chrysler and Ford and such used to tell us stories about new cars they went out to show the customer that would blow your mind. My problem with the American car manufacturers is that they could make cars with the level of quailty that the Japanese do, it's just not profitable enough. Sad if you ask me.

Andrew

SteveUCI

I can't speak for build quality, but *my* big problem with American cars is that in general they have really yucky interior styling and they start to look a bit cheapened pretty early into the car's life.

xviper

The author had a sliver up his butt, did he?
Let's see:
Viper: yes, very expensive but considering it's near the top of the auto food chain, quite reasonably priced (have you looked at a Jaguar lately?) ---- "cheaply built" (have you looked at a Jaguar lately?) ---- "a pig to drive", not really (have you looked at a Jaguar lately?)
Neon: who cares what it's called, it's a low end car built for the masses and serves that purpose nicely.
Cadillac: it's the "American" symbol of affluence (or used to be). It fits on the wider American roadway. UK has narrower roadways and thus, your "symbols" are different. Yes, it is brash (have you looked at a Jaguar lately?)
Explorer: nasty offering? - maybe so, but it leads in SUV sales in N.A. ---- "Shoddy construction, bloated looks and worringly imprecise driving experience." - that's we say about Land Rover over here (worst engines in that segment).
Jeep Wrangler: "Leaks, creaks and a near total lack of security." - they can easily be made more securely with the hardtop (have you seen a Land Rover "Defender" lately? )
Jeep Grand Cherokee: "4 out of 5 stars - one they like !" Funny, this is the one that has the worst reputation of the bunch over here, yet they sell a sh$tload of 'em.
Go figure!
I've owned lots of American cars but one has to compare "dollar for dollar". Using this, American cars are getting very close to Japanese cars. There aren't many Euopean cars that you can compare since most of them are at the high end. We all know that BMW, MB are high up on the quality ratings but are generally out of reach for the "masses". Audi has had its share of problems here. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

elanderholm

did you say "yucky" interior?? yuck?? that is something my 5 year old neice says!!

bayarea408

americans cars to me is like a big engine and no interior and no quality..

SteveUCI

It's true. I was very depressed when I got a ride in my coworker's Ford Expedition to lunch a couple months ago. I was so yucked out, I wanted to jump out the window and run home to my bed. Same goes for a brand new Chrysler Sebring rental car, brand new Grand Am rental car, etc. I actually was impressed with the new Sebring's exterior styling when it came out, and looked almost as if it could be a brother to the S2K, but after seeing the interior and riding in it, I never gave that car another positive thought.

matrix

I always owned American cars until recently, the thing that changed me was my 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. That POS was terrible, I think I replaced every single part on that thing. I finally said enough and bought a Toyota...great car. Now I am waiting for the Honda and judging from what everyone says in this forum...it's gonna be . The only American cars I would consider today are the Corvette and Viper. Other than these 2, the American manufacturers need to come a long way imho.