Is it only the UK that likes S2000's?
 

In the month of July..the biggest European convertible market (Germany) bought 2000+ SLK's, 1000+ Z4's, 120+ MG TF's....& 18 S2000's...forgetting the first two 'homers' (& their bigger ranges) do mainlanders not get the S2000 (esp. compared to the TF!!) or is the Euro too strong against the Yen??

:confused:

Could the sales figures be indicitive of the number of visible Honda dealerships / Honda market penetration ? Honda is not renowned for advertising the S. I always thought that because of a constant and glorious weather :rolleyes: the UK was the largest European convertible market - Germany huh.

easy to understand, germans have no flair, no style or panache.. hence they buy SLK's.. there is also a large gay/female roadster buyers market, hence the strong Z4 sales.

:D

Apologies to any gay or lesbian forum users :rolleyes:

Why are you expecting a German car buyer to buy a Japanese car instead
of a German one.

They bought 120 MG TF's FFS :banghead:

Is this anything to do with the #4 cylinder problem on early cars? If you autobahned at 9k for a day would the engine go boom?

I like exclusivity but not to the point they give up.

On The Other Hand (OTOH - a fine addition to the acronyms IMHO) both times I've visited Germany in the summer it pi55ed with rain.

From The Top Gear web site, July 2004.
Full articlehere

"The stark disparity between admiration for a brand and the real issues involved in ownership is provided by a survey of over 38,000 members of ADAC (the German motoring organisation) by the AutoMarxx consultancy.

Asked to rank the image of car brands on the market, members put Mercedes firmly top, followed by BMW, Audi, VW, Porsche and Volvo in that order. No other brand was even close. Does one detect a touch of patriotism here? At the bottom, in worsening order, were Daewoo, Lancia, Rover, Subaru, Daihatsu and Suzuki.

However, the tables were turned upside down when members were asked to rate their ownership satisfaction. The top six were Japanese: Toyota, Subaru, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Mitsubishi. And at the bottom of the chart? In descending order they were: Chrysler, Smart, Fiat, Volkswagen, Mercedes and Land Rover. There have been enough other surveys for Fiat's and Land Rover's positions not to be a surprise. They are the car world's equivalent of junk bonds. The survey's shock is to find Mercedes and Volkswagen competing with them for last place in a country that clearly holds its domestic products in the highest esteem.

While the reports by ADAC and other organisations confirm the superior manufacturing quality and reliability of Japanese brands, they raise serious question about the reputations of some German nameplates. They're not as good as the world thinks they are."

Saw loads of MGF's on trip to Germany last month but only one S2000 & that was a UK car! :confused:

Germans must have bad taste!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who care? We own them, we love them, we adore them.

WE DRIVE THEM!!!!!!!

If they are too stupid to realise what a great roadster the S is then I pity their short sightedness

:iagree: with Kelk - not worth starting a war about this.

It must just be a cultural thing.

Look at the crazy uber horsepower race Merc, Audi and BMW are in at the moment?

Clearly the german answer to going faster is more power - not less weight or a combination of the two.

I doubt there are very many german independent lightweight sportscar makers (I do remember reading about one actually).

The situation is even worse with the NSX.

I don't think I've ever seen an S2000 ad.

I like the exclusivity/rarity/low sales or whatever anyone wants to call it.

It was a big factor in whether to buy.

I don't like the idea of driving a common car.

I might make an exception with something cheap, but not when we are talking S money and above.

:)

I agree with that.

I think the NSX like an S2000, does not attract unkind attention partly due to their rarity. Image cars tend to polarise opinions.

I believe the problem in S2K sales may also be to do with German roads: They do not really have the twisties that we do, most Autobahnen and Landstrasse tend to be straight. Roadholding takes preference over handling, hence the German preference for excessive rubber. A light, powerful engine has less advantage over a heavy, torquier one.

Germans do like the image (and are realistic about the quality!) of British roadsters, hence quite good MG sales. They do appreciate cars that have different qualities from their own, but maybe they just don't get the S2000. They don't get the Lexus either, contrary to teh American sales position.

The spread of S2000s in Europe has been discussed in this thread on the Euro forum.

How many "S" in your country ?

When my German colleagues found out about my S, most didn't know what it was. The only guy who did rides a Honda motorcycle, so was familiar with the manufacturers products.

I still recall my German boss's face when I pulled up in it to pick him up from his Surrey hotel. He just stood & stared....... :cool:

Yet DE was traditionally their biggest EU market for B16 engined Civics and their EU HQ is in Offenbach!

??

sorry MR PC!

ffs...any other minorities you'd care to defend against my gutter humour?

don't apologise on my behalf.. i'll keep you busy.

If only your comments were humorous, I'd probably not have posted. The constant references to peoples' supposed sexuality based upon the car they choose to drive (in this thread and others) is getting rather tiresome.

But the fastest colour debate keeps us all amused for hours! ;) :p :D

[QUOTE=Ali_McBlue,Sep 11 2004, 09:04 AM] But the fastest colour debate keeps us all amused for hours! ;)

Silverstone is the fastest is it not?




:p

Not to everyone though Chris.

Plenty of people find it funny.

:)

Kind of puerile and repetitive though. Kind of insulting to gay people - why must they drive merc & bmw roadsters ;)

so you don't mind my 'abuse' of females then? just the gay bit..
you're not a very PC PC guy. :rolleyes:

why is it insulting? are stereotypes really insulting? I doubt I would be the only one here to suggest for example that an MGF (or whatever they call them now) or a 206cc are GIRLS cars.. I think that would be backed up by hard evidence if driver stats were available..

and gay people themselves voted the Audi TT roadster their favourite car in a recent survey...

get a grip.... and a sense of humour.

Whatever :rolleyes:

How many of the whole Honda range are sold in Germany each year?

i'll call that 1-0 then.. but heh, you're smart... cough cough..