Why do people keep buying American cars?

[Moppie]

I'm talking about the classic made in America designs by GM, Ford and Chrysler.
The big, heavy, badly designed and poorly made piles of junk that Americans seem to love to so much?

What is it about the bad styling and out dated suspension and push rod engines that Americans love so much???

[Chris V]

The ONLY pushrod engines left are in trucks and a couple performance GM cars. And none of them are poorly built.

I love my Mustang and it doesn't have a pushrod engine, and it's quite well built. And fast. And cheap.

But why do we love classic American cars? For the same reson we like classic ANYTHING. It's about a simpler age, an era gone by, and about cool old cars:





Certainly not poorly built.

[zzyzzx2]

I'm more confused at to why anyone would buy a Japanese car. They are no better quality (and quite often worse) and cost more (especially to insure, since theft is more of a problem).

[PressKean]

They're called classic for a reason. Why do people still buy antiques? Cause it's in their interest. Classic american cars aren't poorly built. Honestly, there are a number of classics that could smoke normal decent cars anytime, anywhere. Although they may look classic and old, they're obviously not easily messed.

@zzyzzx2, Japanese cars are built to last long. As to quality, they're built for budget buyers and I'm not sure why it cost more in your country.

Originally Posted by zzyzzx2

I'm more confused at to why anyone would buy a Japanese car. They are no better quality (and quite often worse) and cost more (especially to insure, since theft is more of a problem).

[Black Lotus]

Originally Posted by Moppie

I'm talking about the classic made in America designs by GM, Ford and Chrysler.
The big, heavy, badly designed and poorly made piles of junk that Americans seem to love to so much?

What is it about the bad styling and out dated suspension and push rod engines that Americans love so much???

I'm told it's a well known fact among New Zealanders, that all of the internet automotive design expertise, or at least, authoritative opinion, is concentrated in and around Auckland.
However, the sad truth is, is that you don't make actual cars. You have no automotive industry whatsoever that anybody in the rest of the world knows or cares about.
However, in common with all the countries that fly a British canton in their flag, you limey types bitch and moan and generally try to stir up shit about American cars on a more than regular basis.
Seems to me your time would probably be better spent improving yourself, by practicing how to speak proper english --as taught in British boarding schools, or better yet, Broadcast English as spoken on the American west coast and in American network TV newscasts.
Think of the advantages of not have that cockney/limey/chimney-sweep New Zealand accent anymore.
You might even be able to get a job here in the states with your new found sophistication helping us design our "Yank Tanks" out of sticks, mud and empty bullet casings like we always have.
If nothing else, the prison guards in the S.E. Asian prisons will treat you better in the monkey house after that drunken bar brawl---because you talk like an American.

[AutoTech313]

That's very true, but you have to take a glimpse, their is no other country that makes reliable trucks in the world like we do (Ford)..i might be wrong though..

[Tony Silva]

The OP must be jealous of these USA classics. Why did he say these cars were big, heavy and poorly designed? Hey, they are still around....how many classic 1964 Toyotas or classic 1957 Hondas do you see running around the streets of Auckland? Maybe because the big, heavy, loud, gas guzzling, big block V8 engined American cars would put to shame ANY car designed and manufactured in Auckland.

Hold on...I can't think of vehicles made in that country....this is disturbing...I better google this...brb...

Ok, I'm back...couldnt find anything on any vehicle made in Auckland. However I did learn that Auckland is famous for something called a 'Sky Tower".

As a side note...before I post this comment, I must say I love the original posters' avatar pic...It's The USA Camaro Z28/Bumble Bee from the USA film Transformers.

[Moppie]

LOL, I think you all read it wrong.

I love Classic American cars. America did after all invent what is the modern car design with regard to engine, seating and control layout.


The problem is at some point in the 80s the big American companies stopped developing anything and just keep turning out the same basic dated design with some really bad styling thrown on top.
Leaf springs, live axles, and yes, really bad build quality dominated so many American designs of the last 30 years.
There have been exceptions, there are always exceptions, cars the Corvette for example.
But, look at the average American car and compared with it a contemporary from Japan, Europe or North Korea?



And yes Bumblee Bee is a new Camaro, which is really an Australian Designed Holden with a bigger engine, less power, worse handling and more weight.

Originally Posted by Black Lotus

I'm told it's a well known fact among New Zealanders, that all of the internet automotive design expertise, or at least, authoritative opinion, is concentrated in and around Auckland.

Says the cheeky bugger that drives a collection of English cars!
You pommy git.

[Chris V]

Originally Posted by Moppie

The problem is at some point in the 80s the big American companies stopped developing anything and just keep turning out the same basic dated design with some really bad styling thrown on top.
Leaf springs, live axles, and yes, really bad build quality dominated so many American designs of the last 30 years.
There have been exceptions, there are always exceptions, cars the Corvette for example.
But, look at the average American car and compared with it a contemporary from Japan, Europe or North Korea?

The basic '80s American car hasn't been around for 30 years. We haven't built cars like that SINCE the '80s and early '90s, when Australia was still building the same damn cars. Leaf springs? ONLY in the Corvette, and then they are composite, monoleaf, transverse units that have as much in common with the leaf springs YOU are thinking of as a 747 has in common with the Wright Flyer.

[blazee]

Moppie, you never cease to amaze me with how little you know about cars.

[trannyman52]

older hondas and other foregin cars are still around !!!!!you will find them in your razor,,,or when you pop a beer!!!!!

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by blazee

Moppie, you never cease to amaze me with how little you know about cars.

So how come when I goto GM's website, all the 4cyl cars are from GM Europe, and use European chassis and engines.
All the trucks and vans are live axles and leaf spring (with out a single overhead cam between them).
The large sedans are all based on the Zeta platform (from Australia) and the only sophisticated American car I can find in the list are the mid size sedans, all of which are FWD, with pushrod engines, and I have to say, not the most inspiring reviews I've ever seen. They all come a very distant 3rd to the Accord or Camry.
Oh, and guess how many are built on Korean designs?

The Ford line up is just as bad, anything half decent is from Ford Europe and the Trucks and Vans are still live axles with leaf springs.
The new modular V8 is nice, as is the new V6, but oh wait, the V6 is European and the V8 was built with a lot of European input (hello Jaguar and Volvo).

I'm not even going to talk about Chrysler and Dodge. They sell them here, and they are so bad it's not funny. Large on the out side, small on the inside, under powered, very basic suspensions and really, really ugly over the top styling. The only thing the have going for them is the price.

During the 20s and 30s, America was the world leader in car design and engineering.
They kept it up right through to the 60s, then started to slip a bit. By the 70s it was all over and the only way was down.
The result was the financial mess GM got themselves into and Ford only just avoided (thanks to Mazda and Ford Europe).

[streethemi426]

Originally Posted by Moppie

I'm talking about the classic made in America designs by GM, Ford and Chrysler.
The big, heavy, badly designed and poorly made piles of junk that Americans seem to love to so much?

What is it about the bad styling and out dated suspension and push rod engines that Americans love so much???

American cars upto 71 was great after that was no good,chrysler made the coolest cars,and musclecars are still the coolest cars in the history of the automobile..fact..and when musclecars were been built....us brits and the rest of the world was giving there youth slow cars,boring styling,yes mucles cars never had great brakes or suspension...but they were nice to look at and more fun,..im mopar through and through and cars today have copied muscle car styling...

[streethemi426]

Originally Posted by Moppie

I'm talking about the classic made in America designs by GM, Ford and Chrysler.
The big, heavy, badly designed and poorly made piles of junk that Americans seem to love to so much?

What is it about the bad styling and out dated suspension and push rod engines that Americans love so much???

besides new zeland have a car industry?.......er no

[Chris V]

Originally Posted by Moppie

So how come when I goto GM's website, all the 4cyl cars are from GM Europe, and use European chassis and engines.
All the trucks and vans are live axles and leaf spring (with out a single overhead cam between them).
The large sedans are all based on the Zeta platform (from Australia) and the only sophisticated American car I can find in the list are the mid size sedans, all of which are FWD, with pushrod engines, and I have to say, not the most inspiring reviews I've ever seen. They all come a very distant 3rd to the Accord or Camry.
Oh, and guess how many are built on Korean designs?

The Ford line up is just as bad, anything half decent is from Ford Europe and the Trucks and Vans are still live axles with leaf springs.
The new modular V8 is nice, as is the new V6, but oh wait, the V6 is European and the V8 was built with a lot of European input (hello Jaguar and Volvo).

I'm not even going to talk about Chrysler and Dodge. They sell them here, and they are so bad it's not funny. Large on the out side, small on the inside, under powered, very basic suspensions and really, really ugly over the top styling. The only thing the have going for them is the price.

During the 20s and 30s, America was the world leader in car design and engineering.
They kept it up right through to the 60s, then started to slip a bit. By the 70s it was all over and the only way was down.
The result was the financial mess GM got themselves into and Ford only just avoided (thanks to Mazda and Ford Europe).

You really dont' know much about cars, do you Moppie?

For large trucks and vans, live axles and heavy duty leaf or coil springs are teh strongest to do what trucks have to do. IRS is a BAD engineering choice in most cases.

Pushrod engines allow for smaller overall packaging and lighter weight for a given displacemetn, allowing for more engine for less money and less mass. Which is why those GM australia cars still use them, too. Making an engine more complex jsut to make it more complex is also a bad engineering choice. FOrd's 5.0 Coyote engine is a great engine, but it's physically MUCH larger than the 6 and 7 liter GM pushrod V8s, which weigh less AND put out more power, for less money.

The VERY few pushrod V6s are done for the same reason. In an average mid size car, having an engine with more power and more torque over a wider band for less money is a GOOD thing, so a pushrod engine, that does the job in less space for less money is a bonus. No one needs to be drag racing those mid size sedans, so overall power isn't an issue.

As for as engineering goes, GM and Ford ar global companies. How a car is engineered has nothing to do with the location of the particular engineering office, and more with where it's most economical for the company to do so. Engineers move around in the company all the time and are no tied to their location nor does theri location determine their nationality, nor does their nationality determine what they are good at.

Chrysler and dodge were owned by Mercedes and during that time Mercedes raped them of theri cash resources, then hobbled theri development, and sold them off liek redheaded step children to an investment firm that only wanted to make money off of reselling them. Fiat owns them now and we'll see if they do a better job of managing the companies.

Still, the hemi Chryslers are a foce to be reckoned with. If I had the money, a new Dodge Challenger R/T Classic in Plum Crazy would be in my driveway. I had a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser for 5 years and it was flawless the entire time I had it, doing both autocross (racing) duties for a year and doing all sorts of trucklike activities (hauling all the lumber for my deck, all the replacemetn windows for my house, and one time, carrying 1200 lbs of bagged crushed rock for my driveway). It was driven all over the east coast, from Maine to florida and never missed a beat, never needed repairs, and was completely free of squeaks and rattles when I sold it at 70k miles as it was when it was new. Probably shouldn't have sold it but we needed something bigger, so we first of 3 Range Rovers.