American cars in the UK?British cars in the US?etc.Thoughts?

[mindgam3]

Can't say I particuarly like anything from the other side of the pond. For general, everday cars, the US just doesen't have the dynamics of the european cars - at least German ones in particular.

Race cars are about the same - US racers don't really interest me although I have a lot of respect for them. Quite alot of the racing stuff is made in Britain (Lola etc).

I don't think I could ever buy an American sports car, to me they just don't feel right. Sure, a few of them are very decent cars, but they just don't get the blood flowing like the European counterparts.

I like the original GT40 (which happened to be based on a British Lola ) - saw the new and old side by side at a motorshow recently, and the original just looks so much better. Shelby Cobra is another american classic i wouldnt mind, but apart from that....

[T-Bird]

Originally Posted by mindgam3 Race cars are about the same - US racers don't really interest me although I have a lot of respect for them. Quite alot of the racing stuff is made in Britain (Lola etc).

Don't forget the Chevy's have the best overall record over all the Europeans
And Lola just opened a shop in Vegas not that long ago.

[mindgam3]

Originally Posted by T-Bird Originally Posted by mindgam3 Race cars are about the same - US racers don't really interest me although I have a lot of respect for them. Quite alot of the racing stuff is made in Britain (Lola etc). Don't forget the Chevy's have the best overall record over all the Europeans

In what kinda racing? :S I don't see much Americanism in F1/open wheel racing In fact 95% of it is based in Europe. As is most worldwide motorsport.

And Lola just opened a shop in Vegas not that long ago.

They're still based in the UK and are a UK company. Would make sense though, seeing as though they build almost the entire field of indy/champ cars

[Global Warming]

Originally Posted by T-Bird You have to remember Richard also liked the new Mustang and Cadillac CTS, Clarkson loved the Viper, they said the Corvette was fun but complained about the suspension. They were happy that the Elise was redesigned for the US market

And let’s also not forget the GTO. Yes it’s a Holden and yes it’s made in Australia but it has an American corvette engine and Clarkson said "if you are buying any other car besides the GTO in its price range you are dumb and boring!" Or something very close to that lol. And that was the 5.7l GTO they haven't even tested the 6.0 400HP GTO that you can buy here for only 31k!! That’s only around 15,000 pounds!! You can argue over if it’s more of an American car, or more or an Australian car but one thing is for sure, it’s just about the most kick ass thing you will EVER be able to buy for such a low price!!

[T-Bird]

Originally Posted by mindgam3 Originally Posted by T-Bird Originally Posted by mindgam3 Race cars are about the same - US racers don't really interest me although I have a lot of respect for them. Quite alot of the racing stuff is made in Britain (Lola etc). Don't forget the Chevy's have the best overall record over all the Europeans In what kinda racing? :S I don't see much Americanism in F1/open wheel racing In fact 95% of it is based in Europe. As is most worldwide motorsport.

Lemans racing in Europe and the US

[TransAm]

Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere the 6.0 400HP GTO that you can buy here for only 31k!! That’s only around 15,000 pounds!!

Shame the steering wheel is on the wrong side :cry:

[T-Bird]

Originally Posted by TransAm2001 Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere the 6.0 400HP GTO that you can buy here for only 31k!! That’s only around 15,000 pounds!! Shame the steering wheel is on the wrong side :cry:

What do you mean it's on the left or the right depending on where you get it

[TransAm]

Originally Posted by T-Bird Originally Posted by TransAm2001 Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere the 6.0 400HP GTO that you can buy here for only 31k!! That’s only around 15,000 pounds!! Shame the steering wheel is on the wrong side :cry: What do you mean it's on the left or the right depending on where you get it

Sorry I was thinking out loud about importing US cars to the UK, especially GTOs as we have those in the UK thus the parts and GM dealer back up is available, albeit via vauxhall rather than pontiac. What I meant was, if it was as simple as shipping the cars and paying the import duty I'd be doing it. Alas, you need to convert them to right hand drive to realistically sell them in the UK.

It's not all bad, JDM cars are all RHD so lots of TypeR, Skyline, FTO type of stuff finds its way to the UK to make up for it.

[Global Warming]

Originally Posted by TransAm2001 Originally Posted by T-Bird Originally Posted by TransAm2001 Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere the 6.0 400HP GTO that you can buy here for only 31k!! That’s only around 15,000 pounds!! Shame the steering wheel is on the wrong side :cry: What do you mean it's on the left or the right depending on where you get it Sorry I was thinking out loud about importing US cars to the UK, especially GTOs as we have those in the UK thus the parts and GM dealer back up is available, albeit via vauxhall rather than pontiac. What I meant was, if it was as simple as shipping the cars and paying the import duty I'd be doing it. Alas, you need to convert them to right hand drive to realistically sell them in the UK. It's not all bad, JDM cars are all RHD so lots of TypeR, Skyline, FTO type of stuff finds its way to the UK to make up for it.

Why not just get the vauxhall badged GTO? It's the same car.

[Global Warming]

I have to say I do find threads like this a little funny. I’m 33 years old and I can remember the days when American cars really were TERRIBLE!! My first car was a Saab 900. Then I had a 1990 Mustang that was just awful. Back then it was true American cars were awful.

But everything has changed today. I’m not even sure what the term “american car” means anymore. Ford owns Rover, Volvo, Jaguar, Astin Martin, Mazda, etc. GM owns Saab, Vauxhall, Holden, 20% of Fiat/Ferrari/Masarati, etc. So are those American cars now? If you say they are not because even if an American company owns all or part of any of the companies the cars are still built outside the USA. Ok, if that’s true then are all the Honda’s, Toyotas, Hyundai’s etc. built exclusively in the USA considered “American cars”?

The point is there has been so much globalization in the auto industry that to say you don’t like cars made by company ABC or you don’t like cars built in country XYZ no longer makes any since. Cars should be judged by how well they run and hold up an nothing else. I have no preconceived prejudices about any cars based on their brand or the country they were made in.

[TransAm]

Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere Why not just get the vauxhall badged GTO? It's the same car.

Because it costs $60-65000 in the Uk whereas the GTO is half that here, at the current exchange rates.

[Sir_GT]

[quote="Global Hemisphere"]

Originally Posted by T-Bird And that was the 5.7l GTO they haven't even tested the 6.0 400HP GTO that you can buy here for only 31k!! That’s only around 15,000 pounds!!

Mate, if the GTO/Monaro was only £15 grand over here, I wouldn't have bought a 1-series.

The GTO/Monaro is £29,999-35,000 depending on the model IIRC. That's what? $60,000?

[Global Warming]

[quote="Sir_GT"]

Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere Originally Posted by T-Bird And that was the 5.7l GTO they haven't even tested the 6.0 400HP GTO that you can buy here for only 31k!! That’s only around 15,000 pounds!! Mate, if the GTO/Monaro was only £15 grand over here, I wouldn't have bought a 1-series. The GTO/Monaro is £29,999-35,000 depending on the model IIRC. That's what? $60,000?

I didn’t know it was 30,000 pounds there. Yeah that is very expensive. With the pound being worth almost double the dollar i'm curious... How much does an audio CD cost there? How much are movie tickets? Is everything double or is it relative. I was in London in 2000 but the dollar was a lot stronger then. Are you guys making a lot more income? I mean are average computer tech jobs paying 30 - 40,000 pounds a year? Or is that a big income for that job like $80,000 would be here?

[T-Bird]

OK you need to fix your quotes guys...
It should be like this:

Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere Originally Posted by Sir_GT Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere And that was the 5.7l GTO they haven't even tested the 6.0 400HP GTO that you can buy here for only 31k!! That’s only around 15,000 pounds!! Mate, if the GTO/Monaro was only £15 grand over here, I wouldn't have bought a 1-series. The GTO/Monaro is £29,999-35,000 depending on the model IIRC. That's what? $60,000? I didn’t know it was 30,000 pounds there. Yeah that is very expensive. With the pound being worth almost double the dollar i'm curious... How much does an audio CD cost there? How much are movie tickets? Is everything double or is it relative. I was in London in 2000 but the dollar was a lot stronger then. Are you guys making a lot more income? I mean are average computer tech jobs paying 30 - 40,000 pounds a year? Or is that a big income for that job like $80,000 would be here?

[Akmon]

American every day cars suck.This is sure.They are totally uncool,ugly,and their performance is dreadfull.French cars are the same.Now let's speak about supercars.Americans have Mustang,Corvette,Viper.French-none.Britts which I particularly admire have Aston Martin,Mini Cooper,Rolls Royce,Range Rover,Land Rover,Jaguar,MG.So I think that after germans and italians,Britts sure take the 3rd place,whith some of the greatest cars ever to be made. 0X