The movie Pulp Fiction opens with John Travolta espousing the virtues of Scientology explaining the differences between Europe and the U.S. to Samuel L. Jackson. What it breaks down to is this: it’s the little differences that add up. You know one difference that can really add up is that one country can dig a car or truck – you know, for whatever reason – while that same car or truck can be vilified in another country. In fact, it doesn’t even need to be sold in that hater country. Go figure.
Consider if you will Volkswagen’s “New Beetle.” We love those little rollie pollies here in the U.S. as it makes a certain sector of the population feel nostalgic for their college days when they smoked a lot of pot and got laid. You know what the Beetle reminds people in Germany of? That’s right, Hitler. It doesn’t get much worse than driving around in something that makes you think of Hitler all the freaking time, does it?
That’s the kind of thing we’re looking for today – cars that one country loves, and another hates. This shouldn’t be too hard.
Image: ffffound.com
Hooniverse Asks: Is There a Car That's Loved in One Country, and Vilified in Another?
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73 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: Is There a Car That's Loved in One Country, and Vilified in Another?”
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Does the Corvette have enough love here and enough hate in Europe to qualify?
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Continuing the Chevrolet-theme: The popular Suburban is the anticar in Europa. I don’t know how many 100000$ its weight, power and inefficiency would trigger in new car taxes in Norway. But I know I talked to an owner once who said he had to explain its fuel consumption at least twice daily to strangers. Hateful eyes were everywhere.
http://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam/Chevrolet/northamerica/usa/nscwebsite/en/Home/Vehicles/SUVs%20and%20Crossovers/2015_Suburban/Model_Overview/01_images/2015-chevrolet-suburban-full-size-suv-mo-byo-648×250-01.jpg-
I’ve gathered that in some corners of Europe, they’ve surrendered any and all
analysis of morality and ethics to a very particular orthodoxy’s views on carbon dioxide production. Never mind that the Suburban would raise oceans fewer nanometers than a big sedan from Stuttgart or Ingolstadt if you refer to the sacred scriptures of their creed, it looks more offensive, and ostentation (good or bad) is of utmost importance when it comes to judgment of one’s True Faith.-
You’re right. Public policy and public perception have in lockstep identified some markers, like CO2 production, and they have been blown totally out of proportion. I also believe that the “general public” isn’t car-savvy enough to truly sort out their arguments.
One real concern I’d have with a Suburban where I live is that our roads are narrow and winding. Wouldn’t want to drive a boat like this here.
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My wife’s best friend is Norwegian. Her family came to the US for a month her last year of university here. He fell in love with the Suburban rental they had. So much so he bought one right away when he got back to Norway. He kept it up until a few years ago, and replaced it with an Audi.
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Cool. Obviously, I applaud a contrarian purchase. A 2009 model is easily priced in the neighbourhood of 100000$ though.
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They aren’t cheap here, either. I think his thinking was that a) they aren’t common there and b) he really really liked it. They live out in the country (near Drammen) and so their cars are their main means of transportation.
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I hate the Suburban in Canada for an entirely different reason: Here, they are only driven by the police. Which is convenient enough, you see a white Suburban and you slow down, but in the US where they’re actually bought/rented by private citizens, I was constantly slowing down for people who weren’t cops.
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Your cops drive Suburbans instead of Tahoes? That’s kind of cool. My “Is it a cop?” when spotting a tahoe/suburban is basically what color followed by how long is the rear window and finally what color are the plates. Although cops have started using non municipal plates in PA, which kind of sucks.
Mildly surprised that no one in Canada finds use for a large 4×4 though.-
Canada loves large 4x4s, they are all crew cab pickups though.
Like we’ve got a mix of Suburbans and Tahoes here in the police force, but pretty much if you see that front end you’re looking at the RCMP, especially in white.
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Those TopGear guys are just jealous, sneering at the composite leaf springs.
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It is/was a dedicated part of Clarkson’s schtick to sneer at most everything American.
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It is/was a dedicated part of Clarkson’s schtick to sneer at most everything
American. -
Clarkson chose the ZR1 as his Car of the Year.
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I recall hearing him say “way to go fat man from Kentucky!” while driving it and stating “Oh, it’s not built very well” in his car of the year review. He gave the Z06 plenty of its due in the linked video, but he’s got to get his jabs in. It’s all in good fun.
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The video is just one perspective. I have had the opportunity to house many European students in my house and they have seemingly all felt that the Corvette was an unrefined piece of junk that was an impostor of a sports car, meant only for pimps. They could not understand why a person wouldn’t prefer an M3 or similar.
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On that topic here’s a comment from Best Motoring International.
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That’s absolutely in line with what I was put up to believe, too. Watch any German movie involving a pimp and he will drive an American car, preferably Camaro or Corvette. The entire German industry is interested in downplaying the American way. Goes for “flimsy wood houses”, too. It was only when I started to think for myself that I realized that simple and reliable technology will often be superior to the sharp cutting edge of what’s possible (German self-perception). Hence, my affinity to old Swedish and Japanese iron.
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Most Volkswagens in the US seem to endow a bad electrics reputation, whereas the Euro folks believe that the title in that discipline should go to France (which probably isn’t true since decades, but the German AAA/ADAC statistics suffer manipulation – systematic and since years.)
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I think Europeans are getting around to that perception, too. German cars have been surfing on outdated images for decades and I know quite some VW-defenders who lately bought Mazda, Ford etc.
Any small hatchback (Ford Ka pictured). Loved in Europe, hated in the US. Bonus points if it has a manual transmission.
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I would say ten years ago you would be right. Nowadays, the small hatch is gaining traction in the USofA.
Anything manual is hated in the US as it means one hand must be doing something related to driving and not holding the phone for texting.-
If you have to shift your car, what are you supposed to do with your frapachino and phone? Besides, left legs are purely accessories.
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Am I expected to hold off eating my grilled stuffed xxxxxxxxxxl burrito and nachos until I get to my destination?
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If you’re more than 30 minutes from your destination, you may want to.
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That model KA has been a flop in Europe too. Unlike the mostly awesome (apart from antiquated engines) first gen KA, which was based on the wonderful 4th gen fiesta chassis, this was a re-skinned Fiat 500, with none of that cars retro-cutesyness but all its mediocre ride/handling. It’s not even that small. For a little extra, you could get yourself into the much superior Fiesta and have a car that drives better, is much more practical, isn’t harder to park and doesn’t really cost any more to run.
This is such low hanging fruit that it shouldn’t count but since I have so little shame (I think it’s a side affect of the ‘medication’):
Puegot’s are greatly loved in France, but you can’t give one away in the U.S.
In France:
http://www.best-selling-cars.com/france/2014-full-year-france-best-selling-car-models/
The lone example available in Dallas is 30 years old….
https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5180045051.html
The Tuesday answer is two-stroke street bikes. In the USA, they’re revered as exotic and scintillating. In Japan, the very cradle of two-stroke performance culture, they’re looked as much more ordinary. In Japan 2-stroke simply equals small bore. I have yet to met a Japanese baiku raida who didn’t prefer the boom of a big four-stroke to the screechy whine of a two-stroke.
http://www.nsr250.net/img/historyImg/1984_NS250F_BLACK.jpg
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I have a German friend who says exactly the same thing about Europe. That two-stroke ring-ding sounds cheap to Euro ears.
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But how can you not love this sound?!
[I know, it’s a very odd POV, looking at the guy’s butt…but I chose this video because the setup seems to have maximized the exhaust note/wind noise ratio. True Confession: I once piped this soundtrack through my car stereo on my commute.]
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“Butt” followed by “exhaust note/wind noise ratio”. I sense some double entendre here.
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I like it. But why does he keep shifting his weight? Is that required on a smaller bike? I ride a Goldwing, and just counter steering gets me where I need to go.
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Have to go with the Ute body style. We hoons don’t count for much to the larger culture (be thankful), so while we seem to be interestedly ambiguous about the things, the rest of the country’s opinion is something along the lines of, “so you mean it’s like a regular cab truck, which we won’t buy anymore, and it’s not even marketable as big and tough and won’t have any need for commercials narrated by someone that is cartoonishly masculine? This does not help my self image at all!”
Meanwhile on Oz, they’ve made the things a national treasure, probably for equally irrational reasons.
I get the feeling that anything worthy of winning IOE is probably hated in its country of origin, by people who had to actually use it as regular transportation.
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There’s a relatively large number of Europeans who buy full-size US pickups (mostly blinged-out Rams), and they buy them for the same reason most Americans do. Hint: it’s not because of their capability.
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In my neck of the woods, it is raining just about every second day, ca 3300mm/year. Having non-enclosed car parts is not…tempting.
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I agree. Why waste hundreds extra on taxes and thousand extra on fuel each year and make everyday parking a royal pain for a cargo bed that’s completely unused most of the time, when instead you can simply buy a utility trailer for your car?
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Yeah, but everyone knows those little European cars don’t have much towing capacity.
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The trick apparently is to find an even smaller vehicle to fit on the tiny trailer to be towed? 🙂
http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/1982_MG_Metro_Hauler_1.JPG
http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/1982_MG_Metro_Three_Haulers_1.JPG-
That trailer and I have been through a lot together:
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4103/5072064860_40c4820cda.jpg
https://postmediadriving.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/img_9365-1.jpg
But not everything requires a trailer:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5818/20910123461_a225c21dbd.jpg -
But it would seem everything REQUIRES a towbar.
You know, you’d really fit in well here in NZ.
http://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/tq/364777983.jpg
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Not much? Maybe. Easily adequate unless you want to tow half your household on vacation? Definitely. The likes of Golfs are rated for 1500kg/3300lbs in Europe, and wagons and crossovers often get to 2000kg/4400lbs, if not 2500kg/5500lbs. Here’s a Passat towing a wall of beer crates, a tractor and some casual handfuls of firewood.
The trick lies in very low tongue weight due to trailer designs with very centered axles. North Americans however tow at higher speeds than European and therefore must rely on longer wheelbases for stability, which means a higher tongue weight at similar trailer sizes, in turn translating to lower towing capacities in similar vehicle classes.-
I was poking fun at my own tendency to tow with a variety of smaller European cars, as is now illustrated above.
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New Zealand is another country where the tow bar rules supreme. Almost every car and light van has a towball here. All my cars, (which I purchased used) have towbars fitted except my ’78 Gamma Coupe. Even my ’86 Civic Shuttle and MB C124 have towbars.
Back in the day DAF variomatics were quite popular in the Netherlands, elsewhere not so much! Now they attained some kind of cult status.
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Uhm, in the 70’s it was grandma’s favourite choice which was a problem for their image. Still, after being rebranded as Volvo 66, they stil made 30th place in the salecharges in their last year 1980. I think just behind the merc 200 (e-class).
To get some idea about how the DAF was thought of, check the vid under the link. It also give some, let’s say, indepth cultural insights to make benefit the glorious kingdom of the Netherlands.
Well, it’s sort of fun. After a few moments the DAF’s come in violent rearward action.
http://youtu.be/OsUCBihXe40
Lada is still a bestseller in Russia. Not only the rugged, utilitarian ones but even Samaras and Prioras and whatever.
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That’s stretching the meaning of “love” though, isn’t it? It’s more a price mechanism that is at work here. Even in Germany, you can buy a Kalina new for 6000€, a Niva for below 10k€. They’re cheap and rugged. But dole out greenbacks en masse to every Russian and I’m sure Togliattigrad will be deserted.
US: the official vehicle of creepy rapists.
Japan: DAJIBAN!!!
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/media/img/readerrides/Dajiban_1.jpg
Cadillac Catera.
The Vauxhall / Opel Omega was fairly lapped up across Europe, finding particular love among police forces and being universally praised by the motoring press.
Slapping a Caddy crest on its arse didn’t translate to particular success Stateside, despite its ability to Zig.
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The GTO was also met with a fair bit of contempt that it didn’t deserve.
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To my knowledge it wasn’t an exact clone though. The Cadillac version is said to be far heavier and softer, and automatic-only. While the Omegas were far from perfect (or popular, or ‘luxury’), they never attained the horrible reputation the Catera got.
I still see some last facelift Omegas used as taxis. Diesel powered, obviously. -
The Omegas numbers were destroyed in long term tests in German papers. They put up records for new cars stranding along the roadside and for having unplanned shop visits. Reading this stuff as a teenager solidified my disrespect for GM.
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Cf. Merkur/Ford Sierra. Same deal.
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I can’t believe America would have anything but love for the XR4Ti. Those who don’t get the appeal are surely just unenlightened.
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Or they’ve been embarrassed when trying to pronounce that frickin’ name.
In fact, it made me a little tongue tied the other day, when I tried to pronounce it.
I still love them, though.
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Or it was because the Lincoln/Mercury sales(wo)men knew all about Panther-based luxo-barges but nothing about people that might want a sporty hatchback.
See also: selling Opel GTs at the Buick dealer…
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In Brazil they were branded as Chevrolet Omega and did quite well. I do like the 3.0 sixes with German engine, the latter 4.1 not that much.
Brazil loves small utes the rest of the world not so much https://salaodocarro-a.akamaihd.net/_upload/galleries/2013/11/13/saveiro-cross-528354c149682_album.jpg
http://www.carrosnaweb.com.br/imagensbd007%5CStrada-Adventure-CE-2014-1.jpg
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Except Australia…
http://s3.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/image43025_b.jpg
Personally, I like the idea and at the right price point would be very appealing here. Unfortunately, I’m in the minority and our “minitruck” days are gone with even the “mid-size” trucks today being as big as full size trucks were a few years ago.-
Speaking as a three-time Brat owner who is always sort-of looking for a fourth one, I’d take a Fiat Strada Adventure Locker in a heartbeat. Give it a 1.8- to 2.0-litre turbodiesel, real 4WD (but keep the E-locker as an option), and I’m sold – especially if I can get it the body configuration shown below. A little extra room behind the seats for stuff I don’t want to put in the bed would be perfect; couldn’t care less about having passengers back there.
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To be fair, they are not quite as small in Australia and are RWD. (Merc E-class rather than Honda Jazz sized.)
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I thought the Trabbie would be mentioned sooner. In the USA they’re hipster-ironic-cool, in Germany they’re last month’s leftover meatloaf.
http://assets.blog.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2014/08/SE19-Resto-Trabant-3qtr.jpg
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That was the specific vehicle that came to mind when I wrote my comment about being IOE worthy. Well, that and anything parked in the Geology faculty lot at a particular university in the Pacific Northwestern US.
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No, lately I’ve been driving my International which has never…
Hey, there’s a thought.
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It’s tempting to use that license plate to inflict minor damage on the license owner.
Just after unification, when the European used car market was sucked dry, the going rate for a Trabant was a sixpack. Some people just parked them with the keys on the hood. Today, nostalgia is gaining momentum.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Trabant_601_Estate.jpg
Loved everywhere except where it was sold.
Not actually a love/hate perception, but in very most countries, the Tesla S is only for those who can afford to save on gas. In Norway, a 2.0L ecoboost Mondeo with a couple of check marks in the option spreadsheet will be more expensive than the S base model. No-brainer, let alone taxation and fuel costs.
Fun fact: average Norwegian Tesla owners are rather used to Passat/Mondeo price levels, and consequently, tend to complain about the prices of their supercar performance tires.
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True, but as a non-Tesla parallel in the US to being able to afford to save on fuel: the VW Jetta TDi vs. the Audi A3 TDi. Sure, the Audi has some nicer interior and suspension bits, but not $12-14K more depending on spec. $28K for the top-of-the-line VW isn’t a bad deal, but stick the four rings on the front and $40K+ for what’s essentially an economy car just doesn’t make sense.
Pretty much anything made by the French and previously sold in North America. Doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a Peugeot, Renault, or Citroën – despite having a small and relatively die-hard fan base in this part of the world, most people either dislike them or have no idea that they even exist.
Entirely gratuitous 505 wagon shot was included because it’s the model that North Americans are most likely to remember, but for some reason didn’t make it through to the post and I can’t fix it with editing after the fact. Odd.
I would go so far as to say, in the US market, any European (British, French, Italian, German, Czech, or Polish) or Japanese car that wasn’t either a very cheap econobox or a very-upper-luxury model. Before 1985-ish, anyway. Near-luxury wasn’t really a thing then (cf. Acura) and the cars that competed with bread-and-butter US iron didn’t do well. Citroen, Peugeot, Borgward, Humber, Vauxhall, Skoda, big Toyotas, Rover, etc.
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