[Exploder]

What is actually meant when one describes a car as 'European'?

And is there a definition for 'American' and 'Japanese' too?

 

[BrickTamland]

European: Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Lotus, Mini, Saab, Volvo, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen, Smart, Maybach; Opel, Vauxhall, Bugatti, Scania, SEAT, Skoda, Citroen, Peugeot, Renault, Dacia, Lancia, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Lada, VAZ.

Those are the current brands, separated by a semi-colon if they are sold in the US or not, that I can think of.

 

[TheGeneral]

Also Saturn and Mazda would be considered European Inspired.

 

[Kamshaaft]

Also Saturn and Mazda would be considered European Inspired.

But on that note so could the current lineups from Holden, Hyundai, and Ford Australia.

 

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

I would say... cars made in Europe

 

[ctsmo]

but bmw's and mercedes are considered european even though some of their cars are built in the u.s., so i just think its based on the country of origin.

 

[MonteCarloSS86]

Also Saturn and Mazda would be considered European Inspired.

I thought Mazda was Japanese-inspired?

 

[Exploder]

OK, I should be more specific. I was referring to how certain American and Japanese cars are being described as 'European'. The word actually refers to certain qualities a car has other than it's country of origin. So what ARE those qualities?

And in that context, what would 'American' and 'Japanese' mean?

 

[F14CRAZY]

Circa 1993 Japanese luxury

Circa 1993 American luxury

 

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

OK, I should be more specific. I was referring to how certain American and Japanese cars are being described as 'European'. The word actually refers to certain qualities a car has other than it's country of origin. So what ARE those qualities?

And in that context, what would 'American' and 'Japanese' mean?

No it refers to BS.

 

[mgescuro]

European cars are cars that have traditionally been made it and began their history in Europe.
American cars are cars that have traditionally been made it and began their history in America.
Japaneses cars are cars that have traditionally been made it and began their history in Japan.
Etc etc etc.

I guess you're referring to "European" influenced of style cars. Saturn is European influenced because they're European design, engineered, and built in some cases. You're going to expect cars that have more taut steering, tighter suspensions, cleaner design aesthetics, improved performance, and more precise driving. That's what a European car traditionally is.

American cars are more often larger, bulkier, spacious, more softly sprung suspensions, lighter steering. It's because our roads are, for the most part, long stretches of straight road and wider, which contrasts to the smaller, tighter roads in Europe.

European cars that come into the US, usually loosen their suspensions a bit as our roads have more imperfections and aren't as smooth as European roads.

 

[t-rex]

Here are some of the characteristics, both positive and negative, that I associate with a car's "nationality":

European:

Taut handling. Unbeatable driving dynamics. Intelligent design. Superior brakes. Use of cutting-edge technology. Top-notch interior materials. Excellent ergonomics. Form follows function. Excellent seating. Unbeatable safety. Poor reliability. Harsh ride. Zero attention to driver or passenger comfort. Interior features grossly fail to address needs of drivers outside of Europe. Patchy electrical systems. Overly-complicated DICs and other switchgear.

American:

Comfortable. Refined and very quiet. Excellent highway cruisers. Roomy. Superior electrics. Unbeatable a/c (important when you live where I do!). Great automatic transmissions. Better designs are incredible bang-for-the-buck. Vulgar or dumpy styling, but at least distinctive. Poor grade of interior materials (though exterior materials, steel, plastics, etc. typically excellent grade). Ancient or generation-behind technology. Sloppy brakes. Ponderous handling. Overall "cheap" feel. Would be the world's best cars if their designers took them seriously.

Japanese:

Anodyne, inoffensive styling (or outright ugly). Innocuous character. Excellent fit & finish. Light controls. Sensible, easy-to-use controls. Lots of thoughtful little gadgets. Unbeatable reliability. Smooth mechanicals. Lots of goodies for the money (though that's increasingly less so). No surprises (neither good nor bad). WYSIWYG. Appliances. Cars for people who don't care about cars.

Korean:

Generation-behind Japanese cars with more distinctive, if not certainly more questionable, styling.

Australian:

American cars, but with better styling and ergonomics.


Or one can simply follow the "door" test:

European cars close with a "thunk"
American cars close with a "clang" (getting more "thunky" though)
Japanese cars close with a "snap"

 

[PMC the 1st]

A "European" car is simply a car that was built by a manufacturer of European origin.
Same for the others: an "American" car is one built by a nameplated American manufacturer, and a "Japanese" car is one built by a manufacturer of Japanese origin.

This necessarilly means that the Opel Vectra is an American car, because it's GM-made (the Saturn Aura is even moreso American, because Saturns are only offered in America).
Likewise, any BMW's, Hondas or Toyotas that are made in our country are always necessarily European and Japanese respectively, because the origin of the manufacturer is necessarily European and Japanese.
Jaguar, despite bouncing from Britain to America (Ford) to Tata Motors (India), will always be British.

Even though 72% of Coca-Cola revenues and manufacture fall outside of North America, Coca-Cola is distinctly American, both here and internationally.

 

[PMC the 1st]

Here are some of the characteristics, both positive and negative, that I associate with a car's "nationality":


Or one can simply follow the "door" test:

European cars close with a "thunk"
American cars close with a "clang" (getting more "thunky" though)
Japanese cars close with a "snap"

Hogwash of the highest order.

 

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

A "European" car is simply a car that was built by a manufacturer of European origin.
Same for the others: an "American" car is one built by a nameplated American manufacturer, and a "Japanese" car is one built by a manufacturer of Japanese origin.

This necessarilly means that the Opel Vectra is an American car, because it's GM-made (the Saturn Aura is even moreso American, because Saturns are only offered in America).
Likewise, any BMW's, Hondas or Toyotas that are made in our country are always necessarily European and Japanese respectively, because the origin of the manufacturer is necessarily European and Japanese.
Jaguar, despite bouncing from Britain to America (Ford) to Tata Motors (India), will always be British.

Even though 72% of Coca-Cola revenues and manufacture fall outside of North America, Coca-Cola is distinctly American, both here and internationally.

I don't think many people would consider Opels as being American cars... certainly many of them were styled right in Michigan, but in terms of the way the car is made, and indeed where it is made is certainly much closer to being European... Opel is kind of like the cousins from on the other side of the pond...

 

[TheGeneral]

I almost postive I'm right about this.

The CX-7, Mazda5 and Mazda3 are based of the euro focus(C100) which is designed in europe actually sweden.

 

[MonteCarloSS86]

European cars are cars that have traditionally been made it and began their history in Europe.
American cars are cars that have traditionally been made it and began their history in America.
Japaneses cars are cars that have traditionally been made it and began their history in Japan.
Etc etc etc.

I guess you're referring to "European" influenced of style cars. Saturn is European influenced because they're European design, engineered, and built in some cases. You're going to expect cars that have more taut steering, tighter suspensions, cleaner design aesthetics, improved performance, and more precise driving. That's what a European car traditionally is.

American cars are more often larger, bulkier, spacious, more softly sprung suspensions, lighter steering. It's because our roads are, for the most part, long stretches of straight road and wider, which contrasts to the smaller, tighter roads in Europe.

European cars that come into the US, usually loosen their suspensions a bit as our roads have more imperfections and aren't as smooth as European roads.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[mgescuro]

A "European" car is simply a car that was built by a manufacturer of European origin.

Oh? Fine. What's Lotus then?

This necessarilly means that the Opel Vectra is an American car, because it's GM-made (the Saturn Aura is even moreso American, because Saturns are only offered in America).

That would have made Jaguars of last year American... Chryslers of last year German... Jaguars this year Indian...
Opel Vectra is a German car -- born, design, manufactured in Germany. It's got nothing to do with Aura, which is an American car. Astra is a German car, even though it is sold in 100 different countries. 9-3 Convertible is a Swedish car -- not a Finnish car because it's built in Finland. in turn, Camaro is American, not Canadian.

 

[drew630]

I thought Mazda was Japanese-inspired?

:blink:
Me too.

 

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Oh? Fine. What's Lotus then?


That would have made Jaguars of last year American... Chryslers of last year German... Jaguars this year Indian...
Opel Vectra is a German car -- born, design, manufactured in Germany. It's got nothing to do with Aura, which is an American car. Astra is a German car, even though it is sold in 100 different countries. 9-3 Convertible is a Swedish car -- not a Finnish car because it's built in Finland. in turn, Camaro is American, not Canadian.

But the Astra is made in Belgium (for US market) and the 9-3 convertible in Austria