Japanese vs European Car Reliability

[ultimate]

I take offense to the term "piece of ****" when applied to the car that put Ford back on the map and that managed to re-write many of the rules of handling for front-wheel drive cars, and, by the way, is a major step up for Ford in terms of quality... I guess it's a piece of **** if all that matters is pillowy chairs and idling along at 60mph on the interstate...

Of course, maybe you're comparing it to all the overweight, over-engined, gas-guzzling circa-1970's tech cars and SUVs that everyone else is driving in the US?

By the way, diesel is NOT banned. It's just that emissions regulations make diesel cars a little more costly in the US. There is a bias in the US against diesel power, but diesel cars ARE sold there.

Cars that DO not pass safety regs in the US are not inherently unsafe... it's just that setting them up to US spec was deemed too costly by their manufacturers to warrant the effort. The extra airbags are NOT required in other markets. Except for AUVs and the formulaic "Asian Van" (L300 et al), there's nothing wrong with these cars.

In fact, American made and marketed SUVs like the Tahoe and Explorer are even more unsafe at highway speeds than most other cars, despite the standard safety equipment.

And yes, driving conditions in the US are easy compared to most other places... wider roads, better paving and surfacing, better asphalt and water-drainage properties... which also makes them very dangerous for US drivers who suddenly find themselves in wet or icy conditions and who have no idea how to adapt to such.

The only "Europeans" with Asian underpinnings are the MB100 van, and the MB-engined SSangyongs. AFAIK, our BMWs, Mercs, and Volvos are CBU from Europe.

American driving is just so SOFT... and the cars are equally so...

correction again. only mexicans drive explorers,expeditions,durangos and any ford models becoz of 0 down programs. in fact,just to sell them,they offer 30% off to government agencies. no diesel passenger cars after 1997 or 98, except commercial vehicles are allowed. its true that u get european cars directly from europe as cbu like my c240. even the m class suv is fully assembled in the us and it sucks. im talking about jap cars being brought to the us,which are either 90% jap and 10% american or fully assembled in the us. im not defending us quality, but the standards and safety concern.

[ultimate]

mazdamazda,

your reasoning that japanese cars are not reliable because "all the posts in the Workshop are about jap cars" is incorrect. iilan lang ba may european cars dito?

for your personal experience of shitty quality, i will offer the service record of our cr-v which has needed nothing at all more than regular oil changes. our other cr-v is similarly reliable. our corona and accord have also been reliable, nothing unusual beyond reasonable age-related wear. hehe

im not insulting jap cars. like i said we have quite a few in the family. some comparisons are thickness of body, some options are missing and a few models that has no safety concern to the buyer. my aunt has a crv and i drive it from time to time. no complaints but a little heavy for the engine.

[mbt]

huh? but i never said you were insulting japanese cars.

i was replying to mazdamazda.

[detta]

jap pa rin....no need to explain hehehehe

[niky]

Eh? The bulk of Expedition sales is to Suburban housewives... and the big, fast, heavy and powerful pickups are all driven by redneck Americans, like my uncle...

but then again, he just traded in his Dodge Ram for a 'safer' and 'more sensible' Viper SRT-10... so, yeah, maybe it is mostly Mexicans... :p

I do know that a lot of Expeditions end up in the hands of Pinoys, who still view them as "status" vehicles from their experiences here.

[BlueBimmer]

at least when ur driving around in an exped here, mdyo chick magnet hehe

[oldblue]

I do know that a lot of Expeditions end up in the hands of Pinoys, who still view them as "status" vehicles from their experiences here.

so true.

[PROTREK]

the prado didn't pass US standards? 120series prados = Lexus GX 2005.

Lexus GX

altis is just a regular corolla in the US which has the same options. prado and patrol didnt pass instead they accepted the land cruiser and nissan murano and pathfinder.evo 8 is there so is subaru wrx. its not that they are all unfit for the highways but they are also not satisfied for safety reasons. civics come as dx,lx,ex and si. most models that they bring in were also phased out in the US like previa, chevy and ford models. diesels are also banned on passenger cars,vans and suvs. dont get me wrong coz i own a 4runner and theres a few jap cars in my family,too.

[beerygud]

In my opinion European.

[noreturn]

Altis offered in the Phil, have so many luxury features (not just leather) that
you wouldn't feel shortchanged even if your'e used inside a Lexus!

What are you smoking? You think it's luxury because you're comparing it to the 'standard' Corolla Tamaraw, which, BTW, you only find here. An Altis is no where near a Lexus' standards.

There are other more desirable cars in the other side of the Pacific too.

Of course there are a few quirks, like Skylines, but let's see what cars you can't find here. Lotus Elise, Mustang GT, Trans Am, BMW Z3, Corvette cover the fast cars. Infiniti, Lexus, Bentley, Maybach cover the luxury. Scion's tC, the Civic Coupe, the V6 Mustang cover the cheap hobby cars. I've seen at least one of each just walking to class from my dorm.

Unfit for US Highways??? US Highways are so moron-proof that you can drive blindfolded geez... hehe...

Moron-LESS is more like it. Over there you have people that know how to drive, understand the term "fast lane", and the mechanics involved in using a turn lights. This means less congestions from people cutting across three lanes and thus faster highway speeds. Faster speeds mean you need safer cars. It's not that people get in more accidents because driving is harder, it's that when they do, they tend to get a little bit more f'ed up because they're doing 75 mph (120), and that's just the speed limit.

I take offense to the term "piece of ****" when applied to the car that put Ford back on the map and that managed to re-write many of the rules of handling for front-wheel drive cars, and, by the way, is a major step up for Ford in terms of quality... I guess it's a piece of **** if all that matters is pillowy chairs and idling along at 60mph on the interstate...

Sorry, but it is a POS. It doesn't even compare to a base Civic. And frankly, who gives a crap what happened in history? Shall I bring back the Civic's modder heydays even though their current [engine, suspension] lineup is lame?

By the way, diesel is NOT banned. It's just that emissions regulations make diesel cars a little more costly in the US. There is a bias in the US against diesel power, but diesel cars ARE sold there.

Do your research, they are not sold to private parties.

And yes, driving conditions in the US are easy compared to most other places... wider roads, better paving and surfacing, better asphalt and water-drainage properties... which also makes them very dangerous for US drivers who suddenly find themselves in wet or icy conditions and who have no idea how to adapt to such.

So very true.

Jap cars are cheaper to fix, and they are comparable to German (not all euro cars are good) in terms of reliability. So even if they do break down a little more, you spend less in the long run.

[niky]

Lots of nice points, but insulting Ford hurts my feelings. ...the current Lancer and Sentra are even more deserving of the PoS tag than the current Focus... actually, the Cavalier and Neon are both MOST deserving of that tag...

But then again, Americans don't get the new Focus, pity.

We've owned a bunch of Fords and Mazdas... and even the ones which are PoS's are loveable... peace anyway... I'm resigned to the fact. :D

[empy]

Moron-LESS is more like it. Over there you have people that know how to drive, understand the term "fast lane", and the mechanics involved in using a turn lights. This means less congestions from people cutting across three lanes and thus faster highway speeds.

maybe you're talking about highways in Germany here. US drivers are notorious for not doing any of the things above, especially the super-annoying "squatting in the fast lane" maneuver. also, i was watching a report just the other day that highway crashes are the #1 cause of death among Americans under 27, and about 3 million people die or are injured annually on US highways. have you driven on a US highway recently?

Do your research, they are not sold to private parties.

do your research. VW has sold the Jetta, Golf and New Beetle with the TDI for years, and the Mercedes C-class is also available in diesel. if we include SUV's, the Chevy/GMC Suburban, Ford Excursion, Jeep Liberty and Hummer H1 all come in diesel. we also have the Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra, and Ford F250/350.

all these vehicles are sold to individual buyers.

[ian_rex]

para sa akin, depends. pero bias ako sa mga japanese brands. kasi affordable and value for money, most european marques kasi medyo me kamahalan.

[pitbullz]

early MB's and BMW's are pretty reliable...ang tagal masira. ewan ko lang now

[momoyster]

japanese of course.

[seonadancing]

I can take our Corolla anywhere, baha, bagyo, tanghaling tapat sa init but I'd think twice of using the BMW under those conditions. So i guess mas reliable yun Corolla. But then again, i think that after certain number of years, lalabas na talaga yun mga sakit ng kotse, Euro man o Jap.

[arif_moin]

For South Asian conditions, European cars are the CLEAR winner. For East Asia, it's the Japanese car. I'm comparing an Opel Astra with a Toyota Corolla. I've had both. The ride in the Corolla was only good on the national highways. On village/town roads, it ate dirt. The clutch plate wore off real fast because of this (at 15,000 kms) and it was a royal pain to get the parts. The rides on the Corolla on town/village roads was a nightmare. It was bumpy as hell. I needed to do computer alignment very often- it was just a plain pain. And the A/C never worked decently until I reached 50kmph at least- which is a practical impossibility in our towns.

Not so w/ the Astra. Even at crawling speeds, the A/C was very, very good. The Astra handled the town/ village roads much better. I can actually sleep while the someone else is on the wheel inside towns. 85,000 kilometers so far. Not a single major maintenance problem. I dunno if this is a generalization but I find Japanese cars are way too lightweight. If 'ya ask me, I'd say European because the cars adapt better to our conditions.

[Flagg]

maybe you're talking about highways in Germany here. US drivers are notorious for not doing any of the things above, especially the super-annoying "squatting in the fast lane" maneuver. also, i was watching a report just the other day that highway crashes are the #1 cause of death among Americans under 27, and about 3 million people die or are injured annually on US highways. have you driven on a US highway recently?

I think the US has the most Moron-full highways. 6-12 car pile-ups are very common there. On US101 I see those maybe once a week, I-280 is even worse cuz it gets windy up there... ehehe. Over here, if there's a 6-car pile-up, it's page 1 news...

do your research... all these vehicles are sold to individual buyers.

Uuuy galit si sir M54... cool ka lang sir chicks muna...

[Jun aka Pekto]

I think the US has the most Moron-full highways. 6-12 car pile-ups are very common there. On US101 I see those maybe once a week, I-280 is even worse cuz it gets windy up there... ehehe. Over here, if there's a 6-car pile-up, it's page 1 news...

Let's limit that statement to California. There's driving in the United States and there's driving in California. California is home to many brain-dead drivers whose notion of coming to a stop is slowing down, take a quick glance, and then putting the pedal to the metal even if there's somebody approaching. Last October, I witnessed at a 4-way stop near our house, 2 instances (in 1 day) where one car did a "California stop" and then t-boned a crossing car. The guilty drivers were both Pinays and guess which state did both just move from?

I'm familiar with US 101 from San Francisco, through Monterrey, and Santa Barbara. Lots of morons there who tailgate, honk their horn if you come to a full stop, cut you off, and just plain dicks.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Oh. In regards to the thread title........ After a thorough test drive of many 2006 cars, We bucked the trends and decided to buy a 2006 3.3L Hyundai Sonata. After 7 months and 10.2k miles of hard driving, I'm still quite taken by it.

Reliability-wise, Hyundai was an unknown to us except for the crap reputation back in the 80's and 90's. So far, we're (still) delighted with the Sonata. First time something goes wrong, you'll hear it here, first.....