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[โ€“] 40 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Are Americans aware that in the rest of the world American cars are well known to be of very questionable quality and safety.

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  • [โ€“] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    They're known for that in America as well, it's just that they're also usually cheaper to buy and to fix when bought domestically. You need to plan for repairs because American roads are poorly maintained.

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  • [โ€“] 24 points 1 year ago (11 children)

    I'm looking to replace my Tesla soon. Not because it's a bad car but because of the fascism. It'll likely be a German car, though, because my wife wants this particular model. But otherwise I'd also look at some Chinese ones. I guess the fascism is less obvious with those.

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  • [โ€“] 7 points 1 year ago

    I've really enjoyed the Volkswagen ID.4 from my personal experience. I've heard that the ID.5 and ID.7 are pretty good as well. I love the design of the ID.Buzz but I cannot really speak for how well it drives and how practical it is.

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (8 children)

    You thinking of a German BMW i series? They got some decent electric ones.

    Another one would be the Hyundai, that's South Korean. While not European, it's an ally and South Korea actually is combatting the fascist terrorists. I'd say that they deserve a prize for that.

    (Swedish) Volvo Polestar is also pretty good, seen it a lot here. (That is a bandwagon fallacy right there from me, but nonetheless). It resembles Tesla but is iirc not owned by a fascist.

    Edit: another would be Nissan, they got the Leaf. Pretty good too.

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  • [โ€“] 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Isn't Polestar a joint venture with a Chinese company?

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  • [โ€“] 6 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    44% owned by PSD Investment from the Chinese Li Shufu, and 22% by Geely Holding, again owned by Li Shufu. The other 16% is Volvo and 18% by public shareholders.

    So yes, you're right. It's dominated by China, but it's indeed a joint venture.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)
  • [โ€“] 1 point 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    A Mercedes-Benz?

    Except for the SUV (too impractical), I suppose that that works. A hatchback is handiest.

    But really, I'd recommend just getting a rain jacket and an e-bike. They also come in transport versions which can transport kids and groceries along. Much cheaper and just as comfy.

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  • [โ€“] 69 points 1 year ago* (8 children)

    Almost all our cars and all our major manufacturers are awful, any American that knows anything about cars knows this.

    Just overpriced, shittily constructed, designed to fail right after the warranty expires fucking 'luxury' garbage... Ford broke GM's previous all time record for how many recalls they've had to issue this year...

    ... and that was in July, with half the year to still go.

    American manufacturing is fucking joke.

    (Well, outside of firearms, we're still fairly good at that, what a surprise.)

    I also would rather buy a Chinese car.

    I guess Trump is actively trying to scare off Hyundai... hopefully Toyota and Honda stick around... also pre-emptive RIP to Nissan.

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  • [โ€“] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Almost all our cars and all our major manufacturers are awful, any American that knows anything about cars knows this.

    You're on "buy european", so when you say "our" do you mean Europe or..?

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  • [โ€“] 27 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    Sorry, I mean American.

    I am an American agreeing with ya'll that our American cars are ridiculous.

    ... I didn't even mention that a whole bunch of our cars are also gigantic and can likely barely fit on or navigate most older, more dense, less car-centric Euro cities and their road systems.

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 1 year ago

    I wouldn't buy an American car because I don't want to support the current regime (and mileage).

    But having said that, those minivans look like they would be awesome for family road trips. I hate trucks but wouldn't mind seeing more minivans in Europe. I saw a review of a minivans that came with a vacuum cleaner build into to car (just pull out the hose).

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  • [โ€“] -2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    "American manufacturing is a joke"

    Praises Honda

    Honda builds cars in the US.

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  • [โ€“] 35 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    As an American I would never buy an American vehicle. Especially not Tesla

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  • [โ€“] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    Seriously, one of my family members bought a Chevy and I don't think I would wish that on anyone. Constant failures and problems I've never seen a car that shitty before in my life.

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  • [โ€“] 17 points 1 year ago

    Americans would be buying Chinese cars if we didn't put a 200% tarrif on them

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  • [โ€“] 15 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Until early this year, this would have been unthinkable for me.

    Today, I agree with that statement.

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  • [โ€“] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    The only American car I ever considered I would like to buy as a daily driver was a Tesla, and that was way long ago, when Elon seemed a good guy, way before he called the rescuers of those trapped kids pedo.

    If I had the money and a real necessity to replace my car, I would buy a BYD almost 98% sure.

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  • [โ€“] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    He never was a good guy though, he always was an Americaboo (he was born in South Africa). I remember from those earlier years that he genuinely believed the US was the best country. And considering that his parents contributed to apartheid directly... it's not hard to see why they moved to the US; so they could continue harassing minorities. (Except for Russian ones).

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 year ago

    When Elon called the guy who rescued the kids a pedo, I thought is was really weird sour grapes because he did it before Elon could make his capsule and be the hero.

    But now that I see just how ridiculously addicted to projection right wingers are, and how every accusation is a confession, I begin to worry that Elon liked the idea of being with traumatised kids trapped in a cave in a way that appealed to him in a much nastier way than I realised.

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  • [โ€“] 11 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    I'm a truck driver in the Netherlands and as far as I can tell there is only one US brand on the road left with recent cars and that is ford. They make models that they only sell here in Europe and they even make a new cabover semi truck that I see more and more.

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  • [โ€“] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

    I don't see Fords that often, they actually seem to be getting fewer overall.

    Peugeots, Renaults, BMWs, Mercedes, Volvos, Audis from European factories, on the other hand... seeing those a lot.

    And also a lot more bicyclists and ebikes. Which helps the car drivers too, cause then roads are calmer, meaning fewer traffic jams. That's why more bicycle infrastructure and protections for bicyclists, would be good.

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Seems to be totally self inflicted tbh, they've discontinued the Fiesta and Mondeo in recent years, Focus goes at the end of this year and replaced them with an SUV/Crossover lineup named after old models that in no way reflect the old models they're named after. (Puma has become Fiesta crossover, don't even start me on the Capri)

    They always used to punch above their weight in terms of value, were reasonably cheap to maintain and pretty solid cars. If there was a Mondeo estate in the lineup I'd literally go buy one this weekend.

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  • [โ€“] 11 points 1 year ago

    I'm an american I want one of their EV's. Sounds perfect for driving to work and back.

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  • [โ€“] 10 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    in aus seems to be split, half want giant american tanks and others happy with chinese economy boxes

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  • [โ€“] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    That's crazy, I'd have thought if people in Aus want tanks they'd get ones from Asia like Toyota etc

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  • [โ€“] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    yeah seems like overall there's more Asian but Ford Ranger is #1

    https://www.racv.com.au/royalauto/transport/cars/australian-new-car-sales-2025.html

    Ford Ranger ute โ€“ 28,311 (-15.6%)
    Toyota HiLux ute โ€“ 26,267 (-7.9%)
    Toyota RAV4 medium SUV โ€“ 24,034 (-5.4%)
    Toyota LandCruiser Prado large SUV โ€“ 15,583 (+345.5%)
    Isuzu D-Max ute โ€“ 14,065 (-11.1%)
    Ford Everest large SUV โ€“ 12,294 (+9.0%)
    Mazda CX-5 medium SUV โ€“ 11,991 (+0.6%)
    Mitsubishi Outlander medium SUV โ€“ 11,399 (-21.1%)
    Hyundai Kona small SUV โ€“ 11,241 (+25.6%)
    Kia Sportage medium SUV โ€“ 10,558 (+0.8%)
    
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  • [โ€“] 19 points 1 year ago

    The only company that used to sell good in Europe was tesla, i'm not surprised at all

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  • [โ€“] 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Europeans would be buying european cars right now if the european car companies had not started jerking eachothers dicks off in the 2000s

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  • [โ€“] 4 points 1 year ago

    I was in Poland recently and saw a car literally named "Beijing".

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  • [โ€“] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Isn't europe not known for making cars?

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 1 year ago*

    I wouldnโ€™t buy either. Japan or nothing.

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  • [โ€“] -3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I'll give Chinese EV sales another few years to tank. While they are cheap, they are...cheap and not built to last for typical 8-10 year cycles of legacy car makers. Most Chinese buyers get rid of them in 36 months, and they have zero resale value.

    But they are only cheap because they are being dumped into Europe below cost. No way is BYD or Geely sustainable with $30B in hidden debt.

    10 years from now, these TEMU cars could have a following for ultra cheap transport, assuming they can keep running.

    And don't flame me with YouTube car reviews, those clowns cheerlead everything and NEVER talk about long term reliability.

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  • [โ€“] -3 points 1 year ago

    I get it....but, maybe buy domestic? oh wait, that's Chinese too....

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  • [+] -15 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    Does anyone build cars in Europe anymore?

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  • [โ€“] 30 points 1 year ago* (6 children)

    ... Volkswagen?

    ... Half of everything under Stellantis?

    ... Audi?

    ... BMW?

    ... Mercedes Benz?

    ... Volvo?

    Ever heard of any of these?

    And these just the ones popular in the US.

    Skoda, Renault, the other half of Stellantis...

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    So why buy Chinese? (Or American)? People need to keep in mind who they are sending their money to/supporting when they buy things manufactured elsewhere.

    Also, isnโ€™t Volvo Automotive Chinese-owned now? (Geely)

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  • [โ€“] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Because European EVs either suck quality wise (Stellantis) or they are anti-consumer like locking basic features behind subscriptions (BMW/Merc) or the company just sucks (VW)

    The only good manufacturers are maybe Porsche and Volvo/Polestar but they are expensive hence why people go for Korean EVs or cheaper Chinese cars. Maybe Renaultโ€™s EVs are a good contender, but they still need to proof themselves in the EV space.

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  • [โ€“] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    What?

    You asked if people make cars in Europe.

    The answer is obviously yes.

    Now your new question is...

    Why buy any car made anywhere from any company?

    ... wha?

    Do you want a top to bottom run down on how cars work and what to look for, what kinds of design components are good vs bad, what kinds of manufacturers are known for quality or reliability, what maintenance looks like for each car?

    I would prefer to buy a Chinese car over an American... because they are both cheaper and more reliable, or well they would be cheaper here in the US if we hadn't have had massive protectionist tariffs on Chinese car imports for over a decade.

    I just want a basic affordable car I can take care of for a decade or two.

    America doesn't make those any more.

    The entire auto industry here has been utterly fucked since the 07/08/09 crash and subsequent bailouts with 0 strings attached, the entire US auto industry's strategy after that can be summarized as: make everything a luxury car and go for profit margin over volume, and also cut every corner possible.

    We should have either let them all fail or just nationalized them, instead of just throwing money at them and rewarding their inability to plan for a market downturn.

    ... and sure yes Geely is the majority owner of Volvo... do you want to attempt to devise a specific rubric of exactly how we determine precisely what % of money spent on any particular car goes into the pockets of people of which particular nationality?

    You asked if Europe makes cars.

    Yes. Europeans manufacture cars, in Europe.

    A whole other way we could look at this is how many people of which particular nationality and in what actual physical location are at some point involved in the actual production process of that car you buy.

    Have fun mapping out either one of those I guess?

    ... People need to keep in mind where their money goes to... what are you typing on, can you tell me every single nationality involved in producing your computer or smart phone?

    Where does the gas in your car actually come from?

    Your clothes?

    Come on buddy, the world economy has been massively interdependent and globalized for like 3 or 4 decades now.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 1 year ago*

    Because people are allowed to choose?

    Just because most choose European cars doesn't mean they aren't allowed to buy cars from other markets.

    And the premise of the post is that Europeans would rather buy Chinese cars than US ones. The choice is thus between Chinese and US. European cars have nothing to do with it.

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