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"Martin Brown" > wrote in message ... > chris@ukaskew wrote: > >> "Scott en Aztlán" > wrote in message >> ... >> >>>Here in the US the top story recently has been the large upward spike >>>in gasoline prices. Some have predicted that gasoline will top >>>$5/gallon by next year, up from $2.50/gallon today. Since you folks in >>>Europe have had $5/gallon gas for years (thanks to high taxes), > > We have much more fuel efficient and refined cars. >> >> I'd be interested in how it compares if you factor in the average MPG of >> cars on British roads with cars on US roads. I assume there is evidence >> somewhere when the press always mentions US 'gas guzzlers' > > Yes. When I go to the US I try and hire a decent fast Japanese car. They > work OK and although they would lose badly in a collision with an SUV or > truck are much more pleasant to drive. > > Last time I was stuffed with a Pontiac GrandMA ~3.4L allegedly a popular > choice according to the rental guy. So named because of the way it wheezes > when going up hills. A basic manual UK Ford Mondeo 1.6 petrol would easily > have left it standing. The automatic transmission was lousy, kick down > wasn't properly adjusted - it had done about 3000 miles from new. The gas > peddle altered the amount of engine noise with a 2s delay before anything > useful was transmitted to the road wheels. Overtaking was best done after > switching off the aircon. It had the turning circle of a supertanker, > terrible understeer and the wheels squealed going round corners. The ride > was soft and flaccid more like being on a ship. When I returned it 2000 > miles later it already needed an oil change. It guzzled fuel for a saloon > car but that didn't matter because gas was so cheap and it had a huge > tank. > > The bigger US cars and SUVs are even worse. "Quality" is apparently > measured by the number of cup holders fitted to the vehicle. > > Regards, > Martin Brown > I will agree with you that for most part, American cars may not be as reliable as Japanese counterparts, especially Honda or Toyota. But I will take that Pontiac over any Audi, VW or even Mercedes when it comes to reliability. European cars are becoming a running jokes here in the U.S. that they are extremely unreliable, and J.D. power long and short term reliability reports (www.jdpower.com) back my statement. |
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