Built like a Mercedes (?)

And there is no such thing as cable DSL.

Try replacing dictatorships and communistic governments with big business and large corporations and see what country your statement refers to then, LOL!

In general, those who resort to abuse have no argument to advance.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Well said!

And can Peugeot diesel engines not take their place at/near the top of the reliability tree?

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

I am entertained by the idea that driving conditions in the USA are tougher than in the Third World... and that inter-regional variation within the US is so great. Oh man, you should get out more. (Yes, I know California isn't Arizona isn't Vermont weatherwise, but still.)

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Q: What was the qualification required for becoming chairman of the European Central Bank?

A: Ability to speak German..

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Who has more people in work as a percentage of the population? I said employment is among the highest.

What's strange about a restructuring of British industry? Unhappily a lot happened all at once, but maybe that was because so much had been held up. It seemed like a dam bursting. So what exactly did Maggie do in terms of "destruction"? Yes, she destroyed certain interest groups' grip on sectors of the economy, whether it be the unions on coal or the opticians on reading glasses. She had a tilt at the legal profession but did not succeed. However, at least the solicitors' grip on conveyancing (property transfer) prices was loosened and fees tumbled.

Now that I am a taxpayer I don't wish to pour billions into propping up various industries in general, especially not cars. If 'we' the population decide that propping up the railways is a Good Thing, thne so be it. But that is not on the scale of steel, coal, airlines, cars etc as decades ago.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Actually, the reason the US is so tough on cars is the fact that most people do not take care of their cars. They expect them to work all the time, no matter how deficient their maintenance upkeep.

I have lived in and maintained cars in Arizona, Mississippi, Texas, Wisconsin and Indiana. So, they have seen oppressive heat, humidity, rain, snow, cold, ice, etc... None have let me down (Ford (US and Korean), Chevy (US and Japanese) Mercedes. If all of us Americans took care of our cars like folks in Europe, the automotive industry would be in much better shape here.

Also, to Bob,

I have been overseas, and American drivers cause many more problems on their roads, then do they on ours. I can only imagine what they say about American Caucasians in the East when we try to drive in Tokyo (especially if we bring our big, poorly maintained US cars there).

Yes, you are, but I wasn't going to comment about it first..

Budd

Pooh Bear wrote:

While this may be true, they did it by buying you, not by war, pretty much the same thing that is happening to us.

And there were we readers of these forums being misled into thinking US cars had their oils changed every 3000 to 5000 miles while we Europeans serviced our cars every 10000 to 15,000 miles. LOL

Huw

Errr... I said third world, not Europe, though some parts of it do belong there... but I am assuming you mean western Europe...

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

I did not get that, but never mind that now. Tomorrow morning I am scheduled to go out of the country for a few days so won't have access to NGs (and I am not that dedicated to look at Google Groups...)

(Although driveable, about 8 h via Channel Tunnel, I decided to use an Airbus vehicle instead, especially in view of the cold weather and risk of snow on the Continent. Living in southern England I don't, of course, bother with winter tyres.)

DAS

That depends directly on who is doing the reporting.

Excellent point. I'm always fascinated by the way people from outside the U.S. criticize our actions. Frankly, half of us disagree with any given military action. Fortunately, when most of the U.S. was opposed to going to war in 1940, we decided to enter the European theatre regardless. This saved England from invasion, and lead to the liberation of France.

Yet they seem to know better than we how our military works.

That is simply not true. In fact, even Hollywood would be shamefaced to drift that far from reality.

Yes, you find it funny, I find it sad. In general, an Asian designed vehicle will last maybe five years without major needs. Used to be that inside of three years, an Asian made vehicle would rust badly, which is to say, holes through the metal. Perhaps now that they are built here, that is solved. European vehicles fare a bit better, but by seven years, can become cantankerous if not costly to maintain due to nickel and dime stuff that costs ten times as much because its Euro design.

Well, then you must be fairly ignorant on load capacity of vehicles.

No, long distances are not easier. Quite the opposite, they create another type of hazard to longevity, that of heat and wear. Thus our larger engines tend to do better than the smaller engines from elsewhere. Your freeways are driven at like speeds to ours. This is not to say that our vehicles are better or worse than any other, simply that design follows use. Thus, cars designed in the country where the designer uses them, will fare better in that country.

Have you seen where we drive here? I guarantee imports won't survive the same type of road here in the states. I know, because we've done our share of driving "other" stuff, and it just doesn't do as well as american iron when it comes to rough roads. I see far more 1980's Chrysler 2.2 powered stuff than I do any other maker's 1980's vintage stuff. A rough second place would be Chevy Cavaliers. The only other that would place would be the Toyota 22R engine, mostly in Celicas. However, lately those are rare too. Too bad, I actually liked those.

You cast aside how many vehicles it takes to go that distance, let alone which ones actually make it that far.

I don't think there are many pickups sold in Europe, but feel free to cite proven statistics. In the States, a pickup isn't built above the one ton level. I'll bet its the same in Europe.