How r US sports cars regarded in Europe

[imported_COUNTACH]

Seems there r many Europeans here. So how r Vipers, vettes, & the new Saleen S7 regarded in Europe ?

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Hallo imported_COUNTACH,

 

kennst du schon How r US sports cars regarded in Europe (Anzeige)? Dort ist vieles zu finden.

 

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[Seb2]

In stockholm there are some vipers not a every day sight. Saleen never ever seen one beside a gtr car. Vettes are every day sights. Many old 454s and some newer c4/c5.

[Gast RolandK]

I live in Munich/Germany and if you go through Munich on a sunny day you can see a lot of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches. Although you see the Porsches the whole year.

Even I have a lot of friends with Diablos, 512tr, Maranellos, F360s

Roland

[Seb2]

Thought the question was about american sport cars in europe. In Sweden they are many but theres alot more italian/german sport cars. Seen f40,f50,mclaren f1,mercedes clk gtr, porsche gt1 and much more. Regular ferraris like 355,348,512,360,550 and more are daily sights. But the most popular sport car here is Porsche i think.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Seb on 2001-09-26 11:37 ]</font>

[imported_COUNTACH]

Sorry but nobody answered my question. What do Europeans think of US sportscars & their drivers ?

[Gast RolandK]

Here in Germany we have a lot of Corvette fans and we also have some good tuners for this car (500-1100 hp).

But I think they do not think too much about the drivers because they do not have the experience with high speed. Here in Germany we can drive as fast as we want the whole day and night. Driving fast in US is always risky.

This may I passed some police cars in US with 100mph. I had the luck that the police looked at the other lane.

If we want to have a race here we can drive on the highway and have a look for a "victim".

But I really have to say that driving in US is much more comfortable and not so stressy.

Roland

(who loves the United States)

[Seb2]

Roland where in the states have you been?.

[Gast RolandK]

In the meantime EVERYWHERE.

We love the nature and the huge cities which are completely different to our cities.

Roland

[Seb2]

Nature is that way all those germans come to sweden?. Moose hunting?.

[thepolarfoxqx]

The germans naturally would like the Corvette, as it is wild beyond any car they produce themselves. It lacks refinement, and is by this alone a kick to drive. The fact that its 350 cubic inches (well, the new LS1 and LS6 are only 346) which is more than any german sports car allows for tuning for more horsepower. The swedes made an amazing sports car based on an American Engine, the Koenigsegg CCV8, a mid engine aluminum sports car, putting out nearly 500hp from a supercharged Ford 4.6L DOHC engine. Koenigsegg is working on a flat 12 engine for his car now, using engine control technology from Saab, it could really be something. The Saleen S7 just was released in road legal form, and to be honest, if you were going to spend $400k on a 500+hp mid engine supercar, and you lived in europe - you already have Lamborghini and Ferrari, and if you are a swede you have CCV8, why spend more money to import a rough edged (though truly amazing) car?

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Hallo imported_COUNTACH,

 

schau doch mal hier zum Thema Zubehör für US Cars (Anzeige)? Eventuell gibt es dort etwas Passendes.

[ManyDuffs]

First of all I like to say that I can only speak for myself. I consider american sportcars to be no match to the german, italian, japanese and to some extend english(Lotus and TVR not Aston Martin) sportcars. The ideal sportcar is light and have a highreving engine IMO. Vipers and Vettes are more like dragsters; all power, no handling.

Too bad about the Cadillac Cien. That car would have been an even bigger headturner than a Lamborghini or TVR and made many europeans think twice about putting down US sportcars.

this is written only to answer a simple question and by no means a provocation. This is how I feel...

[donkpower]

hey evryone

i dont realy know how peps see the amarican sports cars over here i for one i in love with the italiens butt if i could aford a viper i would have one lol

Here in belgium you dont see a lot of sports cars

i go totaly wild wen i see a ferrari or Lambourgini

the cars that you see here r the porche 911 and jaguar xj8 and mercedes benze or BMW

what happens the most here is that the guy's buy a normal car like subaruo impreza or toyota corolla stuff like that and then tune it i lived in Belgium my hole life and i know 1 store where you can get hich preformance car parts soo i am a verry sad guy

we here alsoo have the problem that incuranse is realy hich here a kid of 18 years old that just got his license can not get incuranse in Brussels (capital of Belgium)

over here the Viper is considert a strange fenomenon lol you will NOT see them here often

i had the good fortune to have seen a few on my visit too the USA

butt for now all i can doo is come too this site and downlaod the Diablo sound filles from Roland and fellow Diablo drivers i have loved them sinds i cn renember lol wen i play need for speed hot prusuite i play the Diablo SV and have never been cuht lol

for the rest i only drive Ford escort and escort clipper i drive renault laguna and opel vectra, omega

butt thats cause we have a big drive way and my dad somtimes has one of those from work

soo please do not delete the Diablo filles lol

see ya all around keep the rubber side down

[thepolarfoxqx]

i suppose that is the trade off for the speed limits. Here insurance is very affordable, but in my state atleast, the highest speed limit is 70mph (110kph). Vipers are an oddity here too. I see corvettes, M3s, Dinans BMWs, Jaguar Rs, 911s, and boxsters fairly often, and the occasional lambo, ferrari, viper, or NSX. Here too it is a very big practice to buy cheap cars and tune them. I know a guy who bought a Ford Mustang 4 cylender (a 100hp car) - which is very cheap to insure, and bought a 345hp GT40X Ford 302 crate motor (345hp), put that in, and with a few more modification to the fuel injection and exhaust, has nearly 400hp (of course he had to buy a Tremec T4050 transmission and a near rear end, but for the money, nothing is faster). I tune volvos. I think that sort of thing is the same everywhere.

[N866DA]

Anybody who says the Corvette is no match for the European sports cars or is unrefined has obviously not gone for a ride in a Corvette recently.

The C5 Corvette has nearly 50/50 weight distribution and is the most balanced car I have ever driven, far more so than any Ferrari or Porsche that I've ever been lucky enough to drive.

I am a Corvette fan for life. I like being able to smoke almost anything on the road at will, be it in an impromptu drag race at a red light, or at autocross. The Vette runs neck and neck, both in a drag race and around corners, with cars that cost three or four times as much. And the Corvette does it with a V-8 roar that puts a big grin on your face.

When I finish college, I hope to move to Switzerland. I look forward to taking my Corvette with me and enjoying it on the beautiful highways of continental Europe.

[thepolarfoxqx]

sure the V-8 rumble is nicer than any comperably priced european car, but you are hard pressed to beat the handling on an M3 or Boxter S. A Cobra R has the V8 rumble, and outhandles the corvette (i cannot wait for that car to come back). A Cobra goes toe to toe in every respect (except for that it sounds like a floor polisher (give the supercharger helical gears already)).

[CCC]

I am new here, I want to respond to the "american cars all dragsters and no handaling". I own a 1996 viper GTS I find the handaling good but less than my old 1998 C5 Corvette, I feel that the corvette can handale just as good as european cars in the same price range.

[thepolarfoxqx]

i really don't think anyone is ignorant enough to say that any american car (except maybe a viper) is all dragster, no handling. A corvette handles very well, but if you side by side it wil an M3/M Roadster or Boxster S, you will find that the european cars feel smaller, lighter, more naturally athletic in handling. I feel that with a little new thinking, and the massive resources of GM, the corvette could easily beat its competition in all categories. Unfortunately, GM seems to dislike new thinking. That's too bad.

[izzyloveslizzy]

I didn't think they would be regarded that well in Europe when there are already so many European sports-car makers. I've been to France, Germany, Turkey, Sweden, and Finland, and I don't think I've ever seen any American sports cars in any of those countries (other than maybe a Corvette).

[Soupy]

Way back in the 1980's when Chevrolet introduced the IROC package for the Camaro, it held .92g. Not too shabby for a regular production American car 18 years ago. It can still give many European and Japenese cars a run for their money around the curves, and since these cars are so easy to modify as far as the engine goes, they can also hold their own on the drag strip.

[thepolarfoxqx]

in all honesty, i could make a ford f-150 do .92 on the skidpad if I made enough sacrafices. The IROC was a no compromises performance car, the ride was such that if you didn't have back problems before driving it, you would afterwards. It's handling was touchy at best, if you could get the stars to align just right, it did have stellar grip, dollar for dollar, it was amazing. I would have to say that the chevy small-block under the hood was a good platform, but limited by very primitive technology in fuel injection and computer controls. If you were looking for the best bang for the buck, no doubt a winner, but it couldn't approach the no-compromises european sports cars.

[izzyloveslizzy]

How are American Sports Cars regarded in Asia? (Japan & Korea)?

[thepolarfoxqx]

are there american cars in asia? (well, i know that there are some, but there can't be many)

[vorros]

ok!the us cars have power no dought about it!you say they can handle great in the corners?hm?I have seen many us cars I`ve driven a camaro rs from 91!straights ok but corners it`s like one ice!The bad think is that you don`t make your cars 4x4!

[izzyloveslizzy]

Fox they do have American cars for sure, and they have more of them than one might think. But still not as many as you would find in Europe. Which is in part responsible for my curiosity over whether or not they're even respected in the far far east. Maybe there's so many cheap and well-made Japanese cars that they don't have to drive American cars. Then again, maybe there's so many cheap and well-made (and boring) Japanese cars that they get sick of them all and buy American cars instead. I'm pretty sure Ford has been at least slightly successful at penetrating the Japanese market for at least a small percentage of sales. But American cars are nowhere near as popular as European cars (notably Bavarian cars). Those Eastern-Asians sure love their Mercs and Bimmers. (As do all other normal human beings!).

[thepolarfoxqx]

well, the japanese cars they sell in japan are much more exciting than the ones they sell in north america.

yes, japanese cars have many advantages in the home court over our cars, but I am sure there are a few.

By the way, while audi from ingolstadt and bmw from munchen are bavarian, mercedes from stuttgart is from baden wurtenburg. And no one from stuttgart will ever let you forget it. In fact, I know many proud stuttgarters who refer to anything but a mercedes as not being a real car (i stunned me to hear a german say a bimmer wasn't a real car).