Personal computing discussed
Moderators: askfranklin, renee, emkubed, Captain Ned
duke_nukem_3D wrote:do you think a Kia is as much a car as a BMW?
Do South Koreans make the best bang-for-buck cars? Do Germans still make the "best" cars? Japanese? American?
JohnC wrote:If you enjoy involvement into driving process (including the car's suspension response, steering response and the overall maneurability) - you probably should only look at Euro cars like Porsche (any model) or Mercedes' AMG models or BMW's M-series models (the "regular" models from both Mercedes and BMW are way too "soft" nowadays) and others. If you want to "go fast in straight line" - then it's probably better to choose some inexpensive American car like Camaro/Mustang/Corvette
ludi wrote:Meanwhile, the earth is littered with drivable 1991-1996 and 1997-2001 Toyota Camrys.
yammerpickle2 wrote:It depends on where you live. German's design for the autobahn, and while it is not the unlimited speed highway system it used to be the cars are designed to handle the autobahn speeds. It is subtle, but a system designed to handle those speeds is going have more design requirements and refinements than a system designed to meet US speed limits. So if you live in Germany a KIA at 120 MPH is going to have a driving dynamic that is unsettled and on the edge. A Porsche, Audi, MB, or BMW at 120 MPH will feel normal and could go faster with less drama.
This goes farther than just chassis and powertrain. A windshield wiper system designed for 120 plus MPH, has different requirements than a 70 MPH wiper system. This does not seem significant unless you are driving into a stiff headwind when it is raining. Than the US spec system is going to struggle, while the Autobahn system will be better designed to handle the additional aerodynamic issues presented by the relative wind speed.
yammerpickle2 wrote:It depends on where you live. German's design for the autobahn, and while it is not the unlimited speed highway system it used to be the cars are designed to handle the autobahn speeds. It is subtle, but a system designed to handle those speeds is going have more design requirements and refinements than a system designed to meet US speed limits. So if you live in Germany a KIA at 120 MPH is going to have a driving dynamic that is unsettled and on the edge. A Porsche, Audi, MB, or BMW at 120 MPH will feel normal and could go faster with less drama.
This goes farther than just chassis and powertrain. A windshield wiper system designed for 120 plus MPH, has different requirements than a 70 MPH wiper system. This does not seem significant unless you are driving into a stiff headwind when it is raining. Than the US spec system is going to struggle, while the Autobahn system will be better designed to handle the additional aerodynamic issues presented by the relative wind speed.
JohnC wrote:duke_nukem_3D wrote:do you think a Kia is as much a car as a BMW?
Do South Koreans make the best bang-for-buck cars? Do Germans still make the "best" cars? Japanese? American?
It's all a matter of personal preference... If you need a "source of transportation from point A to point B" - then almost any modern car will do that well, even Korean brands (they also have good warranty on them and are reliable and comfortable enough for daily usage), no need to buy a BMW/Mercedes/Lexus for that (unless you want to compensate for your personal deficiency by trying to focus your friend's attention on your "luxury car" instead of on your deficiencies ).If you enjoy involvement into driving process (including the car's suspension response, steering response and the overall maneurability) - you probably should only look at Euro cars like Porsche (any model) or Mercedes' AMG models or BMW's M-series models (the "regular" models from both Mercedes and BMW are way too "soft" nowadays) and others. If you want to "go fast in straight line" - then it's probably better to choose some inexpensive American car like Camaro/Mustang/Corvette
Jive wrote:Also, isnt the C63 engine quoted in your signature 6.2L, not 6.3L?
End User wrote:unless it was to post, yet again, that he/she owns a CLS550.
JohnC wrote:Yeap, pretty much a marketing trick - MB just "rounded it off" to a 6.3 number Pretty common thing between car manufacturers - for example, GM does it to their LS9/LSA engines (6,162 cc rounded to "6.2").
So my question is, if one were to overlook intangible factors such as prestige, re-sale value, brand-loyalty and the like, do you think a Kia is as much a car as a BMW?
Do South Koreans make the best bang-for-buck cars? Do Germans still make the "best" cars? Japanese? American?
Captain Ned wrote:JohnC wrote:Yeap, pretty much a marketing trick - MB just "rounded it off" to a 6.3 number Pretty common thing between car manufacturers - for example, GM does it to their LS9/LSA engines (6,162 cc rounded to "6.2").
Just like a 5.0 Mustang back in the day was really a 4.9 (4942 cc). Really pissed off Mustang drivers to tell them it was a 4.9.
JohnC wrote:Yea, "performance car" owners can be extremely... "obsessive" with the numbers related to their "metal idols", that goes for all brands (although perhaps more so when it comes to Camaro and Mustang products). At least Ford and GM were "rounding it off" to a proper tenth place...
clone wrote:
note: long term reliability numbers may not apply to todays vehicles given the vast improvements in process controls, the industry wide focus on quality and overall consolidation of the supplier network which is likely how GMC managed to take 2nd place just behind Porsche as one of the highest quality vehicles in the world this year while FIAT/Chrysler has been leapfrogging it's way up the rankings year on year since coming out of Bankruptcy. it would appear both companies learned from the experience.
jss21382 wrote:But, they're the only company I've worked for who will deny you warranty due to scheduled maintenance being neglected.
jss21382 wrote:They're fine with third party records, they basically want to see that you've done your timing belt if they're replacing an engine for a timing belt failure, or that you've changed the trans fluid for a trans replacement issue.