With All The Great American Cars Coming Out, WHY Do The UK Car Magazines Have So Much HATE For Us?

America bashing has always been popular in GB. Jealousy. Jealous we still have a car industry, if just barely. Jealous that the electrics in our cars almost always work.
It is easier to rally around a common enemy to make yourself feel better. Worked for Hitler, seems to work for British journalism.

they hate on America because America hates on everyone else. Canada, Europe, you name it, right wingers in USA act like the whole world is a puddle at their feet.

relationships are a two way street.

Say what? I am Canadian and while I will admit that Americans have opinions about the rest of the world, they aren't nearly as strong as the worlds opinion of them.

Very funny since the Brits can't and don't really make cars anymore. British car companies? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

"Very funny since the Brits can't and don't really make cars anymore. British car companies? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?"

- Yeah.. Like American car companies are something the brag about. LOL!!

Its funny that quote complimented the Corvette, it said its not any of those things its a great sports car, its no denying the corvette has a few to many cheap plastics on the inside even American mags agree with that but at the same time at the price point its kinda hard not to cut costs somewhere. Again another let down lol, Top Gear he even lauded the ZR1s ability, as have other Mags across the world and not just the ZR1 the CTSV as well, clearly these are 2 cars that are world class and that is recognized globally.

The quote plainly said it was all of those things. Then they went on to say much more positive things. The fact is, Europeans don't quite understand the American auto industry and/or public. Rather than make any attempt to understand, they profile.....you could say they're just like the brakes on the Corvette Z06 in the article.

you obviously cant read either give it another shot, The quote saids the vette has alot of grip, and that its not some flimsy racer despite its plastic interior, and goes on to say it has a well balanced transaxle layout......now that is verbatim, so again what are you talking about???

this is NO flimsy wannabe racer with suspicious aerodynamics, pretentious brakes and a haunted chassis engineer by Dr. Fu-Man-Chu. No, it has a well-balanced transaxle layout. And grip, lots of grip."

I can read. However, I missed the definitive "no".

They're just like the people who run AutoSpies...to start flame wars and more traffic!

Exactly, these magazines are written for a select group of people, after years and years of brainwashing, these people find it hard to adjust to change. If European car magazines did end up showing no bias they would lose the most hard core of followers.

Now that I think about it... GM only needs to speed money on the interior for the new model - and perhaps the ride quality of the Z06. It's great looking, has a wonderful drivetrain layout, got lots of thrilling power, and handles well. They don't need to spend all that money on all the stuff that is right about the Corvette. When the time is right, they can just borrow some bits from the ZR1 and from future models.

Wow... those guys bothered to put the Lexus LF-A concept on one of their covers. I'm surprised; weren't they Lexus-haters too?

THE IRONY is that the English cant make a decent car, jealousy.lol

I don't blame the Brits downplaying the American cars, we DO have cheaply made cars. And as for the Z06, a sport car with a top speed of 200mph, you DO NOT build it with cheap material, and you DO NOT call it a bargain. With such performance you need to make it wow the people when they see what material its made of, but it doesn't. Now, going back to the Brits, their Aston Martins are expensive, very sexy, but WAY overpriced for the performance they provide, compared to an M6 or 911. Do they have quality? yes, are they reliable? HELL NOO... So if the American car magazines downplay the Astons for bad reliability they have the right to do so just like the Brits have the right to talk bad about our quality. But do we do that? hell noo, and why? because we're idiots!!

Why can't we do both? I've been asking this question for years. Even when we do it, its for a very limited run, ie: Ford GT.

I feel sorry for english people, most of then won´t tell you but within they think they are the best people in the world but they are not doing anything to backup that thinking, americans at least have a big auto industries.....Tata owns Jag and Land Rover and next year one of those will be killed cause they have no will to fight for their industry. Not all english are like that, but most of them....Americans thing almost in the same way, Japanese, Germans, Italians, Argentina, Brazil, Call it: NATIONALISM....Stupid but true...

I agree on the reasons for the hate and, rightfully, it will take a while of sustained success (not just the latest offerings) before American cars are fully and consistently lauded. If the U.S. auto manufacturers are compared to a once-great athlete, then this recession represents the rock bottom of a long bout with alcoholism. Don't expect anyone to pat them on the back for going to rehab on someone else's dime. Besides you can gripe about the lack of praise from the foreign press, but don't forget that American public wasn't praising them enough in the only meaningful way--by buying their cars.

— 1995e34 Oh my God I could have posted every thing you said verbatim, is it cold out side, do you see ice on the windows... something we completely agree on. I must ad if I may, that looking at the position GM is in, despite what anyone feels about how it was freed up to do what it does best, make cars. Within the next 5 years this well be a pivotal point for the company, and I believe the next Corvette will stun the automotive world because its a car widely accepted sans the interior and cheap feel of it. GM has the money to put into the cars, not so much in trucks to make them competitive again. I've seen recently the SRX, Terrain and La Crosse, these cars reek of quality, no rebates needed. It they get the ATS right, that means a completely new game for GM, because it will compete directly with BMW 3 Series the same as the CTS competes successfully with the 5 Series, and automotive triumph if possible on fronts.

Ford definitely has it mojo kickin' off way before everyone thought and it the new Focus is anything close to the Fiesta, what weak link will Ford have in its lineup? They have the better tech (so does GM) for less in some cases, and the Taurus might be large, but it shows Ford can still do great cars.

Chrysler with the help of Fiat could have a resurgence, we just have to wait and see. The 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee is awesome looking.

Hey 001, I submitted an article on the new BMW M1 a few weeks back but it never saw the light of day. Could you install a system which tells us if our articles have been published or not?

HyundaiSmoke, I believe Americans do tend to shun new products at first, like we did with Hyundai, but we tend to embrace them over time, like how we have taken to the Sonata. I would purchase the V6 model in black thank you with black interior over the Honda Accord. The new ix35 will be just awesome, and its something Ford should have done and import the Kuga here in place of the Excape because the ix35 has such bold styling. And of course, the complete acceptance of the Genesis. It does take time, but eventually with good product and uniqueness, companies will do well. Mitsubishi was doing well in the 80's but feel out of favor due to poor product quality. They have been in the U.S. market forever and still can't get it together. That is truly unfortunate. The Lancer Evo X is the only product I would consider from this car company.

I'll reply to this, as the first paragraph is, untypically for here, on the money.

There are still many easy ways be derisery about US cars and more-so US motoring, not least IMO the apparent neccesity for individuals to drive around in 3 ton SUVs and pickups. US fashioned cars have rarely overlapped in style, taste, technologies, size, economy or practicaly with corresponding trends in europe - at any point in time any US-only (non-global) model will seem outlandish and alien on the streets of the UK. How the british _public_ reacts seems usually to be relative to the vehicle's age - everyone smiles at a Bel Air or a classic Mustang, even some '70s boats, few people (myself included) would see the point of a '90s or '00s left-hooker (although Mustangs are gorgeous IMO), and the Escalades, Jeep SRTs etc. you see in town are just gauche.

As for journo's, well you know they have inches to fill, and god-help any who breaks ranks with what they think the public wants to hear. But do they dominate the public's buying decisions? Not as much as they'd like, I'd like to think - when a US car is practical (RHD!), characterful and competative (and why can't they be?), they seem to sell well enough.

Hence all the PT-Crusiers, Jeeps etc you see around. And the 300C I am looking at now, which is a fine looking car, and I would really like one. But I wouldn't trade an XJR for it ;9

One thing I do 'hate on' - US netizen's habit of repeating, ad-nauseum, some nonsense phrase they saw on the interwebs - goodness I 'hate on' that!! :)

BTW I was refering to 1995e34's post...

I think it’s because Americans are clueless when it comes to cars while at the same time spewing crap out about cars as if they are speaking facts. Americans as a group are probably the most car dumb nation among industrialized countries. How else can you explain a brand like Lexus having success in the USA while the rest of world doesn't seem as impressed and are not buying them? It’s either the Americans are uninformed, or the rest of the world that is uninformed. I’d go with Americans being uninformed.

LexSucks, I tend to agree. The difference will be the next generation of youth exposed to information and technology. The world is getting smaller, and the automotive world will have to make themselves relevant now with this market or they will loose them.

It's all compensatory. The British have just as many problems, if not more. Granted designers across the pond have a bit keener eye, they still have no leverage to bash.

I think http://tinyurl.com/ye9fuz9 explains a lot -

(yeah, I secretly wannabe the 12.8L king of the gypos!)

America is the GREATEST country the world has ever seen (no offence intended) I am not saying that America is perfect either but I will always be proud be an American. Naysayers be damned...

America is the greatest and Dinosaurs are ment to internally combust!!!

nah... that's just George Bush

The original post was mine, both as the Editorial Director of automotivetarveler.com and the Editor of Chevy Enthusiast, coming this November from Amos Automotive (publishers of Musclecar Enthusiast and four other titles.) I wrote the original post on automotivetraveler.com as I read -- or try to read -- about 50+ magazines a month, automotive, travel and lifestyle, even food magazines. I scan them to look for ideas both for my web site as well as for Chevy Enthusiast.

I really enjoy reading all the UK pubs, no matter what they say about US-made cars, but their unfair and biased commentary is getting old. The British have basically sold-off or killed-off their native-based auto industry. It started in the sixties and is just now concluding. And what happened in the UK can happen here; we got a taste of it this year with the virtual nationalization of two of the Detroit Three. The UK auto industry never recovered and the powers that be, especially at GM should view what happened as a cautionary tale.

The Chrysler-Fiat alliance needs to look at the ultimate demise of the Rover Group after its divestiture from BMW. Unlike Daimler, who after taking over Chrysler (and with it its accumulated cash hoard back in 1999) basically gutted the company, BMW tried to turn things around, then basically gave away the company, in much the same way as did Daimler. Unfortunately for Rover, no one, not even the Chinese stepped in to save Rover. Chrysler came very close to suffering the same fate and is still not out of the woods yet. Fiat-engineered cars are still 12 to 18 months away. That we didn't see any cloaked in camo this summer would seem to indicate that 18 months is more likely.

Back to the topic at hand, the quality of US-built cars and in this increasingly competitive market. For the most part American cars are as well built, economical, and as safe as their imported counterparts. Our British cousins like to point out, in Car and Top Gear especially, how horrible the interiors are in the Chrysler products that are sold in Europe. No secret here -- one of the by products of the mismanagement and cost engineering by Daimler over the last seven years -- but I think we're already seeing change, albeit slow. Some of the cars the Brits seem to gush over, especially at the price points they're marketed at, are equally terrible. It's all relative.

In terms for bang for the buck, value, or whatever you want to call it, the Corvette and CTS are world class, especially the CTS when compared directly to their competition, specifically the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The issue, and I've said this many times, is that here in the US, because of cars built in the seventies and eighties, that two generations of Americans won't consider a domestic-branded car, not even go into a domestic showroom, no matter how good or competitive the car is, the current Malibu being the best example. If we don't buy our own cars, how can we expect them to sell in

Bravo ! Well said, Daimler ruined Chrysler, it doesn't excuse the interior quality issues but does explain it. My buddy bfg has been preaching the same thing for some time. I hope Chrysler pulls through this.

So many of the comments within this post are so typical of AutoSpies mentality. Argue first, read the article later. What Agent001 is saying is that American cars are almost never mentioned, but when they are given any accolades the words seeiningly come with a lot of pain and effort. The truth is that the Corvette is giving many a sportscar maker sleepless nights. Envy? No, more like frustration. If you lay the 'Vette out on paper it should not really compete. The thing has leaf springs front and rear for Christ's sake! That's something truck and SUV makers are now shunning! Yet, it runs rings around the Porsches and the Ferraris. It's somewhat crude, but it works, and works well. That said, how many American vehicles were really worth being exported? About 1/3 of the world drvies on the left side of the road. How many American vehicles were built in right hand drive? Many countries have engine-size-based tax systems. How many American cars have engine sizes less than 2.0L? The list goes on and on. These are some of the inherent reasons why Europeans shun them. They make no sense for their environment. We all know these things to be true, yet the moment somebody else says it the "Americans" in here cow them down. Those same "Americans" who take it upon themselves to be suddenly defensive are the same ones in here talking about how they want GM to fail so they can prove Obama to be a failure. I know I will get a flood of negative votes for this post but guess what. Who gives a shit? I have already spoken.

Our Cars in America are not as refined as eurosnobbish unreliable marked up hoots-pa! Yea American autos might not corner as good but they F@ching start!