Drove My Chevy to Tesco

I hired a car yesterday.

"It's a Chevrolet" said the lady.

Wow. A Chevy. No doubt a big V8, hopefully a soft-top. Lousy handling but wicked off the mark with a big throaty growl.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I was handed the keys to this...

It's a Matiz.

I was right about the handling though.

Dear! That's no "aspirateur à meufs"* like someone I used to work with, used to say...

*Aspirateur à meufs. Aspirateur = vacuum cleaner Meufs = slang for femmes, women.

Good luck with it Colin...

Its little on gas though init

turn the heater on..

..cause European cars are so much better styled

But you are right, that Chevy is Fugly... but never seen it around here, probably made especially for the Euro market

Its basically a Daewoo Matiz

Korean and Malaysian cars are ridiculously cheap

That will be the fucking day woo

EdelBrock wrote: ..cause European cars are so much better styled

I wouldn't put the market down to location, I'd put it down to budget, these cars are made for people who merely want to get from a-b as cheaply as possible and don't care about design, comfort or engineering.

EdelBrock wrote: ..cause European cars are so much better styled

But you are right, that Chevy is Fugly... but never seen it around here, probably made especially for the Euro market

What the chattering masses are trying to say is that Chevvy bought Daewoo or some other horrid Korean car company, and somehow think that changing the name from "car made by the application of origami to aluminium foil" to "Car carved from a single block of lead" will improve sales.

The Lacetti (Locetti?) is the same deal, and is doing VERY well for itself in various touring car series.

I'd rather have the lego car for driving round Ireland than a proper yank-tank chevy....there is no fucking WAY one of those could do the north coast road, and they'd probaby turn it away at the border with Donegal.

Sadly, although I'm exactly the sort of cheapskate they aim this muck at....I'd still rather have a 35 year old 2CV with missing doors and a goat living in the boot.

It does look like a Daewoo piece of crap... and we wonder why GM filed for Bankrupcy. Crysler started realizing that people actually DO care about styling (however it would be noce if they could put the quality behind the styling)... New cars are overrated. Prefer to be driving around in one of these:

or:

or

It is somewhat surprising that GM and Ford sell so many cars outside of the United States. Their cars are considered bland, cheap, kinda tacky, mediocre at best in the own country. Like buying cheap imitation brand shoes.

0_o wrote: It is somewhat surprising that GM and Ford sell so many cars outside of the United States. Their cars are considered bland, cheap, kinda tacky, mediocre at best in the own country. Like buying cheap imitation brand shoes.

One country I know that doesn't sell very many American cars...Japan.

(That's not meant to be anti-American or anything.)

Anyway, I don't drive, but glancing at the roads, I see mostly Japanese cars. And sometimes European cars here and there, like Minis, BMWs, Volkswagens etc...etc...

0_o wrote: It is somewhat surprising that GM and Ford sell so many cars outside of the United States. Their cars are considered bland, cheap, kinda tacky, mediocre at best in the own country. Like buying cheap imitation brand shoes.

They don't sell US models though, GM over here means Vauxhaul Vectras and stuff, and Euro-fords are either severely slimmed and lightened or are totally different machines, even if they share a name.

0_o wrote: It is somewhat surprising that GM and Ford sell so many cars outside of the United States. Their cars are considered bland, cheap, kinda tacky, mediocre at best in the own country. Like buying cheap imitation brand shoes.

The only place that really imports REAL American vehicles is China... which is in love with the Buick (mainly because of Tiger Woods ads). Its the only reason Buick wasn't cut from the list when they restructured before the backrupcy... fuckers had to let Pontiac go... I'll never forgive 'em :mad4:

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote: I learned to drive in one of these...still wish I had it...

I love the Fairlane... damn good looking car... and pretty light too, put in a huge engine and those things could take off What color was yours? 289?

leather_girl wrote:

0_o wrote: It is somewhat surprising that GM and Ford sell so many cars outside of the United States. Their cars are considered bland, cheap, kinda tacky, mediocre at best in the own country. Like buying cheap imitation brand shoes.

One country I know that doesn't sell very many American cars...Japan.

(That's not meant to be anti-American or anything.)

Anyway, I don't drive, but glancing at the roads, I see mostly Japanese cars. And sometimes European cars here and there, like Minis, BMWs, Volkswagens etc...etc...

Its not anti American, its just that Japan doesn't have the space for roads and sidewalks that the US does, and in Europe they still drive on horse carriage trails... My wife (then girlfriend) actually owned a Pontiac Grand Am*, and it was a pain trying to drive it around there.

Having a Pontiac was one reason I fell in love with her, but then I found out it had nothing to do with brand, but that she thought it was cool to have a car with the sterring wheel on the other side of the car. Amongst other later disappointments, she was a NO fan when I met her... when we moved to SC she changed over to Backstreet Boys and NSync

Reg wrote: Its basically a Daewoo Matiz

Korean and Malaysian cars are ridiculously cheap

I'm downsizing to an i10 for our second car. With scrappage the otr price is £5850. For that you get alloy wheels, electric mirrors, electric windows all round, remote central locking and six speaker stereo. 50mpg and £35 a year to tax. Seemed daft not to.

Japanese cars dominate everywhere, really. I remember when each European country would be predominantly full of it's own cars; Seats in Spain, Citroen and Renault in France, VW and Opel in Germany. I was in Spain at the weekend and at least 75% of the cars you see are Japanese.

I've driven loads of American cars and found them all to be pretty crap at anything but driving in a straight line. Slowly. As EB says, they're ideally suited to American roads which aren't that bendy and quite rough in parts.

I'm off to Cuba in a few weeks - will prepare a full report on motoring there on my return

Diamond 383 wrote: Japanese cars dominate everywhere, really. I remember when each European country would be predominantly full of it's own cars; Seats in Spain, Citroen and Renault in France, VW and Opel in Germany. I was in Spain at the weekend and at least 75% of the cars you see are Japanese.

I've driven loads of American cars and found them all to be pretty crap at anything but driving in a straight line. Slowly. As EB says, they're ideally suited to American roads which aren't that bendy and quite rough in parts.

I'm off to Cuba in a few weeks - will prepare a full report on motoring there on my return

Stiginoil?

Nice one Steve. I may use that.

Try to drive in my street with an American car... You will live souvenirs on all the houses and your car, if you can go through will look like an used handkerchief...

Jiphy wrote: Try to drive in my street with an American car... You will live souvenirs on all the houses and your car, if you can go through will look like an used handkerchief...

In Ireland an American car will attempt to turn a corner, and get jammed forever.

Doctor? wrote:

Jiphy wrote: Try to drive in my street with an American car... You will live souvenirs on all the houses and your car, if you can go through will look like an used handkerchief...

In Ireland an American car will attempt to turn a corner, and get jammed forever.

Its not our fault you guys can't build proper roads

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote:

EdelBrock wrote:

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote: I learned to drive in one of these...still wish I had it...

I love the Fairlane... damn good looking car... and pretty light too, put in a huge engine and those things could take off What color was yours? 289?

mine was that color...I think it had a white top instead of black...but it has been a while...and I believe it was a 289...chicks dug it...well...it was either the car or me, and I can't believe there were many chicks back then that really dug El Jefe...

My first car a was a 62 Mercury Comet. Actually had one girl I dated admit later that she mainly went out with me because it had a big backseat and she always wanted to try one out. Wasn't sure how to take it, but I took it anyways

and what are you doing on this thread anyways, while MCA has got something to prove!

There's a chap who races a Ford Anglia in that colour in the local drive-what-you-like saloon racing series (I mean LOCAL, like they race at 3 places in Ireland, and that's IT), he's fiddled with the suspension, and it gives that already quite US-styled Anglia, the look of a real 50's traffic light dragging hotrod. The best thing is, it holds it's own against some frighteningly modern and up-market racing machinery.

i rally don't know where to start with what is wrong with all of edel's posts, just spouting so much rubbish!

do you seriously believe american cars are better styled than european ones? & those ones you pictured are supposed to convince us they are better? those are some seriously horrible tanks.

don't get why septics think that the ultimate driving experience is going dead straight for miles. try some bends, something where you have to feel the road, communicate with the vehicle a bit & you know, use some driving skill.

here's two that both look lovely & drive like it too

I've often thought that superspeedways like Indy are just surrogate straights, thw only thing that needs to even acknowledge the "corners" is a NASCAR, and they hae the same turning circle as the Exxon Valdiz. (more horsepower though )

Hib, you driven either of those? I've never thought of the EType as being a good handler. I used to drive my bosses XJS years ago and it was fucking rubbish.

Americans just have a different impression of what makes a good car. I'm basing this opinion entirely on an advert for Cadilac that I saw on the telly over there. It was basically a film of two similar cars being driven at moderate speeds and they were wobbling about like mad. At the end, both cars were brought to a halt next to one another and they actually continued to wobble for about a second - several oscillations. Of course, the cars' dampers must have been doctored to behave like this, and they would have been undrivable. Or maybe they edited the film in some way to make the car more bouncy.

This isn't it, but look how they've exaggerated the body roll as these cars turn. European car manufacturers would show the cars completely flat through the tightest corners, Americans make a feature of the fact that they don't.

I don't know what any of this means, probably that Yerps buy cars because of the way they drive, how much fuel they use and how reliable they are and Yankie Doodles just buy then cos they're purdy and wobble a bit.

Most of them have fat arses too.

There you go - look at the bodyroll on that bad boy!

"Handles like a surfboard"

"Drives like a weeble"

What the bloody FUCK is this all about?

They've got an audience in a stadium for a man shaking his car to pieces. WHY???

You've got an HOUR to explain yourselves or I'm going to come over there and batter the lot of you.

The sad news is that I'm going to take my Chevy back to the hire company soon and will not be borrowing one again. I'd like to say I enjoyed the experience but I can't because I haven't.

Diamond 383 wrote: Hib, you driven either of those? I've never thought of the EType as being a good handler. I used to drive my bosses XJS years ago and it was fucking rubbish.

i wish!

i've been a passenger in an etype & i know they raced them...

the xjs is practically a yank car. it's a boat on wheels

Diamond 383 wrote:

What the bloody FUCK is this all about?

They've got an audience in a stadium for a man shaking his car to pieces. WHY???

You've got an HOUR to explain yourselves or I'm going to come over there and batter the lot of you.

The sad news is that I'm going to take my Chevy back to the hire company soon and will not be borrowing one again. I'd like to say I enjoyed the experience but I can't because I haven't.

That's a mexican lowrider.... not sure anyone gets those vehicles than them... plenty of jokes about their style.

hibster wrote: i rally don't know where to start with what is wrong with all of edel's posts, just spouting so much rubbish!

do you seriously believe american cars are better styled than european ones? & those ones you pictured are supposed to convince us they are better? those are some seriously horrible tanks.

don't get why septics think that the ultimate driving experience is going dead straight for miles. try some bends, something where you have to feel the road, communicate with the vehicle a bit & you know, use some driving skill.

here's two that both look lovely & drive like it too

Heres the difference though Hib, the cars you posted are high end vehicles that you most likely will never have any opportunity to own as they cost way too much. The ones I posted where all "average joe" vehicles. A big difference in price between a Ferrari / jag and a Mercury, Pontiac or Ford So no shit they handle better, they better be for 8 times the price

Diamond 383 wrote:

"Handles like a surfboard"

Obviously you've never been surfing