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Favorite Car Company

Jon'sLightBulbs said:
How much of a Jaguar do you really suppose is built upon a Ford? I'm talking real Jag, to wit: the XJ and XK. There is almost no semblance of Ford influence. Or a Ferrari built upon a Fiat? Almost none. Don't confuse management too much with final product. If you blindly drive a car from the higher echelon manufacturer built upon a "platform" from the mainstream manufacturer but are unable to discern the kinship, then the similarity and cross-platform is completely academic. It's a car, not a business school case study in shared management.
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Actually, Ford starting making Jaguar use their parts bin to reduce costs. Most of the parts in your Jag you can also find in your Taurus. But thats just Ford, you wont see that with Audi, Fiat, VW, etc.
 
bursty said:
Actually, Ford starting making Jaguar use their parts bin to reduce costs. Most of the parts in your Jag you can also find in your Taurus. But thats just Ford, you wont see that with Audi, Fiat, VW, etc.
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Your reference is to the S type - Taurus part sharing, as well as the X Type - Mondeo similarity. What shared platforms exactly are the XJ and XK built upon?

What, then of the SLK-Crossfire shared platform? Does this Chrysler - Mercedes connection diminish the "prestige" of Mercedes or the dynamics of the SLK? Of course not.

Shared platforms are completely meaningless in terms of driving experience. The Mustang is "based" on the Lincoln LS chassis. Tell me that

1. Driving both vehicles would have evinced the same and that
2. You would have known that without being first told.
 
bursty said:
Actually, Ford starting making Jaguar use their parts bin to reduce costs. Most of the parts in your Jag you can also find in your Taurus. But thats just Ford, you wont see that with Audi, Fiat, VW, etc.
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Was that sarcasm? Because Audi TT=VW New Beetle/Golf. The TT's engine is a little hotter (though it be the same engine with the same displacement), but the platforms are virtually the same. There's an Audi version of every VW car.

I say everyone's missing the point. You want a good car? 1965 Ford Thunderbird convertible. With all the money you save on insurance and payments, you'll be able to afford to keep the thing running. Old cars make people smile.
 
Jon'sLightBulbs said:
Explain, Demi-God.
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You assumed that no one who has purchased a Mercedes or BMW would list it as their favorite company, and it's simply not true.
 
Chaszmyr said:
You assumed that no one who has purchased a Mercedes or BMW would list it as their favorite company, and it's simply not true.
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Incorrect. I only asked that anyone who proclaimed the magnificence of either company should first deal with their service departments before forming an opinion. I assumed nothing.
 
How about Maserati?

www.maseratiamerica.com


They have some awesome designs, both interior and exterior. Also, they have a history of building great cars (like the 1967 Ghibli).

I believe they are owned by Ferrarri.
 
Dr. No said:
I believe they are owned by Ferrarri.
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Not anymore, full ownership was passed back to Fiat early this year, and rumours are that the Benetton brothers are buying the brand sometime later this year.
 
I'll always have a soft spot for SEAT cars. I know it's perceived as a budget brand, but I have a '96 Ibiza with 130K on the clock and it's still going strong, despite being in a head-on crash about two years ago (some guy was going the wrong way around a roundabout). That influenced my wife's decision to go off-list and get a Leon TDI FR 150ps as her new company car a few months back. The thing is unbelievably powerful, and it will still average 65mpg on the motorway. Of course, they're owned by Audi now, so the saga continues...
 
Badradio said:
Last I heard, they had. Maybe the deal was in progress, but I thought the engine in the Leon Cupra R was the same as in the Audi TT?
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VW own Audi as well, VW extensively platform and parts share between VW, Audi, SEAT and Skoda products.

VW are also in a fair amount of sh*t, that's why Porsche are buying such a large share in VW.
 
It's all a bit incestuous isn't it? At least if Porsche are getting involved there's a chance for a decent top-end to the new Leon line. The new 2.0 TDI is a backwards step from the current one.
 
Badradio said:
It's all a bit incestuous isn't it?
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Yep... just sit in a Lamborghini Gallardo and marvel in what is essentially an Audi A4 coupe :eek: ;) :p
 
Xtremehkr said:
I did leave out brands like Porsche, Maybach, RR, Bently, and Lambourghini, and Ferrari, among others, because they really do not serve anything other than a niche market. They are also vulnerable to eventual competition from larger companies who have the resources to develop better vehicles, should they choose to do so.
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Are you aware that Porsche in recent years has been the worlds most profitable Auto maker?


Another reason why I think BMW, MB, and Porsche are expanding their range of products.
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In the case of Porsche, they are expanding to strengthen their product line. They are using their profits for R&D to make better products, in much the same way that Apple does. It is nice that Porsche share holders didn't get greedy and squander their gains. This transaction with VW is going to be interesting to watch as Porsche's stock prices have fallen ~11% recently.

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iGav said:
VW own Audi as well, VW extensively platform and parts share between VW, Audi, SEAT and Skoda products.

VW are also in a fair amount of sh*t, that's why Porsche are buying such a large share in VW.
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The company is actually called VWAG (Volkswagen Automotive Group) and Audi is a part of that corporation as a whole. What is less known is that Audi has it's own sub divisions in the company hierarchy, their subsidiary is the company known as Lamborghini.

Part of the problem is that VWAG is too big for it's own good. I love Seat (would love an older Ibiza) but I think VWAG is spreading itself too thin. Their other probem is making cars like the Phaeton. Yes the Phaeton is an AWESOME car, it drives better, looks better, and rates better then Audi's A8 (it's sister car), but with the VW badge on the front, nobody want's to fork over the money. VW still has the image of "The Peoples Car" with models like the Beetle, and Jetta. People in the US have a hard time changing their view of VW in the Market place. One model that is doing well, is the new Jetta, and again the Touareg (Go USA SUV craze! :( :mad: ) .

I am a VW Loyalist, and have a website devoted to European cars, and currently own 4 VW's. Sadly I am becoming more disappointed by VW's US offerings as they continue to get larger, cost more, and look worse. I am going to be one of the first people to buy a new smaller model, if they ever decide to bring one over. The current Jetta is almost as big as my Passat, and the new Passat, looks like a Jack-O-Lantern to me.

I intend on keeping the Passat (hey it gets ~32 MPG, and has (with mods) ~220hp and 250 LB/FT of Torque not many cars do that) and want to get a new TDI in something "small" to use for work and local trips.


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840quadra said:
Yes the Phaeton is an AWESOME car, it drives better, looks better, and rates better then Audi's A8
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The A8's a far better driving tool... (my misses has one). The Phaeton is probably more comfortable to be driven around in, but then it should be considering how much it weighs :eek: it should pummel flat all the bumps it encounters :p

840quadra said:
I love Seat (would love an older Ibiza) but I think VWAG is spreading itself too thin.
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There was an interesting blog post by one of the Autocar staffers regarding SEAT... judging by their new and slightly strange and quasi-mpv range of cars, I cannot help but agree with him.

What do you think about Seat?

Are we really surprised that there are rumours flying around that the Volkswagen group wants to get shot of its Spanish arm? Sales for all its models are far from healthy at the moment and production has been cut again.

But Seat's current situation is all down to product mismanagement from the mother ship. In the mid-'90s we were constantly being told that Seat should become a Spanish Alfa Romeo. Emotional cars that you bought with your heart. The last Leon was almost the ticket, but take a look at the new one, not to mention the closely related Altea and frumpy Toledo, and see how closely they tally with that philosophy. Not very as far as I can see. You don't even get the message from driving them either - they all feel like a Golf (no surprise there then).

If Seat was allowed more freedom, and more differentiation from the rest of the VW family then it would be a success. As it is, it doesn't make sense at all.
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840quadra said:
VW still has the image of "The Peoples Car" with models like the Beetle, and Jetta.
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Thing is, by definition... VW is exactly that, and always will be. I find it ironic that they purchased 2 companies with almost identical brand qualities as themselves.
 
840quadra said:
Are you aware that Porsche in recent years has been the worlds most profitable Auto maker?




In the case of Porsche, they are expanding to strengthen their product line. They are using their profits for R&D to make better products, in much the same way that Apple does. It is nice that Porsche share holders didn't get greedy and squander their gains. This transaction with VW is going to be interesting to watch as Porsche's stock prices have fallen ~11% recently.

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Most profitable? or highest profit margin? Unless they are selling their cars a at a ridiculously high margin I don't see how they could be making the most amount of profit. Porsche doesn't sell that many vehicles.
 
gwuMACaddict said:
where the hell is EJBasile to tell us how awesome LandRover is? :D
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I'm right here. :D

Land Rover I think makes really nice cars, excluding the Freelander and the LR3 is boarder line. The last two revisions of the Discovery I liked too.

In my opinion, I love the looks, but the reliability is not wonderful as we all know.

I like mercedes but I'm not liking the new SLK class's front end, the M-Class is better than before but still ugly, the R-Class looks (perhaps is) like the chrysler pacifica (very very unattractive), the new S-Class looks bad with those big fender things on it and an unimpressive interior. The CLS looks like a banana and I'm not much of a coupe person so I don't like the CLK and CL models, So pretty much from Mercedes I like the C-Class, E-Class, and the G-Class. But I like them a lot. The E-320 CDI is one the best cars ever in my opinion 37mpg highway, yet a very nice car.

BMW is nice, I'm starting to get used to the new look of the 3 and 5 series. I really like the X5, but the X3 seems a little cheap to me. The Z4 is ok, but its front is a little weird looking.

Audi I like, I can say I like all of the models they are currently making.

VW was better. I don't like the new Jetta or Passat. The Phaeton was a failure but I do like the touareg (more than the Cayenne)
 
GM- Will buy Chevy,GMC, Pontiac, Saab, Cadillac, and Saturn. Hope GM though can do a turn around on Buick like they did with Caddy.

Ford- My selection is limited like Mustang and Fusion.

Nissan- Good cars overall

BMW- Excellent performance cars

Would not touch

Toyota- Cars are reliable yes. I am not disputing that. I don't like their designs( especially the new retro Toyota SUV ugly as hell) Toyota though is hyping hybrids too much. The extra cash you spend, it will be a few years before gas savings will balance out the extra dough. The batteries are expensive as hell($3,000-$5,000) What do we do with them when they are dead like other batteries? Plus the Prius gets 40 MPG real time. Just buy a small car. They can get close to what the Prius's numbers are. And cheaper too.

Mercedes/Chrysler: Their reliability is questionable. Merecedes has gone to hell ever since the Chrysler merger IMO.
 
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