- 26,911
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
Hello, GT Planet.
I figured I'd tackle a usually debated story in the world of America's automotive public.
The question I'd like to ask is "why are Japanese cars so overrated and stereotyped in American auto culture?" I don't drive (except Gran Turismo), but time and time again, I hear so much criticism over Japanese cars. I'm not taking any sides, but I've grown to love Japanese cars because of the cool factor they produce. I even respect their ability to provide great handling characteristics despite the criticism. Among fans of Detroit muscle, "Japanese cars are not 5.0s." I think Japanese cars may not have 277hp or more (especially those in Japan), but what they lack in horsepower, they make up for in weight and handling.
Pick your side in the next two paragraphs as I try to emulate what a person WOULD say about the respective cars:
(American Cars) American cars have such a cool factor that actually is cool to drive. The best way to know that you represent the best of American muscle is to drive a potent V6 or a powerful V8 motor. "Honda Civic? Toyota Celica? Mitsubishi Eclipse? Here are some REAL cars: Chevy Camaro. Chevy Corvette. Dodge Viper. Ford Mustang. You can keep that Japanese jalopy of yours."
"You see, American cars are horsepower cars. And when it comes to sporty compacts, we do it much better and much more durable than those Hondas. All they know how to do is to make a Sunday driver uglier than it is. My girlfriend/boyfriend rides a muscle car. Let them talk about our car weight, our high horsepower, let them talk. You just bring your 'Fast and Furious' reject to the 1/4 mile, and we'll see who's better. It's all about V8s, forget Japan's cars."
(Japanese cars) Japanese cars are fun to drive, even if they don't have a 351 Windsor under the hood. A Japanese car is pretty nimble with exceptional handling that makes up what American cars lack in weight. As they cost less than domestic cars, they also have the tendency to be highly accessible and customizable to reflect the personality of the driver. For example, a young man into techno and hip-hop can reflect that with a stylish body kit and street-legal showoffs. A flirty girl can paint her car to reflect how sugar-sweet she can be. Her car and the way she customizes it is a reflection of her personality. These people tend to believe that Japanese cars are a better way to express yourself, even for those with American sport compacts.
"I love my Honda. You know, Civic, Element, S2000, and even the awesome NSX (all $90,000 of it). I heard the criticism all too many times. The fact remains that my car, despite lacking horsepower (until I upgrade my car with turbos and carbon fiber bodywork), surely DOESN'T lack a cool factor. Just because my car doesn't have the ability to rule Daytona or the strip at Pomona doesn't mean that I can't still have a CAR to work with. You American car lovers obviously forget that we have cars, not rocketships, for daily drivers and show machines. And by the way, how does it feel to have a Mustang get beat by an Impreza STi (recently Hot Rod magazine)? Criticize us carefully in the future, because we can and WILL make you eat your words!"
As you can tell, this issue is as much as a rivalry like Army/Navy, Ohio State/Michigan, Florida/Florida State, or USC/UCLA in college football. Of course, there is still Camaro/Mustang among American car lovers. I guess Supra/Skyline is a Japanese car rivalry. So where do you stand?
Questions you can answer are:
- Why are Japanese cars so overrated?
- Why do American cars rule Japanese?
- Of American and Japanese cars, which is better for me?
- Why are American car sales declining and Japanese are doing better?
So many questions. You can make your own and look for answers. This is an open topic about American and Japanese cars in which you are free to talk about. Go ahead and post them replies!
I figured I'd tackle a usually debated story in the world of America's automotive public.
The question I'd like to ask is "why are Japanese cars so overrated and stereotyped in American auto culture?" I don't drive (except Gran Turismo), but time and time again, I hear so much criticism over Japanese cars. I'm not taking any sides, but I've grown to love Japanese cars because of the cool factor they produce. I even respect their ability to provide great handling characteristics despite the criticism. Among fans of Detroit muscle, "Japanese cars are not 5.0s." I think Japanese cars may not have 277hp or more (especially those in Japan), but what they lack in horsepower, they make up for in weight and handling.
Pick your side in the next two paragraphs as I try to emulate what a person WOULD say about the respective cars:
(American Cars) American cars have such a cool factor that actually is cool to drive. The best way to know that you represent the best of American muscle is to drive a potent V6 or a powerful V8 motor. "Honda Civic? Toyota Celica? Mitsubishi Eclipse? Here are some REAL cars: Chevy Camaro. Chevy Corvette. Dodge Viper. Ford Mustang. You can keep that Japanese jalopy of yours."
"You see, American cars are horsepower cars. And when it comes to sporty compacts, we do it much better and much more durable than those Hondas. All they know how to do is to make a Sunday driver uglier than it is. My girlfriend/boyfriend rides a muscle car. Let them talk about our car weight, our high horsepower, let them talk. You just bring your 'Fast and Furious' reject to the 1/4 mile, and we'll see who's better. It's all about V8s, forget Japan's cars."
(Japanese cars) Japanese cars are fun to drive, even if they don't have a 351 Windsor under the hood. A Japanese car is pretty nimble with exceptional handling that makes up what American cars lack in weight. As they cost less than domestic cars, they also have the tendency to be highly accessible and customizable to reflect the personality of the driver. For example, a young man into techno and hip-hop can reflect that with a stylish body kit and street-legal showoffs. A flirty girl can paint her car to reflect how sugar-sweet she can be. Her car and the way she customizes it is a reflection of her personality. These people tend to believe that Japanese cars are a better way to express yourself, even for those with American sport compacts.
"I love my Honda. You know, Civic, Element, S2000, and even the awesome NSX (all $90,000 of it). I heard the criticism all too many times. The fact remains that my car, despite lacking horsepower (until I upgrade my car with turbos and carbon fiber bodywork), surely DOESN'T lack a cool factor. Just because my car doesn't have the ability to rule Daytona or the strip at Pomona doesn't mean that I can't still have a CAR to work with. You American car lovers obviously forget that we have cars, not rocketships, for daily drivers and show machines. And by the way, how does it feel to have a Mustang get beat by an Impreza STi (recently Hot Rod magazine)? Criticize us carefully in the future, because we can and WILL make you eat your words!"
As you can tell, this issue is as much as a rivalry like Army/Navy, Ohio State/Michigan, Florida/Florida State, or USC/UCLA in college football. Of course, there is still Camaro/Mustang among American car lovers. I guess Supra/Skyline is a Japanese car rivalry. So where do you stand?
Questions you can answer are:
- Why are Japanese cars so overrated?
- Why do American cars rule Japanese?
- Of American and Japanese cars, which is better for me?
- Why are American car sales declining and Japanese are doing better?
So many questions. You can make your own and look for answers. This is an open topic about American and Japanese cars in which you are free to talk about. Go ahead and post them replies!
As far as your unedited post is concerned, for some reason I don't remember calling muscle cars technological wonder cars. And you seem to insist that you were referring exclusively to mainstream cars then why don't you enlighten me as to what the big technological difference between mainstream cars and muscle cars is other than the fact that muscle cars were more performance oriented. Seems to me that both would be "old technology 70's American cars."
