Conceptions/Misconceptions Over Cars

Grandea GTR
This could be questionable.

Double-caliper brakes have better stopping power than single-caliper ones.
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I think that possibly ties into the obsession with ultra-large brakes. on street cars. The bigger, the more complicated and the more slots, holes and whatnot, the better... at least in the eyes of the buying public.
 
Technically, bigger brakes and especially brakes with several pistons do have more stopping power than smaller ones.




It's just that braking power hasn't been the limiting factor in stopping cars since the mid 1970s.
 
*People who hate new cars for no reason
*911 or porsche in general hype people...
*BMW people... if it's ain't bmw it's worth nothing it's just pile of...
*People who think that only german or japanese made cars are good and hate all other makers in general but never had driven one of their made cars...
*People who think that having 10 + years old luxury make then look cooler then people who have new subcompact car...

The list can go on...
 
I didn't want to, I really didn't, but I just can't help myself. I have to know.
7up747
*911 or porsche in general hype people...
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As a general fan (but probably not "hype person"?) of Porsche and especially the 911 platform myself, I have to ask: Why?

More specifically, why single out Porsche when literally every manufacturer has a subgroup of owners who are knobs?

I especially would like to know, as you go on to say:
7up747
*People who think that only german or japanese made cars are good and hate all other makers in general but never had driven one of their made cars...
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(bolded for relevance)
So...yeah. Driven lots of Porsches then, to know what they're all about?
 
7up747
*People who hate new cars for no reason
*911 or porsche in general hype people...
*BMW people... if it's ain't bmw it's worth nothing it's just pile of...
*People who think that only german or japanese made cars are good and hate all other makers in general but never had driven one of their made cars...
*People who think that having 10 + years old luxury make then look cooler then people who have new subcompact car...

The list can go on...
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First one, I do like porsche's, they do have curves and they have been quite legendary cars since long ago...they do somehow have that charm in them.

Second one though...That could even work for Mercedes-Benz, the vice-versa way. People that love BMW, and the others with Mercedes-Benz. There's always gonna be a 50/50 between these two.

Third one, I can agree. I mean come on, that's just pretty stupid and biased, it's like you'd be against a car manufacturer for some stupid reason....Like: "That actually looks decent but we can't have it Europe? That's bollocks, screw that car then." ...and for last one, depends. There is some luxury that look good, the other, just extravagant.
 
Misconception: "Korean cars are low-quality and poorly made".

Seriously, some people still believe this. That's what my dad said when I suggested for him to get a new Hyundai Elantra as a car to drive to work.
 
It is amazing how much they've improved, but to be fair it wasn't too long ago they were troublesome cars. I can see how some might still believe they aren't all that.
 
Turbo
Misconception: "Korean cars are low-quality and poorly made".

Seriously, some people still believe this. That's what my dad said when I suggested for him to get a new Hyundai Elantra as a car to drive to work.
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I'm pretty sure this comes from the fact that they were behind other manufacturers in previous years. Of course, things improve over time.

At least that's the case with Hyundai. I don't know a single thing about Kia.
 
Custom878
I'm pretty sure this comes from the fact that they were behind other manufacturers in previous years. Of course, things improve over time.

At least that's the case with Hyundai. I don't know a single thing about Kia.
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Well really it was about the time the first i30 came out that Hyundai stepped up their game and that's now 10 years ago.

Kia is the same, considering that they're essentially sister companies. And yet they still get a bad rep from people who generally haven't even driven them.
 
Murcie_LP640
Well really it was about the time the first i30 came out that Hyundai stepped up their game and that's now 10 years ago.

Kia is the same, considering that they're essentially sister companies. And yet they still get a bad rep from people who generally haven't even driven them.
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Considering Hyundai/Kia were selling piles of crap for nearly 20 years I would say they've done a great job reviving their reputation in only 10. Although it probably doesn't help that they've held on to most of their name plates from their pos era, the name "Elantra" still gives me nightmares from the one we had when I was growing up. I don't recall it having many mechanical issues, but it may have had the most uncomfortable seats ever and we couldn't use the AC if we were on a highway since the engine was so weak.
 
Well I remember a few years ago test driving a Kia pro_Cee'd GT (again, stupid name but still) and for AU$30k or supermini money it was a really great quality small warm hatch.
 
Turbo
Misconception: "Korean cars are low-quality and poorly made".

Seriously, some people still believe this. That's what my dad said when I suggested for him to get a new Hyundai Elantra as a car to drive to work.
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Not surprising at all considering the fact the South-Korean manufacturers have only fairly recently started making cars that are genuinely not cheap/terrible.

What is ridiculous, is that I've heard the same thing said about the Japanese cars, by multiple persons.
 
My parents fell into that "Korean cars are junk" mentality but recently admitted that the recent Hyundais and Kias are quite good. They did say that the old rebadges had more furniture for less money (The Windstar was mentioned specifically, FWIW)

If only they could improve their gas mileage...
 
Murcie_LP640
Well I remember a few years ago test driving a Kia pro_Cee'd GT (again, stupid name but still) and for AU$30k or supermini money it was a really great quality small warm hatch.
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I've sat in a couple modern Hyundai/Kia's and they are indeed leagues above the '96 we had.

Legro
What is ridiculous, is that I've heard the same thing said about the Japanese cars, by multiple persons.
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Has there even been a period where Japanese cars were crap across the board? :odd:
 
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Legro
Not surprising at all considering the fact the South-Korean manufacturers have only fairly recently started making cars that are genuinely not cheap/terrible.

What is ridiculous, is that I've heard the same thing said about the Japanese cars, by multiple persons.
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That's different though and seems to stem from this regional idea of a certain car being better. When I've heard it in the States it's because people claimed U.S. cars to be better. But when I recall hearing it as a kid, this was a time frame when U.S. vehicles weren't at all better. Fords were known for their various problems, Chrysler for their overheating and electrical faults, and GM for making as cheap of vehicles as some Korean made at the time.

I can't think of one time in the manufacturing of Japan where their stuff wasn't on par or above those of America or Europe, and that goes beyond just cars. It never fails that you'll meet someone with some half cocked idea about things, that you may know far more about.
 
Northstar
Has there even been a period where Japanese cars were crap across the board? :odd:
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LMSCorvetteGT2
That's different though and seems to stem from this regional idea of a certain car being better. When I've heard it in the States it's because people claimed U.S. cars to be better. But when I recall hearing it as a kid, this was a time frame when U.S. vehicles weren't at all better. Fords were known for their various problems, Chrysler for their overheating and electrical faults, and GM for making as cheap of vehicles as some Korean made at the time.

I can't think of one time in the manufacturing of Japan where their stuff wasn't on par or above those of America or Europe, and that goes beyond just cars. It never fails that you'll meet someone with some half cocked idea about things, that you may know far more about.
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To be fair we're talking about the sort of people who would compare a 3-Series BMW with a Nissan Micra, so there's less of a comparison between national manufacturing and more of a sheer lack of understanding towards inexpensive motoring in the first place, add the fact the Japanese have never really been interested in pushing the more upmarket models in the European market to that and I can vaguely see how the misconception was built.
 
It's pretty amazing how much Korean cars have evolved over 10 years:

2007 Hyundai Elantra:




2017 Hyundai Elantra:


 
Legro
To be fair we're talking about the sort of people who would compare a 3-Series BMW with a Nissan Micra, so there's less of a comparison between national manufacturing and more of a sheer lack of understanding towards inexpensive motoring in the first place, add the fact the Japanese have never really been interested in pushing the more upmarket models in the European market to that and I can vaguely see how the misconception was built.
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I'm going off what I've heard in my experiences as to why it's wrong. I don't have any clue on the other stuff based in your region. Japan domestics in the U.S. should never be looked down on because they tend to last longer, have had as good or better reliability to American cars, get built in the U.S. these days. As well as having an upper market that can compete with U.S. and German upper markets. There is absolutely nothing past or present that anyone can point at and say "this duration of time Japanese cars were utter crap". South Korea domestics will have that blight on them and to those who can't be bothered to update their knowledge, still have it.

I think what's great about Hyundai and KIA is they're actually learning from how Japan did things and looked at the global car industry, and also taking inspiration from European luxury market.

I have a 2017 Sonata and I will say it's quite a nice car, compared to its predecessors and with so many selling these days I feel this misconception of S. Korean cars = awful, will fade in a couple more years.
 
Hyundai is still only a model generation away from when the main reason someone might have bought one was because it was even cheaper than the straight-to-fleet GM models, even if they are going on 15 years from when you absolutely shouldn't have bought one at all. But there was a period of time where you absolutely should not have bought one at all, and ask GM how easy that is to overcome.
 
I have an '05 Kia Spectra which I bought from my grandpa about 10 years ago. It was one of those in the "transitioning stage" years as I consider it, from junk to nice (much like that Elantra posted above). While it has its quirks and not-so-quick acceleration, it's served me quite well over the years. It certainly changed my attitude towards Kia's and Hyundai's. And the current ones look much better, so I can imagine how good quality they are now.
 
Turbo
It's pretty amazing how much Korean cars have evolved over 10 years:

2007 Hyundai Elantra:


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I'd actually say the 2006-2010 Elantra was pretty okay for what it was. Especially when you compare it to the generation before...
hyundai-elantra-2002-8.jpg

hyundai-elantra-2001-8.jpg


I remember the dealership I used to work at, got one with "low miles" and I distinctly remembered the hilariously retro sounding door chime. One of those cars that actually had a bell that was hit when the door was open.

Korean cars have come quite a long way. As I've mentioned before in the Guilty Pleasures thread, I quite enjoyed my time with the flagship Genesis G90 (Formerly known as the Hyundai Equus).
 
Tornado
Hyundai is still only a model generation away from when the main reason someone might have bought one was because it was even cheaper than the straight-to-fleet GM models, even if they are going on 15 years from when you absolutely shouldn't have bought one at all. But there was a period of time where you absolutely should not have bought one at all, and ask GM how easy that is to overcome.
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While the Daewoo days are long past for GM's small car division, seeing complaints about having to replace engine control modules in owner forums (while researching for a Spark article) suggests they aren't completely out of the woods yet.
 
niky
While the Daewoo days are long past for GM's small car division,
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Are they really though? Last time I checked all that essentially happened was Daewoo was renamed to GM Korea and instead of a Daewoo badge they instead had a Chevrolet badge for that market.

The factory still turns out some absolute rubbish.
 
  • Wings/spoilers are not purposeless on FWD cars.
  • A truck does not need to be huge and V8 powered to get the job done.
  • AWD and 4WD are not the same thing.
  • Small cars can be roomier inside than large ones.
  • A dull but fast sedan and a sleeper are not the same thing.
  • Engine displacement has less and less to do with the amount of horsepower the engine puts out.
  • Small cars can be safer than larger cars.
  • V8's aren't always colossal. See Italian sports cars of the 60s and 70s.
  • CVTs really aren't that bad.
  • 4WD cars aren't always too heavy.
  • Any car can be riced.
 

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