Stepping Up

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JohnBM01

JohnBM01

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JMarine25
GTPlanet, you may well know that there are car companies that strive to push themselves to be better than other car companies. Whether the task is offering better automobiles in class or better automobiles overall, a car company has to step up and give themselves a chance to take on the world. When you're the CEO of a car company and you're producing somewhat substandard cars, you'll need to step up to be the best. Honda stepped up with their cars, as their Accord and Odyssey are still regarded as very reliable and very safe cars. Nissan came up with their Titan. Whoever would have thought a Japanese company would come up with a mean truck to take on America's big three? And not to mention another truck from a Japanese company taking on the big three in NASCAR? Ford stepped up an already mean truck and make it better. Then of course, the new Superduty is out now, looking to further take on its rival trucks from General Motors. So in any event, GTPlanet, this topic is to ask and answer the following question:

"Who has stepped up in the automotive industry?"

GTP, this can be about companies known in America, known in Europe, known in Japan, Australia... basically, who's stepped up around your neck of the woods. So that can mean that Renault can step up with wonderful styling with their cars and great reliability. This can mean that Daihatsu can provide a great threat to other Japanese minis, so I talked about mostly America, but you can be free to talk about who stepped up in the automotive industry. Tell us not only WHO stepped up, but WHY and/or HOW they stepped up. Reply now to kick this topic off.
 
Dodge with the SRT4. As much as I hate to say it (because it is ugly as sin) it's a major step for domestic car engineering and performance/price. It does a great job competing in a class where it was generally thought Americans had no place to be...yet it steps up to the plate nicely. Ford also did somewhat the same thing in 2003 when they released the 390hp cobra. That was one hell of a punch to swing at the vette, and I think it was a well placed punch.
 
Cadillac. They're finally where they said they'd be 15 years ago. They managed to refresh a hopeless product line and take it to the Germans and Japanese on their own turf. For the first time I can recall there is actually a Caddy that I want, and I'm not a retired resident of Boca Raton.

The Koreans. They're really on the ball in terms of closing that gap between them and their neighbor across the straight. They're not there yet, but they sure are trying hard and it shows.

Audi. At least in the US market. 20 years ago they were the red-headed stepchild, now they are a major player. They need to get weight down and long term quality/reliability up, but so does Mercedes and BMW. They poached BMW's head of steering development, so it won't be long before the handling gap is reduced. Of course, we will all see how the new 'nose' works out.


M
 
Agreed about Audi, i would say the same with the Euro market as well as the US market. even as far back as 12 years ago their models were no match to BMW or Merc, now their cars from the A3 to the A8 are every bit as good as their rivals, if not better. Before then, they were only slightly more desirable than the equivalent Ford or Vauxhaul/Opel - probably on a par with Saab or Volvo.

In fact when i think about it, the whole of the VW group have all moved up a notch from where they were 20 years ago. A Golf is now a viable alternative to a BMW compact instead of a Focus or Astra. A Seat is now an alternative to a Peugeot or Renault rather than a Kia or Hyundai. Audi as mentioned above. Lamborghini is a serious Ferrari alternative now the quality issues are sorted and Skodas are no longer a total embarasment to be seen in.
 
I was going to name VW as well. They have gone from making boxy little economy cars to making sleek, attractive, well built, cars, which can easily compete with the Japanese. Additionally, their Phaeton is, in my mind, the most attractive car in its class. I'd love to see VW bring out a 3-series and 5-series competitor.
 
Oh, I forgot Mazda and Nissan as well, for their recent revival. Both went from sucking wind to leading the pack in just a few short years. They've really raised the bar in a lot of areas.

I'm hesitant to agree with you guys about VW, though. My wife's car is a '03 Jetta Mk IV with 1.8 turbo and sports package. Its a good car, but not brilliant. Its solid and substantial, but somewhat frumpy and not really into having a good time. The interior is not wearing well, the seats are uncomfortable and it leaks when it rains sometimes, which is infuriating for a car costing half as much. Sometimes we wished we'd have spent the extra $ for the Mazda 6s.


M
 
I'd have to disagree with VW, despite my love for the Golf. While VW does make good, sporty cars, along with their recent gutsy move into the luxury segment (the Touareg and the Phaeton are both lovely cars), they have to work out some serious reliability issues. VW is one of the worst manufacturers in terms of reliability, as they have recently only been ranked ahead of Land Rover, Kia, and Daewoo in the area of reliability. My instructor has had many problems with his '03 Golf TDI, and has had bad experience with the mechanics at the VW dealership (one dimwitted mechanic emptied out the transmission fluid when he was not supposed to, my instructor was almost charged for that error!).

On the other hand, VWs are a blast to drive, they are priced well and have good options available. I find the golf to be a comfortable car to drive, even with the stiff suspension, and I like it's seats. The controls are big and easy to find, and there is tons of space in the inside and in the trunk (as far as hatches go). The interior is good, it feels and looks well built, even for a $20,000 car.
 
Nissan has the title nailed - they've stepped up far beyond imagination.

Ev0
they have to work out some serious reliability issues. VW is one of the worst manufacturers in terms of reliability,
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So's Mercedes and Volvo - and they do just fine. ;)

VW is a great rebuilding effort - just as Nissan is - because they went from nothing to everything in about ten years. In 1991 you couldn't pay someone to drive a Passat; now they're offered with four engines in two bodystyles with two transmissions and two drivetrains; Jetta's turned around too and their SUV is among the most popular premium SUVs despite having been out just two years. Plus, unlike Ford and Chevrolet, Volkswagen pruned the crap models at the risk of losing a few bucks: Eurovan and Cabrio got the axe last year. Desirability: VW's got it.
 
Ditto with the nissan bit. In a few short years, they did a 180 on the way their cars looked, were valued, and performed. Astounding changes, and very market-competitive cars. Nissan did it well.
 
Who do I think stepped up? If you notice, I didn't give my views. And of course, my voice is as much of a medium of opinion as yours. If you ask me, Mazda stepped up the most. With the styling and performance of newer Mazdas, I've grown fond of Mazdas now. I'm still a Toyota man when it comes to Japanese makes, but Mazda has stepped up. The more popular offerings are the nice 6 (or as I hear, the "Atenza" in Japan), the 3, or my favorite, the Renesis-powered RX-8. I thought Mazdas were rather dull cars (execption: the RX-7), and I never really gotten into them as much. But Mazda really got my attention the past few years.

In Europe, I think Audi really stepped up. You sportscar racing fans may know about Michael Scumacher embodied into a race car- the Audi R8. But for cars you CAN afford, I'd say that Audis are pretty superior. Have you the money, you can get an Audi perhaps with Quatro all-wheel drive and such. Who wouldn't want a trendy machine like the Audi TT? The car is trendy, but also pretty cool to see on the road. My brother jokes that this car looks the same at the front and rear. Personally, I think it's it's a nice machine. I wouldn't call it beautiful, but I'd call it a cool machine for those who have the money and garage space.

Mazda and Audi. And, oh yeah. I'll agree with Nissan stepping up.
 
JohnBM01
Who wouldn't want a trendy machine like the Audi TT? The car is trendy, but also pretty cool to see on the road. My brother jokes that this car looks the same at the front and rear. Personally, I think it's it's a nice machine. I wouldn't call it beautiful, but I'd call it a cool machine for those who have the money and garage space.
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You can't go anywhere in europe without seing loads of TT's, they were a stylish looking machine when they first came out, but they never recieved anything other than luke warm reviews in the car mags. This was because of its dull chassis dynamics, especially compared to its obvious rivals - the Impreza and Lancer Evo. Unfortunatly the type of person who was attracted to TT ownership (estate agents, hairdressers, insurance account managers, orange women with bleach-blond hair and long nails etc etc) has tainted, at least the british, view of what is really quite a good little car. It hasn't helped that the TT shares its chassis and engine with, amongst others, a Skoda! - and it undercuts it price-wise by £10k!
 
I hate the TT. Way too much understeer to be considered a good sports car (at least based on my GT3 experiences with it).

I gotta agree with John on how Mazda has stepped up. Amazing styling on their cars now, especially when compared to their cruddy styling only a few years ago (With the exception of the RX-7, beautiful car).

Toyota needs to step up in the performance category. Once next model year comes, the only performance car that they will offer is going to be the Corolla XRS...

But, they do have plans to bring back the mighty Supra, so here's to hoping for a speedy development process. Hopefully they can think about bringing back an MR2 Turbo as well. Just don't give it styling cues that make it look like it was designed by the Queer Eye guys (as with the most recent generation of MR2s).
 
jaguar had two cars in 1994, both old. today they have four families (x type, s type, xk, xj) of cars with mutliple models of each.

additionally they were perenially at the bottom of the quality surveys. they arent exactly at the top, but they have managed to do a good job. while many might say it was fords money that did it, it was jaguars design and engineering that led to thier first V8. and current xk. profits from those brought about all the others. ford just gave them money and oversight for the most part.

audi has done pretty much the same thing. although thier product has had much closer tie in to mother VWs.
 
Subaru - For their advancement in AWD technology and for being the first in the country to sell an entire vehicle line with AWD.



-Mark
 
Ev0 - You forgot the Scion tC in toyota's lineup. It is a fairly sporty model, and I would take it any day over the Corolla XRS.
 
ShobThaBob
Ev0 - You forgot the Scion tC in toyota's lineup. It is a fairly sporty model, and I would take it any day over the Corolla XRS.
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Ah, I forgot, the one car from Scion I'd actually buy, unless I bought an xB just to strap some dynamite to it to end it's misery. But technically, Scion is it's own brand. It's like Chrysler and Dodge. Similar cars, same parent company, different brand name.
 
I was thinking about Subaru, too. Only five or six years ago, their top car was a mildly succesful, non-turbo, somewhat sporty coupe with only cult popularity. Suddenly, they are at the top of the Import Performance heap, with one of the best performance cars available in america.
 
Ev0
Ah, I forgot, the one car from Scion I'd actually buy, unless I bought an xB just to strap some dynamite to it to end it's misery. But technically, Scion is it's own brand. It's like Chrysler and Dodge. Similar cars, same parent company, different brand name.
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Eh, I guess. Scion is Toyota's sporty kid division, so it's no wonder than Lexus, the high end luxury division, doesnt have any sports cars - because they arent supposed to.
 
Ethix101
Subaru - For their advancement in AWD technology and for being the first in the country to sell an entire vehicle line with AWD.



-Mark
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What about Jeep and Land Rover? Or are you being one of those "AWD is different from 4WD" people?
 
For those of you in Europe, are there any companies in Europe or any imports that are stepping up in Europe? How about you all in Asia?
 
M5Power
What about Jeep and Land Rover? Or are you being one of those "AWD is different from 4WD" people?
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I imagine he meant "even in cars", since Jeep and LR run exclusively truck (SUV) model lines.

I agree with pretty much everything here. I'd have to say that Nissan is easily the biggest turnaround – just a few years ago, who would've thunk that they'd be doing so well? (All of their cars back then were incredibly forgettable "also-rans".) Even if you don't like the Murano or don't like the styling of the Quest, you have to admit that they've injected a lot into their lineup.

So, Nissan takes the prize for having a speedy revival – It's amazing to think how quickly they've changed since the current-gen Altima came out.

Audi's taken a nice, gradual climb, although I still see very, very few Audis on the roads. Lamborghini's taken a good turn, if you're into that kind of thing. In fact, the whole VW unit has been doing nicely. Ford took a quick upswing with the Focus, then wowed everybody with the new F-150 (I have to say that the new 500 and Freestyle look really disappointing though, and the Freestar is already a disappointment). Chevrolet seems to be trying to get somewhere, but I'm not sure where. Cadillac is pretty close to Nissan for quick-turnarounds, although it took them forever to get from the 2nd-gen Escalade to the CTS. I'm quite impressed with Volvo – they've also taken the slow-but-steady route, and it's worked really well… I've seen quite a few new Volvos on the roads these days. Mercedes is on an interesting upswing, although I'll wait to see how the technology plays out in the future (same for BMW). Can you imagine how much of a pain in the butt it'll be for some car restorer 50 years from now to restore a BMW with an iDrive unit? Land Rover scored well with the Range Rover, and the new LR3 at least looks interesting. Honda's a dependable company for incremental improvements. Acura's been on a good upswing, also going from forgettable to quite distinctive vehicles. And Chrysler/Dodge – they've gotten a really good rep amongst enthusiast drivers thanks to the SRT lineup, and the 300/Magnum are knockout cars.
 
the problem is that most companies arent able to keep hitting home runs.

chevy malibu
ford freestar
nissan quest
dodge durango (im putting this one in coz its ugly. they coulda done so much more with that very capable platform and amazing HEMI engine.)
toyota solara and lexus SC430 (both hideous. an insult to all able visioned people)
acura TSX and TL (if only they could have been RWD!!)
VW phaeton
BMW recent styling

etc etc etc.
 
JohnBM01
For those of you in Europe, are there any companies in Europe or any imports that are stepping up in Europe? How about you all in Asia?
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TVR - Have quite a line-up of cars now (as long as ultra-raw, ultra-fast, ultra-looking sports cars are your thing) and have been working hard to remidy their biggest problem - build quality and reliability, with the injection of cash from the Russian business-man whose just bought the company, things can only get better.
 

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