Why is the rest of the world faster than the USA?

[Spacegoat]

I could easily say that Americans can't turn right.

But I know that's not true.

 

[filphil89]

This certainly has turned in to the international pissing contest. lol

 

[Jake_The_Snake]

meh, i don't really like american cars or euro cars, american cars are too heavy and euro cars are too unreliable and expensive to repair. I prefer a light, nimble, powerful and reliable japanese car. If it weren't for japanese automakers pushing both american and european car manufacturers we wouldn't be where we are today with car technology. I feel confident saying that.

+1
That's why I own both Euro and Japanese vehicles. My first 3 vehicles were Ford and I vowed never to go back...unless somebody gives me a Ford GT.

 

[MEATHOLE1958]

+1
That's why I own both Euro and Japanese vehicles. My first 3 vehicles were Ford and I vowed never to go back...unless somebody gives me a Ford GT.

ford gt designed in britain, dont see what geographys got to do with a video game.

 

[Supercheyenne]

After perusing the leaderboards for the time trials in the new seasonal events section, I noticed that we (USA) were some way back? I'm not very good myself but I wonder if they have some sort of advantage?

More driving with smaller, quicker cars and lots of manual shifting maybe?

I *think I have my numbers correct.

GT sold 5 million copies...

1 million were in the US.
750k were in Japan
3 million sold in Europe.

Some of this is reflected in the leaderboards I'm sure (haven't seen them yet). It's just a matter of numbers.

 

[Jake_The_Snake]

ford gt designed in britain

Then Made in America, sent back across the pond, and displayed in your local village with a marked up import fee...madness!

 

[M-POWER_FTW]

Hold up... let me grab my popcorn! This is getting good!

 

[Sam48]

I *think I have my numbers correct.

GT sold 5 million copies...

1 million were in the US.
750k were in Japan
3 million sold in Europe.

Some of this is reflected in the leaderboards I'm sure (haven't seen them yet). It's just a matter of numbers.

You must also consider the number of people who signed up for GT Academy. As of now, no general number has been spat out as people are still signing on. Overall, however, the Japanese do seem to own most leader-boards. Not to be stereotypical, but it doesn't surprise me as it seem they do spend hours on hours gazing into those screens of theirs.

 

[otago]

I prefer a light, nimble, powerful AND reliable Japanese car.

Light, nimble? Name one modern japanese car under 1400 kg with 2+ liters engine (except MX 5)

Seriously, except Mazda all other japanese carmakers now produce some family crap with a very little concern about how it drives.

 

[RustyNut]

Light, nimble? Name one modern japanese car under 1400 kg with 2+ liters engine (except MX 5)

Seriously, except Mazda all other japanese carmakers now produce some family crap with a very little concern about how it drives.

Light by American standards, which means like 2k kg.

But I agree, pretty much all cars are too heavy these days for my liking. Not just Japanese cars but all cars. I honestly can't think of one mass produced reasonably priced car produced these days that I would want to own. Also, cars are really quite hideous these days.

 

[CCXRacer]

(sorry off topic) To some of the anti truck and SUV comments on here. We own a Duramax Diesel 2500HD, Why? Because it tows our toy hauler like a dream, wait...why do we have a toy hauler? Simply because the sport of motocross is the most fun and exciting sport (to me) out there. I own a SUV, '97 Jeep Grand Cherokee, why? because four wheeling is a blast and "less than 1% of the earth is paved" (General Tire Commercial lol.) Believe it or not most Americans have these Large unsporty vehicles for a reason. But big bling rims on a tahoe(or any vehicle) is a joke and useless. haha.

 

[Jake_The_Snake]

except Mazda all other japanese carmakers now produce some family crap

Sadly, almost ALL large car-makers make family crap(especially US auto-makers...sorry folks). It's deemed a necessary niche by their board of directors and unfortunately it has to be filled.

 

[otago]

But I agree, pretty much all cars are too heavy these days for my liking. Not just Japanese cars but all cars. I honestly can't think of one mass produced reasonably priced car produced these days that I would want to own.

Cause customers want gimmicks. Remember Toyota said it would increase FT 86 weight like 300-400 pounds more cause the car needs to be "more comfortable"?

For me cars around 1000-1100 kg have some special feeling of agility, which no 400 hp engine on 2 tons car can compensate

 

[Luminis]

First of, this is Gran Turismo we're talking about. I don't get how this is in any way, shape or form related to the support a young driving talent gets in Europe compared to the US. Because I kinda doubt that that has any impact on Gran Turismo time trials. For the overall qualitiy of race drivers, maybe. But most certainly not for the times posted on GT5's leaderboards.

Same with the cars and road structure in a given country. I doubt that it matters whether you're used to an auto daily driver or a manual one, simply because the difference in shifting is quite huge between raciing on a track and driving in traffic to visit your grandma.

That said, this reminds me a lot of a question that arose in the StarCraft community: Why are Korean people so good at StarCraft? Simply put, because a lot of them put a lot of effort and time into it. And I for one am fairly certain that the same is true for Gran Turismo and this 'America vs. the Worl' thing.

In the case of Korean StarCraft players, it might very well be because of the way people look at StarCraft over there. If you're good at it, it'll get you money and chicks. Quite an incentive to practice, if you're asking me.
On the other hand, if you started boasting about your mad SC skillz over here in Germany, people would laugh at you, for the overwhelmingly most part.
And that's due to the fact that the game isn't popular over here. In Korea, StarCraft gets a lot of attention from the media, much like soccer on Europe.

And I for one am willing to bet that it's actually the same (to a certain extend) with Gran Turismo. If road racing isn't very popular in a given country (and judging by some previous posts, it's not very popular in the US), people won't start to flock to a game that's focusing on it. In my opinion, that's about all there is to it.

 

[RustyNut]

(sorry off topic) To some of the anti truck and SUV comments on here. We own a Duramax Diesel 2500HD, Why? Because it tows our toy hauler like a dream, wait...why do we have a toy hauler? Simply because the sport of motocross is the most fun and exciting sport (to me) out there. I own a SUV, '97 Jeep Grand Cherokee, why? because four wheeling is a blast and "less than 1% of the earth is paved" (General Tire Commercial lol.) Believe it or not most Americans have these Large unsporty vehicles for a reason. But big bling rims on a tahoe(or any vehicle) is a joke and useless. haha.

Sorry if I came off as "suvs are 100% pointless", I didn't mean it like that. I used to own a '95 2 door yukon, with a 4" lift and 35" tires, four wheeling's fun, and to tow stuff you need a truck. I just feel that the vast majority of suv owners would be better suited in a van or and awd station wagon, but people continue buying suvs because it's a status symbol. And for some reason here in the US, suvs are seen as sport. Which is really fing annoying when these "sport suv" drivers are constantly trying to race you and are constantly trying to prove something, what that is I dunno...

 

[Jake_The_Snake]

Gimmicks are what cause your "average joe/jane" to make a decision on a car. In an poll conducted here in America about what caused them to purchase their particular vehicle, most women would tell you "Because of where the cup-holders were located". FML

 

[iinsom00]

Light, nimble? Name one modern japanese car under 1400 kg with 2+ liters engine (except MX 5)

Seriously, except Mazda all other japanese carmakers now produce some family crap with a very little concern about how it drives.

Lancer Evolution

 

[Soxpomox]

Their speeds are metric? lol

Yeah...What the hell America? Didn't you say you were going to go metric with the rest of the world and then pulled out at the last second?

 

[Luminis]

Lancer Evolution

The current Evo X weighs like, what, 1650kg (~3300lbs)?
Not exactly light, if you're asking me.

 

[Jake_The_Snake]

Yeah...What the hell America? Didn't you say you were going to go metric with the rest of the world and then pulled out at the last second?

Because we're stupid. The common masses still use the English system, but the US Government and military were apparently smart enough to change it.

 

[CaptainHarlock]

Yeah...What the hell America? Didn't you say you were going to go metric with the rest of the world and then pulled out at the last second?

In the 80's there was a budget crisis, and President Ronald Reagan eliminated the Office of Metrication. That was pretty much the end of the United States conversion "effort".

I remember in the 70's in school there was a huge push for the metric system. All of my teachers kept saying "it's better! It goes by tens!". Yeah, "tens" of units that we had to convert BACK to the English Standard to make any sense out of. Now it would take far too much money to convert our industry and make all the changes to convert us over. Which is why we just print the metric equivalent on a lot of products. What's cheaper? To convert an entire industry? Or just print "20 fl. oz. (591ml)" on a soda bottle?

 

[Jake_The_Snake]

In the 80's there was a budget crisis, and President Ronald Reagan eliminated the Office of Metrication.

+1 Great job "trickle down economics"! Now I am off to watch Top Gear(UK) tell me about all the great cars that we can't get here.

 

[CaptainHarlock]

Because we're stupid. The common masses still use the English system, but the US Government and military were apparently smart enough to change it.

The fields of science and the military use it because they have to deal with international bodies and other military powers. We use it to a degree, just we're more familiar with the English Standard system, and it would be too costly to convert our industry now. It's cheaper to print 591ml on a bottle of soda than to make it a metric size.

 

[HumanDestroyah]

So the image i have of some Americans wanting to get the biggest pick up with the largest engine displacement says nothing

My truck worked wonders up in alaska. Not enough grip on the ice w/4WD? problem solved, 8ft of truckbed packed with snow =]

Quick story, I was at the bar with a friend of mine and saw 2 alaska state troopers come busting into the bar looking for someone. I didnt pay any mind until i left. there was an 18pack of beer that looked like it was thrown in the bed of my truck (judging from how the snow looked around it). Free gift from the bar? Or some unlucky drunk was slugging down beers in the allyway and boned out sans the brewski's

The moral: My truck gave me beer. Amen.

 

[CaptainHarlock]

Guys, the problem isn't the people who actually have a need or use for these trucks/SUVs. It's the soccer moms who haul their kids around because they have this false sense that they're "safe", and the guys who delude themselves that it's "for towing my boat" that they don't own, because they're compensating for something. Anyone who lives in Miami and says "I need my SUV to drive through 3ft. of snow" is DELUSIONAL. That was the real problem, everybody was buying whether they had a reason to or not. They could have just as easily bought a Subaru Outback, but they had to get an Escalade because they want to "go off roading". Please, you're driving a $65,000 SUV through the mud? I find that hard to believe.

 

[Cavallo Rosso]

You'll never see another American F1 driver, just like you will never see a Chinese F1 driver. Too much traffic in the streets, no chance to hone driving skills.

And of course, why should one country be on top when there are 250 countries that have this game. If GT5 was an Olympic sport, then maybe, we'd wind up winning everything like we Yanks always do....in the Olympics that is. =)

 

[Jake_The_Snake]

I also think that a lot of us Americans(and other countries) forget how our racing style came about. During prohibition bootleggers were running booze all over the United States. They bought big engined "stock cars", beefed up the suspensions, chassis, and engines so that they could outrun revenuers on the back roads of America. It was the original American rally circuit and illegal to boot...which is cool. This led to racing eachother around fields during their downtime...which led to "stock car" racing circuits. If we had maintained the backroads evasive driving ideals, the US driving styles would be very different than they are today. I would much rather see a breakneck race through rural North Carolina tobacco country than go sit and watch giant cars drive...no scratch that...turn left 500 times around an oval track.

And as for American drivers in Europe. Didn't Carroll Shelby own Le Mans in his GT40?

 

[Sum1s2pid]

We're fat in real life, and as such, so are our virtual drivers. The extra weight hurts our times. GT5 is that realistic. Thanks, Kaz.

 

[Shadow Wulf 2k]

We're fat in real life, and as such, so are our virtual drivers. The extra weight hurts our times. GT5 is that realistic. Thanks, Kaz.

Curse my gluteous maximus!!!

 

[zzAli]

Watch Supersize Me and you'll know why