All you have to do is look up & down the street in those pics: compact, subcompact, motorcycle- no SUVs, trucks, caddys. Europe has been rockin the small car market a lot longer than we have, so they get all the good ones (i.e. this one, ford focus RS, audi S3, etc). We have been focused on "bigger is better," so the car companies never bothered to bring them to this market until recently (i.e. our MS3) and have only touched the surface.
Civic Type R
- Thread starter Tyrdstorm
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All you have to do is look up & down the street in those pics: compact, subcompact, motorcycle- no SUVs, trucks, caddys. Europe has been rockin the small car market a lot longer than we have, so they get all the good ones (i.e. this one, ford focus RS, audi S3, etc). We have been focused on "bigger is better," so the car companies never bothered to bring them to this market until recently (i.e. our MS3) and have only touched the surface.
jakepshs07
Member
- :
- Mazda, MP3, turboed
exactly bc we have so many damn people in the US that are stuck on big is better IE: Ford Mustang and Chevy guys believe that a V8 is better when in reality u can take a smaller displacement motor with a turbo using half as much fuel an beat the hell out of the larger V8's. Theres just to many people that are brain dead when it comes out of stepping out of the norm i like mustangs and camaros as much as the next guy but people just don't see the point
I gotta say, I grew up in a really small town & had the same thought process (first car was a trans am, second a mustang), but now that I've grown up a little, I've realized just the opposite "bigger isn't always better." Now don't get me wrong, I'm still a big Mustang fan and still love the sound of a big V8, but I've had a lot more fun with my MS3 than with either of my first two cars. You're right tho, a lot of people think 'rice' as soon as you mention anything outside of ford, chrysler, or gm (I did a few years ago), but it just takes a little knowledge (I'm teachin my pops who grew up with that mindset).
Saskatchewan17
Member
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- 2008 TR Mazdaspeed 3
jakepshs07
Member
- :
- Mazda, MP3, turboed
haha ya well when u talk about a turbo miata and US cars makes me think of one of my dads engineering designers at dupont. He had a miata we painted a few years back it was cherry red with a built 5.0 in it with around 500hp and everyone knows the 5.0 has rediculous torque so lets just say it was pretty pointless never got traction but when it did it was crazy don't think there was really anything that would keep up with it from a roll but a dig was a different story lol but ya my dad is in the same boat he didn't believe a 4cyl was worth a damn until i turboed my mp3 and spanked quite a few mustangs with him in the car and that soon changed his mind haha thats all it takes
Saskatchewan17
Member
- :
- 2008 TR Mazdaspeed 3
No talk of street racing please.
jakepshs07
Member
- :
- Mazda, MP3, turboed
never said anything about street racing actually sorry man if u took it that way...
Saskatchewan17
Member
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- 2008 TR Mazdaspeed 3
No you didn't mention anything about street racing. I deleted a post from the 1.8 miata guy that was suggesting street racing.
jakepshs07
Member
- :
- Mazda, MP3, turboed
oh my bad buddy just didn't catch it in time sorry
im sorry for giving you wrong idea man but i never said that the actuall race was done on the street
+1
Europe has tighter communities, small and narrow roads, expensive gas, and scant parking. They've been driving small cars since cars were invented.
I don't know if I can agree it takes knowledge for a great majority of people who hate on imports and small cars. It's a cultural thing to some extent, and a mindset in others.
I have an in-law who loves his 2005 Ford Expedition because of all the room inside and the accident protection factor for his wife and kids. He was in love with it the first week or two. I'm not a fan so it was interesting to ride along with him the first time.
Not long ago they rented a Rav 4 while on vacation ( because they had to ) and when I asked them how they liked it, they complained it was too small. No mention of the difference in the driving experience, the gas mileage, or the fact that they didn't need the extra space at the time or anything. All of their luggage fit with room to spare. Two kids in the back seats in the car seats no problem.
All they gave me was a response that was a defense of their opinion that bigger is better.
In this particular case there's also politics involved. They are uber conservatives and hate anything that represents a possible acceptance of things remotely possibly liberal. They moved to Texas last year and they love it.
The whole country is progressively accepting smaller cars like those driven in Europe. They consume less gas, less space on the road, and are better for the environment for the most part. Europe also has higher taxes, public health insurance, and great many other policies that are viewed as Socialist or Liberal by others in this country.
A smaller, economical car that gets good mileage and doesn't pollute the environment as much as a big SUV is a popular idea with left thinking, progressives. The Rav 4 wouldn't probably be considered one of their faves but the 4cyl gets decent mileage anyway.
A 17 foot long gas guzzling SUV weighing 5600lbs with a 5.4 V8 under the hood is ....not so much a machine loved by fans of the environment IE Liberals. It affords all kinds of space inside for your family and all your gear when you take trips to the backwoods and need to "offroad". Mostly though, it just inefficiently hauls sail boat fuel while you push a big hole through the air making trips to the mall and the grocery store. You can drive right over curbs with it easily too.
The way I view the big domestic SUV is like this. It's akin to getting all dressed up in full Football or Hockey gear to take a walk in the park. You're carrying all this dead weight.....just in case? It's costing you energy to haul it around a lot more often than you'll ever need it, which for most people is almost never. You look cool though, right?
I see no end to the trend.
What you drive reflects who you are and how you think, so there you have it.
how is having a large suv related to being conservative?
i like the ms3 because its small, fuel efficient (compared to what im used to driving) and pretty quick. i do not think that bigger is always better, but i also do not think that bigger is never better.
example. growing up we had a lincoln navigator (family of 4) some of my fondest childhood memories are of taking road trips in that car to washington state, canada, grand canyon, and montana. could we have done these trips in a rav 4? probably. would they have been nearly as comfortable and enjoyable? not even close. i see the difference in car sizes as a cultural and environmental difference. europe is small, america is huge. "hitting the open road" is something europeans cant do because there are no open roads.
i agree and think its stupid that some people drive around their escalades when they are the only ones in it, however it does not offend me or make me think that they are some uber conservative (scary word in today's america) villain.
people are so caught up on the whole al gore "green" movement and the evil of americans because we enjoy things that few other countries do.
i love the ms3, but i also love big trucks, and muscle cars, my dream car is still a viper, and i dont care if gas is 6 dollars a gallon or how many limousine liberals give me dirty looks for driving it.
back to the original post, that car is ugly as sin (imo) but 238 N/A is pretty impressive
i like the ms3 because its small, fuel efficient (compared to what im used to driving) and pretty quick. i do not think that bigger is always better, but i also do not think that bigger is never better.
example. growing up we had a lincoln navigator (family of 4) some of my fondest childhood memories are of taking road trips in that car to washington state, canada, grand canyon, and montana. could we have done these trips in a rav 4? probably. would they have been nearly as comfortable and enjoyable? not even close. i see the difference in car sizes as a cultural and environmental difference. europe is small, america is huge. "hitting the open road" is something europeans cant do because there are no open roads.
i agree and think its stupid that some people drive around their escalades when they are the only ones in it, however it does not offend me or make me think that they are some uber conservative (scary word in today's america) villain.
people are so caught up on the whole al gore "green" movement and the evil of americans because we enjoy things that few other countries do.
i love the ms3, but i also love big trucks, and muscle cars, my dream car is still a viper, and i dont care if gas is 6 dollars a gallon or how many limousine liberals give me dirty looks for driving it.
back to the original post, that car is ugly as sin (imo) but 238 N/A is pretty impressive
jakepshs07
Member
- :
- Mazda, MP3, turboed
i know man 238 is crazy wish they would bring that setup over here would be sick a k20 thats pushin 238 would be sick minus the fact its a honda and its got vtttteeeccc haha jk
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We Are Ninja
Member
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- 2006 Mazdaspeed 6 GT; 2004 Mazda 6 Wagon
True, but 71 ft/lb of torque is not so impressive...
HA!!!!!!!!! thats horrible
jakepshs07
Member
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- Mazda, MP3, turboed
actually bro its 160ft/lbs sorry to correct u but thats way wrong 70ft/lbs is like a geo man
We Are Ninja
Member
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- 2006 Mazdaspeed 6 GT; 2004 Mazda 6 Wagon
I keed; it was a Honda joke...
"how is having a large suv related to being conservative? "
Well obviously the two are not mutually inclusive, but there is some connection in my opinion and that was the point of my story.
You can not give a s*** about the environment and be a liberal.
You can care about the environment, consider yourself a Democrat and still drive a turbo car that belches black, unburnt fuel every time you drive it.
You can do just about anything you want - this is America.
I'm just saying I see a common thread between many ( not all ) owners of big SUV's and their political views. There's a lot of connections actually. You like to hunt and fish? You probably support the NRA and probably drive a 4WD and it's probably domestic and you probably don't believe in global warming and probably vote Republican etc... Hopefully you get the idea.
I'm sure there's statistics that support my idea out there somewhere.
As for that Honda it looked to me like the designers at Acura worked on it and decided they hated it so they gave it to Honda.
Well obviously the two are not mutually inclusive, but there is some connection in my opinion and that was the point of my story.
You can not give a s*** about the environment and be a liberal.
You can care about the environment, consider yourself a Democrat and still drive a turbo car that belches black, unburnt fuel every time you drive it.
You can do just about anything you want - this is America.
I'm just saying I see a common thread between many ( not all ) owners of big SUV's and their political views. There's a lot of connections actually. You like to hunt and fish? You probably support the NRA and probably drive a 4WD and it's probably domestic and you probably don't believe in global warming and probably vote Republican etc... Hopefully you get the idea.
I'm sure there's statistics that support my idea out there somewhere.
As for that Honda it looked to me like the designers at Acura worked on it and decided they hated it so they gave it to Honda.
