View Single Post
Old 07-09-2011, 04:05 AM   #14 (permalink)
Arragonis
The PRC.
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Elsewhere.
Posts: 5,304
Thanks: 285
Thanked 536 Times in 384 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by katiep View Post
I've noticed that companies tend to make vehicles bigger when bringing them over to our market in the US. In SOME way. My engine is 1.6L. I was looking at the Fiat 500s that just came over here and they're not as impressive in mileage as I was hoping, based on reviews of them in Europe and Top Gear not thinking it was too bad VW has been teasing us about their BlueMotion for some time and bringing over the Polo and that stuff. The smaller engines seem to get so much better mileage and the last ones of those seem to be the Geo Metro in the US!
They do seem to either miss out the little cars entirely (Ford Ka, GM Agila etc.) or only sell them with larger engines - e.g. the Yaris.

When I mentioned this elsewhere (*cough TTAC - aka "w@nking about cars" *cough) the replies all seem to suggest that Merkins 'NEED' all that performance compared to us poor Europeans. Yet when I have driven in the US (prior to EM stylee driving) I was passing on the freeways far more times than I was passed and I was doing more or less average European speeds. I did MN Airport to Alexandria in what was to my friends who lived there a record time - again, I was going slow for a European to enjoy the scenery.

The 500 has a really bad standard engines IMHO, not typical of European cars at all. You either have to get the TwinAir or the MultiJet Diesel to get anything with decent mileage or a decent drive neither of which are in the US I think. The Abarth is decent but not an FE machine.
__________________
[I]So long and thanks for all the fish.[/I]
  Reply With Quote