Does anybody else feel guilty for liking German cars?
Discussion
SidewaysSi said:
They may like the car - where it is built may have nothing to do with their choice. I have German cars, I have British cars. I have owned and loved French and Japanese cars. I buy the car, not the country.
Besides, no one nation produces the "best" cars. In fact, no one mainstream manufacturer has "best in class" cars across its range.
OK, I understand that. I try to judge cars based on their merits, I wouldn't strongly like or dislike a car depending on who built it but I must admit that I am slightly biased towards certain manufacturers.Besides, no one nation produces the "best" cars. In fact, no one mainstream manufacturer has "best in class" cars across its range.
I always thought that the general public still bought into old stereotypes such as 'German reliability' and 'Italian flair' but maybe people have moved on from that.
I have an elderly relative who was a prisoner of war in World War Two. He saw his best friend shot dead in front of him by the Nazis.
For some reason he got in a massive strop with me when I bought a Volkswagen.
Even now that he is in his eighties he will boycott German products. He cannot distinguish between Germans and Nazis. I haven't got the nerve to tell him nearly every car you can buy today, including his beloved Volvo, is riddled with Bosch components.
For some reason he got in a massive strop with me when I bought a Volkswagen.
Even now that he is in his eighties he will boycott German products. He cannot distinguish between Germans and Nazis. I haven't got the nerve to tell him nearly every car you can buy today, including his beloved Volvo, is riddled with Bosch components.
My dad was a rear gunner on a Lancaster during WW2..
One time, back in the 80's, I called round to visit Mum & Dad in a recently bought 635CSi.
Dad: Nice looking car mate.
Me: Thanks, it's a BMW.
Dad: I know it's German, you can tell by looking at it. All straight lines & angles.
Me: I bought it because it was a really good deal, I'm not keeping it long...'
Dad: I'd keep it if I was you, bloody good engineers, the Germans. It was the Nazis who were the b
ds... (heads in the house for his sunday lunch)
Never forgotten that one
One time, back in the 80's, I called round to visit Mum & Dad in a recently bought 635CSi.
Dad: Nice looking car mate.
Me: Thanks, it's a BMW.
Dad: I know it's German, you can tell by looking at it. All straight lines & angles.
Me: I bought it because it was a really good deal, I'm not keeping it long...'
Dad: I'd keep it if I was you, bloody good engineers, the Germans. It was the Nazis who were the b
ds... (heads in the house for his sunday lunch)Never forgotten that one
Car Fan said:
Axionknight said:
I'd feel guilty if I nicked something or supported ManCity, but not for liking a car.
Yes, I think that "guilt" was maybe the wrong term to use. Perhaps more of a conflict of interest in that I wish that more people would look beyond German cars, but then I like them myself so I feel hypocritical.I'm a Swedish fan - three Volvos! Two modern, one old, all three were excellent so I'm pretty biased tbh, the German marques offer nothing for me outside of their heavily performance orientated models (AMG C63, M5, R8 and such forth) which Volvo don't cater for.
Then again, the Polestar V60
R8VXF said:
I did feel a bit dirty when I bought my BMW, but it was the right car for the job. I now also have aN Austramerican car to offset that though. Not a big fan of the big White X5 my neighbour got recently though. A bit pompous. He is ex rmp though. He can't help it.
But that X5 will have been built in South Carolina, USA. So do we mean "German brands"?And what about, say, a BMW Mini, built in England?
Or a Honda built in Swindon........you get the point. Add to that the source of 1000's of component parts and what do we really mean by "British" or "Korean" or whatever?
Just get the car you want I suppose, they are all multinational these days (well maybe not very small brands like Lotus perhaps).
Brave Fart said:
R8VXF said:
I did feel a bit dirty when I bought my BMW, but it was the right car for the job. I now also have aN Austramerican car to offset that though. Not a big fan of the big White X5 my neighbour got recently though. A bit pompous. He is ex rmp though. He can't help it.
But that X5 will have been built in South Carolina, USA. So do we mean "German brands"?And what about, say, a BMW Mini, built in England?
Or a Honda built in Swindon........you get the point. Add to that the source of 1000's of component parts and what do we really mean by "British" or "Korean" or whatever?
Just get the car you want I suppose, they are all multinational these days (well maybe not very small brands like Lotus perhaps).
k what brand or where the X5 is built, tis a fking eyesore. Parked right next to my 3 series, so no racialism here.I find myself the owner of two German cars, A Mercedes SL63 (I tried an Aston Martin and an R8 which is German again) A VW Phaeton V10 TT quite simply I tried others but they just didn't cut it.
Do I feel guilty? no I bought what I thought was the best of what I tried, a few years down the line I'll do the same, set a budget and try every car within my budget if a British car or any other country of origin suits my needs it gets my custom.
I like to think of myself as a non blinkered individual and not a blind fan boy who is prepared to put up with second best just to support a second rate company.
Do I feel guilty? no I bought what I thought was the best of what I tried, a few years down the line I'll do the same, set a budget and try every car within my budget if a British car or any other country of origin suits my needs it gets my custom.
I like to think of myself as a non blinkered individual and not a blind fan boy who is prepared to put up with second best just to support a second rate company.
Car Fan said:
Although I do wonder how many members of the general public would choose a VW over a Honda (for example) simply because the former is German, so they perceive it to be 'better'.
In 1996 I bought a MKII Golf 1.8 Driver which I loved and thrashed in equal measure. The Golf was really good, so I thought, but when the time came it got swapped for an MB2 Civic. The Civic was in a different league as a car to own. I owned two german cars during 10 of the last 13 years as my main vehicles and never once felt guilty about owning them. Pretty fed up a lot of the time with the niggling faults that plagued both of them and the average understeer biased handling that meant that neither was any fun to throw into corners. Have been far more happy in the cheap Mazda that followed....so easy to live with, zero niggling problems and more fun to drive....I can honestly say that I enjoy driving it on every commute, something I could never say about the VW and Audi I owned before, even though both were in their own way satisfied to own and have parked on your drive.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff