I would agree that American cars don't tend to handle very well. I think I'd have to try a three point turn on just about every single one of those switchbacks in the picture.
Thinking about this again, it's a certain type of American car. The ones with live axles and stuff like that. I heard some still use the Hotchkiss drive system (I thought that went out in the 1960's). And the power output for the engines is pretty dismal. Rather than tune them up, it seems common to just make the engine bigger.
Having said that, the cars Ford make for the European market (here, the Focus and the Mondeo) are apparently excellent in pretty much every department (including handling). The Focus ST has a smaller engine than its predecessor (two litres, 122 CID) but produces more bhp (about 250) and will still get 40mpg and do 0-60mph in six seconds and they look great. I'm not sure America has really embraced hot hatch culture like everyone else, though.
So, you're an above average driver eh?
↑ View this comment's parent
← View full post
I would agree that American cars don't tend to handle very well. I think I'd have to try a three point turn on just about every single one of those switchbacks in the picture.
--
dappled
10 years ago
|
pl
Comment Hidden (
show
)
Report
0
0
Thinking about this again, it's a certain type of American car. The ones with live axles and stuff like that. I heard some still use the Hotchkiss drive system (I thought that went out in the 1960's). And the power output for the engines is pretty dismal. Rather than tune them up, it seems common to just make the engine bigger.
Having said that, the cars Ford make for the European market (here, the Focus and the Mondeo) are apparently excellent in pretty much every department (including handling). The Focus ST has a smaller engine than its predecessor (two litres, 122 CID) but produces more bhp (about 250) and will still get 40mpg and do 0-60mph in six seconds and they look great. I'm not sure America has really embraced hot hatch culture like everyone else, though.