I'm failing this Timpo-like-attempt at a thread starter...

just de-badge your car and you don't have to worry about brands :badpokerface:

I honestly think this is not as common as you think. Maybe in your circle of friends, which I have to assume is a shallow circle simply based on what I know about you. It's kind of sad actually, like your possessions are the only thing you have to offer.

Do you see the majority of other RS members listing out their cars in their sig? Not a lot of folks do because owning a car is no longer an accomplishment. Let's face it, the bank's money is cheap these days so it's easy for someone with a job to get financing. Where is the pride in spending most of your take home pay leasing a luxury vehicle? Where is the pride in selling your house for a windfall of a lifetime, and blowing your profit on an exotic?


:lol

so true.
Fiat is nothing more than a dodge, designed by Italians, and made in America using Chinese parts.

https://img.memesuper.com/a1c6418597...s_720-727.jpeg

Yes you are right I am shallow and so are all my family and friends. Its a free world, so you can think whatever floats your boat. I guess we should all move to Surrey and pretend we are the Jesus of Revscene. Excuse me? I think allot of members post their cars on their sigs, even retired cars, this is a car lifestyle forum right?

I thought you were mature enough to realize that when you get old enough, you stop comparing yourself to others, thinking what other people think, and are happy with what you have Vs what others have, you should look in the mirror yourself.

You entertain me though, so I appreciate you for that! lol!

A relative bought an ILX over a Civic because of brand. I tried talking her out of it because it wasn't worth the money because she drives so slow that a sportier engine, transmission and suspension wouldn't be noticeable. You can only do so much.

Apologies... Like i said before, i didnt mean to stir up any shit, i was just curious to see what everyone thought about individual car brand values.

Majority of car guys on here would obviously care more about features, performance, and price to value ratio more than perceived value but I do think it plays into car buying decisions somewhat.

A lot of my friends all believe a couple of these brand image myths. This was kind of the core of my reason to start the thread, but i guess i didnt explain it very well.

1) German engineering superiority (hence why VW is seen as more expensive and better built than hyundai but in reality, a lot of them are built in mexico and fail quite often)

2) Italian exotica fixation (anything italian must be better than other markers purely because they are italian. See Fiat fallacy; See Forgiving Italian qwerks fallacy, etc)

3) Japanese brands are more reliable than domestic (used to be the case back in the early 90's but im pretty sure the Japanese reliability is a myth nowadays)

A lot of these brand image ideals play greatly into the average joe's purchase decisions. As a Mos Skeeto said below, some people rather buy an ILX instead of a civic for the brand. Hell there was a big kafuffle on a chinese blog not to long ago about a girl who rather cry in the back of a BMW than sit happily in a toyota.... or something to that extent.

Honda and Toyota are almost always amongst the most reliable brands in any category (Consumer Reports, Lemon-Aid, etc). Mazda usually does pretty well unless it's rotary-powered. Nissan has been hit and miss for the past couple of decades.

I wouldn't say Japanese reliability is a myth, just that their "mainstream" competition has gotten better (Hyundai/Kia, Chevrolet, and Ford, anyways). Chrysler is as shitty as ever since Fiat took over.

Guys who drive Porsche's have small cocks.

But it must be nice to use a thimble as a fleshlight

there's definitely loyalty and bias, good and bad for the majority of the buyers.

I often hear I won't buy this or that, or swear off on a brand because of one bad experience from 15 years ago.

Like I doubt I would want to own any VW AG vehicles out of warranty.

If I want something long term it's probably a Toyota, Honda or Mazda built in Japan (or maybe a newish Subarus without track record of head gasket issues). Is there evidence they're more durable? No. Are most of its constituent parts sourced from all over the globe? probably. In fact it's argued the US plants are far more advanced than Japanese plants...but I'm a firm believer in kaizen resulting in greater attention to detail...but not to the point of overengineering unlike some Euros

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Production_System

So yes my bias is grounded in longevity...not status

I have no idea why ILX takes premium gas when its near-identical motor (R-series, high compression, similar perf) in the Civic doesn't

German engineering is great for inventing things, the problem is those things are usually overcomplicated and expensive to repair when they fail (and they usually will).

I'm not sure what you mean by better, they're generally more stylish but that's about it.

Maybe not for all Japanese brands, but for Toyotas it isn't a myth. Honda had some transmission issues 15-20 years ago but if memory serves they had farmed out those designs to GM for some reason. Domestics are still largely not very reliable from what I've seen, some have the benefit of being cheap to fix at least, while others are money pits. Personally the only reason I bought another Jeep and not a Toyota was because I couldn't afford a Toyota, and this Jeep has an engine that wasn't designed by the morons at Chrysler.

And yet a dodge cost $250k.

agreed.
For my daily driver, I want to get in and not have to worry about car troubles. My Toyota is serviced regularly and all repairs are made right away with high quality parts. I would love a new Tundra, and could easily afford it. But in the end, my truck is still going strong and I love it, so why change?

That said, Honda has taken a real hit in their reliability ratings over the years. I traded in our 2011 Odyssey for a highlander last year because I was tired of the issues. Oil leaks, battery and ecm issues, door issues, etc. It was really close to being called a lemon. Sad actually, because I trusted the Honda name.



agreed.


Don't worry, even after spending that kind of money, the 1% on RS like hobz and Z3 guy still won't let your proletariat ass hang with them at the local Blends coffee house.
:smug:

I found out long ago that what I want in a car wasn't just reliability. I want reliability and durability. This means cars that were engineered to last well past its service life and built for abuse. This is something the Japanese did very in the late 80s well into the 90s. These days, most cars are reliable during warranty period. Few are durable.

Where's a Corolla stand that's been taken to "private modder"???

thats not true! we'll just pretend we didnt see his hellcat demon dingbat wombat cheetah challenger pull up

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2841/3...46e8437a_h.jpg

if this is the corolla you mean, then obviously he's at the top of the social status heep.

Nobody can touch him... nobody. :fuckyea:

Does he walk to his car like this....

How is Fiat above Subaru, Nissan, VW etc? I wouldn't place it there by any stretch. Abarth 500's are often owned by folks that also own proper sports cars as a fun little toy but that's as far as I don't think it has the upper etchlon of the economy cars... and I own a Fiat.

Off-topic: hypa driving a Toyota = :fulloffuck:

I always thought he was a die-hard Subaru guy.

Amongst my circle of friends and acquaintances fiat would be perceived​ as something considerably more wealthy than your run of the mill Honda. Probably due to the fact that 1) it's Italian 2) it's a hipster brand similar to mini 2) Gucci made an edition of the 500...

Blows me away too. I don't consider it a more wealthy mainstream brand than Honda or Toyota but many do.

Mid engine, early 90's Toyota drive train
https://i1.wp.com/www.rightfootdown....-train-4wd.png

and this body is all you need. There must be some old Ferrari's that are affordable now.
http://www.ruelspot.com/wp-content/u...for-sale-3.jpg

I used to be, but these days I'm all about the big V8 power.
I have the Tundra with it's 5.7L, a G8GT with a 6.0L, and my Beaumont with it's old school 350ci.

I used to be about the logo on the front, but now it's more about being able to fit my stuff in a vehicle that is fun to drive. I'm getting old, brotato.
:(

You have a G8?

:seriously:

I'm still part of a G8 club we formed about 5 years ago if you're interested. PM me for details.

A cruise we did through the Fraser Valley in some of the worst driving conditions.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...psbthkie9p.jpg

The Caddy is an STS-V