General Car Discussion

What are automakers push to overdesign cars anyway? Things can look modern, but not have a grill the size of the moon and 10 vents doing nothing...

 

because they want people to feel as if they're driving a "sports car" when it's still just a basic commuter car
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marketing

 

Finally, an RC concept that doesn't need to be such an eye-ache.

 

I see two vents. Thats like 1/50th of the average lexus these days.

 

It's hard to tell, especially from an top down view.

 

Trying to buy a beater for $500 or less is really freaking hard

 

Why not scrap together a few hundred bucks more? shopping for 500 dollars is hard, but 800-1000 will be much easier. Its not that much different, price rise.

 

you can thank inflation for that

 

The Suburban I just got was only $1000 and it's a fully functional 3/4 ton 4x4 with a V8, I would think you could find a shitty FWD econobox for less than $500.

 

I might be looking at this over the weekend
https://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/d/1989-ford-bronco/6536868230.html

 

I take it this is a direct jab at Lexus' controversial Hourglass grill?
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Nice, but the little rust will destroy! Trust me. Paint the underside with some Por-15, to prevent further rust.

 

Why are they so expensive in America? A drivable beater on this side can be bought with 300-400$ or even 200 if you are really lucky.
A selection of drivable cars under 400$ that can be bought right now:

 

Cars are just more expensive in the US, quite a few countries in Europe and the rest of the world are the same too. Used to be like that pretty much everywhere though and anything that cheap would be an absolute wreck which would be scrapped these days.

Guess it partly depends on how people look at them as disposable too, while there isn't anything particularly wrong with a late 90s early 2000s car people in countries where cars are cheaper generally avoid them in favour or more expensive newer cars, even if there is no real benefit to them.

 

Maybe it's because the US doesn't have so much environmental protection taxes and legislations?

 

Yeah that would be a factor too, a lot of states don't have inspections, petrol and diesel are cheap so motoring in general is pretty easy to afford, meaning you can actually drive a cheap car with little overhead costs.

Unlike in places like the UK where the insurance costs 3 times as much as the cheap car, the petrol is taxed to hell and you can fail an inspection because of a dashboard light, making it all a huge expense and pain. At which point i suppose the extra cost for a newer car is pretty small in comparison.

 

Wait...there are states don't have technical inspections at all? How is it possible, do drivers have to watch out for fallen off wheels, axles, exhausts all the time? They must have a ton of accidents.

 

Well ill be darned.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection_in_the_United_States

Must be full of Beverly Hillbillies cars...

 

I'm from a state like that, and it's really not that bad. Every once in a while you'll see some complete POS's on the road, but they aren't falling apart and the owner/driver usually tries to get them repaired whenever they can. It also means that some questionable modifications can be made, usually trucks being lifted higher than they should, but that hasn't really been much of a problem.

 

I wouldnt know because I live in Maryland. Over here people lose their crap over going 1 percent over Glass tint limit.

 

I know of a few people who have been pulled over for too much window tint, but for the most part enforcement is fairly laid back. The general rule of thumb is don't be dick with modifications (I.E. don't keep your straight-piped car at redline making lots of noise) and you'll be fine.