Why it's great to live in the USA

[Cheezdoodles]

50k for a M3????? Lucky ****s.

A M3 costs $350 000 here.

Hell, the only thing $50k will get you, is something like a VW Passat 2.0 TDI.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

50k for a M3????? Lucky ****s.

A M3 costs $350 000 here.

250k actually, but it's still "funny"

 

[ShaidarHaran]

50k for a M3????? Lucky ****s.

A M3 costs $350 000 here.

Hell, the only thing $50k will get you, is something like a VW Passat 2.0 TDI.

Is that your currency converted to American $? That's crazy.

 

[Gubbi]

it's more expensive yes... but you have to realize, the UK is about the size of 1 medium US state... we have 48 of them. I know people that drive 150 miles round trip to work every day... and yes some of that is their own fault, for not just moving houses, but still. Stuff is alot more spread out in the rural area's... without a car, you are helpless....

It's not only the long commutes, it's the huge vehicles with poor fuel efficiency that compounds the problem. Heck I've got at colleague that commutes more than 150miles per day (he does 2 x125 km), but he had the sense to buy a car that does 42MPG (18km/l)

and we don't have the public transportation systems in place over there either. What i think is crazy, is you pay alot more for gas, and you guys tend to pay alot higher income taxes if i'm not mistaken ? Like a double pinch on money... sorry guys

It's called behaviour changing taxes. Most countries in Europe are completely dependent on imports of oil. Minimizing gasoline use would minimize imports which would help on you trade deficit/surplus and therefore the national economies in general, - especially when facing exploding oil prices. From a macro-economic point of view heavily taxed/expensive gasoline boost the economy and increase the standard of living. It of course has to be balanced with the transport needs that an active economy has.

Cheers

 

[_xxx_]

Car prices are inflated in the US, that's all because of competition which is much harder than here. We also pay at least double for an M3 and it's made here.

 

[Geo]

Congratulations Europe on your new overlord status.

Please take over other overlord duties at your earliest convenience; we'd like to do the backseat driving for awhile. Hugs & kisses, etc.

 

[Mariner]

Incidentally, what about the new engine in the BMW 123d (cheesy name, eh?).

2.0 litre diesel, 204 bhp, low CO2 emissions and a combined cycle mileage of 54.3 mpg (Imperial).

Now that is an impressive engine:

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/pricesan...81236422__bs-MQ==@bb-Q1A=@bm-WkUyNw==,00.html

 

[Verge]

It's called behaviour changing taxes.

i was referring to just regular income taxes on your wages... it seems to be significantly higher in european countries...


In america, the lifestyle has dictated the infrastructure, large parts of the country are designed like we will be using the same old giant american cars for the next 75 years... i would pray we aren't

 

[ShootMyMonkey]

It's not only the long commutes, it's the huge vehicles with poor fuel efficiency that compounds the problem. Heck I've got at colleague that commutes more than 150miles per day (he does 2 x125 km), but he had the sense to buy a car that does 42MPG (18km/l)

Most all cars that get 42 MPG (save for gas-electric hybrids and those with ridiculously tiny gas engines) mostly don't pass US emissions standards anyway, since fuel mileage has minimal effect on the emissions ratings. The ratings are volume-based, not distance-based like Europe's. Pretty much all 12 MPG giant SUVs rate higher than any and all 50 MPG TDI cars, even if running on biodiesel.

And of course, among the problems with gas-electric hybrids that actually do get over 40+ MPG is that there are only 2 on the market, and they're both small and expensive enough that making up the difference in gasoline savings would take 15-20 years even if gas prices were doubled. Comparatively, these same cars driven in Japan get roughly double the mileage because the traffic congestion is that much more extreme. 40+ MPG cars with small engines tend to have very wild swings in their observed mileage because they're pretty underpowered, so it's easy to get into a case where you push the engine to the point where it's struggling (e.g. trying to maintain highway speeds going uphill). Moreover, the car buyer is less willing to make sacrifices like that. Moving 2800 lbs on 100 hp gives people the impression of being in a lower income class.

People in the US don't want 40 mpg 80-hp gas+25hp electric hybrids. They want 40 mpg 6.0L V8 RWD beasts that sound like they could eat a fleet of Vauxhall hatchbacks for breakfast... and apparently can also be revved to play to the tune of "Smoke on the Water."

 

[Mize]

Just got my new A3 S-line (petrol and hard to find in the US) - very peppy and just got 29 in mixed driving around town. A far cry from my old 300C AWD (14 mpg) and my other two cars (Mazda CX-9 - the kids and friends carrier and the supercharged 4Runner - the dog carrier).