So this is my first posting and guess what I am going to talk about? That most American of inventions, the car. Please note that these are my opinions and mine alone and based on my observations.
I have just returned from almost 5 weeks in Europe and was amazed at the difference in the current crop of cars available to buy in Europe vs what we have on offer here in the States. My husband and I travelled in England, Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland (the home country of my husband) and while driving from Austria to Switzerland I decided to count the number of different makes of cars that I saw on the highway as we cruised along. Well, I counted no fewer than 32 makes — 32 (I list them at the bottom of this post)!! While commuting to my job the other day in the US I counted 5 — 5!! What is going on here? We used to have such cool cars — cool shapes, cool colors, cool models. Now, what do we have? Boring shapes, really boring colors and very few models from which to choose, particularly in the station wagon category. Why have we been relegated to second tier status in terms of the makes and models available in the US? In Europe I saw lots of hatchbacks and wagons (which seem to be the preferred styles in Europe, sedans are for fuddy duddies and the older retired crowd), small SUVs, large SUVs, crossovers, sedans, cabriolets (otherwise known as the convertible) and everything in-between. And the colors, oh the colors! Bright orange, burnt orange, red, bright blue, light blue, neon green, British racing green, yellow, tan, dark, medium and light grey and yes, bright white, pearl white, cream, and black.
Why have we been trapped into the Japanese taste for tame designs and colors? Please note that I have nothing against Japanese cars. I drive a beloved 2003 Honda Element with 120,000 miles, in pearlized green. I adore it, and of course, guess what, it’s not made anymore (the last production year was 2011). This car is fun to drive, has a cool shape, came in unusual colors, and people always comment on it. It it these types of cars that I saw in Europe. If I lived in Europe, I really don’t know what I would drive, I would be spoiled for choice. But what about a Fiat Panda, a delightful small SUV that comes in delicious colors — see below. There is also the larger Fiat Multipla (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Multipla) a variation of the Element. Or what about the French cars? We rented a Peugeot 308 Sport Wagon (relatively tame in terms of looks and design, but a great sporty wagon with loads of room with superb finishes) . Citroen has everything one could possible want, from a tiny hatchback (the C1) to the huge C5 (now that’s a station wagon) to the electric C ZERO
In Austria, we saw a BMW that I’ve never seen before – a racy two door roadster. And Kia and Hyundai have really moved into Europe and provide good value and inventive designs.
For small cars, there are too many to count, from the adorable Kia Picanto to the Chevrolet Spark (available in the US, but look at all the colors available in the UK!) to of course the Fiat 500 (thank you Fiat for coming back to the US. Please bring more models over!!).
Here in the good ol’ USA, we are relegated to ho-hum designs and ho-hum colors — what happened? Thankfully, it is the American car companies who may come to the rescue again. Take a look at the Ford Fiesta and the Ford Focus – hip, modern and fun to drive. Cadillac, although not to my taste, has inventive designs and rich colors.
Sure, we have the Germans: VW (our other car is a platinum grey Golf; it is the Toyota Camry of Europe, but we love it and it is a dream to drive and operate); Audi, Mercedes, BMW, yet it is the shear number of models within each make that is astounding. I was considering a VW Passat Wagon to replace the Element, but guess what again — they stopped carrying it in the US.
So, where does that leave us? Things are getting better (at least a little better). I just saw the plug-in version of the Prius and it is super. Toyota is finally improving their paintwork. We seem to be ahead in terms of hybrids and electrics, the Europeans have clean diesel and diesel hybrids, but are chasing with electrics (see Citroen C Zero). I was never bored driving in Europe, looking at all the different makes and models (add to that the interesting driving styles 🙂 ) and am a bit sad when I drive to work now. Maybe it is better on the west coast. But I do hope we can start to get away from the drab styles and colors of the last ten years, as well as hope that the car makers will stop bullying us into believing we all have to drive huge SUVs.
Station wagons are so much more attractive than sedans and we used to know that back in the 60s and 70s. My mother’s cars were a Ford Woodie in the 50s, a white Ford Galaxie 500 convertible in the 60s (with screaming red seats), an aqua Ford GranTorino V8 convertible in the 70s (boy do I wish I still had that car). In the 80s I drove a Ford Escort woodie (the last of the woodies). Trust me I have driven all the current large and medium SUVs and they are not nearly as fun (or as safe and stable) to drive as a Golf, Peugeot, a Citroen C4 wagon or the Fiat Panda or Multipla. Carmakers of America, give us bold, funky designs and models and colors befitting our automotive heritage. Okay, now it’s time to go home and I will use my commute to look and hope for some new, cool car on the horizon.
7/12/13 Update: I was rewarded on my drive home with the site of three stations wagons (a Subaru and 2 Toyotas), as well as the new Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and a Corvette. The colors were also nice and bright, so things are indeed improving. I also counted 17 makes of cars on the road this morning, which is half of what I saw in Europe, but a lot more than 5! Progress…….
Note: Below are the 32 models of cars we saw on our drive from Salzburg, Austria to Zurich, Switzerland (and I am sure I am forgetting a couple). I want my Fiat Panda (not my MTV!) Enjoy!
Audi
BMW
Ford
Peugeot
Renault
Mini
Skoda
VW
Mercedes
Fiat
Seat
Toyota
Kia
Hyundai
Daihatsu
Alfa Romeo
Volvo
Saab
Chevrolet
Cadillac (yes, Cadillac)
Honda
Nissan
Mitsubishi
Aston Martin
Porsche
Opel
Lancia
Lamborghini
Maserati
Ferrari
Suzuki
Subaru
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