Another "why can't the US have good cars" thread

[LWJ]

I just turned in a 4 day rental of a VW T-Roc. My impressions of this car were very high from the very first instant. It was a 6 speed. Smooth. Quiet. Well behaved. Poor cargo space but whatever, it may be smaller than a 3 series BMW. And then I gassed it up for the return. 4 days of use, fuel bill was 33 euro. And it is a DIESEL! I didn't even know. It ran like a gas engine but had good torque. Fuel mileage is supposed to be 47ish MPG. Wow. I believe it.

And, they don't sell them in the US. Arg.

[Randolph]

Great looking little car!

[KNS]

I would have loved the later Volkswagen Sciroccos that we didn't get here.

[LWJ]

^^^That looks fast parked.

[pwd72s]

To the original question...the answer may be in why the "good cars" mentioned aren't allowed here. We have a bureaucratic dictatorship creating rules that don't allow it.

[Randolph]

^^^

not true

VW made the T-Roc for the European (small road) and Chinese (practical) markets.

VW sells the bigger Taos in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Uglier and bigger so it fits the U.S. perfectly.

[oldE]

Besides: a VW diesel, after dieselgate? With diesel at $6. / gallon?
Not happening.

[onewhippedpuppy]

VW totally effed themselves when they started selling US market versions of their European models. In their efforts to “Americanize” their cars by making them bigger and cheaper, they also engineered out all of the quality and uniqueness that made VWs great. This is coming from someone who grew up riding in my dad’s Vanagon and my mom’s Dasher, both diesel by the way! Now they are like a less reliable Chevy.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Now they are like a less reliable Chevy.

[john70t]

I was logged in but cloudflare erased my post and returned a blank page.

Japanese Kei cars are perfect for the big city. Or farm.
But still illegal or difficult to buy.

[onewhippedpuppy]

In a country where motorcycles are legal and helmets aren’t mandatory in all states, the fact that kei or similar city cars are illegal is beyond stupid.

[pavulon]

Another way to make up for lost time:

https://hsr-manufaktur.com/the-type-859-sport-quattro

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by pavulon

Another way to make up for lost time:

https://hsr-manufaktur.com/the-type-859-sport-quattro

That’s badass. Man there are some cool tribute/restomod cars out there.

[john70t]

Methinks an org is buying up all the cool cars of yesterday and storing them in the SW for resale. :/

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by john70t

Methinks an org is buying up all the cool cars of yesterday and storing them in the SW for resale. :/

You know I’ve had the same thought. I’ve often been a habitual buyer/seller of interesting cars and even had a dealer’s license for a few years. Not only have prices gone up but the volume of enthusiast/collector cars on the market has definitely gone down, especially FSBO. Air cooled 911s for instance, obviously the prices went nuts but there also aren’t a ton of them out there for sale. Maybe everybody is sitting on their four wheeled “investments”?

[KNS]

Originally Posted by pavulon

Another way to make up for lost time:

https://hsr-manufaktur.com/the-type-859-sport-quattro

This is a shot of the rear suspension of that 859 sport quattro from the website - that's a Porsche 993 suspension, you can even make out 993 part numbers (I know because I just got done overhauling my 993 suspension so I'm quite familiar).

[kevin993]

[QUOTE=KNS;12706938]I would have loved the later Volkswagen Sciroccos that we didn't get here.

Amen. Those are awesome. Too bad. I would have thrown money at VW to buy one.

If VW would have made an AWD version, it would have been an epic combination.

In related news, I'm still holding hope for a proper manual Subaru WRX hatchback.

[Baz]

Who cares - just buy whatever tickles your fancy.

You can still find gems like this one if you are patient enough and beat the bushes.

[LWJ]

Baz,
I have a neighbor who is absolutely nuts about her light blue 240 sedan. Come to Oregon and I will introduce you. You are philosophically aligned.

[oldE]

Originally Posted by KNS

This is a shot of the rear suspension of that 859 sport quattro from the website - that's a Porsche 993 suspension, you can even make out 993 part numbers (I know because I just got done overhauling my 993 suspension so I'm quite familiar).

I think there's a bit of "fast and loose" going on there. That is certainly a 993 suspension. There's even a flat 6 engine in the shot.
Are they selling an 11 cylinder car? I don't think so.