New Car!

[CAP1]

VAG manufacture in NA because its cheaper. import duties, tax breaks and other incentives mean the product gets to market at lower cost if its manufactured locally. VW/Audi lose a degree of control over the production process, but they make more profit that way, and theres more jobs for americans.

honda seem to have cracked it in europe - UK produced hondas are just as good as the domestic hondas afaik, VAG dont seem to have got it right in the US. hondas do seem to have a good rep in the US, presumably they are manufactured in NA rather than all imports?

normally, i'd buy into that.....but subarus, hondas and toyotas are built here, and they are top quality cars.

[Perrine]

As I said earlier in Europe they have excellent build quality and reliability .

Are you speaking for the diesel powered Volks and Audis?

I get the impression that european market has diesel-friendly mandate and sets high priority on diesel engines while gasoline versions are just an afterthought.

[icepac]

My bud recorded 20k worth of fuel and mileage and ended up with 35mpg average for his 1.9 tdi jetta.

The larger SUV's are a lot closer to gas engine mpg with the recent Benz G350 suv getting an average from 18 to 20mpg combined.

Frontal area and driver habits can undo even the most effecient engines.

I've seen Prius cars with 27mpg average mpg on the display when I service them.

[B3YT]

all audi's and vw have good build .  The Audi S4 is a beast of a car that's well put together  and that has a supercharged 3Lt V6  and that gets the same treatment as the diesel quality wise . In general diesels are more expensive to buy than petrols and it's more costly to buy at the pumps , but you get better mileage from it .   

I own a 1.9 diesel peugeot   306 ld from 1999 and I pay $425 a year on VED ( thats how much you pay to own and run a vehicle depending on how much CO2 it pumps out and engine size)  if it was a petrol it would cost me much more as petrols tend to produce more CO2 and CO . Some cars like the vw with blue diesel engines will cost you less than $100 y ear to own even though it is a 2Lt engine thanks to it's lower emission. that's how it works in the UK not sure about the rest of Europe.

Oh and VED is  Vehicle Excise Duty and is not a road tax .         

[CAP1]

all audi's and vw have good build .  The Audi S4 is a beast of a car that's well put together  and that has a supercharged 3Lt V6  and that gets the same treatment as the diesel quality wise . In general diesels are more expensive to buy than petrols and it's more costly to buy at the pumps , but you get better mileage from it .   

I own a 1.9 diesel peugeot   306 ld from 1999 and I pay $425 a year on VED ( thats how much you pay to own and run a vehicle depending on how much CO2 it pumps out and engine size)  if it was a petrol it would cost me much more as petrols tend to produce more CO2 and CO . Some cars like the vw with blue diesel engines will cost you less than $100 y ear to own even though it is a 2Lt engine thanks to it's lower emission. that's how it works in the UK not sure about the rest of Europe.

Oh and VED is  Vehicle Excise Duty and is not a road tax .         

 so how much do they charge each person over there for each breath they exhale?

[B3YT]

well if you have a classic car (before 1975) you pay zero VED . I don't mind paying it  but there again I'm slightly hippy  and think more people should ride bicycles or walk.   It is a way of trying to get people to use more efficiently cars or convert to bio fuel . 

[CAP1]

well if you have a classic car (before 1975) you pay zero VED . I don't mind paying it  but there again I'm slightly hippy  and think more people should ride bicycles or walk.   It is a way of trying to get people to use more efficiently cars or convert to bio fuel . 

 if that were to happen, they would definitely tax your breathing. after all, you exhale co2....you know...the stuff trees live on.......

[dedalos]

it just took me longer to google it than it did to type it out. 

Heh, I believe you 

[Shuffler]

well if you have a classic car (before 1975) you pay zero VED . I don't mind paying it  but there again I'm slightly hippy  and think more people should ride bicycles or walk.   It is a way of trying to get people to use more efficiently cars or convert to bio fuel . 

Walking and riding a bike there may work fine. Here our commute to work can sometimes be 50 or 100 miles.

[Tigger29]

See Rule #4

[dedalos]

See Rule #4

[mthrockmor]

My wife drives a Chrysler minivan. I drive a small Nissan with great gas mileage. Changed brakes on her minivan, middle of the range brake pads run $50. Middle of the range for the Nissan is $19.99.

I would read consumer reports, don't buy brand new but 15,000-25,000 and consider repairs.

I also have a cousin who runs the biggest ambulance chasing law firm in Utah. No names given. He makes $3 mil plus a year. Owns numerous brand new cars and complains about the cost of repairs. His Jaguar is constantly getting worked on. Not that you are going to buy this car but considering his wealth and his biggest gripe is repairs...

Boo

[icepac]

That's it.  Focus on the extreme exceptions 

Nothing extreme about long commutes at all.

It is very common.

[Shuffler]

That's it.  Focus on the extreme exceptions 

In Texas this is by far not extreme.

[B3YT]

Walking and riding a bike there may work fine. Here our commute to work can sometimes be 50 or 100 miles.

If your vehicle gives off under 90mg of CO2 per mile  it free on the roads.

I need a car for some of my work . I ride to where I work as a grounds man  but I need a car for my window cleaning and bicycle repairs .  what is frustrating in the UK is the number on mums driving their kids  to school that live less than 2 miles from the school ect.