Quote:
Originally Posted by agambhandari
There won't be any preferences. Everybody will know it is a duster with a pretty face, and even Duster, though European, isn't a quintessential solid European car, that's reserved for the Germans, the French are known to have pathetic build quality. |
Note that I have thanked you in a 'thumb-to-the-nose' and sarcastic manner for this post. I am not really a Francophile as such but I would definitely beg to differ and vociferously too, about your sweeping statement above.
Please tell us what exactly, in your considered opinion makes the French build quality pathetic?
Do bear in mind that the Duster is a Dacia from Eastern Europe. Renault-Nissan have an alliance and Renault owns Dacia. The same way that Skoda is also an Eastern European brand and owned by the big VAG conglomerate. There is definitely a lot of sharing and cross pollination that goes on, unbeknownst to us consumers...
Now, those quintessentially French cars like the 2CV, the Peugeot, other Citroens and Renaults etc simply do not pack up and expire on their owners despite being driven at breakneck speeds on those uneven cobbled streets and lousy country roads. (You ought to see some of the country roads in Southern France and believe me you will rapidly revise your opinion of cars like even the humble 2CV as well as the Renault Twingo and Kangoo and various vintages of Peugeots too...)
The famous French suspension makes travel in those cars on those roads, more than bearably comfortable. Last time I checked, France was in Europe, so I guess they would possibly qualify for being European.
Their cars are adjudged to be more than good enough for 'safari country', such as L'Afrique and I can tell you most certainly that they are excellent for India too.
Those Citroens usually acquit themselves rather well indeed, in various rallies too...
The Peugeot 309GLD was one of the absolute best cars to have come down the pike to our market. It is a different matter that the brand was not managed well by its principals and was therefore allowed to die.
Even today, I can pretty much bet, that most Renault car owners will rarely crib about the ride, suspension and overall build quality of their cars.
As regards preferences, everyone knows also that the VW Vento and Skoda Rapid are sisters under the skin and that the Passat and Superb, to some extent, are too. Take also the Q3, the Tiguan and the Yeti as well for good measure. Different strokes for different blokes, I would venture to say, in this 'brand preference' game...
The bottom-line is that one or any of us simply cannot pre-decide and pre-judge in our 'infinite wisdom' that 'French build quality is pathetic', because none of us are God and nor are we proper accredited Auto experts with proven credibility in the real world market place.
At best, what we can share here are our 'opinions' only but even these ideally ought to be supported by facts.