Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

Technocrat · 26th January 2015, 22:59

LOL interesting topic, I never understood the 'X' is a Desi car concept. Because what that means is that either Desi public is the only one buying that car or are the majority buying the 'X' car which believe it or not is not true for either the Camry or Accord or the 328i, just visit the online forums or attend any of the meets.

Secondly why care what others think of a particular car, as long as it meets your requirement or aspirations you should be happy. I agree what people think or perceive is an important aspect of car buying but it should not be a deciding one IMHO.

I have stopped caring about whether a car is an enthusiast car or mid life crisis car or a Desi car, I will keep buying cars that are in my budget, meet my requirements & make me feel happy

amitoj · 26th January 2015, 23:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Technocrat

LOL interesting topic, I never understood the 'X' is a Desi car concept. Because what that means is that either Desi public is the only one buying that car or are the majority buying the 'X' car which believe it or not is not true for either the Camry or Accord or the 328i, just visit the online forums or attend any of the meets.

Absence in forums or meets need not translate into folks not buying that particular car. It just means that they buy those cars merely as means of transportation or as a status symbol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Technocrat

I will keep buying cars that are in my budget, meet my requirements & make me feel happy

Exactly. And you will make your decision based on your research, after evaluating all the options available to you, irrespective of a car's make or origin. Correct? If the answer is yes, which i think it is, then you are more of an exception than the norm.

Technocrat · 27th January 2015, 00:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj

Absence in forums or meets need not translate into folks not buying that particular car. It just means that they buy those cars merely as means of transportation or as a status symbol.

You missed the point, just because all/most desi's buy X doesn't mean desi's are largest buyers of X. In which case calling the X as a Desi car is not fair/valid imho.

Quote:

Exactly. And you will make your decision based on your research, after evaluating all the options available to you, irrespective of a car's make or origin. Correct? If the answer is yes, which i think it is, then you are more of an exception than the norm.

What if after all those considerations one ends up buying what the herd buys

vineeth47 · 27th January 2015, 01:13

Interesting topic. I think its just that 'my selection is the best, everyone else goes by the stereotype'

..

I saw that video of a Tesla doing a drag race in the previous page. My dream daily car is a Tesla P85D and I'm becoming a bigger fan of Tesla model S every new day. Any Bhpians own a Tesla ? Would like to know how it stands against these 'stereotyped' luxury cars in handling etc (I know model S is 70k+).

amitoj · 27th January 2015, 01:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Technocrat

You missed the point, just because all/most desi's buy X doesn't mean desi's are largest buyers of X. In which case calling the X as a Desi car is not fair/valid imho.

Ummmm desis will never be the largest buyers of any car in a market as big as US, just because we are not that big in number. But you cant deny that certain cars are more popular among the desis. So "desi car" just means that. A car that is popular among desis. For example, Camry, Odyssey, Siena, Accord.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Technocrat

What if after all those considerations one ends up buying what the herd buys

Then going with the herd would probably have been a requirement

Jomz · 27th January 2015, 01:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Oh and come on, everyone know about dodges and chryslers and jeeps. My American friends wouldn't touch these with a ten foot pole. Only (a few) desis look at these in awe. You can give these a v16 engine, they will still be the same cars.

I'm No way a Chrysler fan - I hate Dodges with a passion-But still...

The Dodge Charger has some German roots. It was basically the venerable W124 E class under the skin (I've been told). W124 and Charger has a reputation for reliability- that is why even police fleets & use them.

BMW's are not the epitome for reliability either - the HPFP issue in E90's took quite a few iterations to fix.

It is not only desi's. BMW's have the general reputation in the US to be a poser vehicle - quick Google search or vehicle stereotypes at the bottom.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marlon...b_2781453.html

So I would think it is normal for mostly enthusiasts + some posers to be seen in a BMW.

amitoj · 27th January 2015, 01:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jomz

The Dodge Charger has some German roots. It was basically the venerable W124 E class under the skin (I've been told). W124 and Charger has a reputation for reliability- that is why even police fleets & use them.

I knew they have the Nag1 transmission from Mercedes. Didnt know the whole chassis was also from there.
Thanks for that bit of info (if it is true)!

Jomz · 27th January 2015, 02:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj

I knew they have the Nag1 transmission from Mercedes. Didnt know the whole chassis was also from there.
Thanks for that bit of info (if it is true)!

Checked it, I'm wrong.

Just the transmission is from Mercedes.
The suspension is based on the older S class.

http://www.lxforums.com/board/showth...is-myth-to-bed

But still German roots ....

Jomz · 27th January 2015, 03:29

More stereotype stuff...

http://www.city-data.com/forum/autom...____-make.html

benbsb29 · 27th January 2015, 06:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jomz

More stereotype stuff...

http://www.city-data.com/forum/autom...____-make.html

Interesting to see the notion people have about Subarus! Really?!

rajushank84 · 27th January 2015, 07:45

Hahaha nice stereotypes, some of the posts on this topic belong on the "Quirky comments from non-petrolhead friends" thread

A few more similar comments I've heard from my friends after they moved here:

"I don't want to buy Subaru because it sounds like Subbarao"
"I don't want to buy Mazda because it reminds me of Swaraj Mazda"
"I don't like Passat because it has wall clock" (that nice analog clock on the dash)

amitoj · 27th January 2015, 07:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Interesting to see the notion people have about Subarus! Really?!

LOL Yeah thats quite a common notion. Specially if the car is from Vermont! No idea why though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajushank84

A few more similar comments I've heard from my friends after they moved here:

"I don't want to buy Subaru because it sounds like Subbarao"
"I don't want to buy Mazda because it reminds me of Swaraj Mazda"
"I don't like Passat because it has wall clock" (that nice analog clock on the dash)

They all bought a BMW 328, right?

rajushank84 · 27th January 2015, 08:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj

LOL Yeah thats quite a common notion. Specially if the car is from Vermont! No idea why though.

They all bought a BMW 328, right?

No, they all think 328 isn't worth the money

.

Actually, they ended up with an Accord and a CR-V.

amitoj · 27th January 2015, 08:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajushank84

No, they all think 328 isn't worth the money

.

Actually, they ended up with an Accord and a CR-V.

Hahaha. Well there's a lesson for all of us. You dont have to be a car expert to walk away from marketing hype!

Jeroen · 27th January 2015, 08:14

A bit of science about BMW drivers, http://jalopnik.com/science-confirms...wor-1120783177

And some more from the UK
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...age-wheel.html

Jeroen

26th January 2015, 22:59	#4381
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,815 Thanked: 2,702 Times	Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America LOL interesting topic, I never understood the 'X' is a Desi car concept. Because what that means is that either Desi public is the only one buying that car or are the majority buying the 'X' car which believe it or not is not true for either the Camry or Accord or the 328i, just visit the online forums or attend any of the meets. Secondly why care what others think of a particular car, as long as it meets your requirement or aspirations you should be happy. I agree what people think or perceive is an important aspect of car buying but it should not be a deciding one IMHO. I have stopped caring about whether a car is an enthusiast car or mid life crisis car or a Desi car, I will keep buying cars that are in my budget, meet my requirements & make me feel happy
	(4) Thanks

27th January 2015, 01:13	#4384
vineeth47 BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Francisco Posts: 25 Thanked: 14 Times	Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America Interesting topic. I think its just that 'my selection is the best, everyone else goes by the stereotype' .. I saw that video of a Tesla doing a drag race in the previous page. My dream daily car is a Tesla P85D and I'm becoming a bigger fan of Tesla model S every new day. Any Bhpians own a Tesla ? Would like to know how it stands against these 'stereotyped' luxury cars in handling etc (I know model S is 70k+).
	() Thanks

27th January 2015, 03:29	#4389
Jomz BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Detroit, MI,USA Posts: 834 Thanked: 335 Times	Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America More stereotype stuff... http://www.city-data.com/forum/autom...____-make.html
	() Thanks

27th January 2015, 07:45	#4391
rajushank84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,118 Thanked: 1,103 Times View My Garage	Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America Hahaha nice stereotypes, some of the posts on this topic belong on the "Quirky comments from non-petrolhead friends" thread A few more similar comments I've heard from my friends after they moved here: "I don't want to buy Subaru because it sounds like Subbarao" "I don't want to buy Mazda because it reminds me of Swaraj Mazda" "I don't like Passat because it has wall clock" (that nice analog clock on the dash)
	() Thanks

27th January 2015, 08:14	#4395
Jeroen Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Delhi Posts: 8,402 Thanked: 54,320 Times View My Garage	A bit of science about BMW drivers, http://jalopnik.com/science-confirms...wor-1120783177 And some more from the UK http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...age-wheel.html Jeroen
	() Thanks