cas2themoe

Well I was thinking on the way back while in the RX8 about all the Car Manufactures and what each are really know for. (Such as quality, performance, looks, practicality, a combination of some, all or etc)

So I bring to the table for everyone to discuss, what are the following Car Manufactures know for?

Mazda:
Toyota:
Nissan:
Mercedes:
Volvo:
Ford:
Dodge:
Mitsubishi:
Honda:
Acura:
Audi:
BMW:
Porsche:
Subaru:
Ferrari:

And many others that I have left out. Which do you think give you the best of all worlds?(Looks, Performance, Comfort and Price)

No More Oldsmobiles

For me, the Big Three U.S. automakers will always be known for getting lazy and arrogant until they got a wakeup call from Japan.

therm8

Volvo = safety to everyone, and boxy but good :p

Volvo is starting to be more known for performance and looks. The T5 powerplant has been around for quite a while (225-245hp). I really like the look of the new S40 and V50.

spork

first things i think of for the following:

Toyota: Can't go wrong with them. Family friendly.
Mercedes: Rich status symbol, especially amongst Asians. More for the older crowd though.
Volvo: Super safety.
Honda: Can't go wrong with them. Great resale value.
BMW: Status symbol for the younger crowd.
Subaru: ugly cars, great performance. AWD.

Ike

Mazda: Underpowered yet fun to drive cars with decent reliability but not quite what the rest of Japan has to offer. Also of course the rotary.

Toyota: Very reliable, excellent quality, and one beast of a sportscar in the Supra TT.

Nissan: Excellent engines, good reliability, for a long time was the more enthusiast based lineup of the Japanese cars, they revolutionized the car world with the Z and the Maxima which may have coined the term sportssedan.

Mercedes: Hrm... tough one, today they're known for the huge horsepower AMGs, subpar reliability, and a numb driving experience. Yesteryear, stodgy and reliable.

Volvo: Safety and hippies

Ford: A boring pedestrian lineup with a lot of trucks that often have stickers that say I'd rather push a Ford than drive a Chevy.

Dodge (Chrysler): The biggest risktakers in the american automotive scene. Some of the most interesting designs have come from chrysler as of late and they are helping to shed the boring image of the american car.

Mitsubishi: Usually have one good car in their lineup beyond that who cares, not exactly known for the reliability but it's better than what some other parts of the world offer.

Honda: Amazing and inovative engines, top notch reliability, and the driving force of the early tuner car market. On a side note it was a fluke, Honda has no idea how to appeal to a young market when they actually try to.

Acura: A fancy Honda <shrugs>

Audi: Heavy cars with great interiors and decent to poor reliability depending on the model.

BMW: Split as to whether it's a drivers car or a nameplate *****'s car, depends on the buyer and the model. The model for how to build brand image.

Porsche: Unique designs, unique powerplants, finicky yet satisfying drivers cars.

Subaru: Porsches ugly, frugal, Japanese cousin. Always unique and sort of a love it or hate it design stance. Also, see Volvo, AWD, and Lesbians :p Probably the most exciting company when it comes to performance in the Japanese car market, though that's a newer revelation.

Ferrari: The ultimate exotic, sex on wheels, orgasmic exhaust notes, and the color red.

cas2themoe

I could not agree with you more on these two!!!!!! Very good break-down on all of the cars Ike!

czr

iTrader: (3)

Good job ike.
I'd add boring but poised to dominate the market to Toyota, tree hugger or Paul Hoganesq wagon loving performance driven people to Subaru.

I agree most with BMW .

ike, do:

Hyundai:
Chevy:
Cadillac:

Red Devil

I identify Subaru with Volvo or Saab based on characteristics. An emphasis on safety, turbo's instead of large displacement, boxy design, will last a long time if properly cared for. I don't see Subaru and Porsche as having much relationally.

I'm very close to you on much everything else Ike.

Aratinga

Mazda: Stubborn devotion to the Wankel (thank goodness!)
Toyota: Boring ugly transportation appliances that simply refuse to die
Nissan: Making Altimas the most ubiquitous vehicle on the road by financing even three-time bankruptcy filers
Mercedes: Victim of an unholy alliance with Chrysler that caused their quality ratings to freefall
Volvo: "They're boxy, but they're safe."
Ford: Has redeemed itself with the '05 Mustang by acknowledging that they made their best stuff forty years ago
Dodge: "That thing got a Hemi?"
Mitsubishi: Putting Dirty Vegas on the map with the robot-dancing girl.
Honda: Motorcycles
Acura: Dropping cool names like Legend and Integra for meaningless letter combinations like TL, RL, RSX, WTF???
Audi: Wannabe BMWs without the cachet
BMW: Grossly overpriced ego-stuffed vehicles that status-craving morons line up to buy
Porsche: rear-engined air-cooled compensation machines
Subaru: The overlooked stepchild of Japanese automakers who is finally now getting the recognition it deserves for building some great little cars
Ferrari: Libidinous wretchedly fast sleekly predatory machines that no one can afford.

BlueEyes

I think my baby is purty


No way ma'am! Their marvels of engineering best known I would say for their shape.
I'm telling shiggy!

Aratinga

^^^ I almost included the disclaimer, "Except for the Solara and the late great Supra..." when I wrote that. But the image below was just too overwhelming.

khtm

um.....yeah.

czr

iTrader: (3)

I have a 99 solara v6 solara and I love it. It's my gf's car now. It's an awesome cruiser; very comfortable, great tranny, and space to boot. The engine is so smooth I can't even tell it's on. The new body style is pretty but looks so big and rear is tiburon like. In my mind, it's a girl's car (no offense) because for the price you can get a better driver's car. I'm actually disappointed that I don't hear anything about it on this forum.

I like the prius. It's like the xb. It's ugly cute. Both have >35 mpg too.

Gambit

My gf's celica is a pretty kickass little car for what it costs...not too fast, but it's perfect for her

Not all toyotas are ugly transportation appliances...just most

Gambit

I'll give this a shot

Mazda: Nice, sporty, company is going through a reniassance, but still not on par with toyota and honda
Toyota: With the drop of the Celica and MR-2 this year, they are not really exciting, but they are durable and pretty nice inside
Nissan: Like mazda, but less sporty and with more trucks
Mercedes: Old rich people
BMW: Young rich people
Lexus: Fancy toyotas, really really trying to take a bite out of BMW and MB's market
Volvo: built to take out a moose
Ford: Not exciting, built to last...about 75K miles
Chevy: Good, dependable, better than ford, still not great
Dodge: Taking some chances with their styling, powerful, quality leaves something to desire
Mitsubishi: Inferior quality Japanese car
Honda: Invincible, will last forever, but not exiting
Acura: Hondas with leather
Audi: German luxury car, though not recognized with BMW and MB
Hyundai: Cheap, but we're trying!!
KIA: Hyundai without the frills
Porsche: Classic sports car, becomes an obsession when you have one, also when you have one you must pronounce it "Poor-SHA"
Subaru: AWD on every model, getting more popular all the time
Ferrari: Exist for the purpose of driving around and saying, "My car is worth more than your house"

Added a few

DreRX8

Mazda wants to be the Japanese equivalent of BMW (a poor man's BMW if you will)--sporty fun to drive cars. BMWs are driver's cars versus Mercedes being luxo status symbols. Jaguars are British elegance etc.

Ike

Hyundai: The model for how to turn a brand around, nothing too exciting from them yet but it's coming

Chevy: See Ford, reverse the sticker, then toss in an American icon of a car and one impressive, frequently used engine

Cadillac: Confused automaker seeks confused middle aged buyer that has been tricked into thinking Cadillacs are now for the young and hip. Also see rapper, dubs, and behemoth SUV.

nbthing

GM: Commission rubbermaid to make interior. Hire one designer for speedometer, another designer for radio faceplate, another designer for A/C controls, another designer for window switches. Do NOT let any of the designers talk to each other. Design a few cars, use multiple brands and blow lots of ad money to fool the non-car savvy public into thinking you have dozens of car designs.

Saab: Once unique, quirky small volume euro automaker now snuffed into dullness by GM's relentless brand engineering. Not commenting on the merits of either car, but is anyone really fooled into thinking the 9-2x or the 9-7 is a Saab? Did we need more GM clones?

Saturn: The american car for folks who want to buy a foreign car, but just feel too much pressure to buy american. Also, top-to-bottom, the ugliest car line-up of any manufacturer.

VW: Top-notch interior ergonomics, attractive exterior styling... electrical gremlins and poor reliability hold this brand back from greatness.

Porsche: Small-ish sportscar company with solid racing heritage... amazing design and decades of evolution of the rear engine boxer configuration has led to the only 6-cylinder supercars. Unfortunately Porsche cheapened their image big time to slop from the trough of american SUV buyers with their late-to-the-party, me-too SUV, Cayenne.

MI_FamilyMan

Mazda: Zoom Zoom (and the rotary engine of course!)
Toyota: Reliable to no end, but booooring
Nissan: A Japanese car with a styling edge
Mercedes: Nothing but class
Volvo: Solid as a bank vault, but still a sheep in wolf's clothing in the lux market
Ford: Falling behind rapidly
Dodge: Big & obnoxious
Mitsubishi: Almost could have been a Mazda except for their current $$ issues
Honda: Engines so great, makes you want to buy everything Honda (mower, etc.)
Acura: The Japanese luxury brand that started it all
Audi: Fantastic interiors, Quattro
BMW: The enthusiast's choice, except too much $$$
Porsche: If all cars cost the same, almost everyone would be driving one
Subaru: Japanese experts in AWD, nice product with questionable resale/quality
Ferrari: What most car enthusiasts drive when they get to heaven

And many others that I have left out. Which do you think give you the best of all worlds?(Looks, Performance, Comfort and Price)