How the American Car Failed in Europe

[@EdsAutoReviews]

So, how much does a Mustang or Escalade cost in your part of the world? PS, when it comes to CLASSIC American cars, it's a completely different story. In The Netherlands, cars older than 40 years are considered classic cars where you don't pay any road tax and a special low price insurance. Maintenance and fuel are up to you of course. This actually makes The Netherlands, along with Sweden and Germany some of the countries where you'll find the most American classic cars in the whole of Europe!

[@michaellorenz7177]

Local Ford dealer (Michigan, USA) has 3 Mustangs on their lot; 2 GT"s and an EcoBoost. Iirc, the GT's are just under $50k and the EcoBoost is just under $40k.

[@PumpKing96]

In Germany it is actually pretty affordable to buy a Mustang. The GT 5.0 V8 costs here around 55,000€. But the monthly costs are high, because of the high fuel prices, high tax and expensive insurance.

[@maxipluszwei5819]

Here in Switzerland A Mustang starts at about 67000€/72500$. Not too bad actually. You also see a lot of US cars here compared to the rest of Europe - old and new ones. Many enthusiasts and wages are very high.

[@JaakkoIsWatching]

Here in Finland, Mustang GT starting at €95500. About half of that is taxes. Escalade not available.

[@gallendugall8913]

In GA it looks like dealers are trying to dump 2024 stock Escalade 2024 new $80K Mustang 2024 new $30K

[@danielstickney2400]

Road taxes based on weight makes perfect sense because weight directly affects how much wear and tear a vehicle puts on the road.

[@neolerades2987]

Weight and mileage. If you have a 2,500kg car that you drive only on weekends 2,000 km a year, it will not do as much damage as a 1,500 kg car that drives 30,000 km a year. The performance of the car and the volume of the engine do not matter - they will not damage the road in any way.

[@davem9204]

@@neolerades2987 Mileage is covered by tax on fuel. Vehicle tax (no such thing as road tax as people like to point out) goes into general taxation to pay for all the other stuff, so not just to fix roads. But I do think that annual vehicle tax should take into account of weight, not just tailpipe emissions.

[@svr5423]

in Germany, it is/was based on displacement of the engine. Which gave us small, fast revving engines. Driving your 1l petrol car at 5000 RPM in city traffic is normal.

[@neolerades2987]

@@davem9204 The vehicle tax that does not take into account the mileage is a fraud. For example - I drive a small 1.0 TSI Euro6 in the city and at home I have several cars with a large engine, for example a 4.4 V8 with emissions over 300g/km. I rarely drive this car, mainly on weekends, this year I only drove about 500 km. Why should I pay full tax for a car that hardly drives? This taxation paradoxically favors people who drive a lot and create a lot of emissions and disadvantages people who collect cars and drive a car with low emissions every day.

[@neolerades2987]

@@svr5423 I understand, but the vehicle tax should always take into account the mileage of the car per year. If I collect cars and don't drive them, there is no reason to pay full tax and be disadvantaged, when on the other hand someone pays the same tax for a car with a big engine as me, but he drives it every day and produces a lot of emissions. Such a tax has exactly the opposite effect as it should.

[@darryljones3009]

Europe designed its cars to fit its roads, America designed its roads to fit its cars.

[@quodynieman5256]

Judging by American roads that worked out well 😂😂

[@Art-is-craft]

European cars were design for a lower standard of living. There are large European cars but only the wealthy had them. Even a large Fiat or Peugeot was beyond the vast majority of Europeans.

[@Thatclimbingirl]

@@Art-is-craftWhen public transport is so good why bother with a large and expensive car. Small cars does not equal lower standard of living.

[@intelligenzbestie3121]

​@@Art-is-craft That's such an american comment, it's incredible... My high standard of living is being able to quickly get into the city centre without having to drive. (Imagine being able to have a night out with drinks and still being able to get home on your own xD) Your whole country is incredibly dependent on cars and your brain doesnt even comprehend it... Greetings from Germany:)

[@bolech5221]

​@@Art-is-craftamericans are really ignorant as is proven by your comment, you cannot fathom using buses or walking to you job we europeans like to have simple, functional and easy to maintain cars

[@peterlewellyn2389]

I formed a company in 1985 to sell American cars to dealers in Europe. It was rather slow business until I made sufficient contacts in Europe. In 1991, I was able to sell 535 cars per year. Most of the cars went to Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland. I think I sold only one car to the Netherlands. I wasn't sure why, but after your video, I now know why. Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland did not have the road tax that you mentioned. But the buyers did pay the import tax of 10% and VAT of 20%. I sold Ford Mustangs, Explorers, Capri's, Ford Probe and Thunderbirds to Ford dealers. I also sold Chevrolet Camaro's and Pontiac Firebirds plus some other Chrysler cars. Everything depended on the currency exchange rate. From 1985 to about 1997, the dollar became lower and lower which helped sales dramatically. After 1997 things became quite difficult due to the value of the dollar rising and additional requirements to covert the cars to European standards. I took a hiatus from exporting until 2004 and then began sales again with the Mustang being the big seller. You are quite right, US cars are not for the normal European guy or gal. My dealers sold to buyers who had an affinity for the USA or US cars. In may cases their father had a US car when they were growing up and they wanted to have one also. I ceased selling in 2015, and it was a great relief. Every day there would be a new problem to deal with. So, that was the end of an interesting occupation that did prove worthwhile for many years.

[@jerrymail]

Did you ever see a French village? If you live in one of these villages, you will understand why we don't use American cars. These are too big to handle on the streets and to be parked in car parks. But there are still idiots who buy big American pick-ups and annoy everyone with them!

[@tde1964]

And French villages streets are boulevards compared to some Italian villages! Even Fiat 500 struggle sometimes!

[@scialomy]

And in general: all villages in Europe. We could play the game of who have the smallest, but anyway big american cars are nowhere a fit.

[@martinstyblo6355]

Some of full-size pick-up owners are surely not idiots loving just to annoy others... for certain use such car makes sense even in Europe (towing, large distance travel with more than 2 people aboard - the European pick-ups are for short distance crew transportation only if you sit in the back row).

[@tde1964]

@@martinstyblo6355 Full size pick-up owners in Europe are mostly driving short distance. It’s for the looks and image. Your assumption about comfort is also wrong. German SUV’s and large sedans are made for long haul travel and are famous for their comfort (driver and passengers). Now, most people don’t need cars for long distance as the public transportation network (trains, planes, etc.) is quite dense and efficient. So there is little use for large American cars here. By the way, most European prefer Japanese pick-ups to American ones. Much more reliable and efficient.

[@martinstyblo6355]

@@tde1964 Not wanting to start flame war, but personally I would spend the price tag for German premium sedan or SUV for US car... I guess I would annoy others by taking road place in the same extent either by M-B GL/GLS or by driving Dodge Durango, but I would definitely more enjoy the Durango🙂Or, in case of sedans, M-B E or BMW 5 vs. Dodge Charger... And all such cars may be deemed also way big for many occasions by European eyes. Fully understand that if e.g. Toyota Hilux fits one's needs, there is no point taking US full size pick-up... Yes, part of car choice is about emotions (internal ones, ok) and image (ok, that's for debate and may seem rather questionable). Btw. my personal needs are fulfilled by Challenger and I do not feel I am annoying too much people... (not spending too much time by city commuting, that's better by foot or public transit unless you carry a lot of stuff). The aspect of annoying others is rather about people behavior and attitude than about the particular car, isn't it?

[@Jerry_from_analytics]

Funny thing that those "small American cars" were still huge next to European cars. Had bit of a giggle when I first saw AMC Pacer in a museum, with 3.8 litter engine, described as a response to energy crisis.

[@CommodoreFan64]

Thing is a lot of us Americans need the bigger engines for long drives to bomb back roads, as for example Sunday just to go visit my brother who just got out of the hospital, and lives in the same state as me was a 6 hour round trip purely in driving which was almost 300 miles, and just do a normal bi weekly shopping trip for me living in a small town is 20 to 30 miles one way easy to the next city over, and so if I'm going around town, or going through a few different towns to say go pick up a car part I need then 100 miles in day one way is nothing!!

[@jhoncho4x4]

To add more irony, Pacer was supposed to have a wankel rotary engine; the straight 6 was a Jeep engine. Great engine, became the 4.0 ho; have one in my 2001 Cherokee.

[@MihaelTurina]

@@CommodoreFan64 How does a bigger engine help with that? My car has a twin turbo 1.6L diesel and it can reach 200 km/h on the highway, and do maybe 600 km on one tank if you drive conservatively (and that's a 47L tank, quite small). Europe has higher speed limits on highways than the US, and we can reach (and exceed) them quite comfortably with our small engines. Big engines are nice for low end torque, but that's important in the city, not for long distance highway travel.

[@samuelrudy1776]

@@MihaelTurina Bigger engines typically produce more low end torque meaning they get better fuel economy on highways as a by product it also reduces the rpm needed to maintain a certain speed putting less stress on the engine also if two engines have the same horse power the bigger engine is going to be less stressed and therefore more reliable

[@MihaelTurina]

@@samuelrudy1776 Sure, but you can also solve that with a small diesel engine, and while a big gasoline engine might not be stressed that much when cruising on a highway, it still uses gasoline which is less energy efficient than diesel, so it has to burn more of it for the same effect. As for RPM, I can do 130 (which is the highest speed limit in the country) at about 2000 RPM in 6th gear, which is barely above the programmed upshift point in city driving conditions, and I'm pretty sure the engine would be happy running at even lower RPM for the same load, but the gear ratios aren't set up ideally. Peak torque of that particular engine is 380 NM, and it's available at 1750 RPM. You would need a 3.5L naturally aspirated gasoline engine for that sort of torque, and it would be available much higher up, at around 4000 RPM. Reliability also isn't really an issue, my car has 200k km and drives like new, and many people drive cars with over half a million km and they still work. Diesels, in particular, seem more reliable than gasoline engines. It's just that no-one wants a diesel in the US. But even small turbo gasoline engines are more efficient than big naturally aspirated ones, and can still be reliable, as evidenced by the Toyota 8AR-FTS, for example. And don't get me wrong, I like big gasoline engines and I would like to have a car with one because I don't care about fuel consumption and I want something fun, but I recognize that it's far from the ideal solution for the average person.

[@GtGtiR32]

And frankly these days American cars have the reputation of being plastic buckets that fall apart if you look at them too intensely. Even the few ones that are sold here aren't at all considered competitive with their European rivals.

[@MrTheatrick]

If you ask me the Japanese cars are the best they just run and you cant break them if you try

[@manuelhauler1083]

And one big reason why american cars don't really sell in Europe is the tax on engine displacement and the insurance costs in a lot of countries. And another reason is that spare parts are not easy to get for american cars here. You don't have these problems with european or japanese cars. We also have RAM and Ford Pickup trucks in my Country, but they are mainly used as commercial vehicles.

[@Arltratlo]

@@manuelhauler1083 my Hyundai i10, cost me €64 tax and €200 insurance per year... its been build in India! i drove in the USA, i only rent Japanese or Korean cars!

[@paxhumana2015]

The European cars are no better, and the other foreign ones as well, as vehicle builds worldwide have tanked, as well as their quality standards, so knock off your nationalist, elitist, jingoist, and historical revisionist pride, arrogance, and elitist f u c k i n g b u l l s h i t .

[@paxhumana2015]

@@manuelhauler1083 , you all intentionally do that because you all have an inherent anti-American bias. Yes, I too, am not proud of the USA, but even Stevie Wonder could see that what I said is indeed true.

[@vwestlife]

My dad drove exclusively American cars, until he visited Europe in the late 1960s, rented a Peugeot 404, and was amazed at the responsive handling and solid construction. He continued driving American cars -- although not particularly large ones, like an AMC Rambler -- until he test-drove a VW Jetta in 1985 and said it was the best-driving car since that Peugeot. He bought the Jetta for my mom and a Golf for himself (which was actually American-made, in VW's Westmoreland, PA plant).

[@charlie_nolan]

I didn’t expect to see you on this channel. I wish VW was still the quality it once was. My mom’s 2014 Audi A4 was a pile of junk that was always in the shop and she vowed to never own another VW product.

[@S500-]

Hi there i watch your videos mate im Surprised and happy that you interested in cars ,made a video about European cars in US.

[@coolboy5428]

American cars were good for that reason, they were big, long and floaty and that is why they cruised gorgeously. European cars mostly are crap.

[@zurielsss]

How about Japanese cars?

[@O-plaat]

@@charlie_nolan I say this as a person who owned several VWs and still owns a Vanagon, I've even had a 1984 MK3 Jetta like the OP mentioned. You can't compare the build quality of a pre 2000s VW to a new one.

[@andreasartini3643]

For example in Italy having a car bigger than 1.8/2.0 liter Is pricey not only for gas prices but also from taxes like for example the "superbollo" wich Is a tax that you pay for Cars that have more than 250hp

[@S.1-I-I-1-1]

Same here.

[@LMB222]

Yeah, but those taxes aren't *that* high.

[@S.1-I-I-1-1]

@@LMB222 Here they are.

[@robertstone9988]

In America you can have what ever engine size you want as long as you can afford the gas. No tax on displacement, though there is a gas guzzler tax for any car that dosnt meet a number depending on the state. I live in Indianapolis and as long as you pay your road tax you can drive a tank for all they care. Big cars big v8s and big guns and the freedom to do them all at the same time. Just don't get hurt or sick if you can't afford it.

[@ASPBLU]

in itlay you pay taxes by kilowatt, it used to be by displacement. so up until 192 kw you pay normal tax everything above an not older than 5 year you pay 10€ per kw (superbollo or luxary tax) so it is quiet expansive. however cars which are older than 30 years pay 25,60€ taxes per year

[@sipkeevenhuis6742]

Fun fact about that woman in the "Thank you Marshall" picture. That's my grandmother

[@Tycini1]

Do you remember Counter-Strike Source? It was a great game, and yet people seem to always forget about it in favour of CS:GO and CS:1.6. That reminds me that you forgot to provide the source.

[@chessie4]

@@Tycini1hah that a good one

[@zerooneonetwothree1872]

@@Tycini1 You got me... As a CS player, i was working my brain as i was reading, only to find the point to be a plot twist );

[@zivkovicable]

In the1970's the Netherlands reacted to the oil crises by cancelling planned urban highways crossing the major cities, and embarking on a policy prioritising sustainable transport, particularly bikes. This didn't lead to much lower levels of car ownership, just reduced the number of trips. For example, most Dutch kids make their own way to school and after school activities by foot or bike from a young age, so no parental taxi service required.

[@DenUitvreter]

The oil crisis was a factor but there was much more to it and government was basically forced to change it's policies through protests on many levels.

[@grumbazor]

And still driving by car is in NL much more enjoyable than in car centered countries. biking and walking is over the top much much much MUCH more fun anyway.

[@KodiakHusky]

@@grumbazor have you ever been to NL? They have a speedlimit of 100kph. Not mph. But kph. In other civilized countries then the speedlimit for country roads not highways.

[@grumbazor]

@@KodiakHusky Yes. Its always a joy to cross the border from germany. Far less idiots. Returning to germany is always madness. After 19:00 NL speedlimit is 130. behind the german border its open and what happens? Speed drops sometimes below 80 because everyone wants to drive fast and overtake and they are blockin each other causing hard braking and other bs. Enjoyable driving is not about reaching highest speeds. you have a lot to learn dude.

[@KodiakHusky]

@@grumbazor yeah it drops when you’re reaching the ruhr-area, since it‘s the industrial heart of Europe it has an extreme dense of industry, population and of course goods traffic. In addition, an extremely large number of goods are transported via inland waterways and railways in the Netherlands. This is not possible in Germany, which is why there is the familiar truck lane. This means that on highways with only two lanes, car traffic is squeezed into one lane. This is why it is very difficult to make fast progress on the highway during the day in densely populated areas. So it has nothing to do with a lack of speed limit, but rather with far too much traffic and far too little transportation on the rails. I can recommend that you use the highways after 11 p.m. when you can usually fly through at 250 kph 😎

[@williamegler8771]

Vehicles were primarily designed for their home markets and American vehicles aren't suitable for European driving conditions. That's why American manufacturers either established European specific divisions like Ford or purchased European manufacturers like Opel/ Vauxhall or Rootes.

[@faeinthebay]

I agree, you can see this in the dimensions of cars. American sedans and crossovers will often be much wider and longer than European models. Size doesn't matter when you're parking in lots and driveways, but it becomes much more difficult when you have to do parallel parking and navigate tight streets. I saw this when I moved to San Francisco and live on a European sized street. SUV owners attempt to visit the area for the weekend, struggle to find long parking spots, and don't know how to parallel park. There's also a large minority of people who want to own full-size pickups and SUVs while living in the city and parking them on the street, which seems ludicrous to me. For me, my big Genesis sedan (equivalent to a Mercedes E-Class) stays in the garage while I use a 2013 Fiat 500e (or electric scooter or light rail) for city mobility and errands. The Fiat's packaging is so much better, and shows how the Genesis is meant to be luxurious rather than space-efficient. Two tall people fit abreast while a third person can sit in the rear, and the hatch has plenty of space for a Costco run or a dozen bags of soil.

[@williamegler8771]

​@@faeinthebayIt is an individuals choice what vehicle they purchase. If someone wants to drive a large pickup truck or SUV in the city it is their choice.

[@DebatingWombat]

@@williamegler8771 Sure, and no one is banning them from doing so. It’s just hilariously impractical. If you want to, you could do your shopping and commute in an 18-wheeler too, but it would be rather silly.

[@uncipaws7643]

Tesla designed most models to be adaptable to European specs but the Cybertruck is non compliant in a number of ways (too heavy, crash safety regulations in Europe also take survival of the opponent into account ...) so I guess that one won't come.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

​@@uncipaws7643That do here too....thatbis why sharp edges in cars wemt away...Tesla bends the rules to the max and technically the cybertruck has no sharp edges on the front...where we do have laws for

[@HubiKoshi]

To be fair American cars are just too big and are absolute gas guzzlers. To quote Gabriel Iglesias "You can't be a badass in a car that kills gas like I kill tacos.". Gas is considerably more expensive in Europe than US and in all honestly we don't really need big cars. To my understandings Americans just hit a Wallmart or something and do a grocery run for a whole week in one go. We don't really need to do that since even in the countryside we have stores within 5-10 minutes by foot or bike. And if you really need to transport some bigger stuff you can always get one of those small car trailers, you hook it up to the back of your car when needed and when it's not you just leave it at home.

[@Muck006]

I have an old VW Passat ... great and SIMPLE car! If I were to ever buy a new one there would be a test drive to check the gearbox ratios, because we also have a newer VW Golf with an absolutely terrible gearbox that can be driven in 5th gear at 60km/h ... which means it gets REALLY LOUD on the Autobahn at ~100-130. Since there are no dealers for a test drive ...

[@BackfeetBoi]

But you don't need the American big car for that. Get a small transporter or european estate car and they have just as much space for 3 weeks of groceries. That's the thing. American cars are big for no reason apart for: "Wow look so big!"

[@LM-oh3vw]

Or you can just rent a van

[@justynawisniewska1213]

You can easily do a weekly grocery run in an estate as well as all else for let's say a family of 2+2. Their cars are getting bigger and bigger for no other reasons but it being more profitable for the auto industry so it became 'cool' via marketing's magic to own one.

[@LM-oh3vw]

@@justynawisniewska1213 You don’t even need an estate, a hatchback like a Toyota Yaris works perfectly for that

[@StoryOfTtrouble]

Here in Greece, we had to import American cars as a compensation for the financial aid we received after WW2. They were usually used as taxis, but most prominently as hearses. To this day all American classics look like a hearse to older people. Station wagon =long hearse. Muscle car=fast hearse. Once you know this, you can't unsee it 😂

[@DesertStateInEU]

Yeah but greece also had something put in its drinking water a few decades ago, which is why every single greek I have ever met had an IQ score 10 points lower than the western average lmao

[@Dreyno]

Fast hearse 😂

[@RobertJarecki]

In the late 1970s, I visited Greece and saw many vintage Mercedes cars. At one hotel, I did see a late 1960s Oldsmobile Delta 98 in dark metallic blue with a black vinyl top. A chauffeur was loading luggage in the trunk.

[@yapraksarmacimulayimreyiz8858]

Hello Turkish guy here, 2022 Cadillac Escalade 6.2 V8 costs about ~20 million Turkish liras which equals to ~600 thousand dollars while 2021 Ford Mustang 2.3 EcoBoost costs about ~8 million Turkish liras which equals to ~240 thousand dollars. Oh and btw average income per year is 13.000 dollars so that is fun.

[@furkandogan4623]

You meant 20 million Turkish liras not 6

[@erichellner956]

How about a Ford Transit made locally? Just curious

[@BillLaBrie]

Makes me happy to think there’s a place where American cars are luxuries for the very richest in society.

[@furkandogan4623]

@@erichellner956 Transit Custom Vans start from 1.1 million liras around €30500 and transit custom minibuses (you might know as transit custom combi) start from 1.75 million liras around €48600

[@_zigger_]

We're talking about Europe here, not Asia, so, begone, roach

[@Dutchreason]

I live in the Netherlands and I get "almost hit" by a Tesla about 3 times a day. My average cycling trip is 10 minutes twice daily...

[@mathiasrryba]

I've driven a car for years and the single almost deadly incident I had was a Tesla going like 100kph above the speed limit almost rear-ending me on a highway. Wanted to swerve right inbetween 2 semis to avoid the Tesla but he decided instead to use that gap to overtake me. If I wasn't staring at him in the mirror and reacted instantly we'd all have probably been dead.

[@johnny_eth]

Now imagine getting run over by a Ford F150. The Tesla would brake while going for your legs. The Ford wouldn't even see your head.

[@tomasipaolo]

that's because you don't watch. Or ride outside the cycle paths. Or wear headphones. Or use you phone while riding. Or all of these. I live in Amsterdam, cycke to work, and own a Tesla, and the amount of cyclists doing one or more of the above is staggering. Police nowhere to be seen.

[@tsakeboya]

​@@tomasipaolo let's compare weight and top speed between a car and a bicycle... It's the car's duty not to kill

[@tomasipaolo]

@@tsakeboya no. It's everyone's duty to respect road rules, cyclists are not exempt and they should not assume others should take care of their lives, no matter what they do. For example running red lights, wearing headphones, texting while riding, assuming to have right of way in every situation... only to blame and sue the car driver (who of course has insurance, unlike cyclists) whenever something bad happens to them. Of course car drivers should be on le lookout for cyclists... but cyclists should be on the lookout for cars and trucks 10x more... and you know why? Exactly because of what you said, the difference in size and speed and the greater vulnerability of the cyclist. Instead too many cyclists ride casually without a care for what happens around them. I ride a bicycle to work, I ride a motorbike for pleasure, and drive a car occasionally: but the number of idiocies done by cyclists far outweighs those committed by any other category of road users: that's why they have a bad press, you know...

[@gus3000]

There is a surprisingly large amount of big US pickups and SUVs in Sweden - but Sweden is also quite hillbilly by European standards. It's some kind of "working class, newly rich"-symbol.

[@Runeakb]

Isn't it more the Raggars that strive to live in an illusion of a 1950's US utopia?

[@WitchyWhale]

I don't remember where I saw this but after WWII American Cars became popular in Sweden because they where one of the few countries that weren't bombed out.

[@gus3000]

@@WitchyWhale Wealth surely plays a role, but Sweden is also a very car-focused country with wide and (sometimes) rugged roads, long distances, dark cold winters. A sturdy reliable car is needed. There is also a fascination with American culture since a vast amount of Swedes (2 million'ish) migrated to America, and the emigrants kept contact with their relatives back home. Wealth allowed people to buy cars early on after the war. And as the years went by... Most guys knew how to tinker with a car thanks to their military service, they grew up with and around the cars and there isn't that much to do on the countryside, so cars became (and still is) a common interest and hobby. There's probably more to it but it something of an outline.

[@Burninhellscrootoob]

Ah, you mean our American pickups built in Mexico and Canada???😂😂😂

[@hendo337]

It is in the USA too...new rich have big new pickups. I actually use my trucks and I don't believe in car payments so I drive 20+ year old trucks I buy with cash and they work just fine.

[@GeraldBradshaw-j2t]

when my Dad was stationed in Germany in 1969 he shipped over a 1963 Chrysler Imperial Le Baron. We lived off base and found it was almost impossible to drive around in. He sold it to another GI and bought a Renault(I'm not sure which model).

[@Sanyey]

I'm having trouble finding or manouvering into parking spots in my 5 meter long 2001 Opel Omega 2.5 dti caravan.. (Cadillac Catera over there).. It's a monster landyacht compared to the average vehicle size in Hungary..

[@Hipas_Account]

I live in Finland and my dad got either a 1962 or 63 Imperial Crown as a trade for some other American car he had at the time, he absolutely loved having the biggest car ever (according to him when his buddies and him measured it, it was over a meter longer than its actual length according to all sources) Still to this day my dad will vehemently claim the Imperial he had, to be the largest production car ever built even if the 70's one was larger :D. I own a 1991 Chevrolet Caprice Classic and its getting to be a bit small, compared to my 1997 Peugeot 605 the interior is cramped, while the exterior is massive. Trunk space is about equal though.

[@nikonordman7624]

​@@Hipas_Accountnot many of those Peugeot around here

[@RunawayTrain2502]

I think Renault actually had a partnership with Renault in the 70's.

[@Hipas_Account]

@@RunawayTrain2502 You mean AMC?

[@joegrey9807]

As a Brit it always surprises me how many American cars there are in continental Europe. The additional barrier of left hand drive position really makes US cars rare here.

[@dfuher968]

Almost exclusively Fords tho. Ford adapted to the European market with models designed for Europe and made in Europe. The other American car manufacturers were pretty much non-existent until a couple of decades ago, and theres still not that many of them.

[@joegrey9807]

@@dfuher968 I meant to say American style cars. Both Ford and GM (Vauxhall/Opel) have a lot of euro models. Now there are a few Jeep and Chrysler models sold for the euro market, but mostly they're different markets and styles.

[@Dreyno]

@@joegrey9807 Opel are now part of Stellantis rather than GM.

[@Dreyno]

@@dfuher968Ford are really an international company rather than American in the sense the likes of Chrysler, Cadillac, Dodge etc. are. Ford had European factories almost from year dot and have had a large constant presence in the European market. And there’s always been some cross pollination with some American Fords sold in Europe and European designs being made in the U.S. (Focus, Mercur Scorpio (Granada/Scorpio)).

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

​@@dfuher968I don't think he's referring to European Ford's, considering that the UK has basically always been Ford Europe's most successful market.

[@captlazer5509]

A friend of mines dad moved to Spain in the 80's for several years and brought his prized 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1, he said the reaction in Spain from the locals was if a space ship showed up.

[@marcos1669]

Spain in the early 70s was still a very poor country where you were lucky if you could afford a Seat 600, so, yeah, a Mustang would have looked like a rocketship (and as fastbas one too) related to anything sold here

[@AstekOst]

Probably true, I loose my shit when I see a mustang (I live in Serbia and I don't even like mustangs that much ahhaha)

[@framegrace1]

There were plenty of Barreiros Dodge Darts. I bet Franco bought the license just for higher rank officials feel different. Most of them were ... wait for it. Diesel :) Barreiros was a truck maker, who also had the license of perkins diesel engines. At that time, in Spain no one had a powerful enough engine to move a Dodge Dart. Only high rank civil servers / doctors/ lawyers could affor them. In the late 70's, there was a huge influx of Chrysler 180. Super common, not sure where they came from but you could see them everywhere.(Relativelly small for being american and not that expensive)

[@woodennecktie]

there is no restriction special on american cars or trucks in europe . every car with eight cilinders is not popular because europeans are not willing to give up food over a car.

[@marcos1669]

@@woodennecktie also because in a lot of countries displacement is directly related with taxes, and because gas price are way higher here. And roads are not prepared for such big cars, same with parking spaces

[@AeroGuy07]

After I moved to Denmark in 2005 one of the first cars I noticed parked on my street was a very clean 1985 Pontiac Grand Prix. An old man that lived across the street drove it. I tried to talk to him, but he didn't speak English and my Danish was pretty poor at the time. He understood a thumbs up and "nice car" so that was good enough!

[@sheep1ewe]

I am not sure about Denmark, but It was not until the 90s kids started to learn English in first grade scool in Sweden, i don't think it was until the 70s they even had it at all in scool here... i often had to help elder people translate with my very brooken English whan i was a student... Ha ha

[@AeroGuy07]

@@sheep1ewe my wife is Danish, she started learning English in school in the late 70s, in 1st grade. The only people I met that didn't speak it were older people. The younger people spoke it almost perfectly.

[@sheep1ewe]

@@AeroGuy07 Cool! Denmark must had been long before Sweden! We did not had it until the 4 year in scool whan i was a kid. Ha ha! :-) My sisters husbond and he's brother are into old vintage american cars, i remember he had an old Buick refitted with a turbocharged V-8 (American) truck engine whan he was younger, i want one too, but they are of course qite expensive now. He got more into 50s classic cupé style nowadays and original engines.

[@ulie1960]

@@AeroGuy07 In Denmark English is the first foreign language learned early in school, and it is followed by German. But there is another reason why Danish people are good in those languages. Movies in TV and I belive also in the cinema are not dubbed, but has the translated text as writing on the screen. As a German not used to this in the begining I had to try to not to laugh to much when watching Terminator in Danish TV. "Give me your boots and your motorcycle!" with an destinct Austrian accent is just hilarious.

[@AeroGuy07]

@ulie1960 You are right, they don't dub American or British TV or movies. My wife learned to count to 10 in German before she learned in Danish, from watching Sesame Street dubbed in German! For me, looking for something to watch could be frustrating because I'd find a movie I like, but it would be on a German channel.

[@stighenningjohansen]

From Norway, I still miss my 1980 Chevy Malibu Classic station wagon, 155hp 308, automatic from heaven, brownish color, a stereo with 4 programmable FM stations, and AM of course. It did a pretty good job of keeping oil companies busy, but other than that little detail, its the best ever! Thanks my friends. It was like driving alonng in your grandmas sofa.. :)

[@Nachtwandler100]

German here. My father had a big family and always needed big cars. When our American neighbor moved back to the United States, he offered my father his huge Oldsmobile. My father was thrilled with the trunk. There was plenty of room for our extended family's Aldi shopping. When my mother heard about the plan to buy this car, she immediately intervened. Her reasoning: We're not pimps after all.

[@Dreyno]

Volvo. The station wagon for people who are not pimps, after all.

[@Arltratlo]

we owned 2 Passat, for a 5 heads family....worked very well!

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@Dreyno huge and indestructible. Or by British names, an estate car, which always sounds more classy.

[@pedroneves4465]

Brazilian here. There are something like 27 different manufacturers building cars here, but almost all of them are "cheap" econoboxes, some more upscale than others. So, if you want anything fancier than a Fiat or a Jeep Renegade, you gotta go for imports. And the rule of thumb here is, you take the original sticker price, in dollars, euros or pounds.....and then you add another zero to it. That's it. So, a $50,000 Mustang will set you back at least 500 thousand BRL. A $400,000 Ferrari 296? That's a 4 million car right there. And the road tax is based on the car's sticker price, rather than it's weight or size. These can go from 2-4% of the sticker price (which includes several taxes on its own, by the way), depending on the state. There's a guy here who owns a Porsche 918, and he's paying 418,000 BRL PER YEAR of road taxes. That's 70,000 euros. Every. Single. Year. And, because the car is appreciating in value, so are the taxes that he is paying. That also applies for the common folk too, since we're in an endless economic crisis and our money loses value by the day. So yeah, it's quite fun.

[@diegoyanesholtz212]

Brazil is a heavily tax country. Most cars in Brazil are light, I notice even the steel used is lighter than in Europe or the US. Brazilian cars don't look safe.

[@pedroneves4465]

@diegoyanesholtz212 the VW Up! was very much safe, for instance. Probably something to do with it being an european project and all. Of course, it was overpriced and didn't last a decade, but it was decent. There are deathtraps, though. The n°1 most sold vehicle here from 2012-2016 had zero stars on Latin N-Cap, and the Renault Kwid has always been a piece of crap.

[@diegoyanesholtz212]

@@pedroneves4465 Renault Kwid is a bad car. I lived in Brazil for 14 years now I live in the US, I notice cars here are heavier in steel, and just the built quality is better here.

[@abpsd73]

What's interesting as well is companies like Ford will build trucks/SUVs specifically for the Brazilian/South American market. Trucks like the F1000 are a mishmash of different generations of their North American cousins, with different cab configurations and powertrains. Some of us wish the older Fords were available with some of the smaller diesels up here in North America.

[@rafapenson]

"It's quite fun!"

[@MrJommins]

65 episodes and still going strong! I love your videos! I’ve learned a lot. I laughed, I cried and I saved three bucks! Please keep the content coming, buddy! Your friend, Mr. Jommins

[@opachki8325]

German here. We only really pay the usual import fees and 19% of tax onto the base price. There is no extra emissions tax as far as I know because the normal tax is calculated with emissions and displacement in mind. So a base mustang is like 55 grand WITHOUT any deductions/rebate the dealer might give you. Add transport fees and such and you might end up at like 58 grand at MOST. Usually transport willl cost like 800-1000€, plus like 200€ of DMV fees to actually get it registered. Why is it this cheap here? Because Ford actually imports them themselves. We have some US-cars on their side but also a lot of EU market vehicles here.

[@Marfph]

Thank you. The video really is more an Netherlands perspective than an European over all

[@opachki8325]

@@Marfph It absolutely is. Thing is though: US cars are just not really suited for the EU market. It mostly comes down to fuel consumption. While enthusiasts would get a LNG or CNG system, it'd just make those huge cars even more epensive. A 5.7 hemi also would be taxed around per year alone, only calculating displacement and CO2-emissions. US cars usually are way too thirsty, heavy and big for european conditions. I mean, there's a reason that europe really loves their diesel engines. Imho it's also kind of weird that countries add a luxury tax the amount of another cars. Just doesn't make sense to me at all. But that's just me.

[@Marfph]

@@opachki8325 I answered to your comment, because of the prices in the Netherlands compared to Germany. And in this Part it is very Netherlands specific.

[@opachki8325]

@@Marfph I wasn't criticizing your comment, I was just adding to it! :) I totally do agree with you, it's too NL specific!

[@MrAronymous]

@@opachki8325 Yep, the video maker didn't mention it but all those pick-up trucks have a huge LNG (LPG) tank under the bed rather than a spare tire. Otherwise it would be too costly to own even as a 'commercial vehicle'.

[@MP-fw4ub]

Big issue in the UK is the position of the steering wheel, and the size, and the cost, and fuel consumption lack of spares, having nowhere to park it......

[@BackToTheBlues]

I've always said that over here they still seem to base parking spaces on the size of the Austin 7. Cars do seem to be getting stupidly big here though, especially the width. I've got a 24 year old Rover 75. Even at the time they were made they were quite narrow. I was in a car park the other day, parked up between two modern, chunky motors, had no trouble fitting in and getting out of my car, and watched a guy carefully manoeuvre his bloated monster of a car between two others of a similar size. He did get parked in the end, but I didn't wait around to see how he was going to get his door open and get out!

[@MP-fw4ub]

I've got a Jaguar XJ I try and avoid multistory carparks

[@morstyrannis1951]

@@BackToTheBluesI thought the UK parking stall sizes were based on Roman chariots? I’ve read that the UK’s multilevel parking garages are struggling to support the weight of hybrid and EV cars. Makes sense if they were designed with the typical 1950-70 UK car in mind.

[@rasklaat2]

​@@morstyrannis1951 There is a 60s multistorey car park in Birmingham city centre, it had tiny spaces and they have recently refurbished it turning every 3 old spaces into 2 new spaces.

[@thepoleontheroad]

Thanks for sharing the Dutch perspective on the 20th century car industry, it's nice to hear something from a point of view most people wouldn't consider!

[@yoyodude4936]

Its a good day when Ed uploads

[@ruipx]

Back in the 90's, the cost in taxes to import a Dodge Viper to my country was equivalent to buy a Porche Carrera.

[@otm646]

I grew up within a few miles of where the Vipers were built just outside Detroit. They were very rare back in the day locally, I could only imagine the clout rolling up in Europe with one circa 1994.

[@dfuher968]

@@otm646 So expensive that only those, who could afford the highest price European sports cars could afford it. And it gave and still gives a lot more clout rolling up in a Ferrari or Maserati or such. Europeans know, those are really expensive, top notch cars. Most Europeans dont know, what a Dodge Viper is to this day and would just shrug over a weird American car.

[@Dreyno]

@@otm646Guy owned one in the 1990s down the road from me here in Ireland. It was cool looking and a rarity but another guy who parked in the same place had a Ferrari and he is the guy who got all the kudos. The Dodge was also expensive to run and handled really badly so the guy owned a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO to drive daily which was a rocketship with razor sharp handling by comparison.

[@scottjs5207]

@@Dreyno Handled bad? From every account of the car I've heard... That's total BS and the guy didn't know how to handle the torque... Vipers are famously rowdy and have a death wish... But a good driver can get them to lap a track like it's no one's business. Which is very on par with the car it was loosely based on... the AC Cobra.

[@Dreyno]

@@scottjs5207 He was living in the west of Ireland. The roads are often narrow and twisty. The Dodge was fine on bigger roads with gentle bends or on a track. On narrow, twisty roads the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO with its revvy engine and 4 wheel drive was a rocketship and the Dodge couldn’t deal with the conditions anywhere near as well. They’re built for different things.

[@thoso1973]

One other huge factor, is the emergence of the Japanese auto industry in the 70s and 80s. They basically replaced American car sales in Europe, just as they replaced American made consumer electronics even in the US home market.

[@Simone-Bucn]

The Japs have also replaced a lot of English & other *European* car sales in Europe. Many Europeans & Brits are fed up with driving unreliable cars.

[@kalle5548]

Strange, in Sweden we have lots of German cars (I'm counting VW owned brands like Seat) and French cars tend to be the budget cars along with cheaper german cars. Toyota is definitely most common of the Japanese brands, but mostly as taxis along side Mercedes and Tesla

[@lpetrut]

In Romania, asian brands such as Toyota, Mazda and Hyundai seem to have replaced Volkswagen and Ford. They offer better price/quality ratio and are still selling naturally aspirated 1.5l and above engines, while european brands are pushing on 0.9 3-cylinder turbo engines that most people hate.

[@RSFaber-nk6lh]

Makes sense you require a bit more power, durability, affordability and size when looking at your roads and general terrain.

[@dubl33_27]

@@RSFaber-nk6lh "your roads" is supposed to mean what?

[@RSFaber-nk6lh]

@@dubl33_27 I was trying to be nice but Romania has some of the worst roads East of Vienna. Some good ones too, but the amount of times I went from highway to dirt mud pile while technically being the same route is interesting.

[@Draaghail]

UK is atrocious in that regard. Everything around is a diesel. If you don't want a tiny car with 1L petrol engine but you make exclusively short distance, you're fucked for choice. At this moment the only car with nat aspirated large petrol engine for UK market are Mazda

[@zOiNhUh]

Downsizing ended up being too much of a compromise

[@ashliehiggins]

Most American cars I see are from the US military who allow service people to ship their cars over, or they are military cars with US government plates.

[@GunnarMiller]

@@ashliehiggins Which is why the German "oldtimer" classic car community is so huge. All those US servicemen brought over beaters and went home with Porsches, BMWs, and other European cars on Uncle Sam's dime, and the locals were left with plenty of raw material for restoration.

[@bioLarzen]

And you're from... ?

[@Stiegelzeine]

@@bioLarzen he must be from Germany maybe in RLP if he is talking about stationed us troops

[@basvanderhoek9293]

Eindelijk iemand die weet waar hij het over heeft. Well done Sir Ed, this from an ex Hilversum dweller , living 50 years in Vancouver. Loved every word of it, and the photos looked so familiar. The Wartburg, DKW etc. My first car in Hilversum was a Dauphine. I am still driving my CX diesel here in YVR. Glad I accidently found your channel, you've got a new member. Dank je wel Ed , Groeten vanuit een nog steeds warm YVR.

[@kyle8952]

I remember reading a car yearbook (from I forget which dutch magazine), cars were listed by manufacturer in alphabetical order. Ford (Britain), Ford (Germany) and Ford (USA) were treated as seperate companies, implying they used different dealer networks etc. Also, "Thames Television" was the name of the London ITV Station, not a program

[@Gambit771]

I'd buy a ford car (if I absolutely had to) from ford GB or ford Germany but not ford US.

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

They kind of were separate companies, I believe for a while Ford GB was entirely independent of Ford US. British and German Ford's also used to compete with each other in many European export markets till they began to merge in the 70s.

[@leomux2004]

Brazil is also a tax nightmare, I'm gonna use the Hyundai HB20 as an example (because it's the nicest popular car you can buy here), without taxes it would cost R$43.878,00 (€7.396,59), with taxes it costs R$79.490,00 (€13.399,77), and considering the minimum wage here this year (every year it is readjusted) is R$1.412,00 (€237,87), you are paying almost two cars, one for you and one for the state.

[@SCR-ce2fs]

Thanks Ed, another great video. The quality of your shows is head and shoulders above the rest

[@A2Wx8]

I'll admit I was shocked when I traveled to Europe a few years ago and saw a Jeep Grand Cherokee in central Amsterdam and a couple of Corvettes on the road. My first thought is "how did they even fit that thing down the roads." In the States Ford doesn't sell a car besides the Mustang, everything else is trucks and SUVs and most of our trucks have grown to ridiculous sizes to the point where my daily is a Kia Stinger, a rather low car, and I've nearly been hit a few times by people driving pickups who actually couldn't see me because the trucks are so tall they look right over my roof.

[@ДаниилГалактионов-э1н]

Fun fact is that i had expirience driving 1999 MB V class(tall minivan) and it actually gave you the view on the whole road,thanks to the opposite engine displacement and so very short "nose" of a car(i guess same can be applied to VW transporter)

[@noth606]

@@ДаниилГалактионов-э1н What is the fun fact? There is no such thing as "opposite engine displacement", I have no idea what you mean by that, engine displacement is the size of the cylinders at their largest added up. Expressed in liters or cc like 1800(cc) or 1,8l in Europe, or in cubic inches cui/ci in the US. Oh wait, you mean 'rear engine placement' I guess, you wouldn't call it 'placement' in English, but simply 'rear engine'. Or rear mounted engine, if you want to express it in that form.

[@ДаниилГалактионов-э1н]

@@noth606 oh,sorry,my bad, i meant transverse engine arrangement in the front

[@Ratzie01]

99 % of what was said in the video is true for Belgium as well. Most people owning large pick-up's and luxery 4x4's are people who can deduct taxes via a company and or are the "US is the greatest" ( no need to make it great again 😂) types. But somehow we see the Dutch as "Amerophiles". And as we cross the border we start seeing more US cars then in Belgium

[@Simone-Bucn]

​@@ДаниилГалактионов-э1н be quiet 🙄

[@Elkarlo77]

In Germany the Ford Mustang GT V8 goes for around 67.000€ and are seen sometimes on the Autobahn. But for that kind of Money you get an Audi A6 S-Line with a 2 Liter engine instead of a 5 Liter engine, and you pay taxed accordingly to the Engine displacement in Germany. But of course only 265 Hp but 4WD.

[@honestyisthegucci]

Also some American tend to perform poorly on the Autobahn due to different gearing (more focused on acceleration than top speed) and less powerful coolers.

[@KharneBetrayer]

How would my 7.4 or 8.1L engines get taxed. We built a 85 mustang with a 460ci ''7.4'' and our SUV is a 3/4tonne with a 8.1 vortec and tows 12k regular.

[@valerie_screws_around]

@@KharneBetrayer A car with an 8,1L engine that had its first registration pre 2008 and does not fulfill any EURO-emission standards (I would guess it does not) Would cost you 2054€ per year on taxes. For reference I have a 2,0L Mk IV Golf and I pay 135€/year

[@teds7379]

That A6 will never sound as good as a V8.

[@ldnwholesale8552]

An A6 is a handgrenade, the Mustang in comparison is a cheap strong reliable thing. In Oz these Euro toys are struggling,, many thought them so superior. A chap I know bought a Sporty Bimmer, after a year and 8 weeks being broken he bought another 2015 V8 Commodore. A VERY expensive mistake. Audis are worse. Jap stuff is selling well. Friend had a Benz as a renta in England,, a gutless POS. His D Max did most things better.

[@kotzpenner]

15:25 yeah my words. It’s laughable how much less Americans have to pay for gas than us and still have the gall to complain.

[@AudieHolland]

Because Americans are like little spoiled brats.

[@AtropalArbaal-dk8jv]

Gasoline is over twice as expensive in Europe, as it is in the US

[@otm646]

Fuel prices are higher, yes, but your average daily commutes are so much shorter. On average Europeans drive about half of what an American does. The issue comes down to disposable income, not fuel costs.

[@rasklaat2]

And super premium gas in the US is lower octane than standard gas in Europe.

[@MrWhangdoodles]

​@otm646 Depending on the country we have awesome infrastructure. US public transport systems are, with a few notable exceptions, utter crap. Once you factor our infrastructure in the far higher fuel costs are very much relevant. For example, I pay literally a euro a day for complete access to perhaps the best public transport systemed city in the world, Vienna. Unless you want me to go to our equivalent of bum fuck nowhere I can reach any place in the city within 1h. My countrt, Austria, has a very good rail network that a train journey takes about as long as a car journey, maybe 1-2h longer depending on if it's a nothing village. And for longer distances? I'll fly, because a flight to any other major city in Europe costs usually less than 100 euros. It's usually just cheaper and less of a headache to not own a car.

[@danielbliss1988]

commutes half the distance. Cars on average using only two-thirds the fuel. Also stricter safety rules and speed enforcement resulting in much lower accident rates and therefore much cheaper insurance and in some places (notably the UK) even a better supply of used cars. It ends up being a lot cheaper to own a car in Europe than here, at least if it is a smaller one.

[@Ale-bj7nd]

​@@MrWhangdoodlesif you live in villages It Is still impossible without a car.

[@Hipas_Account]

I live in Finland, where American cars are still somewhat common, i for one own a 1991 Chevrolet Caprice classic, and my father owns a 94 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1991 Ford Bronco II and a first generation Mitsubishi Eclipse (those were built in the States). My dad has had over 35 American cars so far, his first being a Chevy Citation, and my 1st American car was a 93 Pontiac Grand Prix. You can still get American cars fairly cheap if you know what to look for, also my small town of about 6000 people, is littered with American cars like Hummer H2's, Various GM and Ford Pickups, and your average Chrysler minivans, neons and 300Cs.

[@marko7843]

A member of my final-generation Buick Riviera website, 1995-99, has lived in both Estonia and Finland. Timo had the most beautiful, hot rodded, custom metallic turquoise green Riviera... everyone in both countries probably knew it on site! 😄

[@kide81]

Finland has a lot of imported old American cars but you must be insane to buy a new american car here unless it’s electric. Car and truck related taxes are pretty similar than the ones in the Netherlands.

[@Mcboernester]

Interesting insights. As a german owning a dodge charger 392 for a few years now i can tell you we dont have those insanely high "bonus costs", so no road tax and rather normal taxes per year (~600 euros). I paid 37k for it, was a grey import though, and am still very happy. Crazy how its different for countries even within the EU.

[@RicardoRamosRetrocomputacao]

Here in Brazil it was no different. The national industry took a long time to consolidate, my great-grandfather had a blue and white BelAir (but he was a great solo entrepreneur in the shoe industry) cars were absurdly expensive, only people of the highest class could have them during the 50s and 60s The vast majority were imported, they arrived in the country by ship, they ran on streets with precarious conditions (obviously an American car doesn't expect to run on a rally road in an underdeveloped country), they broke down, and their parts were expensive and difficult to find, It was also difficult to maintain them as there was a lack of specialized and qualified labor. They needed a lot of fuel, and this was expensive and of poor quality. He died early, and my great-grandmother quickly exchanged that Belair for a Ford Corcel (Ford do Brasil acquired Willys and some Renault projects, among them, a more beautiful variant of the Renault 12, called Corcel) the new car was small, but very more economical and robust, with extremely simple mechanics and easy to repair. Even the cheap European models didn't arrive exactly as they did from Europe (when brands decided to manufacture them here), we had the Ford Escort, but it was just an Escort body, all the mechanical parts were still based on this Renault 12. The most expensive car in the country was for a long time the Ford Galaxie and Ford Laudau (it was basically the 1966 American Ford Galaxie, which was later remodeled to look like a 1966 Lincoln Continental). Simple cars that were considered ridiculous by Americans, such as the Dodge/Chrysler Dart, were considered here to be large, luxurious and very expensive sedans. Ford Maverick (69 American Ford Maverick, Ford Comet) was a luxury sports car. The closest thing a worker could find would be the VW Bug, we never had that American facelift with the curved windshield, our VW Bug was always that little car with the appearance of the 40s, but even though it was expensive (cheaper than the overwhelming majority, but still, the buyer had to work for a few years to get one) it was the most popular car in the country. The oil crisis arrived in Brazil in the 80s, and it was at that time that big cars started to disappear. The brands ran out of luxury options, so they started to manufacture one or another European model, repositioned as high luxury, such as Chevrolet Monza (Vx Ascona), VW Santana (Passat B2) and Ford, instead of bringing the Ford Granada, opted to once again, using the Renault 12 (Ford Steed) platform to create a "mini grenade" body, called DelRey. This was positioned as a successor to the Ford Galaxie/Landau. Things improved a little during the 90s, many things changed in the country, a new currency was established, imports were freed, the middle class was bigger and stronger, so decent cars began to arrive in the country, imported and also models that brands decided to manufacture here (such as Opel Corsa, Vectra, Astra, Omega, Ford Fiesta, Escort, Mondeo, Fiat Tempra, Marea, Punto, Peugeot 206, Various Citroens...) But even today, a car costs absurdly expensive (an average worker needs to work for 5 years to buy a simple car) Models considered cheap (teenager's car) in other places in the world are luxury models here (like Corolla , Civic, Fit, Polo, Golf, Fiesta, Fiat 500, Kicks...)

[@matyaskalab3176]

Wow, Netherlands are so expensive. Your Mustang costs twice as much as in Czechia and you have to pay like three times more taxes. For passenger cars we dont pay the road tax and there is just a small one-time emission tax (only for cars with less than Euro 3 emission standard)

[@PumpKing96]

Oh wow, czechia sounds like heaven.

[@TheOtherBill]

Czechia seems to be more realistic than the Netherlands. As an American, I can't see why anyone would live in the Netherlands and have the government steal that much of your income with those ridiculous taxes and fuel prices.

[@foxy126pl6]

Its so you can live without worrying about such stuff like housing or healthcare. Its like they take a lot, but give you a lot back in infrastructure and services​@@TheOtherBill

[@Testeuros]

​@@PumpKing96Oh hell nah as if you want to tune your car, you'd need to spend a crapload of cash to make it legal. Some things such as AWD conversion (as that's something I wanted to do with my Audi, that was otherwise unavailable in that spec ._.) are literally impossible to make legal. If you want to see a car guys' equivalent of heaven, there's Poland, which is much more benevolent to car tuning.

[@kyle8952]

@@TheOtherBill It's very easy to understand. In America you have roads with holes in them, and lots of homeless people living in tent camps under bridges. Your schools put buckets on the tables to catch rain leaking through holes in the roof and your hospitals ask not "where does it hurt?" but "cash or credit?". The Netherlands doesn't have these problems, because they have enough tax revenue to prevent them occuring. It's also funny because the taxation you are complaining about here specifically only exists to discourage the overconsumption of cars, which is a good thing. If my dutch neighbourhood had to be demolished and replaced with one that could give two cars space for every family, it would take about four times as much land and be much more dirty, loud and dangerous.

[@Liggliluff]

(13:30) I like that you're doing US dollar In the US format and the euro in the Dutch format. That's some attention to detail.

[@LeFerret335]

There's another category of American car buyers, some cars that have been totalled and deemed not roadworthy in the US het shipped to Eastern Europe, repaired just enough to make it seem drivable (even though they shouldn't be road legal since stuff like the chassis or the crumple zones still have damage), and then reimported to western Europe to be sold as just regular used cars for a bargain

[@scottyg7284]

Nonsense.

[@Burninhellscrootoob]

Omg you must be from Westfield Massachusetts too....all our russkies do this, the state police busted their chop shop here doing this a few years ago

[@danielulz1640]

Sad but true. ​@@scottyg7284

[@CreRay]

Did you wake up after writing this🤣🤣🤣

[@danielulz1640]

Sad,but true. ​@@scottyg7284

[@markiesmith4537]

J In the UK American cars were surprisingly popular until around 1957 and Chryslers "Forward Look" when the big 3 competed to make their offerings "Longer-Wider-Lower" and made them too bloated for UK roads. Like in the Netherlands, by the mid-60's "Yank Tanks" became associated with Gangsters, Flashy Showbiz people and Lottery (Pools) winners. The old well-off middle and upper middle customers shunned them and by the late '60s they hardly sold any here.

[@Razzman-bv5qc]

They were commonish in eastern England and Anglia, due to the amount of US servicemen being able to bring their cars across with them when they were posted to the UK. A fellow in the next street from where I lived nearly always had a yank-tank, He worked for the Ministry of public works and did building work on the bases, used to buy them off the servicemen. Always was noticiable when parked up, it stuck out into the road blocking the dust cart on bin days.

[@wavestyle]

My dad owned a 4x4 Ford Aerostar here in Switzerland. Boy, I loved that perfect minivan and if I could find one in good condition today, I would buy and drive it. But you know why he had to ditch it? A broken taillight and no spare parts available in europe sealed its faith. Before that he struggled for about 5 years to get the automatic transmission dialed in. Until he found out why: Service manuals have only been available in english and the staff at his dealership could not translate them for the mechanics. They literally did not know how to maintain and service that car.

[@uncipaws7643]

I remember in the 1970s/80s Switzerland had an unusually high number of US cars compared to Germany. Not sure what factors were involved.

[@maxipluszwei5819]

I can tell you that this is true even today. But I´m also yet to find out why.

[@seed_drill7135]

Not subject to EU regulations and lots of bankster money?

[@Burninhellscrootoob]

Chrysler plant there...hence,all the jeeps and such....

[@BillLaBrie]

lots of rich people.

[@twinsonic]

General Motors had a factory in Biel, Switzerland for decades. Lots of US cars were available and still are

[@TKay-mq8ed]

Speaking for Germany: with the introduction of the Mini Van for the Family car, the Chrysler Corporation and GM were in late 80´s and early 90´s back in the game. The Pontiac Transport (1990-1996) ( Oldsmobile Silhouette ) was sold in good numbers via Opel Dealerships. Chrysler got a step further and set up an whole new network of dealerships - all gone by now. The Chrysler Voyager was very well sold in Germany for years. All these cars (GM an Chrysler )were even fitted with orange turn signals on the rear end and Halogen Headlamps specifically manufatured to meet the regulations. But it was like a one hit wonder , they only lasted to the end of the 90´s. Then Chrysler sold their Dodge Ram Products, but never came near the sales figures with the Vans. Good on sale was the Jeep Cherokee line as well. Renault offered it in Germany too, but not with that result as Chrysler did. It rocketed off in the 90´s. You could see a lot of Jeeps back then. It was widely accepted. Then the Chrysler 300 c, it started well off, but was never a total sales hit. Ford USA was never that much active. Today here an there you can see a new Mustang or Charger or Chevrolet , but this it not considered as "mass transport".

[@GunnarMiller]

@@TKay-mq8ed This is the best comment in this whole thread. One used to see a good number of those Steyr-built ZG Grad Wagoneers around in Europe en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Grand_Cherokee_(ZJ) .

[@FrewstonBooks]

Most of the models you mention were also sold in the UK in RHD form and meeting Uk regulations.

[@Arltratlo]

its a mass, transported on a towing truck, after it drove 250km on the German Autobahn with a speed above 130kph! my Hyundai i10 can do that for hours!

[@artistwithouttalent]

Re: trucks, the reason they're so popular here is for similar reasons, but on a corporate level; by classifying them as "utility vehicles," manufacturers don't have to abide emissions or fuel efficiency regulations as strict as they are for "passenger cars".

[@georgje7898]

I bought a 2006 mustang last year here in the netherlands, paid 20k for it, got into an accident just before Ascension-day, insurance said it was to expansive to fix for them so I got the money of them and fix it myself. And I can now say from experience..... parts are a bitch to get. Accident was on the 8th of May.... got final part two weeks ago on 3rd of July... But I still do not regret it.

[@Woody_Florida]

Very cool!

[@Harrstein]

My experience with sourcing US car parts is just order them in the US and bite the massive shipping bill. Like I needed a powersteering pump for my mates Ram 1500. Locally it was €200 for either wont fit or not in stock, and both without pulleys and reservoirs. Buying it online in the states was €150 for the complete correct package and €100 shipping. Yeah it took 2 weeks of shipping instead of 4 days. But I'll take that just for the convenience.

[@rustinpeace770]

I had a 1994 Ford Thunderbird V8, here in the netherlands. I had no trouble getting parts. Shipping is usually only like €15-20 and it takes less than a week for the parts to get here

[@plum_bit]

Just like Jeremy said on the Grand Tour - We all like American cars, yet we'd be embarrassed to be seen in them

[@rogerk6180]

Truth.

[@Mei-wk5mt]

No what who would be embarrased to be in a mustang or a caddilac lol

[@MaticTheProto]

Bold words. American cars are ugly and of poor quality. Bad safety ratings too

[@Mei-wk5mt]

@@MaticTheProto what no they are not they basically have the sexiest most desirable cars that only rally lack in the inside with strong engines and amazing exterior

[@MaticTheProto]

@@Mei-wk5mt hahahahhaa no. No they don’t. Sat inside a mustang mach e recently, closed the door and the inside of the door wobbled 💀

[@manylch7964]

Well done, nicely researched and balanced video. My friend owned a gorgeous cadillac convertible in the UK during the 80s. Was like riding in someone's living room....supercomfortable on highways but handled like a walrus on curves. Fundamentally, they were, expensive imports for Europe, too big in town, too thirsty and handled poorly except in straight lines. Perfect for big wide roads in the USA though where I have driven them many many times. Horses for courses as they say. The Japanese car manufacturers managed to bridge the price quality gap nicely in both continents which is why they were so successful. Tesla is probably the most widely seen US brand seen in Europe these days.

[@MrKruger88]

I'm jealous of all the practical compact car options you guys have in europe. In north america, every jackass and their grandmother drives a fullsize pick up just to commute to the office.

[@kyle1235]

It's so they can be make-believe blue collar, it's hilarious how people here in the US will throw insane amounts of money for a truck they get no function out of beyond being a commuter car.

[@kuebby]

Well, at least grandma doesn't need to ride her jackass to work.

[@BrendenPragasam]

I just want a paradise where we can choose from both

[@kyle1235]

@@BrendenPragasam It’s not criticizing whether people should have the choice, it’s the dumb choices people make

[@_zigger_]

Sounds cool, I'd gladly drive a pickup as a daily

[@mrsdg5864]

I live in France and the taxe is calculated by the “fiscal horses” (chevaux fiscaux) when you buy it. For example, where I live, in the Vaucluse (84) department, one fiscal horse worths approximately 50 euros. I have a Duster with 6 fiscal horses : 6x50€ = 300€ to add to the original price. This taxe is different in every departments in France. The cheapest are the Oise department (60), Allier (01) and Seine-Maritime (76). That’s why when you rent a car in France, we can spot tourists by the number 60/76 and sometimes 01 on the registration plate. It’s more economical for rental cars companies. Taxes are also based on CO2 emissions. We call it “bonus/malus gouvernemental”. This taxe can be extremely high. In 2024, a Toyota GR86 costs 33 900€. You have to add the 60 000€ emissions taxes.

[@series1054]

Im curious why the GR86 has a high emissions tax, is the emissions that bad for the 86.

[@sprintertrueno1985]

@@series1054 I don't know why the French have this tax, I'm Belgian and we don't have to pay that much, but the 86 is emitting 200gr co2/1km which is as much as a big suv

[@phoebe_cincotta]

L’Allier c’est le 03, le 01 c’est l’Ain

[@dutchuncle2716]

Where are the fiscal horses based on though?

[@sprintertrueno1985]

@@dutchuncle2716 Engine capacity

[@petestaint8312]

Ed, I'm addicted to your channel. Fantastic!!! 👍

[@honestyisthegucci]

The Chrysler 300C was relatively successful in Germany!

[@foxy126pl6]

Most of them were sold with a mercedes diesel V6 though

[@BillLaBrie]

They tried to sell it as a Lancia, too.

[@Hipas_Account]

@@BillLaBrie I live in Finland, and i see those 300Cs as both Chryslers and Lancias here, same thing goes for the Voyager, i think it is hilarious to see those Lancia Themas and Lancia Voyagers because i cant think of a single type of person that would think buying a Lancia in Finland would be a good idea... maybe they know something i dont.

[@MaticTheProto]

@@foxy126pl6even better

[@O530CarrisPT_C2]

It was more of a Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W210).

[@frozendude707]

There is another group of people who buy American cars, and motorcycles, that are in Sweden called "raggare", I guess one translation would be akin to "cruisers", bikers are often put in the same category, people who like to impress girls and other people with cool cars, jeans, leather vests, slick hair. Most of which live by the motto "supa, knulla, slåss" (zuipen, neuken, vechten in Dutch, translated to English is loses meaning). These are part of a culture that are not exactly car people, but the culture itself has a connection to certain brands and models, not exclusively American but largely so and mostly old models 40s to present.

[@JustBen81]

We were in the US last year. Our rental was a Ford Explorer that had to be switched for a Jeep Grand Cherokee because we got a crack in the windshield. I looked both cars up: the base trims start just shy of $40,000. The Ford was, and the Jeep still is sold in Germany as well. They only offer(ed) these cars as PHEV's starting at over €85,000 (this includes sales tax though). The explorer was discontiued in Europe. Instead they sell a smaller electric SUV under this name.

[@allenwayne2033]

Dude, your knowledge of American cars and American car history amazes me! Especially at your age and your nationality! I would sure appreciate if you would take a couple of minutes to tell me how you developed into this. Much respect to you Sir!

[@video99couk]

My every day car is a 1972 Hillman Avenger. In USA it was sold for a while as the Plymouth Cricket, but was withdrawn from sale just before the energy crisis. It would have been an ideal car to sell there at that time. But Americans didn't understand the Avenger. It was lightweight, compact, fuel efficient, and above all had fantastic handling. You could hurl the thing around like a sports car and it would stay planted. This was all lost on American buyers. Years later, Chrysler imported a completely different sports car also called the Avenger, into the UK. We didn't get it either and at one point they were selling them on a "buy one get one free" deal to shift stocks.

[@beardedgeek973]

Sweden has always had an immense enthusiast market, especially outside the inner cities, and it is definitely easier to get a new Mustang or Corvette or Dodge here; they are not exactly rare. Uncommon, but not rare; a modern muscle car is in this town with 40 000 ppl in it more common than a Porsche, at least. What you DON'T see is the American Family Hauler. Audis, Volvos, Mercs and of course larger Skodas / VWs all over the place, but nobody buys a modern American every day car. Virtually all American cars sold are the muscle cars (and the occasional EV Mustang).

[@gentlemanzer]

Last year, I went on a motorcycle trip to Norway, through Sweden. In the short time passing through Sweden I spotted more classic american land yachts and muscle cars than I have ever seen in my entire life. Same goes for Norway. It was a joy!

[@tangfors]

Porche sells annually around 2000-2500 cars in Sweden, American muscle cars 100-150 annually?

[@giuliopedrali4794]

In my opinion one american car that had a sense in Europe was the 1970s Dodge 3700 GT, the Dodge Dart 6 cylinder made in Spain by Barreiros Dodge, Spain at the time was a land isolated also from Europe, and the Dodge seems a luxury spanish car, Dodge 3700 GT was also a beautiful sedan

[@patinomaha1]

In the mid 90's I drove a 1972 Chevy Monte Carlo in Germany... Was a pain to park in some places but it worked.

[@siamfd202]

A mustang costs in Germany "only" 60.000 Euro!

[@killswitch8493]

so does a bmw m240i or an audi tts. both are better cars imho.

[@marvinidler2289]

@@killswitch8493 The M2 starts around 80 k€ and still doesn't come with a V8. Audi TT ("Flat Golf") has been discontinued, without ever being anything close to a V8 GT. The Mustang is quite successful in Germany for a reason. You can still buy the 2023 model for less than 50 k€.

[@killswitch8493]

@@marvinidler2289 i meant the m240i xdrive, not the m2. the m240i has a listing price of 61'900€. the tt was discontinued in 2023, though you will still find some of them as new cars at dealers. the performance values are quite similar between these 3, the tts is very slightly slower than the mustang, the m240i is a bit faster. for example 0-200 kph 17.5s (mustang gt), 17.7s (audi tts) and 15.8s (bmw m240i xdrive).

[@justskip4595]

@@killswitch8493 Does the tts for the Audi stand for Text to Speech or titties?

[@senorpepper3405]

A brand new gt is about 50 thousand dollars in the u.s.

[@Sirius_A]

I'm glad I found this channel.

[@GERntleMAN]

Over four cars we own and drive here in Germany, we pay 5000€ a year for insurance and taxes and service and parts. Fuel is another 5000€-8000€ a year. The Netherlands are ridiculously expensive for cars. And we drive a V10 Touareg, an RS6 C5, a Jaguar XJ12 Series 2 and an A8 D2 3.7 quattro.

[@kevinbarry71]

Speaking as an American, born in 1971, I never understood the vinyl top and waterfall grill thing either

[@bahamutsix5765]

Nearly every automaker in the 70s was obsessed with copying the 1969 Continental Mark III, since it looked regal with a Rolls inspired waterfall grille

[@TassieLorenzo]

A faux vinyl top is a reference to the soft-top (convertible) cars of the 1920's-1930's I believe. E.g., you could purchase a soft-top Dusenberg, instead of a hardtop one. The pretend vinyl top gives the look without the inconvenience of a roof that might leak!

[@permanenceinchange2326]

I have driven that Audi 100 Ed compared that "waterfall grill" car to. Technically, it was a fantastic car, and I very much liked the futuristic design too. So, I very much understand why American cars don't sell in Europe. With 4,75 meter length this Audi wasn't small either though, to European standards. I sometimes had trouble parking in narrow spots.

[@XAD566]

I think, despite all the auto industry’s whining about CAFE regulations etc, the main reason for the malaise era was that the brass in the big three were so far out of touch with their customers- in the “I know the customer want a big car, no matter what they say” kind of way. So they were not prepared for smaller cars, and instead of doing the obvious (in some instances they did try) tried to catch up AND stay the same - look at Cadillac mid80s - the brougham’s and cimarron. Also the VEGA - personally I think it’s an awesome looking car, but interestingly in stead of looking to Rüsselheim (Opel), who churns - or churned- out 4 and 6 cylinder motors that were tried and tested GM starts designing their doom with a design that can work, but aluminum lined cylinders are neighborhood of exotics for a reason. Hence the OP was excited about other cars in his teens (I’m the same age) because either the cars were junk - Citation anyone, Chrysler K-car ?? - or they were designed with his grandpa in mind. My girlfriend from back then -late 80s - wouldn’t be seen dead in a Caddy or Lincoln today “they’re old people’s cars”. so I don’t think the us car styling of the 80s necessarily reflected the average Americans taste - shown also in the increase in the number of non US cars sold in the period. Sorry for the rant 😅. PS I’m Danish but lived in NH in my late teens

[@EdoDijkgraaf]

Kevin, you must think we (us Europeans) must be from another planet instead of another continent. Today (Saturday July 20th 2024) one gallon unleaded (95) costs USD 9.08 in the Netherlands. Can’t wait for Stranger Things 5 though. Love the period correct big American cars.

[@teds7379]

Knowing how expensive cars like the Mustang are in Europe makes me want to go buy one to appreciate how good we have it here (I'm in Canada).

[@Gambit771]

But then you'll have a Mustang? Won't be having it good then. You do understand that importing a car from across the world compared to a car built down the road increases the cost of it? You do understand that?

[@MacSems]

Hello Ed, thank you for this video, it is a topic of interest to me and I learned some things that I did not know before. You probably know, but didn’t mention, that American cars were assembled in a number of northern European countries. I am more familiar with Ford, than other US makes, and I have long been interested in Ford’s Amsterdam assembly plant (1932-81) which assembled US cars and trucks until 1955 and then again in 1964-65 (including a few hundred Mustang). Thanks again.

[@stefanfalldorf6573]

The Escalade starts in Germany as a brand new vehicle at €114.000. I don't think we have this huge fee and taxes are with 19% a bit lower. Price included the 19% sales tax. The Mustang 5.0 starts at €51.000 including tax.

[@GunnarMiller]

@@stefanfalldorf6573 Agreed ... the Netherlands must have an extra layer we don't have here,

[@edmaster3147]

Germany doesn't have BPM but it gets worse. If I drive a company car, I need to pay depending on the type of car (EV / petrol-diesel) an horrible tax for 'private use' which effectively will be and addition to the taxable income. For an expensive car like an X5 that will be a 1100 Euro a month. No kidding.....

[@stefanfalldorf6573]

@@edmaster3147 1% of the MSRP (Bruttolistenpreis) and that's on your Bruttogehalt. Only if you use your company car private. And that is so cheap compared to people that don't have a company car and have to buy and maintain their car through their income.

[@santostv.]

Ford mustang in my country starts at 110.200,77€ Escalade isn’t sold here. My country double taxes cars and it’s fine by the eu because of it but I guess the fine is lower than the money they make from it because of it we have one of the expensive new cars and a highly inflated secondary used market, some opt to go to Germany because they are cheaper and bringing them back if the uk didn’t drove in the opposite side it would be even better buying from there. A car that’s worth 200£ in the uk is still worth 1000€-1500€ here😂😂😂

[@landiahillfarm6590]

@5:41 - 1965 Oldsmobile 98 - My first car!!! What an absolute BOAT, I loved it!

[@curtvona4891]

Nice. My first car was a 1965 Olds F-85. It was beat-up, but I liked it.

[@MaXxProsTe]

"America adapt itself to a car, yet in europe, car had to adapt to europe"

[@lucasrem]

The US needs to adopt Autobahn in the US, the only place for Cars, adopt to its environment , remove the old Freeways, clean up downtown ! Learn from California !

[@jackpayne4658]

I remember a road test of the first Oldsmobile Toronado (1970?), in a British motoring magazine. A police officer pulled over the driver and asked, 'Are you sure you're in the right country, sir - or even on the right planet?' A beautiful car, in my eyes, but completely impractical for most British roads - quite apart from the fuel consumption.

[@maxipluszwei5819]

Thanks for this super interesting video! I´ve always been a US Car enthusiast and finally colud get my dream "pimp" car last year - a 79 Camaro. Actually it was assembled back then in a GM plant in Switzerland to save on import taxes. It is really noticeable that US cars are way more common here than in the rest of Europe for some weird reasons. That would be an interesting topic for its own video.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Might have to do with not being in the EU (and thus no EU regulations), a high income, and being a bit of a tax and bank haven. Lots of money in the country, so people can easily afford them.

[@ablestringer9063]

Great video Ed. I loved the Thames TV clip (it's pronounced Tems by the way not as it's spelt, typically English nonsense I know). The presenter, Tony Bastable, is a legend in UK motoring shows and his presenting style certainly influenced Clarkson et al. Unfortunately he is no longer with us but there are plenty of excerpts on YT from the Thames TV channel, resplendent in flares and platforms and usually charging around in and trying to speak highly of the dodgy 70s cars we had in the UK.

[@rockperuano5129]

In 1980 in the Netherlands, from what I remember, only the neighborhood butcher drove American cars. He had a 1979 Mustang that he traded for a 1980 Montecarlo. The doctor drove a Citroën CX Pallas. Most others drove European cars, old ladies drove DAFs (inexpensive automatic, easy to drive little cars made in NL). No cars were older than 10 years and people were starting to buy more Honda Civics , Toyota Carinas, Daihatsu Charades and similar Japanese cars. But US cars were considered ostentatious perfect for blue-collar well-paid jobs like garbage collectors and butchers.

[@Michael.Werker]

Japanese luxury divisions like Lexus, Infiniti, and Genesis (which is Korean) also have no important role in Europe, while they are common in the US.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

They have Lexus in the UK.

[@Richter5]

Lexus is pretty popular brand in Europe. They have showrooms just like any other brands, TV commercials etc.

[@nicky42742]

Infiniti and Genesis - yes, i very rarely see them. But Lexus is popular in Europe

[@drifter402]

Some of Europe is full of Lexus

[@thepepchannel7940]

@@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOYI do see Lexus in Europe, however, not anything close in numbers to European brands or other Asian brands like Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai

[@T.h.e__T.r.u.t.h]

Love the liberace 70s elvis comparison because they are both icons and legends for the very reasons you listed in the comparison

[@musicmoviesandgames2004]

I’m a simple man. I see Ed, I click!

[@alberts8075]

I'm also a simple guy. I see someone commenting Ed as good, I click!

[@joshuaschoonyan3263]

That comment is as old as my prostate cancer.

[@alexclement7221]

Back in the late 80's-early 90's, I drove truckload freight to 2 different auto factories which sent some vehicles to Europe. The first was when I served the GM plant at Ste. Therese, Quebec, where they made the 3rd gen Camaro and Firebird. There were actually cars shipped to markets all over the world, but the European models were quite obvious with their side signal flashers and multi-colored tail lights. Maybe 15% were destined for Europe in the 1989-1990 timeframe. FWIW, I never saw a model come down the assembly line with right-side controls, so I believe all were left-side steering. To this plant I delivered wiper motor and armature assemblies, and sometimes radiator fan and shrouding assemblies. The second assembly plant, and the more surprising one was when I delivered interior panels to the Ford Windstar plant at Oakville, ON. They only made a few European-market versions, which I understand were only imported to France and Switzerland (?). Only a few were Euro-bound, probably less than 5%. I really didn't understand why these would even sell there, but at the same time Chrysler was selling the Voyager in places like Germany, albeit most were assembled there with an Italian Motori Moderni diesel and a 5-speed floor-mounted stick-shift. I never got a really good look at the Euro-spec Windstars to figure out what motors they were bult with.

[@feldversuch78]

They actually did offer the Ford Windstar in Germany for four years as well. There were indeed not masses of them sold but you could occasionally see them on the road.

[@TheZombieSlayer1155]

This is very much correct owning 2 american cars in holland, a 1995 gmc sierra as a "gray plate" (business truck) that costs me around 60 euro's a month in road tax and insurance and a 2004 chevy trailblazer as a "yellow plate" that costs me around 500 a month in road tax and insurance.

[@jeffking4176]

As an American, …. You did a fantastic job. And great humor 🚗🤣

[@KoldingDenmark]

I have driven full-size US cars in Denmark since 1983. US cars were quite common throughout the 1960's and 1970's, but already i the 1970's it was like hell getting them through inspection at the state run inspection halls. You had to turn off a lot of things, like safe track brakes, aut. parking brake release, courtesy lights, cornering lights, red side marker lights on the rear had to be yellow or were painted over, full-width tail lights going around the corner of the rear fender, were painted black on the corner, front turn signal and parking lights could not be the same bulp, the aut. seatback release had to be disengaged, and of course red turn signal on the rear was a no go along with seal beam head lights. Personally I rebuilt all this back after the visit to the inspection hall. Only had to make sure I didn't have a police car behind me, when I was making a turn. It got easier, when the inspection halls were privatised and you could avoid the "Kings of the Inspection Halls." Things have also been eased by EU legislation, why seal beams and red turn signals are legal again on cars over 35 years.

[@YOCOSMINMAX16]

It is allowed to have red turn signal in DK? Can you send me a link to that? I had to change my tail lights on my car for SYN.

[@KoldingDenmark]

@@YOCOSMINMAX16 If your car is over 35 years, it is. I will try to look up a link for you.

[@Matthew-wj8cm]

I remember seeing Chevy Express van ambulances in the NL when I visited. I thought ,,what are those doing here?" I guess I know now. Thanks Ed.

[@CJColvin]

American cars back then looked beautiful and very well built as well.

[@kuebby]

And yet looks can be deceiving.

[@CJColvin]

@@kuebby What do you mean?

[@bobsteve4812]

@@CJColvinI assume he meant they weren’t actually built great, especially relative to Benz or Volvo of the era

[@rogerk6180]

They looked good but where built like crap lol.

[@morstyrannis1951]

You have to define the time period for your comment. Both beauty and build quality have changed a lot in cars no matter where they were built. This channel is heavily populated by commentators who clearly hate American cars and perhaps Americans, too. Nothing ruins a channel faster than a crowd of rabid fan boys. There are lots of truthful stereotypes of poor quality cars whether American, European, Japanese, Korean and most recently Chinese. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either a fan boy or sadly parochial.

[@carscloseup]

I’m from Denmark and it’s probably the most expensive country in the world to buy and own a car, The taxation on “normal” cars are around 150 %. EV’s are at the moment exempt from tax up to a certain value. That said, since I acquired my drivers license in 1980, I’ve been owning and driven multiple US cars. I’d always stuck out in the crowd when I arrived in a nice Camaro or El Camino, that was my daily driver. Since around 2010 I have driven Mercedes as daily driver, but always had at least one US car on the side for fun and to have a dose of V8 occasionally😊 I not rich and through my working life I have had a normal salary, but I’ve used all my money on my cars and I repair them myself. This has cost me 2 marriages and now I’m enjoying my retirement as a single, surrounded by my beloved cars!😅

[@morstyrannis1951]

If your American V8 vehicle is a collector vehicle you drive very infrequently, do you get a break on all the fees?

[@carscloseup]

@@morstyrannis1951 If you have it registered as a classic (to have a break in insurance and inspection) you can’t drive it on regular basis, only occasionally. All cars 35 + years old will automatically get a 75% reduction in road tax. To have it registered as a collector/classic it must be 35+ years old.

[@svr5423]

yeah Scandinavian countries have so much taxes.. In Germany, the typical american cars were the Ford Fiesta and Opel Corsa. Opel is sold now. And Ford lost market share.

[@carscloseup]

@@svr5423 Ford Fiesta and Opel Corsa were designed and manufactured in Europe and has nothing to do with “american cars” other than the ownership of Ford USA and GM.

[@svr5423]

@@carscloseup yes, those were the special models for the european market. Haven't seen a single one over in the states. PT cruisers were popular on both sides of the pond for a while. And a bit of Chrysler minivans. There is a bit of an active american muscle car / classic car scene in Switzerland. You see them on meetups, but they're usually not driven every day. For me, it was always a "cool, but impractical" thing. I need to be able to park in crowded cities, go over narrow 1.5 lane mountain passes and cruise at 200kph on the autobahn, while having room to carry stuff.

[@nicksallnow-smith7585]

As someone who grew up in England in the 1950s and 60s, can I add an additional nuance on this. Because the British drove on the left, most American companies did not export much to England. The volumes didn't support making a series of right hand drive cars as well as the left-hand drive cars for the US which they could easily export to Continental Europe. The exception was Ford, which manufactured inside the UK, a whole series of right hand drive cars for the local market. As a result the Ford models that were on sale in the UK looked nothing like any of the models they made in the US. Ford UK was extremely successful then; other US imported brands had effectively no market.

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

When cars were built for a specific region of the world. There was more intrigue. Cars from 'over there' were interesting, and therefore, they were more desirable. Once companies started building so-called 'world cars', all that changed. Now every car is the same no matter where you are. And regardless of brand, they have the same basic features and styling. This is why the late 80s and early 90s is when all car companies started having trouble. They were so determined to sell the same car everywhere, they made everything the same. Boring. This is why I only like cars made from the 80s and older. 60s to 80s, to be precise.

[@Hipas_Account]

Precisely this. I am a car enthusiast not from the mechanical side, i can't hold a wrench to save my life, but i appreciate historics, and different markets and how and why any types of cars were sold there. For example I am mostly interested in French and American cars, which curiously share more with one another than one might think, but are still from two totally different worlds. I too prefer older cars, mostly 90's and down, and try to keep from German, Japanese and Korean brands as they spearheaded the "all cars are the same" movement more than for example the French, American and Italian during that time.

[@robbello6207]

I live in Florida, your comment about the $8 gas was good! 🤣

[@Hagebuddne983]

How much is gas in Florida right now?

[@rich7447]

@@Hagebuddne983 About $3 a gallon in Florida. Here in Maryland regular 87 AKI/91 RON is around $3.15.

[@thepepchannel7940]

With current exchange rates (as of 22th July 2024) and prices of gasoline in the Netherlands, one gallon is $9.04.

[@rich7447]

@@thepepchannel7940 I thought that diesel was expensive at $3.89. Is that an imperial gallon at least? My truck has a 48 US gallon diesel tank and I can't imagine paying $9 a gallon.

[@thepepchannel7940]

@@rich7447 yes, one US gallon is 3.785 liters according to google. One liter is (according to a Dutch news site, I don’t own a car) €2.19. So 2.19*3.785* the exchange rate which is currently €1=$1.09. €2.18*3.785= 8.2891*1.09= $9.0351 dollars per gallon. Even if it’s only €2 like in this video, you’re still paying $8.25 per gallon.

[@mananaVesta]

The dad of a friend of mine once bought an Oldsmobile, I think in the late 80s, and drove it for long distances flat-out on the Autobahn. They had to overhaul the engine multiple times because it just wasn't built to be driven that way.

[@thomasseymour4190]

You forgot to mention the biggest downside of owning an American car; they’re not that good. You already have better cars in your home market.

[@O-plaat]

My daily car is a Cadillac CTS 2.0T and I live in Belgium.They are in the same price range as a 5 series or E class but are better equipped then most German cars. I love having the only Cadillac in town, getting parts isn't a problem all tough they are somewhat more expensive then BMW/Mercedes parts. Belgium has exactly one Cadillac/Corvette dealer where the car was sold new (for the price of €77.000), but I service mine (what I don't do my self) in a US car import garage.

[@teds7379]

The idea that Cadillac parts are more expensive than BMW or Mercedes parts is really funny to any North American reading this!

[@rich7447]

@@teds7379 Agreed. Owning a Mercedes or BMW outside of the warranty period is a lot less than ideal here.

[@richardbrant5728]

We had a 4-door 1954 Mercury in Japan in the mid '50s. That was a shock for world full of 3-wheelers.

[@jemma_19988]

In the 1950's the most advanced car in the world was launched - the Citroen DS. Carmakers such as Rolls Royce and Mercedes soon licensed the advanced suspension system. Citroen offered the suspension to GM. However they declined and used the money on more dollops of chrome. European cars in the 1960's had overhead cam engines, fuel injection, independent suspension, and disk brakes, bucket seats and good handling characteristics not to mention very good fuel economy. American cars were using low tech gas guzzling carburettor v8 engines, lousy drum brakes, sluggish auto gearboxes, and could not go around a corner without hanging the rear end out.

[@O-plaat]

Most European cars were still using carburators in the 80s. Only brands like Mercedes-Benz used fuel injection in the 60s. Drive a 1960s Porsche and then a 1960s Camaro or Mustang, you'll agree the American car handles better. Overhead cams aren't necessarily better, Every new Corvette V8 doesn't have it and still has only two valves per cylinder and its the world's most popular V8. Back in the 60s not having to shift your car was seen as a luxury. WTF you talking about?

[@Gambit771]

​@@O-plaatYou wouldn't say a us car handles better than a European one now. But keep using 60 years ago as an example of murican superiority.

[@O-plaat]

@@Gambit771 The Cadillac CTS/CT5 handels as good as a 5 Series. I would even say the Cadillac has beter grip in corners.

[@otm646]

Technological advancement doesn't really translate to a difference in driving performance. I've owned all sorts of German v8s, from the early '80s to the 2000s. The fuel injection system is nice, but it's a royal pain. When you have a problem. A simple American V8 with push rods and a carburetor is a beautiful engine. We have an enormous aftermarket, camshafts, headers, the knowledge base to tune a carburetor. When they made the switch to throttle body injection it's dead simple. The German v8s you have to wind up, the big American lumps push you like the hand of God with zero drama.

[@Arltratlo]

@@O-plaat i remember the Top Gear show, where they made fun of the CTS, driving corners in the Netherlands..... i still prefer the 5 Series over a US made car....i only owned a 320i in my time...and a MB230E before!

[@LukeHarwood2913]

I think the last iteration of the Ford Scorpio was meant for the American market but was accidentally sold in Europe, and then we all vomited to death.

[@knispelwedges427]

That ... thing ... it gave me nightmares. That hideous car should have been banned from the public eye.

[@uncletoby-]

The Merkur Xr4ti flopped in the U.S.

[@theworkshopwhisperer.5902]

I just made the mistake of Googling this.

[@ieatmentoss1714]

@uncletoby- that’s a completely different car

[@knispelwedges427]

@@ieatmentoss1714 It's basically the same, but whatever.

[@Phiyedough]

Interesting video. I didn't realise American cars were ever sold in Europe by normal car showrooms. I'm from UK and American manufacturers were never interested in making right hand drive versions. Back in the 1960s I do remember seeing a few American cars but they were ones shipped over by people at US military bases. Sometimes they got sold locally when the owner was posted elsewhere.

[@collegeman1988]

I live in the United States, and so when I saw the title of this video, my answer to why American cars failed in Europe was, “Because Europeans don’t like buying or driving SUVs.” and it turns out I was right. I really do enjoy watching the videos on your KZbin channel, Ed. Keep making them, and I’ll keep watching.

[@knispelwedges427]

That's not true at all. Did you watch the whole video? SUV's are by far the most preferred kind of car in most parts of Europe as of today.

[@kyliandc9276]

No. That's because American offerings are cheap and unreliable. In the 90's the neon was one of the cheapest sedan you could buy in France yet no one bought them because the handling was bad, the quality was below the cheapest Fiat and the fuel consumption was pretty bad for the power delivered.

[@delftfietser]

Different cultures, different values. Different tradeoffs. Objective truth is different. Yet we think our cultural values are truth that applies to all, and you are missing out or a fool if you disagree. There's far involved than meets the eye, where a young man in America will drive a Ram 1500 crew cab short box, and a young man in the Netherlands is happy with a Golf.

[@morstyrannis1951]

@@delftfietsersomething the video didn’t touch on was driving distances. In North America it’s common to regularly drive hundreds of miles to visit family or friends. Canada and the USA are vast countries where it can take days to drive through a single province or state. An econobox with a standard transmission and a sub 1 litre engine is not a popular, or good, choice for that kind of a drive. In Europe people think 100 miles is a long way and in North America people think 100 years is a long time.

[@delftfietser]

@morstyrannis1951 I still think there's a cultural difference there. The big American pickup and the Golf can both make the journey, whether it's cross-USA or Calais to Rome. Both vehicles have their strengths and limitations. The people in them just have to live with them. The wildcard is cultural conditioning of the driving/car culture, saying which vehicle makes a good traveling companion. Yet if the vehicle works for you, all the folks in the comboxes don't matter.