Och

iTrader: (3)

Well, if you want to get technical on French cars, then you have to consider that Nissan is owned by Renault. I don't know if Nissan vehicles are actually engineered by Renault, or if Nissan uses any of Renaults parts/tech, but Nissans are certainly wonderfully engineered.

*Batman*

I agree. Nissan is one of the world's great engineering companies. The GTR is truly brilliant, and the Infiniti range also shows superb engineering integrity. But I didn't see any evidence of the Infiniti, Z or GTR parts bin at the Renault dealer. It was all front wheel drive.

The Nissan Versa does look it may platform share with the Renault Megane though.

DustinV

A fair and well-thought-out reply.

Most French cars strike me as excellent value-for-money and they're strongly represented in the budget car market. In this market buyers probably care first and foremost about getting a car that's efficient with fuel and gets them from A to B with minimal hassle. Secondary priorities will then most likely include design etc. I don't think anyone cares much about the interior panel gap situation and such. I didn't much care about those issues when I examined a Peugeot 207 or the Renault Twingo. I thought the interior was well-made for what the car is (as well as its price).

The more premium-oriented French cars like the Citroen C5 or Renault Laguna have struck me as being well-made. The Citroen C5 in particular is a hefty favorite of mine. If I had a guaranteed parking space I would easily have snatched one up instead of the smaller BMW 1 series, which is also a great car. I feel that the French don't really compete with Lexus or most German premium cars, except in the C5/Laguna/407 range, which can be viewed as Lexus IS, BMW 3er, Audi A4 and MB C class "rivals" depending on trim.

GoFastTSI

iTrader: (1)

Peugeot 908 RC, V12.

DustinV

I feel there is a bias towards French cars based on perhaps a dislike of the French and their ways. I certainly think a lot of Americans are uninformed about modern French cars and their engineering and base their perception of them on the disastrous short spell when they were sold in the US. I know my sister thinks in that fashion (she had a boyfriend at one point who drove an Alfa Romeo 164 [Yes, an Italian car, but you get the point.]), which was plagued with electrical issues from time to time.

I do recall reading that part of the reason why French cars had such a bad reputation in the US was because the dealerships had poorly-trained mechanics who didn't or couldn't service the cars properly.

The Citroen DS for example, which was also sold in the US, had the infamous hydropneumatic suspension. This was first-rate technology in those days. The hydropneumatic suspension ensured that the car was quite comfortable, but it also needed regular checkups because of the way it was built, which included the use of certain fluids. Citroen actually invented and engineered this particular suspension but they made the mistake of making it to complex - and given the poor training of their mechanics in North America, it was an invitation for disaster. The same story regarding the lack of mechanic training was also true for GM and the Oldsmobile 350cid V8 diesel. Their mechanics had virtually zero experience or training in regards to how to properly service a diesel engine. It also didn't help that the 350cid diesel V8 was also a poorly engineered engine.

Interestingly enough, the Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 also had a hydropneumatic suspension. As far as I know, the Mercedes design was a simplified version of the original Citroen design. It was more sturdy and needed less servicing and given the excellent training most Mercedes mechanics had in the US in those days, fixing it was not an issue.

That was off-topic, I apologize, but I do feel that the French have some very impressive engineering in their modern cars. In Europe, many people know about this, but outside of Europe, even in places where the French sell their cars (albeit their less complex cars), this isn't the case (like in the US).

Also, let's not forget that the Peugeot 908 HDI (diesel) did extremely well in the Le Mans racing series. And that has to be a testament to the engineering qualities of this brand.



The French in particular have some great diesel engines here in Europe.

darkdream

I would like it if it were a two seater.