Despite what classical economomic theories say, consumers are not the logical, rational, at all times calculating beings that the likes of Adam Smith say we are. We all have our personal biases and prejudices and there is typically very little logic behind our purchase choices. It’s exactly why the promoting business is so big.
Korean cars are bad. German automobiles are better than Japanese ones. CKD automobiles have decrease quality. How many of those stereotypes/myths are true?
1. German vehicles are safer than Japanese/Korean cars.
Not true, not even close. A quick take a look at Euro NCAP’s highest scoring vehicles will tell you that German brands don’t typically rank at the top. It’s the identical with USA’s IIHS.
Safest automobiles examined by Euro NCAP so farBoth organizations have completely different check standards and scoring methodology, so the results will vary but typically, Volvo (Sweden), Subaru (Japan), Mazda (Japan) rank very high and it’s safe to say that fashions (most, not all) from these three brands are among the safest in the world.
A number of USA’s IIHS Top Safety Pick+ ranked carsSome swear that German automobiles are safer because they use thicker gauge steel and their doorways have a very strong feel to it. But car security is a lot more difficult than that, and that ‘solid German car door’ really feel is just a matter of a manufacturer’s desire on how the door hinges are setup – whether or not its angled to make the doors feel heavy or lighter. Japanese producers favor the latter to higher accomodate elderly users/children.
The solid door shut sound can be just a matter of utilizing the best rubber seals alongside the door. How the door shuts has little to do with how protected the car truly is.
Also, most German vehicles are higher-end models and clearly these will have extra security options than a budget Japanese/Korean automotive. So it’s extra concerning the class of car quite than the manufacturer’s nation of origin.
By the way, Honda engineers all its small cars to withstand influence from larger SUVs. Here’s a demo accomplished in 2015, with the and Honda calls it Advaned Compatibility Engineering (ACE).
Note the integrity of the doorways post-crash with a bigger CR-V, this isn’t a common check.Most car companies solely do single automotive crash situations. Apart from Honda, the next closest firms that do multi-angle, multi-size, car-to-car collisions exams are Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. Toyota also does this, however not for each mannequin.
2. German cars are better engineered
Think German vehicles have superior engineering? Nearly each function that you simply see in a premium German car today is both already launched in Japan more than 20 years in the past, or was first pioneered by the Japanese. ‘Hako’ Skyline GT-R had 6 cylinders, rear-wheel drive, 5-speed manual (norm was 4-speed then), out there in 4 or 2 doors, dominated the tracks. It was the M3 fifteen years before the M3 existed.For example: In-car navigation (Honda Accord, 1981), energetic aero aids (R31 Nissan Skyline, 1986), electronically controlled air suspension (Toyota Soarer, 1986), four-wheel steering (Honda Prelude, 1987), adaptive suspension (Mitsubishi Galant VR4, 1987), downsized twin-charged engine (Nissan March Super Turbo, 1988), energetic suspension (Toyota Celica, 1989), GPS voice navigation (Toyota Celsior, 1992), direct injection (Mitsubishi GDi, 1996), we can go additional however you get the image.
Think VW’s TSI Twincharged was groundbreaking? Nissan did it in March Super Turbo, 930 cc, turbocharger+supercharger Mitsubishi Galant VR4 had 50:50 torque cut up 4WD, world first 4-wheel ABS, four-wheel steering, adaptive suspension, motorsports pedigree, later available as a wagon (Legnum) – higher than an Audi RS4, ten years earlier than RS4 existedThink the Mercedes-Benz CLS was the first premium coupe-sedan? In 1985, Nissan launched a Gloria/Cedric Hardtop. The word ‘Hardtop’ in ’80s Japanese automobile lingo meant four-door coupes with frameless doors. Nissan Cedric VIP Brougham, doing the CLS twenty years earlier. Curved rear glass nonetheless unmatched at present.It had digital cruise management, digital local weather control, TV tuner (yes) with premium Dolby sound system and JBL audio system, rear air-conditioning, electronically controlled air suspension, steering wheel audio control buttons, automated wipers and headlamps, energy adjustable seats, electrical boot and gas lid release, and a lot of extra.
Becase it was limited solely to Japan, Mercedes-Benz by no means actually knew how far behind the W126 S-Class was.Power got here from a 3.0-litre twin turbocharged V6 that made 230 PS, at a time when a Ferrari 308 GTB made about 255 PS.
It would be one other 10 years earlier than the S-Class might match the Cedric’s featuresYes, German automobile makers make excellent automobiles, however it goes to be stretching the reality to say that they are better than the Japanese or Koreans. German brands are principally aimed on the premium segment in order that they invest a lot in branding, thus providing you with the impression that ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ is an allure exclusive to Deutschland, however in reality they are simply higher at advertising themselves.
Korean/Japanese automobiles are usually aimed on the masses and their vehicles are a reflection of their customers’ calls for quite than lack of capability.
Lexus and Genesis are already putting many German manufacturers back at their place however will most likely be some time earlier than consumers see them as equal. You can’t anticipate to overtake Mercedes-Benz’s a hundred thirty plus years of heritage with just a few generations of wonderful automobiles.
3. BMW has higher dealing with but Mercedes-Benz presents higher comfort
Only half true. If you’re speaking about an S-Class, then yes it’s true. If you are talking about an A-Class, C-Class, E-Class, not true.
W205 C-Class is less comfortable than at present’s Camry but few will admit it – poorer seat support, noisier cabin, poorer ride and handlingThe current era Mercedes-Benz engineers not know tips on how to tune snug suspension with out resorting to costly air or adaptive suspension.
Nearly each BMW, regardless of suspension choice, has better experience and handling than a Mercedes-Benz but by no means mind a BMW, as a outcome of even a .
4. Mercedes-Benz is more dependable than a BMW, Korean automobiles are unreliable
Not true. The picture of indestructible Mercedes-Benzes may be true during your father/grandfather’s period, but today, the difference just isn’t so much. Plus, today’s BMWs are not as fragile as those from the ‘90s.
No car company can afford to build automobiles like the W124 anymore, not even Daimler.Underneath each BMW/Mercedes-Benz are a group of elements that are made by the same group of German suppliers – huge names like Bosch, Continental, Schaeffler, ZF, Getrag, and so on.
Although word of mouth tells a unique story, there’s little data to conclusively say that a Mercedes-Benz is more reliable than a BMW.
To velocity up improvement and to manage cost, German car companies no longer make as many parts in-house as earlier than. Instead, the likes of Bosch/Continental to take the lead in R&D, earlier than selling their designs to the automotive manufacturers. This allows producers to shorten development time and keep ahead of the know-how curve, essential if you’re a premium model.
48V mild-hybrid resolution utilized by nearly each German car maker was first developed by Continental in 2016.Today’s German automotive producers function more like a systems integrator. The buyer is paying for the brand’s prestige so these corporations will only give attention to bits that the shopper sees. For every thing else, the essential design and engineering is led by suppliers.
This additionally explains why Audi/BMW/Mercedes-Benz are all introducing massive display format digital instrument panels at kind of the same time. It’s the identical story with NFC digital key for smartphones. Because the same supplier is pushing out these solutions to every German automotive maker, all of whom are keen to buy.
Many of the tech introduced in premium German vehicles usually are not developed in-house, however by their suppliers.Isn’t that what the Japanese/Korean do too you ask? Yes, however in a slightly completely different method.
Asian producers believe in self-reliance, even if it implies that they can’t introduce new options as fast because the Germans (work is slower if you insist on doing every thing yourself). They will give you the design themselves and get their suppliers to provide it.
Asian producers insist on holding full management over the intellectual properties and to have a deep understanding of the fundamental knowledge behind every car-related tech – something about Confusian values of determing your individual future and taking the harder route to secure data.
It’s additionally why Lexus will never have the sort of inconsistencies seen in BMW’s integration with smartphones – the infotainment only helps Apple CarPlay however the NFC smartphone . It’s basic instance of integrating modules developed by completely different parties, every having a barely completely different approach.
Toyota will not buy critical tech from suppliers however will kind JVs to develop it. Prime Planet Energy & Solutions is a Toyota-Panasonic JV to produce hybrid/EV batteries.Toyota and Honda for instance, manufactures even essentially the most complicated hybrid parts either in-house or at a three way partnership managed by them. This means, they have a deeper understanding of the know-how and are able to train stricter control on value, quality, and future enhancements.
Even if it’s farmed out to a supplier, it goes to be to a minimum of one that has deep ties with the automotive maker, Toyota and Denso for example, or Hyundai and Mobis.
The image of Korean vehicles being unreliable and suffer from high fuel consumption can also be not correct. The Hyundai-Kia group now makes a few of the best vehicles in the world, and the most recent Genesis vary are proof of that.
Genesis G80, a extra dependable Audi?In truth, some reliability index have even gone so far as saying that Genesis has overtaken Lexus by method of high quality and reliability. Today’s Hyundai/Kia are no much less dependable than a Toyota/Honda. In truth, these new technology of Korean vehicles might be even better.
While there’s little doubt about Hyundai/Kia’s product excellence, the competitiveness of Hyundai Sime Darby Malaysia and Naza Kia Malaysia is another matter.
5. A Mercedes-Benz C-Class/BMW 3 Series is a C-segment automobile, can’t be in comparability with a Toyota Camry/Honda Accord
Absolutely not true. The clarification below by the European Commission ought to finish any debates. There isn’t any argument about it. A C-Class/3 Series/A4 is a D-segment sedan.
Who stated C-Class/3 Series is a C-segment car?Local web communities generally tend to shout down anybody who associates a D-segment sedan to a compact government sedan, insisting that the latter is a premium C-segment car, which is mistaken as a end result of that’s where the A-Class/1 Series sit.
In the ’90s, a three Series/C-Class was typically talked about in passing with the Ford Mondeo/VW Passat but by the 2000s, the market has expanded to incorporate a lot more rivals. To keep editorial focus, the motoring media coined the time period compact executive sedan.
This term was never accepted by the ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association), which continues to report sales of those ‘compact executive sedans’ under the D-segment, however that is OK as a end result of it makes evaluations a lot easier.
C-Class/3 Series/A4 gross sales are parked beneath Upper Medium (D segment)
So are you capable to examine a Toyota Camry/Honda Accord/VW Passat in opposition to a Mercedes-Benz C-Class/BMW three Series? Yes, the 2 aren’t direct rivals, however they fall inside the same buying basket, so to speak.
Comparison take a look at by Auto Motor und Sport – Passat v three Series. Nothing uncommon right here.So there you may have it, automotive myths and stereotypes that are now not true in 2020.