What's so special about European cars?

[NewportLife]

I’ve always heard how amazing European sportscars are, and how different they are from American cars. And there’s no denying the lines on an Aston Martin or Jaguar E-Type. But there’s something raw about the power of a Viper, and if I can get close to Ferrari times in a ZR-1, why pay 3x the amount for the Italian.

Well, here’s my chance to drive an Aston Martin (http://www.roadandtrack.com/racing/motorsports/24-hours-of-rapide) and find out what’s so special about James Bond’s ride. I hope I win; I want to finally understand the difference between American and European/British supercars.

[jannes_z-28]

Originally I think it first was because there were no real sportcars made in the US before the Corvette entered the market.

Secondly the European cars in general and the sportcars in particular had better handling making them more fun to drive. They also had an aurora of exclusivity.

American cars were designed to understeer for safety reasons were as European were designed with oversteer in mind.

Today is a different thing...

Jan

[442w30]

I never really had a fascination with European cars - I just like cars.

However, if you read the buff magazines in the 1960s, magazines like <span style="font-style: italic">Car and Driver</span> had a European bias because the Europeans were building cars with overhead cams, disc brakes, taut suspensions, and the like. Meanwhile, American cars were underbraked and handled poorly, and their motors didn't push the edge of technology. Really, all they had going for them was style and horsepower . . . and the latter was in the minority of American cars since your basic 283 Impala was not much faster than some European sedans.