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" we like it as it is, and as a EU-member state we have follow the EU rules and regulations."
There is something about both the tone and content of your posts that makes me picture you eating a slab of brown meat with flavorless brown gravy and over-cooked vegetables. Every night. You have managed to make Sweden sound like a very boring place.
Hey guys dont let one person represent europe what he say stays with him i like big engines and im also from sweden and i think im gonna buy myself at least 19 maybe 20 inches wheels to my MB 350 CGI. I dont think he ever visiting the States and live the experience...maybe a lot of bad spelling but you know what i mean
I meant the size of the wheel, my car have 16", it is the normal size here, nobody drives around with bigger than 18" here in Europe, we do not like it to big.
But in America it seems to be normal with much bigger wheeels, for example 18"-20".
I live in southern of Sweden, we do not have much snow here, maybe 1 or 2 weeks a year, the winter here in very mild and winter here is mostly just rain.
My car have not 4 fog lights, it is only 2 fog ligths, the other 2 lights is the day-time-running lights, for driving during daytime.
I think there is no need for bigger engines, we like it as it is, and as a EU-memberstate we have follow the EU rules and regulations.
The prices for new cars is about the same level in most of EU, for example is the price the same in Sweden and Germany, in other memberstates almost the same price, but in Denmark are new cars more expensive.
The price for gas is the same in EU, there is very little pricedifference.
We do not complain, we pay not more today than for 4 years ago.
The price for 1 Liter diesel is about 1.20 euro, for gasoline 1.30 euro.
This is clearly only your opinion. To say that NOBODY has wheels larger than 18" and that there is no need for bigger engines is the sign of a hermit who doesn't get out much. I guess Polestar, Fastercar tuning, BSR and many other Swedish tuning companies don't really exist because you believe that they don't exist.
While I agree that we oftentimes go overboard with big wheels (often to the detriment of ride quality) and huge engines (do we really need 300+hp to go 70mph?) in a free society (in the US or in Sweden) we can vote with our wallets and if we choose to waste our money on big engines and big wheels then it is our choice.
Or we could be on the waiting list for a Trabant for 15 years. Luckily we can choose between 19 inch wheels and a tiny engine that burns a mixture of oil and gas.
When I look at all the pictures here in this forum I see many nice Mercedes-cars, but.. I can also really see the difference in culture and mentality between Europeans and Americans..
I have noticed some things that seems very typical for America:
1. the wheels are much to big.
2. the cars are way to low.
3. the cars have to sporty and aggressive look.
4. it is a little "to much" of everything..
I Would be ashamed to drive in such a car!
Here in the EU it is very different, we drive smaller cars, and we drive cars with smaller engines, (more than 60% diesel).
The most common engines for the E class here is 200d, 220d and 250d.
Why does everything have to be so BIG in America, and why this mentality "look at me, look at me, my car is bigger than yours".... WHY???
For example, my E class is typically european, it is a E 200 Elegance, Diesel with 136 HP, 5-speed automatic, 16" Wheels.
- and as far as I know, this E class model was not even available in the US?
Here some pictures of my "boring european" e class:
I grew up in Europe myself and your ignorance, perhaps jealousy, is speaking for you. The roads in US are much wider and bigger cars are cheaper here then Europe and so is gas. A lot cheaper.
If gas was cheaper then diesel in EU and the car price was cheaper for gasoline cars then diesel I bet you would be driving a gasoline E class and not a diesel.
Nobody needs a Mercedes to begin with, but you 'want' one. You could've bought a Skoda or whatever. But you choose to go with your want and not your need. I travel to Europe all the time and I see just as many, if not more cars in Europe being customized. All major tuning companies for European cars are based out of Europe.
Let's not forget ,for some stupid reason US Cars came with less options whereas EU Spec Cars in pre FL W212 had some options that the US Spec W212s didn't such as folding mirrors, sun protection package
Well, bigger the better ? That doesn't apply always or sometimes less is more
Hello
I come from Sweden, I do not recognize the description as "E200cdi" describes Sweden .. =)
In Sweden it is like in the US, we like big engines, but unfortunately it's high taxation, forcing people to choose smaller engines, taxes on larger motors will probably come in the United States eventually, save the planet.
I have an S212 E200 cdi estate as daily driver and a Chevy K20 4x4 when I'll tow stuff
if I could afford, I would far rather have had a E63, and then of course 19 or 20 inch wheels ..
Sweden is not a boring place, we have the world's best-looking girls, inter alia,
and most people do not chew boiled vegetables .. =)))
Last edited by doggydoggen; 11-29-2015 at 05:45 PM.
Hello
I come from Sweden, I do not recognize the description as "E200cdi" describes Sweden .. =)
In Sweden it is like in the US, we like big engines, but unfortunately it's high taxation, forcing people to choose smaller engines, taxes on larger motors will probably come in the United States eventually, save the planet.
I have an S212 E200 cdi estate as daily driver and a Chevy K20 4x4 when I'll tow stuff
if I could afford, I would far rather have had a E63, and then of course 19 or 20 inch wheels ..
Sweden is not a boring place, we have the world's best-looking girls, inter alia,
and most people do not chew boiled vegetables .. =)))
NO! we do not like big engines, we don't even like USA much, and you know exactly why,, the americans brag about everything and everything has to be very very big, they also think that USA is the best country in the world, but they dont know a **** about Europe!
And we do not have high taxes on big engines, the taxes on engines is in Sweden is pretty low.
For example in Austia, is the taxes for engines the dubble, and in Germany pretty much the same as in Sweden.
In Denmark is it also higher.
It is impossible to sell american cars in Sweden, and nowdays you can not even buy a chevrolet in Sweden anymore.
And we are not intressted in big American cars , V8 Engines, pick up's and that stuff, we don't want it, that's it!
How would it looks like if someone here came driving with a Ford RAM pick up for example?? - it would look really ridiculous!
Sweedos not interested in American cars? Is this for real? The 1950s-1970s American car movement is HUGE in Sweden. It's a gigantic subculture observed by many. Many Swedes LOVE big traditional showy American cars.
Check out the AMG forums, plenty of people there from Sweden as well. The most insanely tuned E55 I knew of was owned by a guy from Sweden.
It seems the OP of this thread cannot grasp that a MB is a different thing in what was Sweden than in NA. The brand has completely different history and value, and via this, is not directly comparable.
I think someone is trying to deflect from unfortunate realities in what was Sweden with complaints about big bad old Murka. Have fun with that future. And don't call yourself a full EU member until you sacrifice your currency and even more sovereignty (your 'generation of 68' has already doomed you).
NO! we do not like big engines, we don't even like USA much, and you know exactly why,, the americans brag about everything and everything has to be very very big, they also think that USA is the best country in the world, but they dont know a **** about Europe!
So you don't like the USA much? I don't care. The reality is in the US far less than 1% of the population cares or even thinks about Sweden enough to have an opinion about y'all. Your diatribe here won't influence my opinion or lack thereof - you just don't matter to me, and I doubt you ever will.
I don't understand this discussion. You act like all Americans and Europeans are alike.That is not the case. There are millions of people in the USA that can't even open the hood of their car, much less care about the engine. I worked for several years with a Swedish gentleman that was totally hooked on 70's Chrysler Hemi cars. Generalizations are usually dumb at best.
Please do not listen to this guy, he is only a silly monkey. In fact, Sweden has alot of awesome american cars and the racing scene is pretty big there as well.
It is alot, and i mean ALOT cheaper to buy cars in Sweden with "bigger engines" than in Norway, where i live. American cars are cheaper to buy and own there. We get taxed alot harder, and we even have a horsepower tax. Go figure.
So that is why most people tend to buy nice cars with small engines and power.
I mean who in their right mind would buy a diesel 4 banger over a V8??
How would it looks like if someone here came driving with a Ford RAM pick up for example?? - it would look really ridiculous!
I'm not really sure about the point of this thread.
But a Ford Ram Pickup would be pretty ridiculous because that would be two different car companies making one car. Dodge makes the RAM, Ford makes the F150 and other models. There is no Ford Ram pickup.
In the US there is sort of a tax on larger engines, it's the gas guzzler tax and some S class models had the tax, but cars have been getting more fuel efficient lately so I'm not sure if it still applies. Just a completely different philosophy on taxes in the US. Europe taxes gas for social spending, we don't have the tax on gas, but pay a lot for health insurance. They can't even raise the gas tax to keep up with inflation so I doubt if it'll ever get to the level it's at in Europe. Because gas is cheap, it's easy to sell a car with a big engine and the profits are bigger too.
The Scandinavian Folklore consists of a huge variety of creatures, good or evil, which have frightened people for centuries. They were often meant to scare children, but even today they are essential and important to the modern northern society. In the 1890s, something changed in the way common Scandinavians saw themselves and their culture. They looked back in time to rediscover their old myths and legends; folklore which had been forgotten because of the coming of Christianity. It was a time when people feared nature, because we were becoming more industrialized. The forests, the mountains, and the sea – it all seemed strange, dark and magic, and because of that, we are now left with evil spirits and monsters who used to represent our own way of seeing nature.
10 Huldra
Huldra (or called Tallemaja in Swedish) is a troll-like woman living in the woods. She is fair and beautiful, but wild and has a long cow-tail which she hides behind her back upon meeting a human. It is said that Adam and Eve had many children, and that one day, when Eve was giving her children a bath, God came to visit. Eve had not finished bathing all of her children, and so hid those who were still dirty. God asked: “Are there not more children?” and when Eve said no, God said: “Then let all that is hidden, remain hidden,” and the hidden children became De Underjordiske (the ones living underground), lost souls who live under the surface of the earth, calling for someone to be with them, usually human passersby. Huldra was one of them, but she somehow remained above the ground. She is a flirtatious, young girl who is neither good nor evil.
9 Nisser
These beings are actually still very important in the modern society. In the Scandinavian Christmas tradition, there is no Santa in the shape of a fat, bearded guy who lives at the North Pole. Instead, we each have our own Nisse, living in the barn (that is to say, if you are a farmer, or living in the countryside), who is like a guardian for the household. These creatures are typical pranksters, but can easily be befriended, and around Christmas they have the same function as Santa in Western traditions.
8 Dwarves/Elves
Made famous by J. R. R. Tolkien, the dwarves and the elves originate from Norse Mythology. The dwarves lived in their own part of Midgard; a place no human could find. They were small people, often pictured as little men with long beards, who were master smiths, and made the swords, shields and armor for the gods themselves. The elves lived in a deep forest nearby the castle of Frøy, the god of fertility, called Alvheim. They were fair and beautiful, and commonly seen as peaceful creatures.
7 Mare
Mare is a female Vette, who gives people bad dreams at night by sitting on them in their sleep. She is a common belief in Germanic folklore, and appears in many different shapes. The Scandinavian words for Nightmare, are: Norwegian – Mareritt, Danish – Mareridt, Swedish – Mardröm, which directly translated means Mare-ride, and Mare-dream.
6 Fossegrimmen
Fossegrimmen, or just Grim (Foss is Norwegian for Waterfall) is a water-creature. He is a young, handsome man who sits naked under waterfalls, playing the fiddle. He plays the music of nature itself; the sound of the water, the wind in the trees, it all comes from his music. He is said to teach humans how to play if they secretly brought him a stolen piece of meat. Torgeir Augundsson (1801-1872), better known as Myllarguten, was a famous fiddle-player from Telemark, Norway who was so good it was rumored he had sold his soul in exchange of Fossegrimmen’s skills.
5 Troll
The troll comes from Norse Mythology, inspired by the cruel giants who were the main enemies of the gods, known as jotner/jotuner/jötunn, who lived in the mountains of Utgard. They have a human like appearance, but they are incredibly ugly and huge, and every story about them tells of how stupid they are. In the old tales, there were trolls of all kinds, some living in the high mountains, in castles carved out of the stone, in deep forests, and some even by the shore. Upon the arrival of Christianity around the 1300s, the stories changed. The trolls were able to smell the blood of a Christian man, and basically they stood for anything of the old times, which the new religion condemned. Oh, and if they every came in contact with sunlight, they turned to stone.
I think he created this just to mess with us. There is no point to make such statements.
No, let me explain.
Mercedes-Benz stands for tradtion and automobile history, a Mercedes is supposed to be a car which brings you and your family from point A to point B in a safe and comfortable way.
Mercedes-Benz also stands for a typical european kind of luxury, it means that "to much" luxury is not allowed, then it becomes something else which calls bragging.
And bragging is definitely not European, it's not socially acceptable.
As a said before, almost all Mercedes here in the EU are small engines (180/200/220 and 250), and over 85% of all E class here in EU are Diesel.
A Mercedes is not something you buy for bragging, and thats why it is so ridiculous to see all this "american styling" on a E class.
Mercedes-Benz stands for tradtion and automobile history, a Mercedes is supposed to be a car which brings you and your family from point A to point B in a safe and comfortable way.
Mercedes-Benz also stands for a typical european kind of luxury, it means that "to much" luxury is not allowed, then it becomes something else which calls bragging.
And bragging is definitely not European, it's not socially acceptable.
As a said before, almost all Mercedes here in the EU are small engines (180/200/220 and 250), and over 85% of all E class here in EU are Diesel.
A Mercedes is not something you buy for bragging, and thats why it is so ridiculous to see all this "american styling" on a E class.
Folks, this guy actually makes a lot of sense. I can now buy the bright yellow SLS I've had my eye on. "Honey, it's an MB, the purpose is not to brag, but to transport our "family from point A to point B in a safe and comfortable way." "Some guy in Sweden says Europeans don't brag, so safe transport is really the same reason the Italians make lime green Gallardos."
There are some reasons why cars are bigger with bigger engines I the U.S. The history behind, or at least part of it, big engines comes from the transmission. As we all know by far most cars in the U.S come with the automatic transmission. Torque converter in the transmission takes lots of power to operate when the car runs but does not move. Small engines have trouble of getting the car to move, or in the past did have trouble with this. Transmissions and torque converters have improved a lot and this issue does not exist any more but a big boat turns slowly.... Most people like at least 3 L engine under the hood. I would never buy a car with a smaller engine than that if it is automatic.
I remember many years ago when I had a Cavalier as a rental car and it had some small 4-cylinder engine and it was just ridiculous getting it moving from a stop.
Torque converters demanded or used to demand lots of torque from the engine and that is one important reason why U.S. has so much bigger engines in cars in general.
Now diesel engine is just perfect to operate with the converter so with a diesel a smaller engine works fine but we don't have much diesels here yet..but they are coming...
Another reason for bigger cars simply is that we can afford them much better than folks in Europe. For example a similarly equipped MB cost 30% less here compared to most European countries. Against some countries the price is only about half.
Why would this be? Perhaps because the U.S. used to be the biggest carmaker in the world and still probably is the biggest market for them. Everyone sells cars here and competition keeps pricing in check.
Competition is also the reason why cars are better equipped in the U.S. than elsewhere in the world. Pretty much all cars here came with electronic windows many years when in most of Europe it was an option you had to pay for. Same with mirrors. I bet you can't even buy a car with a crank windows in the U.S. anymore but in Europe I believe this is very much possible..not 100% sure about this though, perhaps they have changed...
What comes to modding the car a big reason is it is so easy in the U.S. Changing the rim size is like nothing. In some European countries you cannot even do that. You can only use the rim and tire size that is listed in the car's manual. Same for lights and other body parts.
The OP says he is located in Sweden but does not sound like a Swede. Very strange "gubbe" with his comments about people in Europe don't like big cars and engines. They would buy them just the same if it was economically possible.
C43/55,2k11 Volvo S60 T6AWD,2k Audi B5 S4,95 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD 500+awhp
The op is apparently in his own little world as Volvo has a highly successful high performance company that mods volvos by the name of polestar which was mentioned earlier. Here is an example of a 650hp v8 Volvo built by the Swedish company for racing. I don't think you can purchase a volvos with anything under 19 inch rims2k15
508hp Volvo T6 S60 built to compete with AMG c63 and BMW m3
The swedes are heavy into the aftermarket scene, have built some heavily modded turbocharged diesel cars and trucks,some of the most powerful Toyota Supras,Evolution Lancers, and even some mean V8 projects,.all this can be seen on youtube
Last edited by ProjectC55; 12-01-2015 at 11:07 AM.
11-28-2015, 09:14 AM
