>considered a premium product. >in the top 20 least reliable

>>16492071
like was there ever a time where euro cars were truly premium?

>it's another american jealous of european automobile superiority episode

>>16492071
>when did the euro cars = premium meme start?

It happened gradually between 1960-1990 when the European marques realized what an untapped market the US was for mass-produced consumer vehicles. However, exporting a car overseas to sell on N. American soil proved costly for the end customer who could've bought a nicer USDM car for the same price. Also because parts had to be imported and the scarcity of trained technicians specializing in these cars increased the price of maintenance and upkeep. To counter act this, larger European firms increased the quality of their cars and changed the marketing of their vehicles to reflect a luxury image which would justify the higher price of the car. By the close of '70s companies like Mercedes-Benz had gained a foothold in the US as a premium manufacturer. BMW and Audi followed sometime in the '80s. This trend continued into the '90s until Lexus undercut them all and Euro marques changed their pricing to stay competitive.

Another theory, although it's hard to prove, is that US coach building companies died out out or switched to mass production by the following years of WW2 and the last of the true coach builders still around from before the war were all located in Europe bolstering the idea that a European import was worth the money.

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62KB, 720x428px

>>16492072

>>16492071
Reliability only matters for 4 years or so, when you get the next model/facelift.