I travel to the US quite a bit and always have a nice car waiting for me at San Fran airport.
Two things I've noticed about American cars.
1) The suspension is always
AWFUL!!
What is it that Americans like about horrible soft bouncy suspension?! It's like being in a
boat, not a car! You can actually lean on a car with ONE hand and feel the whole thing tip to one side.
Absolutely no "connection" with the road... Makes driving an unpleasant experience... almost.
2) Power
I nearly fell off my chair when I found out that the car I had been driving, last trip, was not the measly 4 cylinder, 2 litre "commuter car" I had thought, but was in fact a 3 litre V6. Some kind of Pontiac. But the thing ran like an iron pig! No acceleration. No response. No power... Horrible, horrible, horrible.
The funny thing is, I know Americans can make good performance vehicles (though to be honest, I think your styling leaves a lot to be desired). It's just that your general "everyday motoring vehicles" don't seem to be engineered well.
Mr Mephisto