If you went back 15 years and told people Skoda would make a car with a 2.0 litre engine that would go faster than 200mph you'd be stoned to death for being ridiculous. I know Skoda has come along way since the days of them being the joke of the automotive industry. I remember a joke from when I was a kid. Q. What's the definition of impossible? A. A Skoda on top of a hill. But over the last 10 years or so they've almost entirely dissolved their reputation as a maker of shit cars, in fact some of their newer models are downright good. Anyway, Skoda 2.0 litre, 200+mph, see it here http://www.skoda.co.uk/gbr/contactus/pages/bonneville.aspx
I saw this video this morning. We used to ridicule a kid at school because his Mum had a Skoda. I still don't think I would buy one, probably because of how we used to think of them as kids.
I think they were originally a Czech company that is now a subsidiary of Volkswagon. They're not something car enthusiasts lust over. They can stay away from me. However, I do want to say that there have been some pretty kickass cars that never made it over here. It seems like most of the best Japanese cars were available in Asia and Europe but not here. I would have loved to get my hands on a Nissan Silvia, a budget sports car that went out of production about 10 years ago. We got a crappy version of it in the US, the 200SX, which I think had about a quarter less power, so the crappy version landed here while people in other countries got the awesome turbocharged version of it. We also only just got the Nissan GT-R over here, which has been an icon elsewhere for many years. As for European cars, I am sure there are all sorts of safety issues with TVR's cars, but I personally don't care. I'd like to see them over here anyway. They are savage and beastly little sports cars with wacky pain jobs. I want one.
TVR arn't really around anymore as such, its 2 companies now and they haven't made a new car since 2006. A chap at work has one but I wouldn't want one, they have all sorts of issues with both safety and reliability but they are quick and look pretty nice. Do you know TVR comes from the name of the founder? TreVoR, another reason I don't want one is I don't want to be driving around in Trevor.
And vice versa, there are some US cars that didn't make it to Europe. And this doesn't automatically make them crappy. I owe one of Skoda cars and I really like it. It's great for driving everyday 10 miles from home to work and back.
TVR's generally handle like complete dog shit with no turning circle whatsoever, should fit in nicely over there.
Most American cars are crappy. We know how to make trucks and that's about it. Ford has started to turn things around in recent years, but GM is still pretty clueless. Americans these days mostly drive Japanese cars like Toyotas and Hondas anyway.
I've been in grad school over the past few years and haven't kept up with cars, movies, ect. like I used to. That sucks. Just when I am close to making the kind of cash to buy something outrageous like that, they close shop. I really dug the look of the Tuscan when it came out, including the wild paint jobs. If I discover I'm terminally ill and want to go out with style, I'll import a dangerous and unreliable used TVR Tuscan.
I'd only heard of Skoda once they got involved in rally, so I've always seen them as some sort of European version of a Subaru WRX - pretty decent all round with some fairly good performance and rally bred technology. I guess that's been where VW have tried to direct them?
sorry but that last pic looks a little too imposing for me. the green pic looks harmless enough but alls I can think about in the last pic is world domination.
This is one of Skoda's new cars, Skoda Mission: It's been presented in the Franfkurt Motor Show. Possibly to hit the market this year. Crappy?