Like Graham wrote above, I drove mine here for year. Just a few things to keep in mind, but none of which (in my experience) had to do with "being targetted".
Firstly, Americans aren't treated with anything more than an eye roll (at worst, and that has origins in the tourist industry...you should see how embarrassing some American tourists can be!). But usually, and this is by far my own experience, once I'm found out to be American, I'm instantly their new best friend.
As far as being singled out as being American because of your car, I suppose there can be an element of that in some extremely unusual circumstance. However, if someone were going to target an American, I doubt they'd be pursuing cars to do it, simply because ownership of a particular car doesn't automatically make you a certain nationality. More than disdain for having one, you'll probably find people admiring it and asking you about it. Owning an American vehicle here is almost like getting the holy grail in some auto circles. A Harley Davidson, a Mustang, a Corvette, even a Chevy.
Naw, consider what is *really* the issue, and that's the safety of it.
I was at first fearful my car would stand out and be pursued by thieves, looking for something "extra". Then it occurred to me that if they ever tried to steal my car, they'd get a bit of a jolt and run away screaming. I've had many to-myself belly laughs thinking about the poor idiot who'd hop in my car just to find the steering wheel on the other side. Aside from that, you'll find your car is suddenly worth peanuts here...unless it's one of the afore-mentioned prize possions, or similar. Not thief is going to be able to hock it easily. I ended up selling mine to a woman who was moving to France.
Driving...saving the last aspect because it's the most important.
Graham mentioned a couple of things to be aware of. I'll mention a couple more:
- the windshield (windscreen) wipers are geared to the driver. Sit in the American side as a driver and you will note less visibility at the top right-hand corner.
- we as drivers tend to look at the drivers of other cars to see their reaction...'do you see me when I pull out?' The driver of a car watching you will look to the side he/she naturally thinks is your driver's side. If your passenger is not looking at him/her (ie, reading a road map) the other driver will feel it's safe to pull our in front...never thinking that the person who is REALLY driving has been paying attention the whole time. (This happened to us at a roundabout. Graham was driving and I was reading the map. We were pulling out into the roundabout to go and the driver to our left was watching me not paying attention to him or the road, so he entered the roundabout too. Graham had to make a frantic and fast stop to avoid hitting him.)
You'll hear a lot of people mention the problem of getting parts for your car. Aside from the initial modifications needed to get your car road-worthy here (you might have to have your headlights (headlamps) adjusted and add some fog lights), you shouldn't have problems getting *anything* you need...just that it might take more time and it might cost more. But this day and age, nah, anything can be done/anything can be shipped. However, if your car has a lot of computer-assisted gadgets, you might find the computer analysis machines might not be in synch if your car is not a standard make available here. A lot of cars are the same, but just have different names and slight variations to their workings. But with so many different countries providing parts and labour, to be honest, it's all getting so that an American car has very little American about it. (Generally I have never had a problem at all. The local Mazda dealership was able to service my American Mazda with parts available in the UK. There is only one exception: just to get my dang 'service' light to stop blinking, I got a new airbag because the car was more than 10 years old...and not because it needed a new one. This was shipped from Japan only because an airbag was expensive anywhere and they didn't want to install a British one on the chance it wouldn't fit. If it didn't I'd then have to pay for that *and* get another one that did fit. It was more me going for the definite route than taking a chance on an unknown. Replacing an airbag was slightly out of their depth, they admitted.)
I get long-winded and I think everyones' eyes must be glazed over by now. I'll just recap:
- Being "targetted"
- Your car isn't worth anything to thiefs because the resale value plummets as soon as it leaves the dock here
- Americans generally are not objects of hate crimes here
- Certain American cars are met more with 'oooh ahhh' because of the novelty value
- American cars are frequently ignored because so many people from the Continent drive here
- Driving on the left in a left-hand car
- There are a few things to be mindful of, certain features that make the experience interesting, but you can certainly drive such a car here
- Maintaining your car
- The initial changes your car will need to get it road-worthy here to begin with are minimal
- Just about any parts can be got, but they may take longer and cost more
