I still find it frustrating to see the exact same vehicles get significantly different tow ratings here vs Europe.

The other day the dealer tried to warn not to tow my utility trailer with my car as it would hurt the transmission (trailer was empty by the way). I pulled up an article from the UK where it was in the top three of best towing cars for this year.

Dealer looked at me like his brain needed to reboot, after which he told me the cars in Europe must be built differently or get different transmissions and left it at that.

It's truly baffling that manufacturers here hold that towing capacity hostage for arbitrary reasons.

This seems not very fuck cars but ok. Also who does not know you can tow with a car?

Once at work I said "My Audi sedan has a towing capacity of over 5,000 lbs, isn't that crazy?" A coworker said "That's almost as much as my Tacoma!" (Early 2000s model). Turns out 5,000 is closer to his combined vehicle weight + towing capacity.

I remember my grandfather using the Grand Prix to tow and pull out stumps and stuff instead of the work truck.

My people out east can teach you something.

But will it pull a camper for two that actually sleeps 10 at 85 mph up hill in a 65 mph speed zone?

I agree but diesel cars are much more common in Europe and they have better towing capacity due to higher torque.

if you saw the sheer scope of trailers, campers, Tour Bus RV's, custom toy haulers etc that invade the coastal areas of where I live, you would realize the problem isn't the semantics of tow vehicle size. the whole "adventure camping" myth when two people bring a 800 square foot Motorcoach with a car in tow makes me want to vomit. its like a car brain with sepsis. leave your fucking house at home.

Just make sure it's rated for the load you're towing and whatever works.

Its probably worth noting that Europeans get more powerful cars than we do here in the US. I drive a 02 Golf TDI and it was only available as a 1.9L 90hp front wheel drive. The base model in Europe has a bigger turbo and offers 4wd versions.

Been there as a kid in the 90s. Sitting in the back my my parents Toyota Carina with my 2 siblings, while we were towing a caravan.

That car had a 2l, 4 cylinder petrol and got through the Alps and Pyrenees. Iwas more comfortable touring that way than going by tent only. Now I'm in Australia where I'm gobsmacked by how much shit people "need" to go camping. All while I'm exploring the same locations and actually spending more time camping in the bush as I tour on a tiny, economical 125cc motorcycle.

Almost to prove a point, I took that little thing to Cape York and will take it RTW next year, partly to show that you don't need much.

Just yesterday I was towing about a half to 2/3 of a cord of a wood with my wagon. Folks assume you need a giant truck to tow anything. Full disclosure though I was pushing the limits of my car, it pulls this weight without issue but stopping it risky and I have to drive very carefully and keep huge buffers between myself and the next car.

Holland is mostly flat ground.

The excuse for buying these compensators is they need them to tow. And yet I've rarely seen one ever used to tow. I saw this juxtaposition in my local area:

https://imgur.com/a/XGVLduk

You can tow with anything. The question becomes, how long can you tow with it. If I'm buying a car and it has a hitch on it, I'm not buying that one unless it just had a transmission put in it or I got it cheap enough that I can put a new transmission in it.

My camping setup fits in some boxes I have on my 650cc motorcycle. Don't even need to tow anything.