Automotive News [sub] ain’t committing themselves on this one, using typography to highlight that this is a list of ten small cars that could be coming our way. But they’re right to flag these cars as potential U.S. imports. When the U.S./world economy recovers, the price of gas is sure to ascend. Yes, when. Remember: automakers need to plan on a five-year timeline. To NOT plan for a recovery would be a mistake. And, as Detroit should have learned at least once in the last twenty years, any full-line carmaker worth more than $3b should not place all its eggs in a single vehicular basket. It’s an interesting list, but wouldn’t you really rather have a full-size Honda Accord or Toyota Corolla or, well, anything? And of course, I don’t mean you in the Chervolet Camaro sense. I mean you, as in 100k+ units per year. Or, put another way, how many competitors does the MINI need?
I’m not so sure about this. I’ve been seing an awful lot of Smarts on the roads around NYC these days. If people will buy those turkeys, they might actually buy small cars that are better at being small cars.
I miss the old days of blasting around town in a small shitbox, and would welcome some new choices in this segment. Having said that, I doubt that the price of gasoline will fully recover anytime soon. The highs set last summer were driven by a speculative trading bubble, and when bubbles burst nobody wants to own the underlying asset for a long time.
That Audi is a concept shooting brake. But damn, it’s so HAWT!
A list of names would be nice, so those of us without a subscription can comment. Clicking on any of the photos above just shows the VW.
My wish-list of non-US cars goes thusly:
Alfa Romeo Spider
Alfa Romeo MiTo
(either of the above with a JTDM engine would be a triple word score)
VW Polo TDI
Audi TT TDI
Volvo C30 Diesel
MINI-D
Honda Civic hatchback Diesel
Smart Roadster (yeah, I know it is gone)
–chuck
I could see the Ford Ka, Polo and the Hyundai i30 if they’re marketed as well as the Fit. The Corsa will have the rep of the Aveo to work against, so maybe. But small Audis and Mercs? I dunno.
While it’s a bit bigger than the vehicles pictured, when I’m in Europe, I have access to a VW Golf/Rabbit 2L TDi. It’s brilliant.
The Ford Ka could make it over here, but I don’t think Americans will pay a premium for a tiny Ford.
On the other hand, I think the Fiat 500 would be a success since it fills the same niche as the MINI.
I don’t think microcars are going to make much inroads–they’re just not practical–but there’s a huge opportunity for big-space versions of conventional vehicles.
Put it this way: there’s a serious lack of five- and seven-passenger vehicles that aren’t physically massive. This puts families with young children in a pinch, and invariably sends them to the used market in search of an older van or SUV. The Great Truck Margin Hunt wiped out low-margin people carriers in favour of higher-margin (but higher-cost) trucks and trucklets. Without credit, those vehicles aren’t obtainable.
The problem is that the first established (in NA) make to bring something like, oh, the Focus C-Max over would be slitting their throat by killing sales of their more profitable, larger vehicles. Thusly the only people cranking out spacewagons are those with nothing to lose (Kia, Mazda).
That said, nothing is selling right now, so would it really be so bad to try hocking Merivas instead of Outlooks? I mean, at least the low-budget, practical metal is more likely to move. If I were Toyota, for example, I’d be looking very hard at leveraging Daihatsu via Scion to move units; If I were Honda, I would be thinking about the Freed, Steam and FRV as Pilot and Oddy sales tank.
If I were GM or Chrysler, I’d be throwing anything against the wall in hopes something sticks. Obviously, the current strategy of selling Sierras and Rams at 40% off is not working.
Americans will buy them as soon as gas hits $4+ a gallon again.
You don’t think gas will hit $4+/gallon again soon? How do you think the government is going to come up with the $$$ to pay for the $700B bailout? What about the additional $800B+ stimulus package coming down the pipeline?
They’re going to tax and fee-to-death anything they can to try and raise money. Heck, NY city is even taxing regular coke in the name of trying to help out fatties to lose weight. They say it will stop fat kids from drinking it because it will make it more expensive to drink. Once everyone starts drinking diet coke, they’ll shift gears and tax something else that’s “unhealthy” or “bad” because it’s easier to push through in the name of safety or “for their own good”.
BTW, they’ve already started the campaign that gas guzzlers are “bad”. Taxing the bejesus out of gasoline down the road is going to be a slam-dunk.
Replacing the Aveo with the Corsa and bringing the Ka in along with the Fiesta (kill the Focus while you’re at it) would do wonders for the American companies.
>>The Ford Ka could make it over here, but I don’t think Americans will pay a premium for a tiny Ford.
On the other hand, I think the Fiat 500 would be a success since it fills the same niche as the MINI.<<
The new KA is built on the Fiat 500 platform so they are not too different in size…
TED
I agree with psarhjinian. These cars will not make any success stories. Who is going to buy them, save for a couple niche groups?
The funky coffee-house crowd and militant greenies might take a look, but they won’t buy enough of these to make it worthwhile to import.
Parents buying cars for their fresh-licensed teenagers look at safety first, and the stigma of these shoeboxes being mangled around telephone poles will scare them off.
Empty nesters prefer four doors and big comfy seats with enough room to hold groceries and golf bags.
That leaves young, single beatnik and aging unmarried teacher/librarian as the market.
I don’t think you can look at Mini and think you are going to get the same buyers. That car’s a style statement, backed up by a pseudo-legend and movie-star status. That’s the main selling point, not practicality.
Americans will buy them as soon as gas hits $4+ a gallon again.
No, they won’t. Canadians were about that for some time and aren’t buying cars like that. You need European-level fuel prices for years in order to make that happen.
Again, what will sell are cheap, practical cars like the Mazda5 and Kia Rondo; it would behoove larger makes to have something for sale right now that appeals to lots of people and is not discretionary.
I see lots and lots of Rondos and 5s now. I expect to see even more when Chrysler and their twenty-grand Caravans vanish, because the 5 and Rondo are the only choices for people who need space for people (especially people in huge, bulky car seats) and stuff and cant make payments on the Sienna, Highlander, Oddy, Pilot, Flex or Traverse.
I agree with psarhjinian as well. I feel a couple of years ago the market appeal for these cars was more narrow. But now, why the heck not? Look around during the morning commute nowadays and people are not dropping their small cars as gas prices drop. Selling a few of these is better than not selling big SUV’s and pickups. especially as gas rises again. Car companies need to start now as obtaining all the certs and approvals will take awhile to in order for these small cars to be sold in the USA.
A big problem, too, is pricing on these smallest cars in the US. With the Versa and Hyundai Accent now priced under $10K, how do you slot in a smaller model unless the price is correspondingly lower.
Americans tend to buy by the pound and will step up a class if the difference is $1-2K. The exceptions would be models that are considered premium, such as the Mini, and even Daimler’s Smart fortwo.
We get the i10 wagon as the Hyundai Elantra Touring, and the Fiat 500 may be coming over if it comes with an optional automatic (Almost every car needs an auto option to be reasonable for the American market), and the Ka is basically a 500 underneath. Hopefully the iQ will make it across to these shores, but it will have to have an automatic option, and only the 1.0L gas engine will be clean enough to pass our emissions standards. Americans will buy a hatchback, but only if it gets great mileage and is roomy and practical, i.e. like the Honda Fit. That and if it is distinctly styled, like the Mini and Smart.
Are you kidding me? I’ve been wanting a Fiat 500 for a while now!
(What I really want is the Alfa MiTo, but I’ve read that we’re definitely not getting that here in the US, so a Fiat 500 is my consolation prize. It’s also kinda cool in its own right.)
All these cars are good — at a price. All deserve looking at, or testing, I would say.
Or are we all armchair reviewers now, who know from a glance which cars are able, and which would be successful?
Here’s a tip for these those companies trying to sell small cars: Load them up with gadgets inside. You have to offset the fact that most small cars are gutless and slow. So compensate with big ol’ nav screens, 6 disc changers, seat warmers, etc. Simple solution that most people (suckers) will buy in droves.
I’d take the Ka or the Audi in a heartbeat.
As a Brit reading this it does make me chuckle. Yes I know the UK car Industry disappeared years ago, Yawn… Greedy Unions, Finance leading Engineering and Design, Crap quality and Bland products……… mmmmm That sounds like your own car industry today to me. But from the UK demise came Ford Europe and Vauxhall/Opel… Building decentish cars with some modicum of style at a reasonable price in comparison with the competition.
Did the Japanese companies take over? No not really… Some people where always going to buy a reliable box with no soul..
So to our American cousins Keep resisting change…Keep thinking you must have 6 cup holders a V8 and memory buttons on your seats.
Us in Europe will get on with having fun driving small cars with some soul..
SV :
Photos swapped. Thank you sir.
> Here’s a tip for these those companies trying to
> sell small cars: Load them up with gadgets inside.
Here’s another tip: lower the price. Is the MINI Cooper really worth DOUBLE the Accent or Versa? I don’t think so.
I’d buy a Fiat 500 or an Alfa MiTo, but not for more than 16K.
So to our American cousins Keep resisting change…Keep thinking you must have 6 cup holders a V8 and memory buttons on your seats.
Us in Europe will get on with having fun driving small cars with some soul..
No thanks. I’ll take the chest-thumping V8 and have some real fun, nevermind the cupholders.
i dont think americans will buy these. they are not practical for our everyday life. yea gas my get high but i still dont think cars like these would sell. no matter how much features they come equipped with
Hey how many New Beetles sold ? At least in the beginning? Thy’re not exactly “practical” now are they? Going on with the Beetle, it’s still selling, much less of course, but what do you expect with a retro car that’s really hard to redesign (thinking PT Cruiser,HHR and even sadly, Fiat 500 and Mini)so it’s been the same for what? 10 years?
In the long run, the new Kas and Fiestas have a better chance ’cause they can evolve naturally, without hindrance from the past. The Hyundai and Corsa are humhum, oh so traditional car designs. handsome yea, but without the extra pizzazz these cars would need to make it in America.
The German premium would just make their owners feel regret in a while (in American culture of course, bigger is better, hard to change that). They’d start thinking, “Did I really pay that much only because it’s a German make, on such a small car?”, after neighbors, friends and co-workers endlessly point it out to them that they spent x dollars less on a much bigger, “hence”, practical, safer, comgortable car.
But if prices are kept under 15 thousand. I see a future.
Again, to be a hit, all would need a lot of goodies and a beautiful interior (I honestly think the much maligned US Focus is showing the way). Make the lights customizable, have a digital screen you can put whatever you want on, instead of normal gauges. Think I-Phone, I-Pad, cell phones. Bring the kids in. Lights, colors, beeps and endless settings galore. That’s what kids like these days. *sigh* not hp* sigh * not 0-60 times * Oh, that’s like, so last century!
why won’t Americans buy it? is it because we’re too big to fit in it :(
Hey how many New Beetles sold ? At least in the beginning? Thy’re not exactly “practical” now are they?
Really, not practical? It’s a 4-door sedan.
“Rev Junkie :
December 29th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
We get the i10 wagon as the Hyundai Elantra Touring…”
i30… not i10
bomber 991:
Practical in the sense I think most Americans feel is practical: That it can carry a I-don’t-know-how-long piece of plywood plus take 7+ kids and their gear to Little League on Saturday.
But, to commute or even go on vacation or cross-country driving with 2 maybe, just maybe 3 people in it, then yeah. Very practical.
Remember, even in Europe most of these cars serve “family duties”, as the family’s second car to those a little more fortunate, or even as its first or only car when the family is small and not so fortunate.
Most of these are not competitors to the Mini, which has a hefty price tag in comparison. These are subcompact, high mpg cars intended for the summer gas prices that are sure to come. They said the beetle would never sell, they laughed at the civic, and then gas prices went up while American quality was struggling. This is a tough time to launch a new vehicle of any type. But, there is a market for small cars. The smart has sold well, and as long as they can keep the price down and sell the value of these tiny cars you will see them move. Lets see now, we had high gas prices last year and American car companies are struggling, what should we be making – you can fill in the blank! Or have a look at car sales history from the 70s.