Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
The experience of history suggests that you're dead wrong. For instance, the import & sales of the original VW bug showed that there was a demand for small cars. Did the US automakers build small cars? Toyota's introduction of the SR5 small pickup in the early '70s showed that there was a demand for small pickups. Did US automakers build small pickups? And so on...
|
The VW Beetle was always a niche car - it sold a fraction of the cars sold by the domestic makers. VW had to change the policy and fast in the 1970s to come up with the Golf. They even experimented with a rear engined, FWD car because they were worried so much and needed a solution fast.
During that period 50s to 70s a lot of smaller Euro cars make by Ford, GM and Chrysler did make it to the US but (some at least) were not heavily marketed :
GM - sold small Vauxhalls to the US during the late 50s and 60s - Wyvern, Victor, Cresta
Ford - sold small Fords to the US, including the Prefect in the late 1950s. Later "world car" models like the Mk3 Escort were developed in Germany. The Fester was sold in the 1970s along with the Capri and Cortina. You now also get the Focus and Fester. How long before the Mondeo displaces the Fusion.
Chrysler - the Horizon was developed as a SIMCA in Europe.