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Originally Posted by niky
The last time the Americans had any prominent presence (with American-specific rather than European or Asian models) was in the 60's.
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Uruguay had been a strong market for European models by then, and even before. Since most of the corned beef consumed in England at a certain time was imported from Uruguay, it was no surprise that models such as the Ford Anglia became widespread there, presumably shipped on the same vessels
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Do you have it there? We don't get it (we get the C), but from what I can find online, the price difference between the Yaris Hybrid and the regular one is something like a 50% premium. Which is huge for budget buyers.
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The only times I saw a Prius C, it had Uruguayan plates. It's not available here in Brazil, but anyway, the regular Prius is available at a quite competitive cost here.
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Vans work (I love the Carry!) because inner city delivery doesn't require much more.
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I remember seeing a lot of the Asia Motors Towner being used as private vehicles, and recently I saw a Carry from the '90s but was unable to take some pictures. Considering the interior volume they provide proportionally to their footprint, plus their maneuvering in tight spaces such as parking lots of some apartment complexes, there could still be some reasonable market perspectives for them here. It's either this or resorting to a Honda CG converted into a tricycle, which is quite weak for occasional highway traffic while a kei microvan might fare better as an all-around workhorse (or even as a family commuter).
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But buyers of cars are typically fickle and irrational. As people start making more money, they want more car. Which is why the Tata Nano tanked so spectacularly, despite the Nano-based Ace Zip being a sales success.
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I must confess I'd rather get an autorickshaw and tune it by myself instead of a Tata Nano. Well, if we would be looking at some cool factor, the autorickshaw might be perceived as "exotic" in a more developed market and get exemptions granted from crashworthiness regulations, while the Nano is simply seen as a penalty box.
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I'd love to have them, but given how badly the ForTwo fared here, I'm not hopeful.
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I still see a ForTwo once in a while, but in the end it's too compromised and expensive considering its seating and nearly negligible luggage capacities.