Dave, apart from being rear drive, the car you have just described is a fairly typical entry level UK car, just with slightly lower trim and a slightly bigger engine. Try looking at a couple of UK websites and you'll see what I mean. Try
Ford :: home and
Vauxhall (this is what GM sell in the UK) or ww.toyota.co.uk. Don't be put off by the prices. For some odd reason, UK cars are sold at a premium price. That means if these cars were sold in the US you would probably pay in dollars not much more than the price quoted in pounds stirling. To give you a rough idea how they compare, the US spec Dodge Caliber SXT lists at $18,230. The UK spec version, which is very similar, is £14,505 (see
The All New Dodge Journey). The US spec Ford Focus starts at $14,995, whilst the UK spec car (slightly smaller and available with smaller engines) starts at £12,795. Have a look and see what you think, just remember fuel consumption on the UK site is in Imperial gallons. I can see a potential for world manufacturers (GM, Ford etc) to take their Euro spec cars and, with a few subtle changes, bring them into the US. If they don't, it won't be long before the Japanese spot how well the Kia Rio is selling and start bringing in near Euro or Japanese spec cars instead of concentrating on US specific cars. Just check the Toyota sites. Very few cars will be found on both the US and UK sites. I think its just a matter of time before they realise they can cut production costs by building the same basic car for both sides of the Atlantic (and Pacific) and make only subtle changes to suit local markets. After all, BMW, Mercedes and VW all do pretty well selling the same cars everywhere. Certainly food for thought.