Top Ten American cars NOT sold in the USA

[SoCalDem]

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-american-cars-not-sold-in-america.php

It comes as little surprise that there are certain foreign-made cars that aren’t sold in the United States. From the Nissan Skyline to certain special editions of the BMW M3, there are plenty of high performance machines that the Germans and the Japanese don’t market to Americans. But what’s not as well known are the countless American-name cars only sold abroad. Whether repackaged versions of cars sold stateside, new incarnations of 1960s classics, or completely original designs, there are plenty of cars put out by Chevy, Ford, and their foreign subsidiaries that are only marketed and sold overseas. Here are ten of the most notable examples:
10. Chevy Montana/Tornado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IkgH64zQw8&feature=player_embedded
Sold in: South America, Mexico, South Africa (as the Opel Corsa)

snip for the others

[alfredo]

1. I want a Ford Ka.

[Bluebear]

2. Sing it! Baby, you can drive my Ka.

Never mind...

[alfredo]

10. Quickly, for sure.

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?xl_blz_on=xl_blz_on&client=mv-google&v=IQlg6gwicdU

[uncommon]

3. We need more compact hatchbacks in the US - my Honda Civic

hatch is the best car I have ever had - drives great, amazing gas mileage - but it's 20 years old and it's just dying a slow sad death now.

The closest thing I have found on the market is the Fit which isn't nearly as small and light as my Civic.

:(

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Everyone I know who has one of those cars feels the same way.

They drive it until it literally falls apart on the road, and their mechanic refuses to do any more repairs on it.

[uncommon]

14. It really is the best car I have ever had. I have been keeping me eye out for a

less beat up one just in case but most are either in loving homes or too old.

[BrklynLiberal]

17. check out craig's list ...and there are other online car sales places.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. I do not really understand why some these are not in the US. The KA for example..

Since its debut in 1996, it’s become one of the best-selling “supermini” cars in England, where it makes up over 20 percent of the city car market. At nearly 45 miles to the gallon, the Ka gets phenomenal gas mileage, but its sharp handling has also seen it used as a rally car in the past. An increased demand for small, fuel-efficient cars in the U.S. has stirred rumors that the Ka would be released stateside, but it was recently confirmed that the similar, slightly larger Ford Fiesta would be issued instead. According to Ford CEO Alan Mulally, for the time being cars like the Ka are simply too small to compete in the American market.

How does Mulally explain the long wait time to get a Smartcar???????
I see them everywhere....and the MiniCoopers???

[SoCalDem]

5. why?.... 45 miles to the gallon n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

6. ahhh. So it is the gas companies that are stopping the sales of these in the US!!!!

[SoCalDem]

9. perhaps not, but they sure make a pile of cash with our gassy cars

:)

[BrklynLiberal]

11. They and Michigan have conspired in the past to keep improvements off our roads.

"Tucker" and "Who Killed the Electric Car?" among others.

Who knows what they have killed that we will never even know about..?

[Romulox]

24. LULz.

What about Tokyo and Stuttgart? Who's stopping them from doing it? Michigan again? :crazy: :hi:

[blue_onyx]

27. Who killed the electric car?

"Approximately 1500 all-electric RAV4s were built from 1997 to 2003, which offered a top speed of 80 mph and a range of nearly 100 miles. The full recharge time was 5 hours, and the MSRP at the time was $42,000. Although 1500 RAV4 EVs were built, only about 328 were sold, with the remaining vehicles being destroyed as they came off their leases."

http://www.trucktrend.com/features/news/2009/163_news090424_toyota_rav4_hybrid_suv/index.html

[Romulox]

34. And I was so sure that you'd return to defend this ludicrous charge!

Quelle surprise!

[Statistical]

33. Not directly comparable.

US has some of the highest crash test standards in the US.

Sadly with all the smart engineering weight is a huge factor. You aren't going to get a 5 star crash test rating without increasing the weight. Increase the weight and fuel economy goes down.

[dmallind]

13. FMVSS and emissions mostly. NT

[flvegan]

8. The Focus is sold here, just not the RS (because they're idiots) nor

the diesel. The Transit is also sold here, but it's not nearly the same as the one sold in Europe.

Now, for reasons I can't fathom, this listed omitted the entire VXR line of Vauxhall. The VXR8 (briefly sold here...sort of, as the Pontiac G8) and Astra VXR are very sweet cars. GM, like Ford, can't seem to figure out that there's a pretty big market for a hot hatchback here in the States. Yes, the Dodge Caliber SRT4 failed, but that's because it was crap. I've heard rumor that there might be a US version of the Astra VXR under the Buick badge someday, but I'm not holding my breath.

[dmallind]

12. Misleading title

Ten cars made by companies with HQs in the US maybe.

[TwilightGardener]

15. They can keep that El Camino-y thing.

[EOTE]

16. There's a lot of misinformation in that link.

For instance, they mention that the Focus is sold here, but not the version they get in Europe. Well, that's kind of true, but both vehicles are on the same chassis (that's shared with the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40). And yes, the Focus isn't quite as nicely equipped as the Mazda 3, but if it were, there wouldn't be any reason to buy a Mazda 3. Why would Ford cannibalize its own market? The Focus, 3 and S40 are basically three very different trim levels of the same car. And the Seville SLS was sold in the U.S. until very recently, they only got rid of the lower-powered SLS once the STS became rear-wheel drive. And many of those cars with their lilliputian engines and extremely low weight would never meet crash protection standards in the U.S.

[Romulox]

18. Why oh why are there not more Designed in China econo cars on the US market?

Silly article. :hi:

[LWolf]

19. Are those cars actually manufactured in the U.S.?

It doesn't look like it.

So what makes them "American?"

[Ganja Ninja]

25. Some of them are just re-badged foreign makes.

The Daewoo was one and I'm pretty sure the car from India was a Suzuki with a Chevy emblem on it.

[LWolf]

26. I fail to see what makes them "American,"

other than carrying an "American" brand name.

A really useful list would be the cars that are actually manufactured on American soil, by American workers. And then narrowed down to those manufactured on American soil by union workers.

[Ganja Ninja]

28. Exactly.

"American made" should mean exactly that. Aside from the Cadillac in China I doubt any of them even have any parts sourced in America.

[PJPhreak]

20. I like this...A Lot!

Just add a few things...Body Kit,Better spoiler,A Set of 17 Crager SS 5-Spokes,Some SS Stripes,A Cold Air Intake,Catback Exaust,Does it come with a 5 or 6 Speed Manual Trans?

That looks like a Blast to Drive!

Edit to Add: I used to drive one of these...The ONLY one in the state of Kansas...Got a LOT of Comments and Lookers whenever I took it out.



And Yes That Is A Hemi...A 245 Ci Hemi Straight Six,Very Peppy and Unique in North America

[Fumesucker]

23. The engine in that picture is not a hemi..

A hemi has a very wide valve cover with the spark plug hole in the middle of it, that engine has a narrow valve cover and the spark plug is way off to one side.

It's a characteristic of a hemispherical combustion chamber that the valves are splayed out like in this image.

[PJPhreak]

29. Ahhhh,Yes it is....

Just like this one...



You are thinking the American V-8's not the Aussie Straight Six's

Edit to add one more photo:



With a "Weber Six Pac" these things would RUN!

[Fumesucker]

30. That's not even a cross flow head..

The intake and exhaust are on the same side of the head on that engine..

It may be *called* a "hemi" but there is no way that is a hemispherical combustion chamber on that engine..

That looks very much like a Chevy inline six from the same era which absolutely did not have a hemispherical combustion chamber (from whence the term "hemi" came).

I had a 1972 Toyota Corolla with a 1.6 that was a hemi head, a Harley Shovelhead engine is also a hemi as you can see in this image, a true hemi is always a cross flow head with intake and exhaust ports on opposite sides of the head.

[PJPhreak]

31. Ok, you are correct,

here is a pic of a 245 Hemi Head Combustion Chamber...



Chrysler Calls it a Hemi...So what am I supposed to say,that they are wrong?

Edit to add another pic:



My apoligies.

[RedCappedBandit]

21. I've always liked a few of Ford's foreign cars

[parkia00]

22. Not to muddle the pond...

but it's very hard to tell these days that a car with an American name brand is actually and American car. There are many vehicles that are made by one manufacturer, rebadged and sold by a partner as from another manufacturer. Most of the Chevys here in Asia are made in Thailand and are not available in the US at all. For example I drive a Ford Ranger. But it has nothing to do with Ford USA. It's actually a Mazda b2500 pickup truck. Both these models are not available in the US. The US version of the Ford Ranger is entirely different. Americans generally like big engines. Here in Asia, we prefer smaller but more efficient engines. So selling a US version Ford Ranger with it's 4 liter six engine will find little buyers.

[EnviroBat]

32. Wow, American cars look like cheap crap in other countries too!

Whoda thunkit?