Should They Bring These Cars to the States?

As some of you might know, I was recently in Aruba, an island off of Venezuela. I was shocked to see the amount of mini cars they had there, and the overall size of the vehicles. A car that we in the States would consider a "compact", like a Toyota Echo, is a "midsize" there. A compact would be the Hyundai Getz or Chevy Spark(shown), which would be considered in America to be a sub-compact. In Aruba, the largest sedan people would buy is the Toyota Camry. No bigger. The SUV's are also small, with such vehicles as the Daihatsu Terios, Ford EcoSport (smaller than a Escape), Suzuki Jimny, and Jeep Wrangler. Many of these vehicles are not offered in the USA due to safely concerns, or low supposed demand. Others, like the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (Lexus GX) are rebadged cars that we have in America.

Do automotive tastes really differ from country to country, continent to continent? In Canada, the hatch Yaris sells like crazy, while we prefer the larger Camry.

So the question is, should automakers bring mini cars to the United States? They pollute less, cost less, are more economical and efficient. On the other hand, they tend to be far less safe, and could create more traffic and pollution if sold in high amounts. Cars such as the Honda Fit have soared due to high gas prices, but how small is too small? And at the expense of safety?

Another related topic is rebadging/reskinning. Some of the cars in Aruba had their badges switched, like Suzuki-->Chevrolet and Lexus--> Toyota. Is this effective? Would they sell more? Personally, I think the Lexus GX does better as a Toyota (Land Cruiser Prado). Generally, you expect less from Toyota than from Lexus, so when you step into a Prado,with leather, navigation and air suspension, you are really wowed.
Why do automakers choose to reskin some of their cars for foreign markets? The Toyota Hilux, essentially a Tacoma, is based off a ladder platform, as a truck should. It also looks a ton better. The Mitsubishi L200, another attractive truck, is in many ways superior to the Mitsubishi Raider (A reskinned and rebadged Dakota). The Toyota Fortuner is a 4Runner sized sport ute that is based off of the Hilux. I can't say how it drives, but it sure looks nice, and is priced below the 4runner, and more off-road friendly.
Many of these vehicles offer diesel engines, another advantage. Although they might be "dirty", it is easier to convert an old diesel to a clean diesel than to build an entirely new engine.

In all, should the United States get models that are reserved for other countries? Should those countries get our models?


I do have a gallery of my own pictures from my trip,and many of the vehicles listed are shown, and more.
Go to:

http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/104876.18dcd51b005/overview

Make sure to look at the captions and feel free to leave a comment in the box below the picture!

Now let's see those comments!

EvoAudi - 12/30/2006 8:57:02 PM

+6 Boost

personaly i find the toyota land cruiser prado much cooler than its lexus equivalent. also i think that the U.S uses way to big of vehicles only because of this formula i've discovered-
fat people=more groceries=bigger cars

mstangpny07 - 12/30/2006 9:05:58 PM

-1 Boost

agreed!

BMW740Z4 - 12/30/2006 9:38:34 PM

-3 Boost

Agree MDalle,

I'm 6'6" so I'm biased against these cars, but then again there is plenty of room in my Z4.

I think the build quality/performance of these cars is the cherry on the cake here. What good is it if you can't even swerve out of the way of the big Sport Ute's?

I'm sure we'll hear a few folks cry "Pinto Pride!!!", but not too many will listen (at least on this site).

This should be re-posted at SierraClub.org if anyone expects enthusiasm

silverarrow2 - 12/31/2006 12:33:32 AM

-1 Boost

MDalle,

You always start right, but never stay constant.

"You would be a total idiot if you got into one in the US! Some guy in his Escalade or Hummer H1 would just run you over without even feeling a bump!"


What about the stupid Chevy Avio, the Kias, the ugly Yuris, the Honda Fit and countles others I've seen every day how many Escalade that run them over?

silverarrow2 - 12/31/2006 12:36:20 AM

-1 Boost

I meant Countless.

Also the Mini.

You are saying the same exact things the early American 3s used to say when the Mini and the Japanese got here.

MercBasher - 12/31/2006 9:15:24 AM

+2 Boost

I think it is odd the way tall people look while driving small cars such as the BMW Z4 - they remind me of circus bears on a bicycle.

jt716 - 12/30/2006 9:33:03 PM

+2 Boost

Yeah we get those cars here in St.Maarten we have everything from an H1 to a Chevy Spark. We have the
Land cruiser Prado and also the Lexus GX.I have a Ford Fusion my uncle has a 2000 Mercedes-Benz S-500,H3, and 2006 Honda CRV. So we are in the middle. We get korean manufactures that don't even have a name. Ford Explorers are common things there are atleast 20 in my 10 minute drive. We just got the Tahoe and Suburban and the 2007 CRV.

BMW740Z4 - 12/30/2006 9:46:32 PM

0 Boost

jt716,

I get out to Cap Jaluca on Aguilla once a year so I can relate. The only thing that keeps me from renting the Suburban on St. Maarten is my wife will hit the shops harder (more capacity). I always opt for the CRV in that fix!

mstangpny07 - 12/30/2006 10:05:49 PM

0 Boost

I've been to Maho beach on St. Maarten, and I must say, it is one of the coolest beaches in the world!

mstangpny07 - 12/30/2006 10:29:46 PM

0 Boost

of course I knew these cars existed elsewhere, but this is the first time I went somewhere and this was all they had.

EL34 - 12/30/2006 10:36:49 PM

-2 Boost

Please!!

jt716 - 12/30/2006 11:35:15 PM

+2 Boost

mstangpny07 when did u come to St.Maarten/SXM? Yeah it is actually the only place in the world you can stand under a plane and have about 20 feet between u n the plane.Well the same uncle I was talkin abt is the owner of the hotel next to it The Caravanserai don't know if u heard abt it. Well yeah we pretty much get all cars n i mean the max u cud go is abt 180 we did it in the fusion.

mstangpny07 - 12/31/2006 12:00:40 AM

0 Boost

I went to the beach at SXM last winter, I think.

I was only @ the beach long enough to see a AA 757 land, but that was cool enough!

tincanman99 - 12/31/2006 2:16:00 AM

+2 Boost

Realize this, Americans have been TRAINED (or indoctrinated if you like) to like big cars. Its not that we cant use them or enjoy them. You have been trained NOT TO want them by Detroit because they cant/wont build great small cars.

As for the fat thing - Americans are big, bigger than anywhere else on the planet. Go to Europe or S. America and you will see how thin the people are. You will be suprised and shocked.

People are fatter today than when I was a kid. I am amazed at the number of obese people in this country.

matt635 - 12/31/2006 5:40:46 AM

0 Boost

Well fat people do need bigger cars - it's a comfort thing.

I personally prefer bigger cars anyway, even just from an aesthetic point of view.

The odd thing here is the safety issue. People should be educated and tested more effectively in order to increase road safety - rather just letting them buy bigger and bigger cars.

It's a bit like the bull-bar thing in england a few years ago.

matt635 - 12/31/2006 5:40:46 AM

0 Boost

Well fat people do need bigger cars - it's a comfort thing.

I personally prefer bigger cars anyway, even just from an aesthetic point of view.

The odd thing here is the safety issue. People should be educated and tested more effectively in order to increase road safety - rather just letting them buy bigger and bigger cars.

It's a bit like the bull-bar thing in england a few years ago.

Agent63 - 12/31/2006 11:44:48 AM

0 Boost

I don't think these cars will be successful in the States or Canada. There is no market for such a small car. The SMART brand by MB just launched in Canada in the recent past and I have yet to see that many compared to the ever so popular SUV's and the typical cars that have great sales.

In today's status cautious society where image is a big thing, someone would be caught dead driving one. However, sometimes with relatively the same money you could buy a second hand or even brand new Civic, which seems to be more acceptable and respectable than owning a Corolla, a Kia, Hyundai, or Suzuki just to name a few.

These cars have low building cost. Now that comes with low cost parts which means low grade materials. Nevertheless, if a consumer is getting any car of this class for economical use then by far these cars will be at the top of it's range for fuel economy. It's just I don't think North American (Canada & US) have the mindset to start thinking about the greenhouse gases. Especially when the horsepower wars are so heated up and cars are getting faster and more exotic.

Just my two cents,
Agent63

gregsfc - 1/1/2007 5:33:28 PM

+4 Boost

I read a stat once that the U.S. has enough extra space in our light-duty vehicles to carry around the whole population of Europe.

Anyone that cannot see the total waste and excessiveness of this; while disregarding how such behavior is putting our national, energy, and economic security at risk; is not clearly thinking things through.

Just think how much petroleum we could save--not by conserving--but by simply, not wasting. You know, not driving around aimlessly in parking lots; not using drive throughs that take longer than going in; not using the most inefficient air conditioners and heaters in the world by unnecessarily idling our engines to keep us comfortable when not moving forward; not choosing all our recreational activities that require gasoline-powered equipement; and not driving in excess of 70 mph on the hwy.

Smaller cars are only more unsafe when hitting a larger vehicle. Hitting stationary objects, the heavier vehicles are more dangerous as more weight hits with more force. I guess we are all in a contest to drive the heaviest vehicle so that we will have the advantage in a two-car collision. This means I should by an M1 tank (@ 1.5 gallons per mile) all in the name of having a safe vehicle. This has sort of been our recent attitude, and it will destroy life as we know it sooner or later.

tpp85 - 1/2/2007 12:35:38 AM

+2 Boost

I wish so much I could purchase a Daihatsu Materia here in Canada. I think a Honda Fit is even too big for my likings.