European Cars Coming To America: Small, Fun Cars Headed Our Way
Introduction
The Euros are coming, the Euros are coming.
No, we’re not talking about the rather bland-looking European currency that, in recent years, has replaced the French franc, the Italian lira and the German mark, etc. -- which many longtime European travelers will tell you were a lot more interesting and distinctive than the homogenous Euro. But that’s another conversation.
No, we’re talking about the European car models that Ford has been touting for the last couple of years – the smaller, more fuel-efficient models that companies have been selling in Europe for the last several years -- that are being “transported” to the U.S. market.- Image Credit: Ford
Ford Is Coming Strong
Ford's European nameplates have actually already started arriving in America – and will continue to hit these shores over the next couple of years. But they aren’t exactly the same vehicles that have been motoring along roads in London, Paris, Berlin, Florence and Amsterdam.
Instead, they’re been re-designed, with input from both U.S. and European engineers, so that the re-designed versions that are hitting the U.S. market will be the same ones that will go on sale in Europe. The “European invasion” actually began late in 2009, when the Ford Transit Connect van debuted – and promptly was named the North American Truck of the Year at the Detroit auto show in January.- Research the Ford Transit Connect
- Ford Transit Connect Overview
- Ford Transit Connect Pictures
- Free Ford Transit Connect Price Quote
Ford Going Small
- Research The Ford Fiesta
- Ford Fiesta Overview
- Ford Fiesta Pictures
- Free Ford Fiesta Price Quote
Ford's Focus Will Be All-New, Too
“We strongly believe, and our research bears this out, that the compacts and sub-compacts are the segments that will continue to show the most growth, and will become more and more popular among buyers,” says Mark Schirmer, Ford’s global product communications manager.
“In 2004, these segments represented just 14 percent of the market, but by 2009, they accounted for 22 percent of vehicles sold,” says Schirmer. “And that increase wasn’t just driven by high gas prices in ’07 and ’08 -- because prices dropped in November of ’08. Presently, half of the cars sold around the world are compacts or sub-compacts.”- Research Ford & Chevy
- In Pictures: 2012 Ford Focus
- In Pictures: 2011 Chevy Cruze
- Research All Ford Vehicles
GM's Euro Strategy Is Engineering Focused
General Motors also has plenty of smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles either on the road now or coming down the pipeline, including the Chevy Cruze, the Chevy Cobalt, the Chevy Malibu and the Chevy Volt plug-in vehicle (many of which employ engineering from GM-owned Opel, which specializes in compact cars and fuel-efficient engines). And even though GM has shed the Saturn and Pontiac nameplates, both of those brands introduced several smaller, fuel-sipping cars in the last couple of years that are still on the road -- and still going strong.
But historically, GM has employed a slightly different philosophy and structure than Ford’s when it came to designing and selling vehicles in different parts of the world. “GM operates under a global engineering and manufacturing structure, so there are a few GM vehicles that we sell in the U.S that are very similar to vehicles we sell overseas,” says GM spokesman Randal Fox -- except they have different names.
For example, in the past, GM sold the (now-discontinued) Saturn VUE in the US, but the same vehicle was sold as the Opel Antara in Europe.- Research Ford & Chevy
- In Pictures: 2012 Ford Focus
- In Pictures: 2011 Chevy Cruze
- Research All Chevy Vehicles
Ford Leading The Way
European Cars Required Modifications for US Roads, Laws
And with recent trends being what they were -- and are -- Ford looked to its European division, because that division had more experience building small, fuel-efficient cars than the North American division -- mostly European gas prices were much higher, for much longer, than they were in the U.S.
Some changes had to be made to the previous Euro editions of these models when they were re-designed to be sold here in the U.S. For starters, the Euro editions had to be re-engineered to meet U.S. crash-test standards, which are different than in Europe.
“We also had to take into account durability and road conditions -- European roads tend to be less torturous than our roads here in the U.S., “ says Schirmer. “So the wheels and tires and suspension had to be modified to account for that.