Missed Opportunities: Cars that ALMOST made it to America, but didn't

[Snipes]

3 hours ago, PhilA said:

That and American cars are generally not really very American any more.  

Phil

I was thinking this, too. I doubt I'd even recognise an "American" car anymore. It's not like big body on frame v8 sedans exist anymore, and haven't for what, twenty years? 

[PhilA]

On 30/10/2025 at 15:41, Snipes said:

I was thinking this, too. I doubt I'd even recognise an "American" car anymore. It's not like big body on frame v8 sedans exist anymore, and haven't for what, twenty years? 

It's just pick-up trucks and a few holdovers from a few stables. Mustang, Challenger, Corvette etc., and even then underneath there's quite a lot of other marques hiding in places.

[PhilA]

On 30/10/2025 at 12:28, danthecapriman said:

Makes me wonder how a car like the BX would have fared over in the US?

Things like that suspension system, while (probably) a good idea on the roads of Europe and comparatively short distances involved and having the dealerships/mechanics/parts backup to help. Over in the US it’s not the case. I just can’t imagine that sort of car would last that well or end up being very popular because of the weird technology used on it.

It would be a niche thing because it's odd. Would probably have sold well in the west, especially if it came with some additional eco-friendly concept. 

What doesn't bode well is the storage and use climate. Plastics turn brittle and fall apart in much less than their expected lifespan; rubber components fail. The roads are paved not with gold but with deep potholes that destroy suspension. Consider that the SM sold well until the Feds said "No! Unsafe! Weird! Do not vive la difference! Bring it back when it is mechanically identical to a Chevy Chevette and we'll talk".

I think there was a bit of pride involved there also. As in it drove much better than anything the domestic market was stamping out at the time. People might start buying cars from Citroen and not Chevy. So therefore naturally Chevy will start building Hyundais with different badges on and it'll all be great, bonuses for the boardroom.

At the time there was still a thriving cottage industry of small mechanics shops dealing with the porridge that was on the roads. The most complex thing being taping over CHECK ENGINE and crimping a few wires together to make it run on more than two cylinders. Even today you see "specialist" garages come across DIRAVI or derivative systems and basically freak out. It's okay if the nearest town with someone who knows the cars is an hour's tow truck ride away. If not, well, it'll be parked or the tow truck brings it for scrap. 

That and rust. Pure brine splashed all over the roads for 5 months of the year north of 45°N means that the somewhat questionable rustproofing applied at the time got even the best to dissolve away into nothing.

 

There's a climate for every vehicle here, and one to destroy vehicles also. Make something solid, dependable, easy to fix on a driveway and you are on to a winner. The BX did not really qualify there.

[Madman Of The People]

Everyone forgets the Citroen SM was Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 1972.  This was before Motor Trend began to award separate prizes for “Car of the Year” and “Import Car of the Year.”

This move was prompted by the Detroit manufacturers who spent huge sums of money advertising in Motor Trend. (Not to mention allegedly paying-off Motor Trend’s journalists, but that’s a topic for another conversation.)

They knew if the Detroit cars had to compete against the imports for the same award, the American cars would never win!

 

[Madman Of The People]

 

Part 14: Reliant Scimitar SS2.

 

 

Reliant Motor Company, based in the English market town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, was a small specialist manufacturer most famous for making odd three-wheeled cars and vans.  You know the ones... Del-Boy's van from Only Fools and Horses and the thing Clarkson kept rolling over in that one episode of Top Gear.

Well, Reliant also had a sideline in sports cars.  In 1984 Reliant launched the Scimitar SS1, a rather angular-looking two-seat roadster with a glassfibre body built on a spaceframe chassis that was said to have been inspired by the original Lotus Elan.  The car was powered by various Ford and Nissan four cylinder engines.

Following the demise of small British roadsters in North America, Reliant sensed an opportunity to fill the void with a car adapted to perceived American tastes.  With that goal in mind, Reliant commissioned William Towns to modify the existing car for export to the US.  Towns had, most notably, designed the DBS and the Lagonda for Aston Martin.  He was somewhat hamstrung by having to use the chassis and hard points from the SS1 to create the new car.  The result of his work is what you see above, the 1988 Reliant Scimitar SS2 prototype.

Meanwhile, Reliant had struck a deal with General Motors to supply Chevrolet V8 engines for the SS2 and distribute the car through its North American dealer network.  Then, for reasons nobody seems to know, General Motors pulled out of the deal, effectively killing the SS2 project.  A few of the styling elements from the SS2 prototype were incorporated into the 1990 Scimitar SST, the eventual replacement (really just a facelift) of the SS1.  The car was again updated in 1992, becoming the Scimitar Sabre, before Scimitar production ended in 1995.

Reliant continued producing its famous three-wheelers but, as the market for such cars dwindled, so did the company's fortunes.  Production ended in 2001 and the company was dissolved in 2002.  I have to admit the idea of a small lightweight roadster powered by a big honkin' Chevy V8 sounds like an entertaining proposition!  The concept makes me think of a later-day Shelby Cobra.

Maybe GM were being a bit shortsighted in pulling out of the deal?

 

[Rightnider]

These are fantastic nuggets of info about cars I never knew existed. Thanks, top work!

[andrew e]

Didn't Chevrolet already make an old school V8 glass-fibre 2 seater though? I’d say theres your smoking gun!

[sheffcortinacentre]

20 hours ago, Madman Of The People said:

 

Part 14: Reliant Scimitar SS2.

 

 

Reliant Motor Company, based in the English market town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, was a small specialist manufacturer most famous for making odd three-wheeled cars and vans.  You know the ones... Del-Boy's van from Only Fools and Horses and the thing Clarkson kept rolling over in that one episode of Top Gear.

Well, Reliant also had a sideline in sports cars.  In 1984 Reliant launched the Scimitar SS1, a rather angular-looking two-seat roadster with a glassfibre body built on a spaceframe chassis that was said to have been inspired by the original Lotus Elan.  The car was powered by various Ford and Nissan four cylinder engines.

Following the demise of small British roadsters in North America, Reliant sensed an opportunity to fill the void with a car adapted to perceived American tastes.  With that goal in mind, Reliant commissioned William Towns to modify the existing car for export to the US.  Towns had, most notably, designed the DBS and the Lagonda for Aston Martin.  He was somewhat hamstrung by having to use the chassis and hard points from the SS1 to create the new car.  The result of his work is what you see above, the 1988 Reliant Scimitar SS2 prototype.

Meanwhile, Reliant had struck a deal with General Motors to supply Chevrolet V8 engines for the SS2 and distribute the car through its North American dealer network.  Then, for reasons nobody seems to know, General Motors pulled out of the deal, effectively killing the SS2 project.  A few of the styling elements from the SS2 prototype were incorporated into the 1990 Scimitar SST, the eventual replacement (really just a facelift) of the SS1.  The car was again updated in 1992, becoming the Scimitar Sabre, before Scimitar production ended in 1995.

Reliant continued producing its famous three-wheelers but, as the market for such cars dwindled, so did the company's fortunes.  Production ended in 2001 and the company was dissolved in 2002.  I have to admit the idea of a small lightweight roadster powered by a big honkin' Chevy V8 sounds like an entertaining proposition!  The concept makes me think of a later-day Shelby Cobra.

Maybe GM were being a bit shortsighted in pulling out of the deal?

 

Kin el talk about I'll handling SBC weighs about the same as rest of car good job they don't have many bends.

[Madman Of The People]

Part 15: Ford Focus Active.

 

 

Following Ford's 2018 announcement it would phase-out nearly all of its passenger cars in North America and lean into trucks, SUVs, and crossovers, the Blue Oval brand named two exceptions.  First to be spared the chopping block was the Mustang and second was a slightly lifted and lightly cladded version of the upcoming mark IV Focus, to be called the Ford Focus Active.

The Active was aimed at other semi-rugged-looking hatchbacks like the Hyundai Kona and the Subaru Crosstrek, so Ford could claim the Active wasn't quite a car but more of a quasi-crossover.  The Focus Active was to have been imported into the US from China and that little detail is what ultimately led to its cancellation at the eleventh hour.

This was perhaps the first car to fall victim to Trump's anti-CHY-NAH tariffs.  Never mind the fact Buick, Volvo, and Polestar have all imported Chinese-made cars into the US.  Ford, fearing the risk of both a political and a consumer backlash, pulled the plug on the Focus Active.

Personally, I don't think we missed out on much.  Had this been a new Focus ST built in Europe, I would have been upset.  We were never going to get that car, anyway.  But a fairly ordinary Chinese hatchback pretending to be a crossover?  That's something we could well do without.

 

[danthecapriman]

I suppose there’s at least one good thing about Trumps stupid trade war tariffs then!😄

[ProgRocker]

The Focus Active was built in China -  not Germany? 

[JMotor]

Seen this on book of face today. 

Wonder if it was just an evaluation prototype? As the Rabbit/Golf would had been small enough of the States. 

Interesting to see anyways.

[Madman Of The People]

4 hours ago, JMotor said:

Seen this on book of face today. 

Wonder if it was just an evaluation prototype? As the Rabbit/Golf would had been small enough of the States. 

Interesting to see anyways.

 

Great find!  Thank you!  I had no idea this car existed or that VW ever considered the Polo for US export. It appears those photos were taken at a Dutch VW shop sometime after the Hermann Walter collection was sold off following his death in 2021.

I assume that VW rejected the European Polo as being too expensive, so eventually they turned to Brazil for an alternative.  From 1987 through 1993, America received the Brazilian-built Fox (Mk I VW Gol in Brazil) as a sub-Golf entry-level car.  BTW, It was total dogsh!t.  The Fox came as a two-door saloon, a four-door saloon, and a three-door estate that looked similar to the Mk II breadvan Polo.  The Estate was dropped in the US after 1990 and the remaining two-door and four-door models were facelifted in 1991.  After 1990, only the four-door saloon was available in Canada.

Here's a 1988 Motorweek review on the 1988 Fox Estate.  Interesting how they fail to mention you couldn't get a Fox with an automatic, a serious handicap in North America!

 

[JMotor]

I'd agree. 

Oooh. I'll need to give that video a watch! 

You'll probably already know this and will do a post on it. But I vaguely remember they had planned to import the Proton 1300/1500/Saga to the States. 

Randomly found out that Dacias were going to be imported too. Was a bit of controversy about who had the rights to import them and then distribute them. 

 

 

[Madman Of The People]

Part 16: Lada 1500 S.

 

The advertisements in Canada proclaimed the arrival of "The Tough Russian."  Had you not been paying close attention, you'd be left wondering "Who is this tough Russian and what is he doing here?"  It wasn't a who, It was a what.  Specifically, it was a car.

The Soviet regime needed hard currency to buy food, machinery, and technology from the West, and this need sparked an initiative to export Soviet-made cars in order to raise that cash.  They established a company, called Avtoexport, to export cars to over 50 countries around the world.  As part of its mission, Avtoexport fixed their sights on Canada for a number of reasons.  For starters, the Russians were buying huge quantities of grain from Canada.  In 1977, the year before Lada exports to Canada began, the USSR bought $357.8 million worth of Canadian goods but but sold only $55.3 million to Canada in return.  Avtoexport sought to address the trade imbalance by selling Russian-built cars to Canadian motorists.

The car tasked with winning over Canadians was the Lada 1500 S, which was a VAZ-2103 Zhiguli adapted to meet Canadian requirements.  The Lada was loosely based on the Fiat 124, which had gone out of production in 1974.  To comply with North American safety regulations, the Canadian-spec Ladas were fitted with bigger bumpers, side marker lights, side-impact beams inside the doors, and reinforced rear frame rails to protect the fuel tank.  A charcoal canister and a catalytic converter were also installed to satisfy emissions requirements.

The car cost $3,645 Canadian dollars ($3,098 in US dollars) upon its launch in 1978.  But Avtoexport had their eyes set on and even bigger and more lucrative market; The United States.

In the 1970s, the Cold War had thawed slightly and the spirit of detente between the USA and the USSR led Lada to believe selling Soviet-built cars in the US wouldn't meet much in the way of political opposition, especially if the cars were cheap enough.  Avtoexport even made arrangements with General Motors to purchase the three speed GM TH180 automatic transmission, as used in the Chevrolet Chevette and would become optional in the Fiat Spider that also had been based on the Fiat 124.  An automatic, of course, was deemed necessary to woo American consumers.

So what happened?  Why didn't the Ladas ever arrive in American showrooms?

Well, all those plans to enter the massive American car market collapsed in December, 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.  International sanctions against the USSR, particularly from the United States, halted Avtoexport's plans dead in its tracks.

Sales continued in Canada and by 1981, 13,000 Lada 1500 S saloons and estates had been sold in the Great White North.  However, as time went on, Lada couldn't keep up with newer and fresher competitors and sales began to slide.  The introduction of Hyundai into the Canadian market in 1983 put a big dent into Lada sales.  Those early Hyundais were hardly masterpieces of automotive engineering but they may as well have been a Rolls Royce when compared to the ancient Ladas.

Lada's Canadian outfit limped into the 1990s but, with their fortunes rapidly declining, they called it quits in 1998.  If Ladas had been sold in the US, I think they would have become another Yugo; a subject of ridicule that sold on price alone.

 

[sheffcortinacentre]

Nivas were sold there too.

[Madman Of The People]

52 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

Nivas were sold there too.

And Samaras, not to mention the Riva, an evolution of the 1500 S.  Of course, the US was never going to get those, either.

 

[Lacquer Peel]

On 30/10/2025 at 17:28, danthecapriman said:

Makes me wonder how a car like the BX would have fared over in the US?

Things like that suspension system, while (probably) a good idea on the roads of Europe and comparatively short distances involved and having the dealerships/mechanics/parts backup to help. Over in the US it’s not the case. I just can’t imagine that sort of car would last that well or end up being very popular because of the weird technology used on it.

Citroen officially sold the DS, 2CV and SM as @Madman Of The People pointed out in North America.

The US isn't a monolith and they do have a cult following in the US.

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Citroen officially sold the DS, 2CV and SM as @Madman Of The People pointed out in North America.

The US isn't a monolith and they do have a cult following in the US.

They’re not exactly at all common though are they. More like one off’s that your lucky to see.

 

[Richard_FM]

Supposedly there was a plan for the Metro to be sold in Canada & the USA, but the poor performance of the Pound against the Dollar in the early 1980s made things unviable.

[Zelandeth]

Canadians also got the Riva with the 1.7 TBi engine from the Niva in it - always surprised me they didn't slap that onto the cars over here (or indeed onto the 1.5 version).  It made for a massive improvement in driveability and reliability over that nonsense computer controlled carb they persisted with on the Riva over here from 93-97.

This was useful for me when I was doing said conversion on my Riva a few years back as I was able to get hold of a Canadian spec fuel tank & pump which vastly simplified that side of things.

[Madman Of The People]

Part 17: Chrysler (Lancia) Delta.

 

Seen in the photo above is the Chrysler Delta displayed at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.  Built on the Fiat C3 platform, the Delta was based on a slightly stretched Fiat Bravo.  It seems Chrysler wanted to test the waters by gauging public reaction to the Delta as a potential entry-level Chrysler for North America.  Could this have been a sort of quasi-replacement for the PT Cruiser?

The Lancia Delta was already being sold as a Chrysler in the UK and Ireland, so the rebadging process had already been done.  Lancia had abandoned right-hand-drive production in the 1990s, after the Beta had gained a reputation for rusting subframes, leading to reports of engines falling out of cars!  As a result, the Lancia name became so tainted in Britain that even the unfashionable Chrysler badge was seen as a preferable alternative!

It's not entirely clear why Fiat-Chrysler decided not to bring the Delta across the Atlantic.  Perhaps it was due to American consumer's aversion to pricey hatchbacks or a case of "Not Invented Here" syndrome on the part of Chrysler's US executives?  Whatever the reason, I feel like the Delta had the potential to be at least a moderate success in America.  After all, the hard work had already been done and selling the cars over here would have required minimal investment.  All they needed to do was ship them over.

 

[Madman Of The People]

Part 18: Proton Saga.

 

Malcolm Bricklin is best known as the man who brought Subaru and Yugo to America.  But did you know Bricklin also had ambitions to bring other low-cost foreign marques to America?  One, in particular, came very close to going on sale in the US.  This is the saga of the Proton Saga.  Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Proton was established under the direction of Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as Malaysia's national auto maker as part of an effort to industrialise the Malaysian economy.  Its first car, the Saga, was a Mitsubishi Lancer/Colt built under licence.  Mahathir had studied at Harvard under former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.  It was Kissinger who helped broker the deal between Mahathir and Bricklin.

Bricklin met Kissinger through his association with former US ambassador to Yugoslavia, Lawrence Eagleburger, whom Bricklin became acquainted through his dealings with Zastava, makers of the Yugo.  Eagleburger was also president of Kissinger Associates, which is how the former Secretary of State became involved in the negotiations between Bricklin and the Malaysian government.  Kissinger collected a $200,000 consultation fee from Bricklin and stood to make $10 from every Proton sold in America by Bricklin's Global Motors company.

Bricklin promised Prime Minister Mahathir he could sell 250,000 Protons a year in the US.  This promise, along with Kissinger's endorsement, convinced Mahathir to sign on the dotted line.  Obviously, that 250,000 unit target was totally unobtainable, but Bricklin had a long history of over-promising and under-delivering, which Mahathir knew nothing about!

Nevertheless, the whole plan came crashing down when Mitsubishi caught wind of Bricklin's intent to sell Protons in America.  Mitsubishi were already supplying the Lancer/Colt to their American partner Chrysler, who sold the car in North America as the Dodge and Plymouth Colt.  With Mitsubishi collecting royalties from Chrysler for every Colt sold, the Japanese were none too keen on Proton undercutting them with a cheaper version of the same car.  Mitsubishi threatened to cut-off the supply of engines to Proton and forced Prime Minister Mahathir to sack Proton's bosses and replace them with executives from Japan.

Bricklin attempted to sue for breach of contract but the case was dismissed.  At around the same time, he sold his interest in Yugo for $20 million.  He was later involved in another failed car import scheme to sell electric cars made by China's Chery Automobile Company.  Malcolm Bricklin is still with us, aged 86, and I bet he can tell some incredible stories of his time in the car business!

 

[lesapandre]

Good cars those little Protons. I remember they were cheap and reliable and sold well. Appealing to the budget motorist who like to buy new.

[Zelandeth]

20 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Good cars those little Protons. I remember they were cheap and reliable and sold well. Appealing to the budget motorist who like to buy new.

A massive step up in every way for the traditional budget conscious Lada/Yugo/FSO etc buyer as well.

[danthecapriman]

Where I used to live a little old lady was still bombing about in one of the Mitsubishi Lancer versions. I think it was an E reg. it looked old though by comparison to the Proton’s. Not that they looked particularly bang up to date either of course.

Rust seemed to be about their only enemy. Everything else seemed to last well.

[Knotty Ash Towers]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

Good cars those little Protons. I remember they were cheap and reliable and sold well. Appealing to the budget motorist who like to buy new.

I drove an MPI once, but my right foot kept hitting the carpet most of the time, as the accelerator pedal was too far over to the left...

The Persona/Wira/SII were much better cars.

[Madman Of The People]

Part 19: Buick Astra or Verano hatchback (AKA Opel/Vauxhall Astra J)

 

The previous Astra H made a very brief appearance in North America, badged as a Saturn Astra for the 2008 model year.  General Motors did publish specs for a 2009 Astra, but I have never found any evidence of any 2009 models ever being imported.  The reason for the Astra H's demise was due to Saturn, along with Pontiac and Hummer, falling by the wayside due to the GM bankruptcy.  But plans were afoot for the Astra to have a second act in America, or so it seemed at the time.

It was determined Buick was to inherit the Opel/Vauxhall based cars that had been planned for Saturn.  So the Insignia, which was intended to sire the second-generation Saturn Aura, ended up becoming the 2011 Buick Regal.  Other Buicks derived from Opels were the Cascada convertible and the Buick Encore, a rebadged Mk I Opel/Vauxhall Mokka.

Buick also had a smaller saloon, the Buick Verano, essentially a tarted-up Chevrolet Cruze.  The Cruze, coincidentally, shared a floorpan with the new Astra J.  Reports at the time claimed the Astra J hatchbacks, in both three-door and five-door guise, were to go into production at GM's Lordstown, Ohio plant in December 2011 as a 2012 model.  Supposedly, a hot version based on the European OPC/VXR models was in the cards.  But it's unclear as to what the eventual name of Buick's take on the Astra was to be.  Would Buick retain the Astra name or call it something else?  Maybe even Verano hatchback?  Unfortunately, my research failed to uncover a conclusive answer.

Also inconclusive is the reason why the American Astra J never happened.  I couldn't find any press releases or any other reports disclosing this car was dropped from GM's product plans.  Whatever the reason, I think Buick missed an opportunity to sell a sporty hatchback to younger buyers, not to mention the obvious appeal of the hotter variants to the tuner crowd.

 

[AnthonyG]

In a similar bizarre GM move, despite successfully selling several generations of Astra as the Holden Astra in Australia, they launched Opel as a brand there as well, with the three door GTC, in 2012.

Then dropped it a whole year later, presumably after selling not very many to rather confused Aussies. 

Sometimes I do wonder how GM have managed to survive this long, despite a near death experience in 2008/9.

Supposedly Buick was also marked for deletion in the 2008/9 restructuring, but survived due the brand’s then popularity in China. 

[Brodders]

It's a bit of a shame we didn't get the Astra J as a saloon over here. There's absolutely no market for it, but it did look good as a Verano in the US.