The best cars America never got

Until it passed the crown to China in 2009, America was the world’s largest car market.

This meant that all car makers did their level best to get a piece of the action. But there have long been substantial differences between the American market and those in Europe and Asia. And those differences tend to account for why certain models were never sold there.

But it does mean that America misses out on great vehicles like the Ford Puma (pictured), a new compact SUV that has been getting rave reviews in most quarters. We take a look at it, together with all the other cars America never got, but we reckon would have really liked – in chronological order:

Renault 4 (1961)

The 4 isn’t the sexiest or the fastest Renault ever to grace European roads, but it was an honest, humble car that ticked every box of basic transportation. Renault’s entry-level model offered winter-friendly front-wheel drive and a functional hatch well before either became common. Admittedly, the dash-mounted shifter might have intimidated a few motorists accustomed to a three-on-the-tree.

Toyota Century (1967)

Toyota created the Lexus brand in 1989 to vie for a slice of America’s ever-growing luxury car market. Lexus was new to every segment it entered, but Toyota had learned valuable lessons in building an opulent car from manufacturing the Century, its flagship saloon in Japan, for over two decades. The nameplate is now at the end of its second generation; its replacement made its debut at the Tokyo Auto Show. While the current car relies on a mighty V12, its successor succumbed to downsizing and adopted a V8-hybrid powertrain.

Renault Rodeo (1970)

Utilitarian beach cars never caught on in the US, partly because the cars they were based on often weren’t sold there to begin with. Citroën made a half-hearted attempt to market the Mehari but stopped after just one model year when pesky American regulators made seatbelts mandatory.

We think the Renault Rodeo would have fared a lot better; it was more usable than its flat-twin-powered rival, and Renault had a better grasp on the American market than Citroën.

Volkswagen SP2 (1972)

Volkswagen’s Brazilian division enjoyed a significant amount of independence from headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. The SP2 was designed in Brazil solely for the Brazilian market, using mostly off-the-shelf components like a chassis borrowed from the 412 and a 1.7-litre air-cooled flat-four engine. Its fastback-like design cemented the SP2’s spot as one of the most gorgeous cars ever to wear a Volkswagen emblem.

Lancia Stratos (1973)

Lancia built the Stratos for homologation reasons. Developing and building a small series of high-performance cars was an immensely expensive project, especially for a company like Lancia that has often found itself standing on eroding financial foundations, so trying to sell the car to Americans was ruled out. It’s too bad; a hero car like the Stratos would have helped salvage the brand’s sinking image.

Citroën GSA (1979)

Citroën was ready to introduce the GS in the US. It sent a small batch of cars to its dealers in preparation for the launch, but it changed its mind when it caught wind of then-upcoming safety regulations mandating a fixed ride height.

The GSA (an updated GS with a more practical hatchback and many of the original kinks ironed out) could also have been sold in the US had it been allowed in, and it would have launched at a time when motorists were in the market for more efficient cars.

Mercedes-Benz G-Class W460 (1979)

For decades, Mercedes-Benz of America operated as an iceberg that Americans only saw the tip of. The G-Class was confined to the part of the iceberg only overseas markets knew. The German brand represented the pinnacle of luxury, so executives worried selling what looked like a Land Rover Defender wearing a Mercedes emblem would irreparably dilute the brand’s image.

The popularity (and the eye-wateringly high transaction prices) of grey-market cars convinced Mercedes to begin selling the G-Class in the US in 2002. By that point it had become much more upscale than anyone had envisioned when production started.

Volkswagen Transporter pickup (1979)

An American law was dubbed the ‘Chicken Tax’ in 1964 as it was enacted in retaliation to French and German tariffs on American chicken imports. It slapped a 25% tariff on all imported light commercial vehicles, and stands to this day. The Chicken Tax has dissuaded dozens of automakers from selling trucks and vans in the US – even American ones, in some cases.

While the US was a relatively big market for the Volkswagen Transporter, the brand’s American division only received a passenger-carrying model named Vanagon. Officials dodged the Chicken Tax by building the Golf-based Caddy in Pennsylvania, but they decided not to build the Transporter truck there because they worried it wouldn’t fare well against Ford and Chevrolet pickups.

Alfa Romeo 33 (1983)

Alfa Romeo didn’t sell the 33 in the US because a small, economy-oriented model fit the image of Italian luxury like a square peg in a round hole. In hindsight, would it have been a volume model for Alfa? Probably not. Would it have saved Alfa’s ill-fated American division? Definitely not. But the remaining examples would still be cherished by Alfisti today.

Ford Fiesta XR2 (1984)

A marketing campaign billing the original Fiesta as the “Wundercar” completely failed to entice buyers, so Ford dropped the pint-sized hatchback from its US lineup after 1980. So Americans never got the hot-rodded, 96hp XR2 variant of the second-generation Fiesta that Europeans enjoyed. The nameplate returned to America for the 2011 model year and brought the formidable ST model along for the ride, though the Fiesta was dropped in the US in 2019.

Peugeot 205 GTI (1984)

The Peugeot 205 GTI was often considered the benchmark of the pocket-rocket segment in the 1980s – except in the US, where Volkswagen had a monopoly on the segment. Peugeot’s popular hatchback never joined the 405 saloon across the pond. Americans are realizing what a gem they missed out on, and clean examples imported recently are becoming increasingly expensive.

Toyota Land Cruiser 70 (1984)

Toyota still builds the Land Cruiser 70 for certain places in Africa and elsewhere. Cheap it isn’t, but it enjoys a loyal following that’s second to none in the off-roader world.

It has adopted modern features like cruise control and Bluetooth connectivity while staying true to its roots, and to the design that made it an icon over the past three decades. We bet the off-road aficionados in Moab, Utah, would love to see more of these on the trail.

Lancia Thema 8.32 (1986)

Reliability and rust issues slowly slaughtered Lancia’s American division, and it shut its doors at the end of the 1982 model year. It was unfortunate timing because the Ferrari-powered Thema 8.32 would have surfed the surging sports saloon wave in the late 1980s. Instead, Americans who wanted a high-performance saloon built on the Type Four platform had to order a Saab 9000 or wait for Alfa Romeo to introduce the 164.

BMW 3 Series Touring (1987)

BMW’s first 3 Series Touring married performance and utility in a spectacular fashion. It was a daring model from a company known for making conservative decisions, but the board wasn’t bold enough to jump into America’s wagon segment. Later generations of the 3 Series Touring made the trip across the pond, but the latest 3 Series is only available as a saloon.

Wondering who this guy is? He’s Max Reisböck, the BMW engineer who built a Touring prototype in his spare time to show higher-ups what could be done. They loved it and placed it into production. BMW eventually gave him the last model of that generation ever built - of over 100,000 it ended up building - as a thank you for his off-piste initiative (pictured).

Nissan Pao (1989)

Nissan went on a retro car offensive in the late 1980s. The Japanese company took a trip to the heritage well and came back with styling cues echoing the Citroen 2CV, the Renault 4, and the original Mini, among other so-called people’s cars. The blend somehow worked, giving the Pao a look of its own.

Americans missed out on all of Nissan’s retro-inspired models, presumably because they were too far down the design rabbit hole to have any kind of mass appeal. Micra underpinnings and a correspondingly small footprint didn’t help the Pao’s case for export, either.

Volkswagen Rallye Golf (1989)

The Volkswagen Rallye Golf illustrates what the modern-day Golf R would have looked like in the 1980s. With a ready-to-pounce stance and four-wheel drive,it served as a homologation special built solely so Volkswagen could go racing.

Executives considered selling the model in America, and they even sent over a few test cars for evaluation purposes, but they ultimately voted the project down because the hottest of all Volkswagen hatches – which looked like a mk2 Golf that swallowed a BMW M3 – would have cost far too much.

Volkswagen Golf Country (1990)

Volkswagen dipped its toes in the SUV segment before any of its rivals with the Golf Country, a garden-variety hatchback sitting on a lifted suspension that would do a Jeep Wrangler proud. A bull bar up front and a rear-mounted spare tire accented the rugged look, while all-wheel drive ensured it could hold its own off the beaten path.

The Country was surprisingly popular among buyers in Europe’s mountainous regions who had grown weary of the rudimentary Fiat Panda 4x4 and the aging Lada Niva. Could it have given Subaru a run for its money in the Rockies?

Suzuki Cappuccino (1991)

On the road, the Suzuki Cappuccino looked like a scaled-down Mazda MX-5 Miata. It took the traditional long bonnet, short bootlid proportions that characterized Mazda’s acclaimed roadster and packed them into an appreciably smaller footprint.

Suzuki’s clever roof design let the driver use the Cappuccino as a coupe, as a targa or as a full convertible. Safety concerns and federal regulations ensured only Starbucks sold a cappuccino in North America during the 1990s, though early examples are beginning to trickle in under the 25-year rule.

Autozam AZ-1 (1992)

The Autozam AZ-1 was a Suzuki-developed, Mazda-built mid-engined roadster with gullwing doors. Engineers designed it as a kei car so no one seriously considered selling it in America, let alone tried making a sound business case for it. It would look like a Micro Machine if parked next to a Pontiac Fiero and Chevy Suburban drivers might inadvertently run it over.

The AZ-1 is ready to challenge the “size matters” maxim. It turned 25 this year, meaning it’s now eligible for the export to the US, and American enthusiasts are already seeking the best examples left in Japan. 

Citroën Xantia (1992)

The Xantia possessed every trait a mid-size Citroën should have. It was eccentric, durable, aerodynamic and (importantly) hydropneumatically-suspended. Naysayers who protested the Xantia was as stale as a week-old biscuit changed their mind after going for a spirited drive in a V6-powered Activa model. Selling it in America was out of the question because Citroën was long gone by the time production started. It’s too bad; it could have been the Saab 900’s quirky, Gallic rival.

Audi RS 2 Avant (1994)

Audi tested the water in Europe when it first tried joining the league of high-performance auto manufacturers. Co-developed with Porsche, as evidenced by the wheels, the limited-edition RS 2 is the precursor of every Audi Sport model sold globally today. The idea of a homely estate capable of beating a Porsche 911 in a drag race was brilliant on paper, and it was even better in the metal, but Audi decided not to certify a low-volume model for the American market. It’s now available for import under the 25-year rule, however.

Renault Sport Spider (1995)

The Spider served as Renault’s consolation prize to enthusiasts who mourned the death of the Alpine brand. It stood out with an out-of-this-galaxy design and a powerful, mid-mounted turbo four.

Renault pulled out of the American market in 1986 so it no longer had a dealer network capable of distributing the car. Safety and emissions regulations were another hurdle, meaning the Spider never spun a web in North America. We imagine it competing in the same arena as the original Porsche Boxster but positioned as a more Caterham-esque, driver-oriented model.

Alfa Romeo 156 (1996)

The 156 marked a stunning return to form for Alfa Romeo. It was one of the most gorgeous saloons on the road when it made its debut, one that suggested the brand had a bright future ahead of it; at least from a design standpoint. And while the engine spun the wrong set of wheels, it was good enough to earn the coveted European Car of the Year award in 1998.

Unfortunately, Alfa’s American division has already gone belly up by the time the 156 arrived in European showrooms.

Peugeot 106 Rallye (1996)

The Peugeot 106 Rallye proudly bucked the industry’s trend of building content-rich hot hatches. It took a back-to-the-basics approach to motoring by embracing Colin Chapman’s famous “light is right” motto. Peugeot stuffed a 1.3-litre engine in an ultra-compact, lightweight body shell. The 106 Rallye was unlike any enthusiast car sold on the American market at the time, and it was never seriously considered for export to the New World because Peugeot shuttered its American division in 1991. Had it been available, we bet it would have enjoyed a small but loyal following among autocross racers.

Peugeot has revamped its model range in recent years, very creditably in some areas, as the company has announced its return to America in the mid-2020s or so.

Honda Civic Type R (1997 - 2017)

For nearly two decades, American Honda fans who wanted to slip behind the wheel of a Civic Type R had to do so in a video game like Gran Turismo, or by flying to a country where the car was sold. The first four generations of Honda’s pocket-rocket never made the trip to America for reasons that remain vague. The good news is Honda finally listened to enthusiasts across the pond, and the fifth-generation Type R was designed with American regulations in mind – and it’s a great car.

Subaru Impreza 22B-STI (1998)

The Impreza 22B-STI traces its roots to a concept car named WRcar-STI unveiled in 1997 to commemorate Subaru’s 40th anniversary. Introduced as a limited-edition model, it benefited from a long list of mechanical modifications including a hand-built, 2.2-litre flat four, a strengthened five-speed manual transmission as well as numerous suspension and braking upgrades.

The 400 examples built for the Japanese market were sold exclusively online, a bold move when AOL CD ROMs were still considered state-of-the-art. Subaru’s American dealers didn’t received the original WRX, so they were deprived of the right-hand drive-only 22B.

Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 (1999)

The R34-series Nissan Skyline GT-R was the ultimate forbidden fruit for American motorists. Enthusiasts knew what it was capable of because it starred in several Fast & Furious movies, and it was prominently featured in Gran Turismo, but they couldn’t buy one. While it was never officially imported to the US, some examples found their way into the country through dubious channels as GT-R envy peaked. US Customs quickly caught on, and illegal examples usually end up seized and crushed.

Pagani Zonda (1999)

Argentina-born Horacio Pagani (born 1955) was an engineer with Renault and then Lamborghini, before striking out on his own firstly with an Italian consultancy and then, in 1999, he unveiled his first car, the Zonda. The original version, the C12, featured a 6.0-litre Mercedes-Benz V12 that delivered 395bhp or 444bhp, and its looks and performance immediately made the world take notice.

The company has since delivered numerous versions, but all produced in tiny numbers, and never enough it seems to make examples available for US homologation and crash testing to make it street legal. It’s a shame as the US is a very major market for its Italian and British hypercar rivals.

TVR Sagaris (2005)

Most Americans have never heard of TVR, a small maker of British sports cars that was established in 1946, but the models were sold in the US in small numbers until the 1980s, but not since. Which meant the market missed out on TVR’s last and arguably greatest creation, the savage-looking Sagaris. And it was pretty wild as well. A purist’s delight, it’s no used looking for ABS or traction control to tame its 4.0-litre 406bhp straight-six. And just look at it.

But it was the company’s swansong as the company closed down in 2006, and is in the process of being revived.

Chrysler 300C Touring (2006)

The 300C Touring was Chrysler’s first serious attempt at building a Euro-flavoured car since launching the Horizon in 1978. Basic market research showed Europeans fancied estates, especially diesel-powered ones, so Chrysler set out to build just that.

The Touring was a Dodge Magnum with a 300C front clip and either a V6 diesel from Mercedes-Benz or a Hemi V8. Steyr assembled the 300C Touring in Graz, Austria, alongside the Euro-spec Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Mercedes G-Class. Perhaps too obscure for its own good, the 300C Touring failed to gain traction in a segment dominated by the Germans.

Holden VE Ute (2007)

The Holden Ute embodies a concept Americans are intimately familiar with. It’s on the same branch of the pickup truck family tree as the Chevrolet El Camino. The El Camino died after the 1987 model year, but the body style continued thriving in Australia during the 1990s. It eventually morphed into more of a lifestyle-oriented model – one that California surfers would have loved – than a workhorse.

Insiders suggest the Ute nearly got a ticket to America to join the now-defunct Pontiac brand in the late 2000s, but General Motors dropped the project in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Dacia Duster (2009)

Americans would consider the Dacia Duster a subcompact SUV. The segment is big, and it’s going to get much bigger in the coming years, but it currently lacks an affordable, no-nonsense model capable of holding its own off the beaten path.

Enter the Duster, with its budget-friendly price and available four-wheel drive. Can you not picture one parked among cactus (not the Citroën kind) on a ranch in the American west?

Honda N-One (2012)

Honda’s heritage-laced N-One channels the spirit of the N360, one of the brand’s very first cars. It’s an endearing machine with a surprisingly spacious interior, though Japan’s kei car regulations force Honda to use an engine whose displacement roughly equals that of a cylinder from a Dodge Hemi engine. It’s not just Americans missing out on the N-One; Europeans can’t get their hands on this retro-fantastic Honda, either.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate (2014)

Unlike Audi, Volvo and BMW, Mercedes-Benz never paid much attention to the compact estate segment in the US. The phrase “Americans don’t buy estates” has prevented every single long-roof variant of the C-Class from roaming the nation’s vast network of motorways.

The German brand surprisingly perceived enough demand from buyers in Canada to build a market-specific C-Class Estate, though it’s a mono-spec niche model rather than a volume offering.

Subaru Levorg (2014)

No brand is more closely associated with estates in America than Subaru. That’s why we’re downright surprised the Levorg – a name which, oddly, spells “grovel” when written backwards – remains off the US market. Subaru can’t use the “Americans don’t buy estate cars” argument everyone else employs because it almost has a monopoly on the segment, and the Levorg would slot nicely between the Impreza and the Outback – like it does almost everywhere else in the world.

Volkswagen Passat Mk8 (2014)

For years, motorists on both sides of the Atlantic drove roughly the same Volkswagen Passat. That changed when the German company gambled on reaching more buyers and decided to develop a Passat specifically for the US, and built at its large plant in Tennessee.

The Passat Europe got is handsome, well-appointed and sharp to drive in the right conditions; the Passat America got was a cookie-cutter value champion that lacks both visual and visceral appeal, and had a less-sophisticated suspension setup. Fortunately, the latest US Passat, launched for the 2020 model year, is much better.

Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf

The Lagonda name has been hung on some fascinating Aston Martins over recent decades; firstly the famous wedge-shaped saloon of the 1970s, then a rather visually challenging SUV concept in 2009 based on the Mercedes GL. And then from nowhere up sprung this graceful super-sedan, designed for wealthy folk in the Middle East with an extraordinary price tag to match – £685,000 (around $1 million). Price tag aside we rather admired its V12 pace and credible claim to be an uber sports limo.

200 examples were planned but that price tag saw just 120 or so produced, and none made it to America. Next stop for the Lagonda badge? An existence as an electric-powered limo lineup, though given the company’s recent challenges we won’t see it in production for a while.

Audi RS3 Sportback (2015)

America has been able to get its hands on the RS3 in saloonform since 2016, and it’s a scintillating machine: it delivers 362bhp from an oddball 2.5-litre straight-five-cylinder engine. Europeans also get to buy that version, but they can also buy it in proper hot hatchback Sportback guise as well, which is a whole load more practical, and has stealth properties to boot.

Alpine A110 (2017)

The born-again Alpine A110 looks to the future without forgetting the past, and its proportions are stunning. And then you drive it, to discover one of the best-resolved sports cars ever made. But while it sounds like a budget Porsche Cayman would do well in the US, one of the largest markets for coupes in the world, we doubt the market will see it anytime soon.

Great though it is, it seems European buyers in the bracket prefer the cachet of a Porsche badge, sad to say, which will hardly encourage a move to the US especially as Alpine and parent Renault lack a dealer network.

Volkswagen Up GTI (2017)

The Up is a useful enough citycar, but in GTI form it becomes a proper bundle of fun. Sure, a 1.0-litre engine delivering 113bhp doesn’t sound like it will light up your life, but it comes in a small 3600mm-long package and weighs just 997kg.

We think it’s as genial and charming a car as any pint-sized hot hatchback and may even be the most desirable of the lot. The car sells for £16,295 for the five-door version – but not in America.

Suzuki Jimny (2018)

Suzuki quit the American market back in 2013, but even when it was present it never sold the Jimny mini-SUV in the US. Americans expect their SUVs to have a certain minimum size, and the diminutive machine may be cute but at 3480mm (137in) it’s not entirely practical, nor is it much fun at all on a fast motorway.

This is a shame because it’s a charmingly capable mountain goat, capable of springing around harsh environments with alacrity, helped by its low weight of just 1135kg. Sure, it only has a 100bhp engine and is no hotrod, but we’re huge fans of this small four-wheel drive - complete with switchable low range gearbox as standard - that thinks big. And now it even has modern-day equipment like Apple Carplay and Android Auto.

With prices starting at the equivalent of US$19,000, we can’t help but think it would find some fans in mountainous parts of America.

Audi RS 4 Avant (2018)

This car was unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show and offers a 2.9-litre turbo V6 giving 444bhp and 0-62mph in just 3.9sec, all in a relatively compact 4781mm package.

But not in America, where the most potent A4 you can get is an S4, and then only in saloon form.But now that the latest RS 6 is arriving in America, perhaps the RS 4 can’t be far behind. But we guess the RS 6 needs to sell like hot cakes first. You know what to do, then.

Ford Fiesta ST (2018)

The previous model Fiesta ST held the title for being one of the very best hot hatchbacks and the new generation retains that title. The hot hatch is powered by a three-cylinder 1.5-litre Ecoboost engine which makes 197bhp and 236lb-ft of torque, 17bhp more than the older generation.

Sadly this new generation Fiesta ST is not going make its way in to America since the entire Fiesta lineup has been withdrawn.

Ford Focus ST Estate (2019)

Talking of fast wagons, whereas in Europe buyers can get the latest Focus long-roof in both 187bhp diesel and 276bhp petrol forms, Americans can not only buy neither, but aren't getting the latest Focus, period.

Which is a shame, as the Focus RS acquired quite a following in America in its brief stint on sale, and we dare say this slightly less hot ST version of the latest model might have had a few fans too.

Volkswagen ID 3 (2019)

After a troublesome few years, Volkswagen is aiming to change its image wholesale with the launch of its first mainstream all-electric model called the ID 3, which in some versions will have a single-charge range of over 300 miles. The name marks the company’s third age – the first two being the original Beetle, then the Golf of 1974.

But despite the success of Tesla’s Model 3 stateside – the Model 3 sold a cool 180,000 examples or so in 2019 in the US – the ID 3 rival won’t be coming anytime soon. America will instead get the ID 4, an SUV sister vehicle which will be built at VW’s plant in Tennessee.

Honda E (2019)

Talking of EV unobtaniums, we’re afraid to say that Honda’s cute little urban electric car, the E, also won’t be coming to America.

Chalk that down to the E’s diminutive 3894mm size and meagre 130-mile range; average American journeys tend to be a fair bit longer than in Europe or Japan, though we reckon it would be a hit in places like New York City and San Francisco, nevertheless.

Mercedes-Benz A45 S AMG (2019)

In 2019, Mercedes unveiled its latest pocket-sized hotrod, the A45 S AMG. This remarkable car features a 415bhp engine that gleans all that turbo-charged power from just a 2.0-litre four-cylinder. And while markets in Europe may have no problem spending £50,570 (US$66,000) on a hatchback, America is different.

Right now at least, the only A-Class America gets is in saloon form, and the only engine on offer is also 2.0-litre, but one that outputs a rather more sedate 185bhp. America does get the similar CLA-Class however, even in 377bhp AMG form, but the S engine? Not for the time being.

Ford Puma (2020)

The Puma name was first used on a well-regarded small sports saloon based on the Fiesta, sold in Europe between 1997 and 2001. The name’s now been revived on a Romanian-built compact SUV – and it’s one of the very best of the type you can buy. Ingeniously packaged, it’s great to drive, smart-but-funky to look at, and has best-in-class economy due to a 48V mild-hybrid system. It won the coveted Car of the Year title from our sister title What Car?, for 2020. But while Australia will get the model later in 2020, there’s no word on a US appearance.

A shame, as it’s a much better SUV than Ford’s Ecosport, which sells reasonably well in America despite its mediocrity.

Skoda’s modern-day cars

Skoda sold cars in the US between 1946 and 1967, well before Volkswagen purchased and rejuvenated the brand. Generally speaking, Americans have never heard of a Skoda; most assume it’s a new type of soft drink. Large diet Skoda, anyone?

They’re missing out on the Superb (pictured), a well-appointed yet reasonably-priced saloon that effortlessly cruises for hours on end, and the Octavia vRS, a wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing with GTI genes. Rumour is that an entry into the US was actively contemplated until the Dieselgate scandal in 2015 turned everything upside down at VW.

SEAT

SEAT is one of the few European automakers that has never sold a single car in the US. For decades, exporting cars was impossible because the brand operated as Fiat’s Spanish satellite. Its international presence has grown considerably since it joined the Volkswagen empire, but executives have never shown an ounce of interest in America. Odd as some of its SUVs like the Ateca (pictured) are among the best you can buy.

Part of the issue lies in its name, no doubt, which buyers would inevitably pronounce like a synonym for chair. “Welcome, have a SEAT!” is hardly the award-winning ad campaign product planners drool over. It’s supposed to be pronounced “Say-Att”.