Quote:
Originally Posted by RPX5
Buick IS huge in Asia, when I was in China there were NICE looking buicks, not like the crappy looking ones around here. Also, when I was in Europe, I saw some really eye catching Fords, that was over a year ago, still only ugly Fords here in the states, anyone know why?
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A couple of thoughts:
In Europe, the Fords and Opels and Vauxhalls are a lot smaller than their US cousins and the Big 3 don't think that they'll sell. In Europe, annual registrations are tied to the size of the engine, so the smaller the engine the lower the registration cost. A lot of Americans equate bigger cars with being safer, so the smaller Euro cars probably wouldn't sell. (With the exception of the hot rod 4banger turbos, but I don't know why those don't come over)
The safety and emissions regs in China are far less stringent than the US, and I think that limits bringing the exterior designs to the US, but that's just a guess.