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The Continental Divide: The Most Popular Cars by Continent

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The Prius is a Toyota

US automakers are already making those cars for the foreign market. However, in international circles, GM goes by other names. i.e. Opel.

Americans are the only ones who need or want big cars so they give them what the people demand. If more people demand small 2 door specks, they'll make them.

I've been to England and France and I know that space is a luxury. Don't forget, the size of their countries is the size of one of our states.

Very few roads in Europe can compare to the U.S. Interstate system and the miles upon miles often needed to get from one place to another.
And yes, I'm aware of Italy's Autostrada and Germany's Autobahns and some of the British Motorways, but powered rollerskates are simply no fun to pound over the road for a couple of hundred miles.

nice article, but the soapbox paragraph at the end was totally unnecessary. Editor anyone?

soapbox was the best ;)

The Holden Commodore comes with a 3.6L V6 or a 6L V8. How does that qualify as "compact?"

It doesn't qualify as "compact," but the poster's world view isn't supported by such facts, so he chose to ignore them.

Just backing up what PhillJ said - the Holden Commodore is freakin huge. Smaller than a Ford F150, sure, but in terms of sedans? Way bigger than Taurus, Accord etc.

It's worth noting that Holden is a subsidiary of GM. So, in fact, the US industry does get a piece of the international market that way.

Where do you get your information. I live in Africa and the Holden Commodore hardly features at all. Toyota and VW are by far the biggest sellers in Africa.

"The science of car sales has been refined to an art..."

Uhh, what?

"...but we also do it by class."

Congratulations, have a cookie!

Of course, Americans have a personal income that is 6 times or more that of the next richest country...so, it would make sense they would drive bigger cars. Who is to say whether the rest of the world likes being squeezed into tiny death traps or whether they'd like a nice big 1991 Grand Prix LE (like I drive).

John, compact cars wouldn't be "tiny death traps" as you say if it wasn't for the fact that so many other people are rolling around in 1.7 tonne Holden Commodores in Oz and 2.1 tonne Ford F-150s in the U.S. Fatalities are generally caused by trees and other cars. If I was going head to head with a tree, I'd take a Mini Copper. Their safety cell technology is state-of-the-art, with a full complement of airbags as standard. If I was going head to head with another car, I'd take a three tonne Range Rover HSE. Momentum wins in a front-on collision. My point is that while we buy cars with size inversely proportional to the size of our dicks, we’re only causing more danger to other road motorists, which is the height of selfishness. As such, we are morally obliged to be driving high-tech compact cars in the interests of safety.

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