These Are the American Cars the Rest of the World Should Have Got

“I’m thinking what would actually be reasonable to drive in Europe, not some giant pickup or gas guzzling land barge.

“The vehicle that comes to mind is the Fiero. Other than the heavy clutch, it was a pretty good driving car for European conditions. Sure, there was a lot of things Pontiac should have done better, but it would have been a good car for European roads.”

“Given how many American minivans are imported to Poland, I doubt that Chrysler, Toyota or Honda would have made a bad decision by exporting the Pacifica, Sienna or Odyssey.”

“The Saturn S-Series.

“Small enough to fit on small roads and there was even a right hand drive version.”

“It looks like it was available (and built!) in Iran, but it’s not clear it was ever really offered seriously anywhere else. Still, the original Cadillac Seville was by most accounts, one of the most serious attempts the Big 3 had done at downsizing up to that point.

“Admittedly, ‘downsized’ has to be taken lightly (it’s about the same size as a W116), but still, a reasonably proper Cadillac built to the size of international luxury cars could have likely found at least a small market.”

“Easy. Buick Grand National. Turbocharged six cylinder and a great body style that looked both po-dunk and gangster.”

“Pulling up to Buckingham Palace in a Lincoln Mark V would have cemented the United States as a global leader for the next thousand years.”

“The world needed Edsel. Not because anybody would have bought it, but given the scope of Edsel’s failure in the U.S., it would have been positively EPIC to see that failure be a worldwide event.”

“Buick Roadmaster Estate. Imagine driving down the Autobahn with it in a plush and comfy interior.”

“I was thinking the entire SRT line-up, because the only one that possibly has been sold in early every country has to be the SRT Grand Cherokee, but if I had to choose one, why not the Neon SRT-4?

“Everyone knows the American Hemi’s and Vipers.

“But I don’t think the Neon SRT-4 ever left North America.

“People really should’ve seen what Chrysler can do when they aren’t working on doing things as cheaply as possible.”

“The AMC Eagle. It came too soon for America, but I bet it would have sold well in the UK and Europe. A lifted wagon? Perfect for England’s rutted roads, it would have competed well against Range Rover.”

“Hellcats. Let’s just embrace the brashness and excess that we’re known for. Do what version Porsche does with special-order American delivery before the cars get put on a boat for their destination country.”

“1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz.

“Imagine a fleet of these rolling through Red Square in 1959.

“Khruschev would have surrendered immediately after seeing that what ridiculous lengths we Americans are willing to go to in order to one-up everyone else.

“‘Merica!”

“The rest of the world gets the good stuff we just have big stupid stupidly big trucks. So, a big stupid stupidly big truck? Still not sure why we can’t have the plethora of well packaged less expensive vans and people haulers other countries get. You have to spend some serious money to drive around a large family in the U.S.”

“Three words:

“Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.”