An
economy car is an
automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
that is designed for low cost operation. It is designed for a driver who uses their car primarily for personal transportation.
The best of these cars are not merely cynically cheapened or miniaturized versions of conventional cars. They are designed by taking an inventive look at how to meet their stringent design constraints, and pushing the boundaries of those design constraints themselves. Many of the most important innovations in general car design, were originally developed for economy cars. Typical economy cars are small, light weight, and inexpensive to buy. Until recently, the size of an economy car was larger and heavier in the USA than those of the rest of the world.
Pre-war
At the birth of the automobile, in the 1890s and into the first decade of the twentieth century, the motorized vehicle was considered a replacement for the carriages of the rich, or simply a dangerous toy, that annoyed and inconvenienced the general public. The children's book Wind in the Willows, pokes fun at early privileged motorists. The first car to be marketed to the (well off but not rich) ordinary person and so the first 'economy car', was the 1901–1907
Oldsmobile Curved DashThe Curved Dash Oldsmobile is credited as the first high-volume mass-produced gasoline automobile. It was introduced by the Oldsmobile company in 1901 and produced through 1907. 425 examples were produced the first year, 2500 in 1902, with over 19000 built in all.It was a runabout model, could seat...
- it was produced by the thousands. It was inspired by the buckboard type horse and buggy, (used like a small two seat pickup truck) popular in rural areas of the U.S. It had two seats, but was less versatile than the vehicle that inspired it. It was produced after a fire at the Oldsmobile plant, when the prototype was saved by a nightwatchman named Stebbins, and was the only product available to the company to produce, to get back on their feet.
Although cars were becoming more affordable before it was launched, the 1908–1927
Ford Model TThe Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. The Model T set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile came into popular usage...
is considered to be the first true economy car, because the very few previous vehicles at the bottom of the market were 'horseless carriages' rather than practical cars. The major manufacturers at the time had little interest in low-priced models. The first 'real' cars had featured the FR layout first used by the French car maker
PanhardPanhard is now a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years. The combined company now uses the Panhard name...
and so did the Model T.
Henry Ford declared at the launch of the vehicle -
"I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one - and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces."
The
Ford Model TThe Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. The Model T set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile came into popular usage...
was a large scale
mass producedMass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
car, that very innovation, along with the attributes it required a simple, inexpensive design allowed it to be the first car to exemplify the ideals of the economy car. The complexity involved in making it a successful design was in its production and materials technology; particularly the use of new vanadium steel alloys. Model T production was the leading example of the Taylorism school of scientific management, (also known as
FordismFordism, named after Henry Ford, refers to various social theories about production and related socio-economic phenomena. It has varying but related meanings in different fields, as well as for Marxist and non-Marxist scholars.-Introduction:...
), and its production techniques evolved at the
Highland Park Ford PlantThe Highland Park Ford Plant was a production plant for Ford Motor Company in the city of Highland Park, Michigan, which is surrounded by Detroit. The Highland Park Ford Plant was designed by Albert Kahn in 1908 and was opened in 1910. Because of its spacious design, it set the precedent for many...
that opened in 1910, after it outgrew its
Piquette PlantThe Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District is a historic district located along Piquette Street in Detroit, Michigan, from Woodward Avenue on the west to Hastings Street on the east. The district extends approximately one block south of Piquette to Harper, and one block north to the Grand...
. The
River Rouge PlantThe Ford River Rouge Complex is a Ford Motor Company automobile factory complex located in Dearborn, Michigan, along the Rouge River, upstream from its confluence with the Detroit River at Zug Island...
which opened in 1919, was the most technologically advanced in the world, raw materials entered at one end and finished cars emerged from the other. The innovation of the moving production line, was inspired by the 'dis-assembly' plants of the Chicago meat packing industry, reduced production time from twelve and a half hours, to just an hour and thirty-three minutes per car. Black was the only colour available because it was the only paint that would dry in the required production time. The continuous improvement of production methods, and economies of scale from larger and larger scale production, allowed Henry Ford to progressively lower the price of the Model T throughout its production run. It was far less expensive, smaller, and more austere than its hand-built pre-first world war contemporaries. The size of the Model T was arrived at, by making its track to the width of the ruts in the unsurfaced rural American roads of the time, ruts made by horse drawn vehicles. It was specifically designed with a large degree of axle articulation, and a high ground clearance, to deal with these conditions effectively. It had an under stressed engine. It set the template for American vehicles being larger than comparable vehicles in other countries, which would later on have economy cars scaled to their narrower roads with smaller engines. The Ford Model T was voted
Car of the CenturyThe Car of the Century was an international award given to the world's most influential car of the twentieth century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation...
at an awards gala on December 18, 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 1914 Ford was producing half a million Model Ts a year, with a sale price of less than US$500. This was more than the rest of the U.S. auto industry combined and ten times the total national car production of 1908, the year of the cars launch.
The Ford Model T was the first automobile produced in many countries at the same time. It was the first 'World Car', since they were being produced in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and in Manchester, England starting in 1911 and were later assembled in
GermanyFord Germany was the German subsidiary of the American automaker Ford Motor Company, which existed under various names from 1925.-Ford Motor Co. AG:...
,
ArgentinaFord Motor Argentina is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Buenos Aires in 1913.Its first products were Model Ts assembled from Complete Knock Down kits provided by Ford Motor Company in 1917...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
,
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
,
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
,
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
At the New York Motor Show in January 1915,
William C. DurantWilliam Crapo "Billy" Durant was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry, the founder of General Motors and Chevrolet who created the system of multi-brand holding companies with different lines of cars....
the head of
ChevroletChevrolet is a brand of automobile produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant in 1911, Chevrolet was acquired by General Motors in 1917...
(and founder of GM), launched the Chevrolet Four-Ninety, a stripped down version of the Series-H, to compete with Henry Ford's Model T, and went into production in June. To aim directly at Ford, Durant said the new car would be priced at $490 (the source of its name), the same as the Model T touring. Its introductory price was $550, however, although it was reduced to $490 later when the electric starter and lights were made a $60 option. Henry Ford responded by reducing the Model T to $440.
The subsequent decades led to economical cars that reflected the needs of their creators. The cycle car was an attempt in the period before 1922 in the post First World War austerity period, as a form of "four-wheeled
motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are the most affordable form of...
", with all the benefits of a motorcycle and side-car, in a more stable package.
CrosleyThe Crosley was an automobile manufactured by the Crosley Corporation and later by Crosley Motors Incorporated in the United States from 1939 to 1952.-History:...
, a U.S. appliance manufacturer, would also be an early pioneer of very small cars.
In 1923 Chevrolet tried again with the Chevrolet Series M 'Copper-Cooled', air cooled car, designed by General Motors engineer at AC Delco
Charles KetteringCharles Franklin Kettering was an American inventor and the holder of 140 patents. He was a founder of Delco, and was head of research for General Motors for 27 years from 1920 to 1947. Among his most widely used automotive inventions were the electrical starting motor and leaded gasoline...
, (who invented the points/condenser ignition system that was in use until the 1980s), it was a rare failure for him, due to uneven cooling of the inline four cylinder engine.
The most development occurred in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. There was less emphasis on long-distance automobile travel, a need for vehicles that could navigate narrow streets and alleys in towns and cities (many were unchanged since medieval times), and the narrow and winding roads commonly found in the European countryside.
Ettore BugattiEttore Arco Isidoro Bugatti was an Italian automobile designer and manufacturer.Ettore came from a notably artistic family with its roots in Milan. He was the elder son of Teresa Lorioli and her husband Carlo Bugatti , an important Art Nouveau furniture and jewelry designer...
designed a small car for
PeugeotPeugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest European carmaker.Peugeot's roots go back to 19th-century coffee mill and bicycle manufacturing. The Peugeot company and family is originally from Sochaux, France. Peugeot retains a large manufacturing plant and...
. The 1911 Bebe Type 19. It had an 850 cc 4-cylinder engine. The
Citroën Type AThe Citroën Type A was the first car produced by Citroën from June 1919 to December 1921 in Paris. The Type A reached a production number of 24,093 vehicles.During World War I, André Citroën was producing ammunitions...
was the first car produced by Citroën from June 1919 to December 1921 in Paris. Citroën had been established to produce the double bevel gears that its logo resembles, but had ended the First World War with large production facilities, from the production of much needed artillery shells for the French army.
Andre CitroenAndré-Gustave Citroën was a French-Jewish entrepreneur. He is remembered chiefly for the make of car named after him, but also for his application of double helical gears.- Life :...
was a keen adopter of U.S. car manufacturing ideas and technology in the 1920s and 30s. He re-equipped his factory as a scaled down version of the Ford River Rouge Plant, that he had visited in
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It was advertised as "Europe's first mass production car." The Type A reached a production number of 24,093 vehicles. The Opel 4 PS, Germany's first 'peoples car', popularly known as the
Opel LaubfroschThe Opel 4 PS, popularly known as the Opel Laubfrosch , is a small two seater car introduced by the then family owned auto maker Opel, early in 1924...
(Opel Treefrog), was a small two seater car introduced by the then family owned auto maker Opel, early in 1924, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the little
TorpedoThe torpedo body style was a type of automobile body used from the early twentieth century until the mid-1930s, and which fell quickly into disuse by the Second World War....
Citroën 5 CVThe Citroën Type C was a light car made by the French Citroën car company between 1922 and 1926 with almost 81,000 units being made. The car was originally called the Type C but was updated to the C2 in 1924 which was in turn superseded by the slightly longer C3 in 1925...
of 1922.
On an even smaller scale, European cars, such as the 747 cc
Austin SevenThere were four Austin Motor Company cars to use the Seven name:* A single cylinder car produced in 1909* The 1922-1939 Austin 7* The original Mini* The launch title of the Austin A30...
, (which made cycle-cars obsolete overnight), would also start to catch on in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the same time period, as a
DatsunDatsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd...
, leading to the start of their own automobile industry. It was also produced by
BMW, is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company. Founded in 1916, it is known for its performance and luxury vehicles. It owns and produces the MINI brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.-Company history:...
in Germany, Rosengart in France, and by Bantam in the U.S. It also displaced the motorcycle and sidecar combination that was popular in the 1920s. It spawned a whole industry of 'specials' builders.
SwallowThe swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding...
Sidecars switched to making cars based on Austin Seven chassis during the 1920s, then made their own complete cars in the 1930s as SS. With the advent of Nazi Germany the company changed its name: to
JaguarThe Jaguar, Panthera onca, is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus. It is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest and most powerful feline in the Western Hemisphere...
.
Also, in the 1920s, Ford (with the Model T in Manchester, England),
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...
, who took over
OpelAdam Opel GmbH, commonly known as Opel, is a German automaker. The company was founded on 21 January 1863, began making automobiles in 1899, and was acquired by General Motors in 1929...
in Germany and
VauxhallVauxhall Motors is a British automobile company owned by Magna International and General Motors. Most current Vauxhall models are right-hand drive derivatives of Magna's Opel brand; however, production of left hand vehicles also takes place for export to other parts of Europe and certain marginal...
in Britain), expanded into Europe. Most Ford and GM European cars, especially economy cars, were technologically conservative and all were rear wheel drive to a smaller European size, with improvements focused mainly on styling, (apart from the introduction of the 1935 monocoque
Opel OlympiaThe Opel Olympia is a small family car produced by the German automaker Opel from 1935 to 1940, from 1947 to 1953 and again from 1967 to 1970....
, and the
Macpherson strutThe MacPherson strut is a type of car suspension system which uses the axis of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot, widely used in modern vehicles and named after Earle S. MacPherson who developed the design, based in part on designs created by Guido Fornaca of FIAT in the mid-1920s...
by Ford in the 1950s/60s), until the late 1970s/early 1980s.
In the late-1920s, General Motors finally overtook Ford, as the U.S. new car market doubled in size, and fragmented into niches on a wave of prosperity, with GM producing a range of cars to match. This included a Chevrolet economy car that was just an entry level model for the range of cars. It was only a small part of the marketing strategy -
"A car for every purse and purpose" of GM head
Alfred P. SloanAlfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr. was a long-time president and chairman of General Motors.-Biography:Sloan was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He studied electrical engineering and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1895...
. Sloan introduced the annual model change, which moved cars from being utilitarian items to fashionable status symbols - that needed regular replacement "to keep up with the Joneses." It was funded by high interest/low regular payments consumer credit, as was the 1920s boom in other consumer durable products. It marked the beginning of mass market
consumerismConsumerism is the equation of personal happiness with consumption and the purchase of material possessions. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen or, more recently by a movement called Enoughism...
, that had been enabled by the efficiency of mass production and the moving production line. Until this time, manufacturers of consumer goods were concerned, by the possibility that the market would be fulfilled and demand would dry up. Henry Ford was wrong-footed by staying with the one size fits all,
"any colour you like as long as it's black", Model T for far too long. The 'one model' policy had nearly bankrupted the Ford Motor Company. By the end of production in 1927 it looked like a relic from another era. It was replaced by the
Model AThe Ford Model A was the second huge success for the Ford Motor Company, after its predecessor, the Model T. First produced on October 20, 1927, but not sold until December 2, it replaced the venerable Model T, which had been produced for 18 years...
.
In 1929 Chevrolet replaced the
Chevrolet Straight-4 engineChevrolet's first automobile engine was the straight-4 introduced in 1913. It was produced in a single size through 1928 when it was replaced by the Chevrolet Straight-6 engine. Chevrolet later used many other straight-4 engines, including the straight-6-derived 153 and other more modern engines...
that dated from 1913, with the
Chevrolet Straight-6 engineThe Chevrolet inline 6 of the 1930s through 1970s was the base engine in many popular cars, including the Chevrolet Camaro.-1929 Stovebolt Era:...
or 'Stovebolt 6', that was to last until the 1970s as Chevrolet's base engine. A few years later Ford developed the Model A with the Ford flathead V8. The
1932 Model BThe Model B was a new Ford automobile produced in model year 1932. It was a much updated version of the Model A and was replaced by the 1935 Ford Model 48. Strictly speaking the Model B was a four-cylinder car with an "Improved Four-Cylinder Engine", but it was at this time that Ford began...
coupe became the car of choice for post war hot-rodders. It was the first V8 engine in a low priced car, and along with the Chevrolet 6, clearly showed how the U.S. was diverging from the rest of the world, in its ideas about what constituted a basic economy car.
In 1928 Morris launched the first
Morris Minor (1928)The Morris Minor was produced by the Morris Motor Company in two versions. From 1928 to 1932 the cars had an 847 cc single overhead camshaft engine. This was then replaced by a more conventional side-valve unit of the same capacity until production ended in 1934...
in Britain to compete with the Austin Seven. Also that year German
motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are the most affordable form of...
manufacturer DKW launched their first car, the P15, a rear wheel drive, wood and fabric bodied monocoque car, powered by a 600 cc an inline two-cylinder two-stroke engine.
In 1931 the
DKW F1Dampf-Kraft-Wagen or DKW is an historic car and motorcycle marque. In 1916, the Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen founded a factory in Saxony, Germany, to produce steam fittings. In the same year, he attempted to produce a steam-driven car, called the DKW...
was launched. This was the first mass produced front wheel drive car in the world. It featured a front-engine, front-wheel drive layout using a water cooled 494 cc or 584 cc transverse two stroke engine with chain drive. This was developed through the 1930s into the 1938 F8 model and the F9 that was not put into production because World War II started. By this time DKW had become the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. Their two-stroke engine technology was to appear in the postwar products of
Harley-DavidsonHarley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
,
BSA-Organizations:* Baltimore School for the Arts* Bearing Specialists Association* Belarusian Socialist Assembly* Birmingham School of Acting* Birmingham Small Arms Company, a British manufacturer of military and civilian firearms and vehicles including motorcycles...
,
TrabantThe Trabant is an automobile that was produced by former East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Sachsen. It was the most common vehicle in East Germany, and was also exported to countries both inside and outside the communist bloc. The main selling point was that...
, Wartburg,
SaabSaab Automobile AB, better known as Saab, is a Swedish car manufacturer currently owned by General Motors, pending sale to the Koenigsegg Group. It is the exclusive automobile royal warrant holder as appointed by H.M., the King of Sweden...
,
Subaruis the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries Group .Subaru is internationally known for their use of boxer engines in most of their vehicles. The company decided to use all wheel drive in most international markets as standard equipment in...
,
PiaggioPiaggio based in Pontedera, Italy encompasses seven brands producing scooters and motorcycles. As the fourth largest producer of scooters and motorcycles in the world, Piaggio produces more than 600,000 vehicles annually, with five Research and development centers, more than 6,700 employees and...
,
PuchPuch is a manufacturing company located in Graz, Austria. The company was founded in 1889 by the industrialist Johann Puch and produced automobiles, bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles.-Pre-war years:...
and
Kawasakiis an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shozo Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....
.
In the 1930s,
FiatFiat S.p.A., an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin in the Piedmont region. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. Fiat has also...
in Italy produced the advanced and very compact Topolino or 'little mouse', the precursor of the 1950s
Fiat 500The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
. It was a similar size to the
Austin SevenThere were four Austin Motor Company cars to use the Seven name:* A single cylinder car produced in 1909* The 1922-1939 Austin 7* The original Mini* The launch title of the Austin A30...
, but much more advanced than the Seven which was produced with updated and restyled body until World War II, and still on the early 1920s chassis.
The
Volkswagen BeetleThe Volkswagen Type 1 is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003. It used an air cooled rear engined rear wheel drive ....
would be the longest-lasting icon of this 1930s era.
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
admired the ideals exemplified by the
Ford Model TThe Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. The Model T set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile came into popular usage...
, and sought the help of
Ferdinand PorscheProf. Dr. Ing h.c. Ferdinand Porsche was an Austro-Hungarian automotive engineer. He is best known for creating the Volkswagen as well as the first of many Porsche automobiles, and for his contributions to advanced German tank designs: Tiger I, Tiger II and the Elefant.Porsche was awarded in...
to create a 'peoples-car' - literally Volks-Wagen, with the same ideals for the people of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. Many of the design ideas were plagiarised from the work of
Hans LedwinkaHans Ledwinka born in Klosterneuburg , 14 February 1878, died in Munich, Germany, 2 March 1967; was an Austrian automobile designer, known for his innovation regarding both - technology and aesthetics.- Youth :...
, the
Tatra T97The Type 97 is a mid-class saloon car from Czechoslovak car-maker Tatra. It was produced for a short time in the pre-war period, from 1936 to 1939.- History :...
with the Czechoslovakian
Tatra (car)Tatra is a vehicle manufacturer in Kopřivnice , Czech Republic. The company was founded in 1850 as Schustala & Company later renamed Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, a wagon and carriage manufacturer, and in 1897 produced the first motor car in central Europe, the Präsident. In 1918 it...
company. The Nazi "KdF-Wagen" ("Strength through Joy - Car") program ground to a halt because of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but after the war, the
VolkswagenThe Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft , also known as Volkswagen Group or as VW, is an automobile manufacturer and mobility organisation based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany and is the pioneer brand within the Volkswagen Group, which contains the car brands Audi AG, Bentley Motors Ltd.,...
company would be founded to produce the car in the new democratic West Germany, where it would be a success.
The pre-war European car market was not one market. Trade barriers fragmented it into national markets, apart from luxury cars where the extra cost of tariffs could actually make cars more exclusive and desirable. The only way for a car maker to enter another national market of a major European car making country, (and their colonial markets of the time), was to open factories there. For example, Citroen and Renault opened factories in England in this period. This situation only really changed with the post-war growth of the EEC (
European CommunityThe European Community is the first of the three pillars of the European Union created under the Maastricht Treaty . It is based upon the principle of supranationalism and has its origins in the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union. If the Treaty of Lisbon comes into...
) and
EFTAEFTA may refer to:* European Family Therapy Association, an NGO.* European Fair Trade Association, an association of eleven Fair Trade importers in nine European countries....
. The British RAC (Royal Automobile Club) horsepower taxation system had the secondary function of excluding foreign vehicles. It was specifically targeted at the Ford Model T, which the then government feared would wipe out the fledgling indigenous motor industry. It crippled car engine design in Britain in the inter-war period, and was abolished after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as part of the British export drive for desperately needed, hard foreign currency, because it made British cars uncompetitive internationally. The 1930s
Morris EightThe Morris Eight was a small car inspired by the sales popularity of the similarly shaped Ford Model Y. The success of the car enabled Morris to regain its position as Britain's largest motor manufacturer.-Morris Eight Series I:...
,
Ford EightThe Model Y was the first Ford specifically designed for markets outside the United States of America, replacing the Model A in Europe. The car was powered by a 933 cc, 8 hp Ford Sidevalve engine, and was in production in England from 1932 until September 1937, in France from 1932 to...
(Ford Model Y), and
Standard EightThe Standard Eight is a small car produced by the British Standard Motor Company from 1938 to 1959.The car was originally launched in 1938 as the Flying Eight. After World War II the Flying range of Standards was dropped but an updated car called the 8hp was re-introduced in 1945...
, (who later became Triumph) were named after their RAC horsepower car tax rating.
1945–1970
As Europe and Japan rebuilt from the war, their growing economies led to a steady increase in demand for cheap cars to 'motorise the masses'. Emerging technology allowed economy cars to become more sophisticated. Early post-war economy cars like the VW Beetle,
Citroën 2CVThe Citroën 2CV was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1949 to 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with extremely utilitarian and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer quality of its underlying engineering...
,
Renault 4CVThe Renault 4CV is an automobile produced by the French manufacturer Renault from August 1947 to July 1961. An economical "people's car" inspired by the Volkswagen Beetle, it was the first French car to sell over a million units....
, and
Saab 92Saab 92 is an automobile from Saab. The design was very aerodynamic for its time, and the cW value was 0.30 . Full-scale production started December 12, 1949, based on the prototype Saab 92001. All of them were of the Deluxe version...
, looked extremely minimal, but they were technologically more advanced than almost all conventional cars of the time.
The VW featured a 1.1 litre, air cooled flat four, rear engine with rear wheel drive, all round fully independent suspension, semi
monocoqueMonocoque, from Greek for single and French for shell , is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin. Monocoque construction was first widely used in...
construction and the ability to cruise on the
AutobahnAutobahn is the German word for a major high-speed road restricted to motor vehicles capable of driving at least 60 km/h and having full control of access, similar to a motorway or freeway in English-speaking countries.In most countries, it usually refers to the German autobahn specifically...
for long periods reliably. This cruising ability and engine durability was gained by high top gearing, and by restricting the engine breathing and performance to well below its maximum capability. The Volkswagen Type 1 'Beetle' the most popular single design of all time.
The 375 cc
Citroën 2CVThe Citroën 2CV was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1949 to 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with extremely utilitarian and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer quality of its underlying engineering...
had interconnected all round fully independent suspension, rack and pinion steering, radial tyres and front wheel drive with an air cooled flat twin engine. It was some 10 to 15 MPG (Imperial) more fuel efficient than any other economy car of its time - but with restricted performance to match. It was designed to motorise rural communities where speed was not a requirement. The original design brief had been issued before the Second World War in the 1930s. Engine size increased over time, from 1970 it was a still tiny 602 cc.
The
Saab 92Saab 92 is an automobile from Saab. The design was very aerodynamic for its time, and the cW value was 0.30 . Full-scale production started December 12, 1949, based on the prototype Saab 92001. All of them were of the Deluxe version...
had a
transversly-mountedA transverse engine is an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the length of the vehicle. This is also sometimes called an east-west engine...
,
water-cooledWater cooling is a method of heat removal from components. As opposed to air cooling, water is used as the heat transmitter. Water cooling is commonly used for cooling internal combustion engines in automobiles and large electrical generators...
two-cylinder,
two-strokeThe first Saab two-stroke engine was based on a DKW design. The SAAB engine, a two-cylinder with 764 cc engine displacement and 25 hp was transversally placed in the 1950 - 1956 Saab 92, giving it a top speed of 100 km/h. With the 1954 model engine output was raised to 28 hp...
based on a
DKWDampf-Kraft-Wagen or DKW is an historic car and motorcycle marque. In 1916, the Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen founded a factory in Saxony, Germany, to produce steam fittings. In the same year, he attempted to produce a steam-driven car, called the DKW...
design, driving the front wheels. It had aircraft derived
monocoqueMonocoque, from Greek for single and French for shell , is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin. Monocoque construction was first widely used in...
construction, with an aerodynamic cW value (
drag coefficientIn fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water. It is used in the drag equation, where a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less aerodynamic or...
) of 0.30 - not bettered until the 1980s. It was later developed into the
Saab 93The Saab 93, pronounced ninety-three, is an automobile manufactured by Saab. It was announced on August 18, 1955 and was first presented on December 1, 1955. It was styled by Sixten Sason and had a longitudinally-mounted three-cylinder 748 cc Saab two-stroke engine giving 33 hp . The...
,
Saab 95The Saab 95 was a 7-seater, 2-door station wagon made by Saab. Initially it was based on the Saab 93 sedan version, but the model's development throughout the years followed closely that of the 96 since the 93 was put off the market in 1960...
,
Saab 96The Saab 96 is an automobile made by Saab. It was introduced in 1960 and was produced until January 1980, a run of 20 years. Like the 93 it replaced, the 96 was a development from the old Saab 92 chassis and, on account of its improvements and modernisation, it opened new markets for the company...
. It was produced until 1980. The mechanicals were used in the
Saab SonettSaab Sonett is an automobile model manufactured between 1966 and 1974 by Sweden's Saab Automobile AB. Sonetts shared the engines and other components with Saab 96s and 95s of the same era....
sports cars.
Also in the immediate postwar period, the monocoque
Morris MinorThe Morris Minor is a popular British motor car aimed at the family market. It was the work of a team led by Alec Issigonis, who would go on to design the successful Mini. The Minor was launched at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948...
was launched in 1948. Because of costs it reused the pre-war
side-valve Morris 8 engine instead of an intended flat-four. It had a strong emphasis on good packaging and roadholding, with rack and pinion steering and American influenced styling, but was otherwise conventional. It was designed by
Alec IssigonisSir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959.- Biography :Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born into the...
.
While economy cars flourished in Europe and Japan, the booming postwar American economy combined with the emergence of the suburban and interstate highways in that country led to slow acceptance of small cars. Brief economic recessions saw interest in economical cars wax and wane. During this time, the American auto manufacturers would introduce smaller cars of their own, in 1950 Nash Motors introduced the Rambler designed to be smaller than contemporary cars, yet still accommodate five passengers comfortably. Nash also contracted with British Motor Corporation to build the American designed Metropolitan using existing BMC mechanical components, (the engine is a BMC B-Series engine also used in the MG MGA and MG MGB). Imported cars began to appear on the U.S. market during this time to satisfy the demands for true economy cars. An initial late 40s/early 50s success in a small way, was the monocoque Morris Minor launched in 1948, with its miniaturized Chevrolet styling. It was underpowered for the long distance roads of the U.S. and especially the freeways that were starting to spread across the country in the 1950s. The first British Motorway did not open until 1959. BMC preferred to develop the higher profit margin MGs for the American market and also worked with Nash and so passed on the opportunity. From the mid-1950s the Volkswagen Beetle using clever and innovative advertising and capitalising on its very high build quality, durability and reliability, was a spectacular success. Having been designed for cruising the Autobahns, Freeways were no problem for it. It disproved the scepticism of American buyers as to the usefulness of, by their standards, such small cars. Initially the stylish Renault Dauphine derived from the Renault 4CV, looked like it would follow the VWs footsteps, but then was a failure due to mechanical breakdowns and body corrosion. This failure on the U.S. market in the late 1950s, may have harmed the acceptance of small cars generally in America.
In the late 1950s the DDR
German Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic was a Communist state that originated from the Soviet Zone of occupied Germany and the Soviet sector of occupied Berlin...
produced its 'peoples car'. The
TrabantThe Trabant is an automobile that was produced by former East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Sachsen. It was the most common vehicle in East Germany, and was also exported to countries both inside and outside the communist bloc. The main selling point was that...
sold 3 million vehicles in thirty years due to its communist
captive marketCaptive markets are markets where the potential consumers face a severely limited amount of competitive suppliers; their only choices are to purchase what is available or to make no purchase at all. Captive markets result in higher prices and less diversity for consumers...
. It had a transverse two-cylinder air-cooled two-stroke engine and front wheel drive, using
DKWDampf-Kraft-Wagen or DKW is an historic car and motorcycle marque. In 1916, the Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen founded a factory in Saxony, Germany, to produce steam fittings. In the same year, he attempted to produce a steam-driven car, called the DKW...
technology.
In 1957, Fiat in Italy launched the 479 cc 'Nuovo'
Fiat 500The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
designed by
Dante GiacosaDante Giacosa was an Italian car designer. His work covered a large range from minicars to sports cars, using all the different layouts as and when they were the best solution at the time to meet the design parameters....
. It was the first real city car. It had a rear mounted air cooled vertical twin engine, and all round independent suspension. Its target market was Italian scooter riders who had settled down and had a young family, and needed their first car. Fiat had also launched the larger 1955
Fiat 600The Fiat 600 [say-chento] is a city car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 in today's money . The total number produced from 1955 to 1969 at...
with a similar layout but with a watercooled inline 4 cylinder engine, it even had a six seater people carrier / MPV / mini-van version called the 'Multipla', even though it was about the same size as a modern supermini.
Car body corrosion was a particular problem from the 1950s to the 1980s when cars moved to monocoque or uni-body construction (starting from the 1930s), from a separate Body-on-frame chassis made from thick steel. This relied on the shaped body panels, and the integrity of the body-shell for strength. A light car was a fast and/or economical car. The introduction of newly available computers for structural analysis from the 1960s, with computers like the IBM 360, the thickness of sheet metal in bodyshells was reduced to the minimum needed for structural integrity. However, corrosion prevention / rustproofing, that had not previously been significant because of the thickness of metal and separate chassis, had not kept pace with this new construction technology. The lightest monocoque economy cars would be the most affected by structural corrosion.
The next advance was the 1959 848 cc Austin Mini from the
British Motor CorporationThe British Motor Corporation was a UK vehicle company, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
, designed by
Alec IssigonisSir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959.- Biography :Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born into the...
as a response to the first oil crisis, the 1956
Suez CrisisThe Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, was a military attack on Egypt by Britain, France, and Israel beginning on 29 October 1956....
, and the boom in bubble cars and
MicrocarA microcar is an uncommonly small automobile. They were popularly referred to as cyclecars in the 1910s and 1920s and bubblecars in the 1950s and 1960s. Older ones were often three wheeled.-Definition:...
s that followed. It was the first front wheel drive car with a watercooled inline four cylinder engine mounted transversely. This allowed eighty percent of the floor plan for the use of passengers and luggage. The majority of modern cars use this configuration. Its progressive rate rubber sprung independent suspension (
HydrolasticHydrolastic is a type of space-efficient automotive suspension system used in many cars produced by British Motor Corporation and its successor companies....
1964-1971), low centre of gravity, and wheel at each corner with radial tyres, increased the car's grip and handling over all but the most expensive automobiles on the market. The Mini was voted the second most important car of the twentieth century after the Ford Model T.
Also in 1959 the FR layout
DAF 600The DAF 600 is a small family car that was DAF's first production passenger car: it was first presented at the Amsterdam Motor Show in February 1958 and was in production by 1959, although the firm had published the first details of the car at the end of 1957...
, with a rear mounted automatic gearbox, was launched in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
. The 600 was the first car to have a
continuously variable transmissionA continuously variable transmission is a transmission which can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that only allow a few different distinct gear ratios to be selected...
(CVT) system - the innovotive DAF
VariomaticVariomatic is the stepless, fully automatic transmission of the Dutch car manufacturer DAF, using a drive belt and two pulleys. It was the first continuously variable transmission . In theory, this always produces the optimum torque...
. It was the first European economy car with an automatic gearbox. The CVT was continued through the 1960s and 70s by DAF with the
DAF DaffodilThe DAF 750 is a small family car that was manufactured by DAF from 1961 until 1963. It replaced the DAF 600. At the same time as launching the 750, DAF launched the DAF Daffodil which was essentially the same car but with more luxurious fittings and a lot more chrome trim on the outside...
,
DAF 33The DAF 33 was a compact saloon car produced by the DAF company of Eindhoven, in the Netherlands between 1967 and 1974. Outwardly and technically it differed little from its predecessor, the DAF Daffodil....
,
DAF 44The DAF 44 is a small family car that was introduced in September 1966 by the Dutch company DAF. Styled by Michelotti, it represented a cautious move upmarket for the company which hitherto had produced, for the passenger car market, only the smaller slower Daffodil model .The 2 cylinder...
,
DAF 46The DAF 46 is a small family car that was manufactured by the Dutch company DAF. It was introduced in 1974 to replace the 44. In February 1976, at the relaunch of the Volvo 66, it was announced that the DAF 46 would be phased out during 1976, after which 'special measures' would ensure adequate...
,
DAF 66The DAF 66 is a small motor vehicle that was produced by the Dutch company DAF in the 1970s. It was an evolution of the DAF 55 it replaced and like its predecessor used a Renault Cléon engine. The front assembly was redesigned for the 66, as were the rear axle and variomatic...
and later by Volvo after they merged with the Volvo 340. The 1960s Austin Mini automatic gearbox (with a conventional epicyclic / torque converter coupling) was much less efficient.
In the 1960s the 750 cc
Renault 4The Renault 4, also known as the 4L , is a hatchback economy car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1961 and 1994. It was the first front-wheel drive family car produced by Renault....
(arguably the first small five door hatchback, but viewed as a small estate car / station wagon at the time) was launched in France. In layout it was essentially an economy car version of the 1930s designed
Citroen Traction AvantThe Citroën Traction Avant is an innovative front wheel drive automobile produced by the French manufacturer Citroën. About 760,000 units were produced from 1934 to 1957.-Impact on the world:...
Commerciale version. The Commerciale had been smaller than an estate car with a horizontally split two piece rear door before the second world war. When it was relaunched in 1954 it featured a one-piece top-hinged tailgate. Citroen responded with the 2cv based 1960 602 cc
Citroen AmiThe Citroën Ami is a supermini produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1961 to 1978. The Ami and stablemate Citroën Dyane were replaced by the Citroën Visa and Citroën Axel . The Ami was for some years the best-selling car model in France...
and hatchback 1967
Citroen DyaneThe Citroën Dyane is a supermini produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1967 to 1983. It was based on the Citroën 2CV, and 1.4 million Dyanes were produced. The Dyane spawned a panel van version called the Acadiane.-Market context:...
. Also in France, in 1966 Renault launched the midrange
Renault 16The Renault 16 is a car with an at first unusual hatchback body, produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The reviewer in the May 1965 edition of the English "Motoring Illustrated" described the car as follows: "The Renault Sixteen can thus be described as a...
- although it was not an economy car it is widely recognised as the first non commercial mass market hatchback car. The hatchback was a leap forward in practicality. It was adopted as a standard feature on most European cars, with saloons declining in popularity apart from at the top of the market over the next twenty years. Small economy cars that were more limited in load carrying ability than larger cars benefited most - long light loads like furniture could be hung out of the back of the car.
The 1960s
Toyota CorollaThe Corolla is a line of subcompact/compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million sold as of...
, Datsun Sunny refined the conventional small rear wheel drive economy cars as postwar international competition and trade increased. Japan also codified a legal standard for extremely economical small cars, known as the keicar. Japan also instituted the 'Shaken' roadworthiness testing regime, that required progressively more expensive maintenance, involving the replacement of entire vehicle systems, that was unnecessary for safety, year on year, to devalue older cars and promote new cars on their home market that were available for low prices. There are very few cars in Japan more than five years old.
In 1964
FiatFiat S.p.A., an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin in the Piedmont region. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. Fiat has also...
designed the first car with a transverse engine and an end on gearbox (put into limited production and available as a hatchback) - the
Autobianchi PrimulaThe Autobianchi Primula is a small car from the Italian automaker, Autobianchi , built between 1964 and 1970. It was Fiat's first automobile with the front-wheel drive, transverse engine setup, as well as the first Fiat group car with rack and pinion steering...
, that was developed into the
Autobianchi A112The Autobianchi A112 is a supermini produced by the Italian automaker Autobianchi. It was developed using the mechanicals which subsequently underpinned the Fiat 127. It was introduced in 1969, as a replacement for the Bianchina and Primula, and was built until 1985, when it made way for the more...
and
Autobianchi A111The Autobianchi A111 is a small family car from the Italian automaker, Autobianchi , built from 1969 to 1972. Despite rather modest dimensions, it was the largest Autobianchi ever made, as the brand specialized in small cars...
. They were only sold in mainland Europe, where they were popular for decades, but unknown in the UK. The 1967
Simca 1100The Simca 1100 is an automobile built from 1967 to 1982 by Chrysler Europe's division Simca. It was replaced by the Talbot Horizon.The 1100 was the result of "Project 928", started in 1962, finalized by engineers Philippe Grundeler and Charles Scales...
(who had previously used Fiat technology under licence), the 1969
Fiat 128The Fiat 128 is a small family car manufactured by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1969 to 1985.Although the styling was similar to the 124 and 125, the 128 was an advanced and influential design that pioneered the front-wheel-drive revolution at Fiat...
, and the 1971
Fiat 127The Fiat 127 is a supermini produced by the Italian automaker Fiat between 1971 and 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850...
regarded as the first 'super-mini' brought this development to a wider audience. This layout gradually superseded the gearbox in the engine's sump of
BMC Austin MorrisThe British Motor Corporation was a UK vehicle company, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
and later
PeugeotPeugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest European carmaker.Peugeot's roots go back to 19th-century coffee mill and bicycle manufacturing. The Peugeot company and family is originally from Sochaux, France. Peugeot retains a large manufacturing plant and...
PSA X engineThe PSA X engine is a family of internal combustion engines used in Citroën, Peugeot, Talbot and Renault automobiles. The X family was mainly used in superminis and the entry level models of midsize vehicles. It is commonly called the "Douvrin" engine....
, until the only car in production with this transmission layout by the 1990s, was the then long obsolescent Austin (Rover) Mini.
The launch in the 1960s of the Mini Cooper to exploit the exceptional grip and handling of the Austin Mini, along with its success in rallying, (Monte Carlo Rally in particular) and circuit racing, first showed that economy cars could be effective sports cars. It made traditional sports cars like the
MG MidgetThe MG Midget is a small two seat sports car produced by MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979. It re-used a famous pre-war name used on MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and so on.-MG Midget MkI :...
look very old fashioned. The rear wheel drive Ford
Lotus CortinaThe Lotus-Cortina was a high-performance car, the result of collaboration between Ford and Lotus.-Mk1:The start of the Lotus Cortina story begins around 1961, when the best of Ford and Lotus got together. Colin Chapman had been looking to build his own engines for Lotus for quite some time...
and
Ford EscortOver the years, the name 'Ford Escort' has been used for several models.For more information, see:* Ford Escort Estate Car* Ford Escort * Ford Escort...
1300GT and RS1600, along with the
Vauxhall VivaThe Viva was produced by Vauxhall Motors in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were known as the HA, the HB and the HC series....
GT and Brabham SL/90 HB in the late 1960s opened up this market still further in Britain. Meanwhile, from the 1950s
AbarthAbarth is an Italian racing car maker founded by Italian-Austrian Karl Abarth in Turin in 1949.- History :In the 1960s, Abarth & C. S.r.l was quite successful in hillclimbing and sports car racing, mainly in classes from 850cc up to 2000cc, competing with Porsche 904 and Ferrari Dino...
tuned Fiats and
GordiniGordini was a French sports car manufacturer. The firm was founded by Amédée Gordini nicknamed "Le Sorcier" .At the beginning Gordini had close ties with Simca whose founder Henri Pigozzi shared Italian origins with Amédée Gordini....
tuned Renaults did the same in Italy and France.
The 1960s also saw the swansong of the rear engined rear wheel drive car: with the introduction of the 874 cc
Hillman ImpThe Hillman Imp is a compact, rear-engined saloon car that was manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group from 1963 to 1976...
- UK, the relatively unsuccessful attempt at diversification of the
Volkswagen Type 3The Volkswagen Type 3, also referred to as the Volkswagen 1500 and later the Volkswagen 1600, was a range of small cars from German manufacturer Volkswagen...
,
Volkswagen Type 4The Volkswagen Type 4 was a mid-sized 2 or 4-door saloon or 2-door estate built by Volkswagen of Germany. It was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in October 1968 and withdrawn from sale in 1974....
, and there was also the 583 cc
NSU PrinzThe NSU Prinz is an automobile produced in West Germany by the NSU Motorenwerke AG. The car was built from 1957 to 1973, and received a model change in 1961 .- History :...
- West Germany, the 956–1289cc
Renault 8The Renault 8 and Renault 10 are two small family cars produced by the French vehicle manufactuer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s. The 8 was launched in 1962, and the 10, a more upmarket version of the 8, was launched in 1965. Both ceased production and sales in France in 1971...
/10 and 777–1294cc
Simca 1000The Simca 1000 was a small, rear-engined, four-door saloon manufactured by the French automaker Simca from 1961 to 1978. The car was inexpensive, and at the time of launch, quite modern, with a brand-new inline-4 engine. The RR layout was at that time quite popular in small cars. In addition to...
- France, the 2296 cc
Chevrolet CorvairThe Chevrolet Corvair was an automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors from 1959 to 1969, for the 1960–1969 model years. The Corvair was offered in a wide range of body styles, including four-door sedans, two-door coupes, convertibles, and station wagons...
- USA. In Communist Eastern Europe there was the
RenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks. Due to its alliance with Nissan, it is currently the world's fourth largest automaker. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Renault owns the Romanian automaker Automobile Dacia and the Korean automaker Renault...
based Škoda 1000MB/1100MB that was developed into the 70s
Škoda S100/110The Škoda 100/110 were two variations of a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive car that was produced by Czech manufacturer Škoda Auto in Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia between 1969 and 1976. Engine sizes were 1.0 litre and 1.1 litre respectively...
and then the 70s/80s Škoda 105/120/125 Estelle - Czechoslovakia, and the poor Ukrainian made
ZaporozhetsThe Zaporozhets was a series of subcompact cars designed and built from 1958 at the ZAZ factory in Soviet Ukraine . Different types of Zaporozhets were produced until 1994....
- USSR. This layout had better interior space utilisation than front engine rear wheel drive cars, and a better ride than those with a live rear beam axle. It was an affordable way to produce a car with all
independent suspensionIndependent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked - movement on one side affects...
, without the need for expensive
constant-velocity jointConstant-velocity joints allow a rotating shaft to transmit power through a variable angle, at constant rotational speed, without an appreciable increase in friction or play. They are mainly used in front wheel drive and all wheel drive cars...
s needed by front wheel drive cars, or axle arrangements of FR layout cars. But, they could have roadholding issues due to unfavorable weight distribution and wheel
camberCamber may refer to a variety of curvatures and angles:* Camber angle in automobile technology* Camber thrust in bike technology* In the steel industry, the concavity of rolls...
changes (rear wheel tuck under), of the lower-cost
swing axleA swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension first used in early aircraft , such as the Sopwith and Fokker, usually with rubber bungee and no damping....
rear suspension design. These were highlighted and a little exaggerated by
Ralph NaderRalph Nader is an American attorney, author, lecturer, political activist, and former candidate for President of the United States. He ran as an independent candidate in 2004 and 2008, and a Green Party candidate in 1996 and 2000. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection,...
. These problems were ameliorated on later Beetles and were eliminated on the second-generation Chevrolet Corvair with the switch to a four-link, fully independent rear suspension.
In the US market, 1960 brought the
Chevrolet CorvairThe Chevrolet Corvair was an automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors from 1959 to 1969, for the 1960–1969 model years. The Corvair was offered in a wide range of body styles, including four-door sedans, two-door coupes, convertibles, and station wagons...
, Ford Falcon, and
Plymouth ValiantThe Plymouth Valiant is an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the United States from 1960 to 1976. It was created to give the company an entry in the compact car market which was emerging in the late 1950s, and was eventually built and marketed worldwide...
into the market segment dominated by
RamblerRambler may refer to:*Rambler and Nash Rambler, American automobile brands made by Thomas B. Jeffery Company , Nash Motors and AMC * Rambler , a turn-of-the-century American bicycle...
. These vehicles were lower priced and offered better fuel economy than American full-size offerings. The Corvair, Chevrolet's rear-engined
compact carA compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
was originally brought to market to compete directly with the VW Beetle. Ford Falcon and Plymouth Valiant were conventional, compact six-cylinder sedans that competed directly with the American Rambler. In 1962 Chevrolet introduced the Chevy II line of conventional compacts first offered with 4 and 6-cylinder engines. These American vehicles were still much larger than fuel efficient economy cars popular in Europe and Japan. The Corvair is twenty inches longer, seven inches wider, eight hundred pounds heavier and includes an engine almost twice the size of the Beetle that inspired it. Corvair offered VW's rear engine advantages of traction, light steering, and flat floor with Chevrolet's 6-passenger room and 6-cylinder power American buyers were accustomed to. Later versions of the Corvair were considered sports cars rather than 'economy' cars including Monza Spyder models, which featured one of the first production car turbocharged engines. The Corvair Monza inspired the
Ford MustangThe Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Production began in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964 and the car was introduced to the public on April 17, 1964 at the New York...
, introduced in 1964, establishing the "pony car" class which included Corvair's replacement, the
Chevrolet CamaroThe Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by the Chevrolet division of General Motors, classified as a pony car. The "F" Body owes its creation to John Delorean who wanted to build a "sport car" called "Banshee" it was much like the Chevy "vette" but for Pontiac Motor Division, after a...
in 1967, continuing the American muscle car boom started in mid-1960s.
1970s–1990s
The
1973 oil crisisThe 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo" in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war; it lasted until March 1974...
renewed emphasis on economy of vehicle operation, especially in the United States with its greater distances, arguably the nation hardest hit because of the prevalence of large, fuel-thirsty cars. At the same time, new emissions and safety regulations were being implemented requiring major and costly changes to domestic vehicle design and construction. The sales of imported economy cars continued to rise throughout the sixties, seventies, and eighties. The first response by domestic
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
car makers included the FR layout cars, the
AMCAMC may refer to:* AMC , a short-lived British steam car manufactured in London in 1910* AMC , an American cable television channel* AMC 3 and...
Gremlin,
ChevroletChevrolet is a brand of automobile produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant in 1911, Chevrolet was acquired by General Motors in 1917...
Vega, Ford Pinto and Chevrolet Chevette.
AMC was determined to have the first subcompact offering. The 1970
AMC GremlinThe AMC Gremlin is a subcompact car that was made by the American Motors Corporation for nine model years. Compared to its competition, The Gremlin reduced development and manufacturing costs by adapting the distinctive abbreviated tail to the compact Hornet, producing what was described at its...
was the first domestic-built subcompact car. Sales began six months ahead of the all-new models from
GM- Business and industry :*General manager of an organization, including sporting teams*General Motors, an automobile manufacturing company** General Motors Electro-Motive Division, former division...
and Ford. The Gremlin used the
AMC Hornet'sThe AMC Hornet was a compact automobile made by the American Motors Corporation beginning with the 1970 model year and continuing through the 1977 model year. The Hornet replaced the compact Rambler American marking the end of the Rambler marque in the American and Canadian markets.The new Hornet...
existing design with a shortened
wheelbaseIn both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel, and the center of the rear wheel...
and "chopped" tail, and had an important low-price advantage.
The
Chevrolet VegaThe Chevrolet Vega is a subcompact, four passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1971–1977 model years....
, introduced in September 1970, was GM's first subcompact, economy car. Nearly two million were sold over its seven-years of production. due in part to its low price and fuel economy. By 1974, the Vega was among the top 10 best selling American-made cars. but Vega's aluminum-block engine was developing a questionable reputation. Chevrolet increased the engine warranty to to all Vega owners.
The Astre, Pontiac's version of the Vega, was exclusively available in Canada for 1973 and introduced for the US in September 1974. The 1976 Vega had extensive engine and body durability improvements and a five-year/ engine warranty. After a three year sales decline, the Vega and its aluminum engine were discontinued for 1978 and lower priced hatchback and notchback versions of the
Chevrolet MonzaThe Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact, four-passenger automobile that was introduced September 1974, and produced for the 1975 through 1980 model years...
were introduced, replacing Vega. The Monza S hatchback, a price leader model using the Vega hatchback body, was also offered in 1978. The Monza wagon replaced the Vega wagon, was offered in 1978-79 and retained Vega's wagon body.
The
Ford PintoThe Ford Pinto was Ford Motor Company's first domestic North American subcompact automobile marketed beginning on September 11, 1970. It competed with the AMC Gremlin and Chevrolet Vega, along with imports from makes such as Volkwagen, Datsun and Toyota. The Pinto was popular in sales, with 100,000...
was introduced one day after the Vega. It was small, economical, and a good seller. However, it also had design and safety issues. The Pinto made
Time magazine's 'The 50 worst cars of all time list'.
They shoot horses, don't they? Well, this is fish in a barrel. Of course the Pinto goes on the Worst list, but not because it was a particularly bad car — not particularly — but because it had a rather volatile nature. The car tended to erupt in flame in rear-end collisions. The Pinto is at the end of one of autodom's most notorious paper trails, the Ford Pinto memo, which ruthlessly calculates the cost of reinforcing the rear end ($121 million) versus the potential payout to victims ($50 million).
Conclusion? Let 'em burn.
The
Chevrolet ChevetteThe Chevrolet Chevette was introduced in September, 1975 and produced for the 1976 through 1987 model years. It is Chevrolet's version of GM's worldwide T platform which was also sold as the Vauxhall Chevette, Opel Kadett, Isuzu Gemini and the Holden Gemini, among others.-History:The T-car was...
was introduced in September 1975 and produced through 1987. It was a successful and 'Americanized' design from experienced, (but technologically conservative)
OpelAdam Opel GmbH, commonly known as Opel, is a German automaker. The company was founded on 21 January 1863, began making automobiles in 1899, and was acquired by General Motors in 1929...
, GM's German subsidiary. The Auto Editors of
Consumer Guide said, "In its dozen years on the market, Chevette had earned a reputation for being a simple, straightforward car offering high fuel economy and steadfast reliability. It left in its wake a sea of happy owners, and many no doubt mourned its passing." Ford followed suite with the
Ford EscortOver the years, the name 'Ford Escort' has been used for several models.For more information, see:* Ford Escort Estate Car* Ford Escort * Ford Escort...
.
Chevrolet offered three new small economy cars in the 1980s to replace the Chevette. The Chevrolet Sprint, a three-cylinder Suzuki-built hatchback, The Chevrolet Spectrum built by
Isuzu, is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures...
and the Chevrolet Nova built by
NUMMINew United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. is an automobile manufacturing plant in Fremont, California. The factory was originally a General Motors plant opened in 1962 and shut down in 1982....
in California, a GM-Toyota joint venture. Chevrolet offered the
GeoGEO or Geo may refer to any of the following:In computational & scientific use:* GEO , a popular scientific magazine* GEO 600, a detector for gravitational radiation...
brand in the 1990s featuring the Suzuki-built Metro, the Isuzu-built
StormThe Geo Storm was a sport compact car manufactured by Isuzu and sold in the United States by General Motors from 1990 through 1993 as part of GM's Geo line of inexpensive automobiles. The same vehicles, with minor variations, were sold in Canada in the 1992 & 1993 model years only. The Storm was...
, and the NUMMI-built
Prizm.The Geo/Chevrolet Prizm was a United States-market entry-level compact car from model years 1989 through 2002. Like the 1985–1988 Chevrolet Nova it replaced, the Prizm was a rebadged version of the Toyota Sprinter, an upmarket version of the Toyota Corolla sold in Japan...
Captive imports was the other response by U.S. car makers to the increase in popularity of imported economy cars in the 1970s and 80s. These were cars bought from overseas subsidiaries or from companies in which they held a significant shareholding. GM, Ford, and Chrysler sold imports for the U.S. market. The
Buick OpelThe Opel Manta was a rear-wheel-drive sports coupé motor vehicle built by Opel, a subsidiary of General Motors, from 1970 to 1988.-1970–75: Opel Manta A:...
,
Ford CortinaThe Ford Cortina is a mid-sized family car built by Ford of Britain in various guises from 1962 to 1982.The Cortina was Ford's mass-market mid-sized car and sold in enormous numbers, making it common on British roads and was Britain's best-selling car of the 1970s. It was replaced in 1982 by the...
,
Mercury CapriThe name Mercury Capri has been used for different cars over the years. All were sold by the Ford Motor Company's Lincoln-Mercury division in North America...
,
Ford FestivaThe Ford Festiva was a subcompact car sold by the Ford Motor Company in North America, Asia and Australasia, introduced in 1986 in Japan. The car was manufactured by South Korean automaker Kia, which at the time was part-owned by Ford, and was based on the Kia Pride. Its name means "festive".It was...
, and
Dodge ColtThe Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, were subcompact cars sold by Dodge and Plymouth from 1970 to 1994...
are examples.
Technologies that developed during the post-war era, such as disc brakes, overhead cam engines and
radial tireA radial tire is a particular design of automotive tire . The first radial tire designs were patented in 1915 by Arthur W...
s, had become cheap enough to be used in economy cars at this time, (radials began to be adopted in the 1950s and 60s in Europe). This led to iconic cars such as the 1974 Mk 1
Volkswagen GolfThe Volkswagen Golf is a hatchback / small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates -- prominently as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen...
designed by
Giorgetto GiugiaroGiorgetto Giugiaro is an Italian automobile designer responsible equally for a stable of supercars and several of the most popular everyday vehicles driven today...
,
Fiat 128The Fiat 128 is a small family car manufactured by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1969 to 1985.Although the styling was similar to the 124 and 125, the 128 was an advanced and influential design that pioneered the front-wheel-drive revolution at Fiat...
and 1972
Honda CivicThe Honda Civic is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously-running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only the Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1968, has been in production longer...
. The Civic's
CVCCCVCC is a trademark by the Honda Motor Company for a device to reduce automotive emissions called Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion. This technology allowed Honda's cars to meet United States emission standards in the 1970s without a catalytic converter...
(Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion)
Stratified charge engineThe stratified charge engine is a type of internal-combustion engine, similar in some ways to the Diesel cycle, but running on normal gasoline. The name refers to the layering of fuel/air mixture, the charge inside the cylinder....
engine debuted in 1975 and was offered alongside the standard Civic engine. The CVCC engine had a head design that promoted cleaner, more efficient combustion, eliminating a need for a catalytic converter to meet emissions standards - nearly every other U.S. market car for this year needed exhausts with
catalytic converterA catalytic converter is a device used to reduce the toxicity of emissions from an internal combustion engine. First widely introduced on series-production automobiles in the U.S. market for the 1975 model year to comply with tightening EPA regulations on auto exhaust, catalytic converters are...
s. The Japanese, who had previously competed on price, equipment and reliability with conservative designs, were starting to make advanced, globally competitive cars.
Some previously-exotic technology
electronicElectronics is a branch of science and technology that deals with the controlled flow of electrons. The ability to control electron flow is usually applied to information handling or device control. Electronics is distinct from electrical science and technology, which deals with the generation,...
fuel injectionFuel injection is a system for mixing fuel with air in an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in gasoline automotive engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
became affordable, which allowed the production of high-performance
hot hatchHot hatch was originally an informal automotive industry term, shortened from hot hatchback, initially coined by the European motoring press, for a high-performance derivative of a car body style consisting of a three- or five-door hatchback automobile...
sport compactA sport compact is a high-performance version of a compact car or a subcompact car. They are typically are front engined, front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive coupés, sedans, or hatchbacks driven by a straight-4 gasoline engine....
s like the 1976
Volkswagen GolfThe Volkswagen Golf is a hatchback / small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates -- prominently as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen...
GTI. This car combined economy of use and a practical hatchback body, with the performance and driving fun of a traditional sports car several times its price.
Also introduced in 1976 was the 1.5L VW Golf diesel - the first small diesel hatchback. It used new
BoschRobert Bosch GmbH is a German diversified technology-based corporation which was started in 1886 by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart, Germany.Robert Bosch GmbH is the world's largest supplier of automobile components and has business relationships with virtually every automobile company in the world. The...
rotary mechanical diesel injection pump technology. Also in 1976, Ford of Europe launched their first front wheel drive car, the
Ford FiestaThe Ford Fiesta is a small front wheel drive supermini car designed by the Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India and South Africa...
.
In 1980 Fiat introduced the Guigaro designed Mk 1
Fiat PandaThe Fiat Panda is a city car from the Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat. The first Fiat Panda was made from 1980 to 2003 with only few changes, and is now sometimes referred to as the "old Panda"...
. It was originally designed to be produced in China at its 1970s level of industrialisation. It was a utilitarian front wheel drive supermini with Fiat standard transverse engine and end-on gearbox. It featured mostly flat body panels and flat glass.
In 1982 GM launched their first front wheel drive economy car, the
Opel CorsaThe Opel Corsa is a supermini that has been produced by General Motors' European subsidiary Opel since 1982 and has also been sold under a variety of other brands , and also spawned various derivatives in different markets, all of which are listed in appropriate sections below...
/Vauxhall Nova in Europe. Their first european market front wheel drive car, the midrange mark two
Vauxhall CavalierThe Vauxhall Cavalier was a large family car sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall Motors, the British subsidiary of General Motors , from 1975 to 1995....
GM
J platformThe J platform, or J-body, was General Motors' inexpensive front-wheel drive automobile platform from the 1980s and 1990s. The platform replaced the GM H platform. The first J-body cars were the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac J2000, which entered production on March 23, 1981 as 1982 models. The...
'world car', having been introduced the previous year.
In 1983 Fiat launched the next step forward in small car design, the
Fiat UnoThe Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-Uno Mark I :...
. It was designed by
Giorgetto GiugiaroGiorgetto Giugiaro is an Italian automobile designer responsible equally for a stable of supercars and several of the most popular everyday vehicles driven today...
's ItalDesign. The tall, square body utilising a Kamm tail achieved a low drag coefficient of 0.34, and it won much praise for an airy interior space and
fuel economyFuel usage in automobiles refers to the relationship between distance traveled by an automobile and the amount of fuel consumed. There are no quantities or units for fuel usage defined in the International Standard ISO 31 Quantities and Units, so the nationally-defined reciprocal quantities fuel...
. It incorporated many packaging lessons learnt from Giugiaro's 1978
Lancia MegagammaThe Lancia Megagamma minivan is a concept car designed by Italdesign in 1978 and introduced the same year at the Turin Motor Show. It can be seen as the forerunner of modern MPVs...
concept car, (the first modern people carrier-MPV-mini-van)—but miniaturised. Its tall car – high seating packaging is imitated by every small car today. It showed that not just low sleek cars could be aerodynamic, but small boxy well packaged cars could be too. It was voted
Car of the YearCar of the Year is a phrase usually considered to have been invented by Motor Trend magazine in the 1950s for their annual award for best automobile...
in 1984.
Also in 1983 Peugeot launched the Pininfarina styled
Peugeot 205The Peugeot 205 is a supermini produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1983 and 1997. It was declared 'Car of the Decade' by CAR magazine in 1990.-History:The chic Pininfarina styled 205 is widely regarded as a modern classic...
. While not as radical as the Uno in body design, it was also very aerodynamic. It was the first European supermini with a diesel engine - the XUD. It provided performance of a 1.4 L petrol with economy-- that was better than the base 1 L petrol version. It could like most diesel engines, last for several hundred thousand miles with regular servicing. It was, along with the larger (also XUD powered)
Citroen BXThe Citroën BX is a large family car that was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1982 and 1994. In total, 2,315,739 BXs were built during its 12-year history. The hatchback was discontinued in 1993 with the arrival of the Xantia, but the estate continued for another...
, the beginning of the start of the boom in diesel sales in Europe.
In 1993 Fiat launched the
Fiat CinquecentoThe Fiat Cinquecento was a city car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Ital Design, launched by Fiat in late 1991 to replace the Fiat 126. It was the first Fiat model to be solely manufactured in the FSM plant in Tychy, Poland, which had been sold to Fiat by the Polish state, and where production...
. It replaced the first Fiat Panda and the aged 1970s Fiat 126 which was developed from the 1950s Fiat 500. But the real breakthrough in smallcar-design was the 1993
Renault TwingoThe Renault Twingo is a city car built by French automaker Renault, first presented at the Paris Motor Show in September 1992 and sold in continental European markets beginning in 1993...
which was a revolution in packaging. The Twingo had the interior-space of a much higher class car. It relaunched the city car market in Europe, for decades the only competitors in this market were the Austin Mini and the Fiat 126.
Economy cars today
Today economy cars have specialised into market niches. The small city car, the inexpensive-to-run but not necessarily very small general economy car, and the performance derivatives that capitalise on light weight of the cars on which they are based. Some models that started as economy cars have increased in size and moved upmarket over several generations, and their makers have added smaller new models.
The City car market in Europe in recent years has seen increased competition with the launch of the
Citroen C1The Citroën C1 is a city car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën since 2005.The C1 was developed as part of the B-Zero project by the PSA Group in a joint-venture with Toyota. The Peugeot 107 is identical to the C1 other than the front bumper and front and rear lights, while the Toyota...
/
Peugeot 107The Peugeot 107 is a city car produced by the French automaker Peugeot since summer 2005.The 107 was developed by the B-Zero project of Peugeot and Citroën in a joint-venture with Toyota; the Citroën C1 and Toyota Aygo are badge engineered versions of the same car, although the Aygo has more detail...
/
Toyota AygoThe Toyota Aygo is a city car sold since 2005. All Aygos are built at the new factory of the TPCA joint-venture in the city of Kolin, Czech Republic. The Aygo was first displayed at the 2005 Salon de l'Automobile de Genève. The name "Aygo" comes from "i-go", symbolising freedom and mobility...
(built in the same factory), the
Mercedes-Benz A-ClassThe Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a luxury small car produced by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz. The first generation was introduced in 1997, and the all-new second generation model appeared in late 2004. It is available as a three or five-door hatchback...
, aluminium
Audi A2The Audi A2 is a premium compact MPV styled five-door five-seat hatchback designed supermini, produced by the German automaker Audi AG from June 2000 to 2005...
,
Fiat PandaThe Fiat Panda is a city car from the Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat. The first Fiat Panda was made from 1980 to 2003 with only few changes, and is now sometimes referred to as the "old Panda"...
, Kia Picanto, Chevrolet Matiz,
Volkswagen FoxThe Volkswagen Fox is a city car produced and designed by Volkswagen do Brasil and sold in Latin America since 2004 and Europe since 2005. Currently the Fox is produced as a three-door and five-door hatchback...
,
Smart ForfourThe Smart Forfour was a supermini that was produced by Smart between April 2004 and June 2006. Unlike the other models of the marque, the Forfour was a more conventional five-door hatchback with a relatively roomy interior, available as a four- / five-seater....
and
Mitsubishi ColtThe current Mitsubishi Colt is a supermini built by Mitsubishi Motors. They are manufactured in Japan at Okazaki and in Europe at their NedCar plant in the Netherlands, using the same underpinnings as its sister car, the now discontinued Smart Forfour...
,
Ford KaThe Ford Ka is a city car from the Ford Motor Company marketed in Europe and elsewhere.The name is officially pronounced as Ka as can be heard in Ford's advertising. The current European version is produced in Tychy, Poland, while the one sold in Latin America is built in Brazil and Argentina...
and
Fiat Nuova 500The Fiat 500 is a city car built by Italian automaker Fiat since 2007. The car is currently produced in Tychy, Poland by Fiat Auto Poland alongside the Nuova Panda and second-generation Ford Ka, released in 2008, all using the same platform...
.
The
Toyota iQThe Toyota iQ is a city car introduced at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, with Japanese sales beginning in October 2008 and UK sales in January 2009. The production iQ followed a concept vehicle presented at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show....
, designed in France, went on sale in January 2009 in the UK. It follows the Issigonis philosophy of packaging, with innovations including a flat under floor fuel tank and specially-located steering rack and final drive unit to maximise floor space for passengers. It seats four adults in a car long, wide, and tall, and achieves with a 99g/km CO2 rating. It also achieved the top Euro NCAP 5/5 stars safety rating.
Another development in recent years in Europe, has been the launch of small
superminiA superminicomputer, or supermini, is, by definition, “a minicomputer with high performance compared to ordinary minicomputers.” The term was an invention used from the mid-1970s...
based people carriers like the
Renault ModusThe Renault Modus is a mini MPV designed and built by the French automaker Renault in Valladolid, Spain since September 2004. The production version is very similar to the concept car of the same name, which was presented at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show...
,
Citroen C3The Citroën C3 is a supermini car with a range of inline-4 engines that has been produced by the French automaker Citroën since 2002. It was designed by Donato Coco and Jean-Pierre Ploué, previously known for designing the Renault Twingo; the former has been the head of the Citroën design team...
Picasso,
Fiat IdeaThe Fiat Idea is a mini MPV built by the Italian manufacturer Fiat since 2003. The car is based on the Project 188 platform, originally used for the second-generation Fiat Punto. The Idea is noted for its versatile interior, which includes sliding and folding rear seats.- Engines :The Fiat Idea...
,
Nissan NoteThe Nissan Note is a mini MPV produced by the Japanese manufacturer Nissan. The Japanese version has been on sale since 2004, and the European adaptation has gone on sale during 2006, with the United Kingdom first to launch, on 1 March...
and Vauxhall/
Opel MerivaThe Opel Meriva is a mini MPV based on the platform of the third generation Opel Corsa and sold under that name on all of the European markets with the exception of the UK, where it is called the Vauxhall Meriva. It is also sold in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina under the Chevrolet marque...
, which is also produced in Brazil. By dint of their tall packaging, they offer the interior space of a larger car with lower running costs and carbon emissions. The high seating gives better visibility for the driver, which is useful in urban driving.
The conflicting design goals for economy cars—small ize with maximum usable space; low cost and light weight with acceptable safety performance, ride quality, and durability—continue to be the driving force behind development. Technology improvements such as electronic engine management, hybrid power, and smoother, more powerful
diesel engineA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber during the final stage of compression...
s first seen in the VW Golf and
Peugeot 205The Peugeot 205 is a supermini produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1983 and 1997. It was declared 'Car of the Decade' by CAR magazine in 1990.-History:The chic Pininfarina styled 205 is widely regarded as a modern classic...
have improved fuel economy and performance. The latest technology to improve efficiency is automatic engine stop-start, which stops the engine when the car is stopped to reduce idling emissions and boost economy. It is an updated version of the 1980s VW 'Formel E' idea. Safety design is a particular challenge in a small, lightweight car. This is an area where
RenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks. Due to its alliance with Nissan, it is currently the world's fourth largest automaker. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Renault owns the Romanian automaker Automobile Dacia and the Korean automaker Renault...
has been particularly successful.
Sport compactA sport compact is a high-performance version of a compact car or a subcompact car. They are typically are front engined, front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive coupés, sedans, or hatchbacks driven by a straight-4 gasoline engine....
s and
Hot hatchHot hatch was originally an informal automotive industry term, shortened from hot hatchback, initially coined by the European motoring press, for a high-performance derivative of a car body style consisting of a three- or five-door hatchback automobile...
es have developed into a highly competitive genre, although outright economy has been substantially compromised, they are still the most economical cars for their performance - because of the lightness of the cars that they are based upon.
As an alternative to manual synchromesh gearboxes, automatic
CVTA continuously variable transmission is a transmission which can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that only allow a few different distinct gear ratios to be selected...
gearboxes can be had on some economy cars, such as
AudiAUDI AG, is a German company which produces luxury cars under the Audi brand, . It is part of the Volkswagen Group. The name Audi is based on a Latin translation of the surname of the founder August Horch, itself the German word for “listen!"Audi is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.It...
,
Hondais a Japanese multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. Honda is the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume. Honda surpassed Nissan in 2001 to become...
and the MINI ONE and MINI Cooper.
Tata MotorsTata Motors Limited , is a multinational corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO...
from
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
, recently announced that it too would use a variomatic transmission in its $2500
NanoThe Tata Nano is a rear-engined, four-passenger city car built by Tata Motors, aimed primarily at the Indian market. The car is very fuel efficient, achieving around on the highway and around in the city...
.. CVT application to economy cars was pioneered by Fiat, Ford and Van Doorne in the 1980s. Rather than the pulled rubber drive belts as used in the past by DAF, the modern transmission is made much more durable by the use of electronic control and steel link belts pushed by their pulleys.
A crucial difference between the North American car market and the markets of Europe and Japan is the price of fuel. Fuel is heavily taxed and therefore relatively costly in most first-world markets outside North America; fuel is about two and a half times the price in the UK than the US. Fuel costs are also a much higher proportion of income, due to generally higher wages and lower living costs in the US. Only during occasional fuel price spikes such as those of 1973, 1979-81, and 2008-9 have North American drivers been motivated to seek levels of fuel economy considered ordinary outside North America.
The growth of
developing countriesDeveloping country is a term generally used to describe a nation with a low level of material well being. There is no single internationally-recognized definition of developed country, and the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries, with some developing...
has also created a new market for inexpensive new cars. Adaptation of standard or obsolete models from the first world has been the norm. Production of car models superseded in first-world markets is often moved to cost-sensitive markets like
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
and
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
; the
Citi GolfThe Volkswagen Citi Golf is a car produced by Volkswagen in South Africa. Formerly known as both the CitiGolf, Citigolf , or Chico, it is a facelifted version of the original Volkswagen Golf Mk1 hatchback, which ceased production in Germany in 1983...
is an example.
Some mainstream European auto makers have developed models specifically for developing countries, such as the
Fiat PalioThe Fiat Palio is a supermini designed by Fiat as a world car, aimed at developing countries. It is produced in Brazil, Argentina, India, Turkey, South Africa and China. It is also built under licence in North Korea as the Pyonghwa Hwiparam. Russian ZMA started assembly of Turkish CKD kits in...
,
Volkswagen GolThe Volkswagen Gol is a low cost subcompact car designed in Brazil and sold by German automaker Volkswagen since 1980. It is Volkswagen's entry-level car in the South American market, beneath the other superminis, the Fox and Polo. It has uninterruptedly been the best-selling car in Brazil since...
and
Dacia LoganThe Dacia Logan is a car produced jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its subsidiary Dacia of Romania. It is manufactured at Dacia's automobile plant in Mioveni, Romania, in Colombia, Brazil, Russia, Morroco, Iran, India and South Africa...
.
RenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks. Due to its alliance with Nissan, it is currently the world's fourth largest automaker. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Renault owns the Romanian automaker Automobile Dacia and the Korean automaker Renault...
has teamed up with India's Mahindra and Mahindra to produce a low-cost car in the range of US$2,500 to $3,000.
The
Tata NanoThe Tata Nano is a rear-engined, four-passenger city car built by Tata Motors, aimed primarily at the Indian market. The car is very fuel efficient, achieving around on the highway and around in the city...
launched in January 2008, in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
by
Tata MotorsTata Motors Limited , is a multinational corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO...
, may mark the beginning of the return of so-called "people's cars" because of its low announced price - claimed by Tata as the world's cheapest car at
US$The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
2,500. The Nano, like the 1950s
Fiat 500The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
, has a rear engine and was styled by Italians. It is designed to get whole families off scooters and onto four wheels. Tata has also announced plans to export their
Tata IndicaThe Tata Indica is a hatchback automobile range manufactured by Tata Motors of India. The models are also exported to Europe, Africa and other countries from late 2004. It is the first passenger car vehicle from Tata Motors. The Tata Indica is also considered India's first indigenously developed...
that was formerly sold in Europe as the City Rover.
The narrow profit margins of economy cars can cause financial instability for their manufacturers. Historically, Volkswagen in the 1970s and Ford in the 1920s almost collapsed because of their one model economy car policies. Ford was saved by the Model A and Volkswagen was saved by the Golf. Ford started the
MercuryMercury is an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company founded in 1939 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to market entry-level-luxury cars slotted between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles, similar to General Motors' Buick brand and Chrysler's namesake brand....
and
LincolnLincoln is the luxury brand of Ford Motor Company. Founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland and acquired by Ford in 1922, Lincoln has manufactured vehicles since the 1920s. Leland named the brand after his longtime hero Abraham Lincoln.-History:...
brands to diversify its product range. VW moved away from the narrow profit margins of economy cars, by expanding its range so that now it spans from very small city cars like the
Volkswagen FoxThe Volkswagen Fox is a city car produced and designed by Volkswagen do Brasil and sold in Latin America since 2004 and Europe since 2005. Currently the Fox is produced as a three-door and five-door hatchback...
to
AudiAUDI AG, is a German company which produces luxury cars under the Audi brand, . It is part of the Volkswagen Group. The name Audi is based on a Latin translation of the surname of the founder August Horch, itself the German word for “listen!"Audi is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.It...
s and
BentleyBentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley . Mr. Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later versions of the Sopwith Camel...
s, and it also owns
SEATSEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded in 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , with initial Fiat assistance, and now a wholly owned subsidiary of the German Volkswagen Group. Its headquarters are at Martorell near Barcelona, Spain...
and
SkodaŠkoda Auto , also known as Skoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic, Škoda became a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 1991, which also contains the car brands Volkswagen, Audi AG, Bentley Motors Ltd., Automobiles Bugatti SA, Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A., SEAT,...
.
ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
has become one of the fastest-growing car markets, followed by
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
with a preference towards inexpensive, basic cars, but they are moving upmarket in their tastes as their economic rise continues. The
Suzuki AltoThe Suzuki Alto is a very small car designed by Suzuki. Its selling points include low price and good fuel economy. The model was introduced in 1979 and has been built in many countries worldwide.-1st Generation :...
and
Hyundai i10The Hyundai i10 is a city car produced by the Hyundai Motor Company, launched on 31 October 2007, manufactured only in India, at Hyundai's Chennai Plant — and sold globally...
are already being exported to Europe from
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
.
List of economy cars
- Audi A2
The Audi A2 is a premium compact MPV styled five-door five-seat hatchback designed supermini, produced by the German automaker Audi AG from June 2000 to 2005...
- AMC Gremlin
The AMC Gremlin is a subcompact car that was made by the American Motors Corporation for nine model years. Compared to its competition, The Gremlin reduced development and manufacturing costs by adapting the distinctive abbreviated tail to the compact Hornet, producing what was described at its...
- Austin 1100
- Austin 7
The Austin 7 was a vintage car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", It was one of the most popular cars ever produced there and wiped out most other British small cars and cyclecars of the early 1920s, its effect on the...
- Austin A30
The A30 was a compact car produced by Austin Motor Company in the 1950s. Introduced in 1951 as the "New Austin Seven", it was Austin's answer to the Morris Minor...
- Austin Metro
- Austin Mini
- Autobianchi A111
The Autobianchi A111 is a small family car from the Italian automaker, Autobianchi , built from 1969 to 1972. Despite rather modest dimensions, it was the largest Autobianchi ever made, as the brand specialized in small cars...
- Autobianchi A112
The Autobianchi A112 is a supermini produced by the Italian automaker Autobianchi. It was developed using the mechanicals which subsequently underpinned the Fiat 127. It was introduced in 1969, as a replacement for the Bianchina and Primula, and was built until 1985, when it made way for the more...
- Autobianchi Primula
The Autobianchi Primula is a small car from the Italian automaker, Autobianchi , built between 1964 and 1970. It was Fiat's first automobile with the front-wheel drive, transverse engine setup, as well as the first Fiat group car with rack and pinion steering...
-
- Autobianchi Y10 (Lancia Y10
The Autobianchi Y10 is a city car manufactured by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1985 to 1996 and marketed under the Autobianchi brand in Italy and under the Lancia brand in most export markets . The car was manufactured at the Autobianchi plant in Desio, Milan until 1992 and after that in Arese,...
- Chevrolet Aveo
- Chevrolet Cavalier
The Chevrolet Cavalier, also known as the Savvy Cavy, was a compact automobile produced from 1982 to 2005 by General Motors. Built on the company's J platform, the Cavalier was one of the best-selling cars in the United States throughout its life....
- Chevrolet Chevette
The Chevrolet Chevette was introduced in September, 1975 and produced for the 1976 through 1987 model years. It is Chevrolet's version of GM's worldwide T platform which was also sold as the Vauxhall Chevette, Opel Kadett, Isuzu Gemini and the Holden Gemini, among others.-History:The T-car was...
- Chevrolet Chevy II
- Chevrolet Corvair
The Chevrolet Corvair was an automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors from 1959 to 1969, for the 1960–1969 model years. The Corvair was offered in a wide range of body styles, including four-door sedans, two-door coupes, convertibles, and station wagons...
- Chevrolet Kalos (Daewoo)
- Chevrolet Matiz (Daewoo)
- Chevrolet Metro
- Chevrolet Monza
The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact, four-passenger automobile that was introduced September 1974, and produced for the 1975 through 1980 model years...
- Chevrolet (NUMMI) Nova
The Chevrolet Nova is an automobile produced in the United States from 1962 to 1979 by the Chevrolet division of General Motors and from 1985 to 1988 by the NUMMI, a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota...
- Chevrolet Prizm
- Chevrolet Spectrum
- Chevrolet Sprint
- Chevrolet Vega
The Chevrolet Vega is a subcompact, four passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1971–1977 model years....
- Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1949 to 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with extremely utilitarian and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer quality of its underlying engineering...
- Citroen Ami
The Citroën Ami is a supermini produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1961 to 1978. The Ami and stablemate Citroën Dyane were replaced by the Citroën Visa and Citroën Axel . The Ami was for some years the best-selling car model in France...
- Citroën AX
The Citroën AX is a supermini built by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1986 to 1998.The AX was launched at the 1986 Paris Motor Show to replace the Citroën Visa. The car was available from launch as a three-door hatchback with 1.0, 1.1 and 1.4-litre TU-series belt driven OHC engines...
- Citroën C1
The Citroën C1 is a city car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën since 2005.The C1 was developed as part of the B-Zero project by the PSA Group in a joint-venture with Toyota. The Peugeot 107 is identical to the C1 other than the front bumper and front and rear lights, while the Toyota...
- Citroen C2
The Citroën C2 is a supermini-class car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën since autumn of 2003, replacing the Citroën Saxo. A different model, based on the Peugeot 206, is sold in China as the C2...
- Citroen C3
The Citroën C3 is a supermini car with a range of inline-4 engines that has been produced by the French automaker Citroën since 2002. It was designed by Donato Coco and Jean-Pierre Ploué, previously known for designing the Renault Twingo; the former has been the head of the Citroën design team...
- Citroen Dyane
The Citroën Dyane is a supermini produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1967 to 1983. It was based on the Citroën 2CV, and 1.4 million Dyanes were produced. The Dyane spawned a panel van version called the Acadiane.-Market context:...
- Citroën Saxo
The Citroën Saxo is a supermini produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1996 to 2003. It was also sold in Japan as the Citroën Chanson. It shares many engine and body parts with the Peugeot 106, the major difference being interiors and body panels...
- Citroën Type A
The Citroën Type A was the first car produced by Citroën from June 1919 to December 1921 in Paris. The Type A reached a production number of 24,093 vehicles.During World War I, André Citroën was producing ammunitions...
- Citroën Type B
- Citroën Type C
The Citroën Type C was a light car made by the French Citroën car company between 1922 and 1926 with almost 81,000 units being made. The car was originally called the Type C but was updated to the C2 in 1924 which was in turn superseded by the slightly longer C3 in 1925...
- Citroën Visa
The Citroën Visa is a supermini that was produced by the French car marque Citroën from 1978 to 1988.-History:The Prototype Y of the early seventies, was originally developed in co-operation with Fiat to replace the 2CV based Citroën Ami that dated back to 1960...
- Dacia Logan
The Dacia Logan is a car produced jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its subsidiary Dacia of Romania. It is manufactured at Dacia's automobile plant in Mioveni, Romania, in Colombia, Brazil, Russia, Morroco, Iran, India and South Africa...
- DAF 600
The DAF 600 is a small family car that was DAF's first production passenger car: it was first presented at the Amsterdam Motor Show in February 1958 and was in production by 1959, although the firm had published the first details of the car at the end of 1957...
- DAF 33
The DAF 33 was a compact saloon car produced by the DAF company of Eindhoven, in the Netherlands between 1967 and 1974. Outwardly and technically it differed little from its predecessor, the DAF Daffodil....
- DAF 44
The DAF 44 is a small family car that was introduced in September 1966 by the Dutch company DAF. Styled by Michelotti, it represented a cautious move upmarket for the company which hitherto had produced, for the passenger car market, only the smaller slower Daffodil model .The 2 cylinder...
- DAF 46
The DAF 46 is a small family car that was manufactured by the Dutch company DAF. It was introduced in 1974 to replace the 44. In February 1976, at the relaunch of the Volvo 66, it was announced that the DAF 46 would be phased out during 1976, after which 'special measures' would ensure adequate...
- DAF 66
The DAF 66 is a small motor vehicle that was produced by the Dutch company DAF in the 1970s. It was an evolution of the DAF 55 it replaced and like its predecessor used a Renault Cléon engine. The front assembly was redesigned for the 66, as were the rear axle and variomatic...
- DAF Daffodil
The DAF 750 is a small family car that was manufactured by DAF from 1961 until 1963. It replaced the DAF 600. At the same time as launching the 750, DAF launched the DAF Daffodil which was essentially the same car but with more luxurious fittings and a lot more chrome trim on the outside...
- Daihatsu Charade
The Daihatsu Charade was a supermini sold from 1977 to 2000. Daihatsu considers the Charade a large "compact" car to differentiate it from other compacts in its lineup, such as the Daihatsu Mira/Cuore.-G10 :...
- Daihatsu Mira
The Daihatsu Mira , is a kei car-type vehicle built by the Japanese car maker Daihatsu. It comes with a variety of options and chassis variations, with the latest variant having four models: "Mira", "Mira AVY", "Mira Gino" and "Mira VAN"...
- DKW F1 (1931-1932)http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/DKW_F1
- DKW F2 (1932-1935)http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/DKW_F2
- DKW F4 (1934-1935)http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/DKW_F4
- DKW F5 (1935-1937)
The DKW F5 is a sub compact front wheel drive saloon launched by Auto Union’s DKW division in 1935 as a replacement for the DKWs F4 and F2 models.-The body:...
- DKW F7 (1937-1938)
The DKW F7 is a sub compact front wheel drive saloon launched by Auto Union’s DKW division in 1937 as a replacement for the DKW F5.-The body:Changes between the F5 and the F7 were mostly at a detailed level...
- DKW F8 (1939-1942)
The IFA F8 was the East German version of DKW F8 produced in former Auto Union AG's Zwickau factory after it came under Soviet Union control. The factory and operation was reorganized as a Volkseigener Betrieb Automobilwerke Zwickau .The DKW F8 compact front wheel drive two stroke engined saloon...
- DKW F89
The DKW Meisterklasse also known as the DKW F89 was a compact front wheel drive saloon manufactured by Auto Union AG between 1950 and 1954...
- DKW 3=6 (Sonderklasse F91/F93/F94)
The DKW 3=6 was a compact front wheel drive saloon manufactured by Auto Union AG. The car was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in March 1953 and sold until 1959. It was also named as the DKW Sonderklasse and, following the factory project number, as the DKW F91...
- Dodge Colt
The Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, were subcompact cars sold by Dodge and Plymouth from 1970 to 1994...
- Fiat 126
The Fiat 126 is a city car introduced in October 1972 at Turin Motor Show as a replacement for the Fiat 500. Most were produced in Poland as the Polski Fiat 126p until 2000...
- Fiat 127
The Fiat 127 is a supermini produced by the Italian automaker Fiat between 1971 and 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850...
- Fiat 128
The Fiat 128 is a small family car manufactured by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1969 to 1985.Although the styling was similar to the 124 and 125, the 128 was an advanced and influential design that pioneered the front-wheel-drive revolution at Fiat...
- Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
- Fiat Nuova 500
The Fiat 500 is a city car built by Italian automaker Fiat since 2007. The car is currently produced in Tychy, Poland by Fiat Auto Poland alongside the Nuova Panda and second-generation Ford Ka, released in 2008, all using the same platform...
- Fiat 600
The Fiat 600 [say-chento] is a city car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 in today's money . The total number produced from 1955 to 1969 at...
- Fiat Cinquecento
The Fiat Cinquecento was a city car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Ital Design, launched by Fiat in late 1991 to replace the Fiat 126. It was the first Fiat model to be solely manufactured in the FSM plant in Tychy, Poland, which had been sold to Fiat by the Polish state, and where production...
- Fiat Palio
The Fiat Palio is a supermini designed by Fiat as a world car, aimed at developing countries. It is produced in Brazil, Argentina, India, Turkey, South Africa and China. It is also built under licence in North Korea as the Pyonghwa Hwiparam. Russian ZMA started assembly of Turkish CKD kits in...
- Fiat Panda
The Fiat Panda is a city car from the Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat. The first Fiat Panda was made from 1980 to 2003 with only few changes, and is now sometimes referred to as the "old Panda"...
- Fiat Punto
The Fiat Punto is a supermini produced by the Italian manufacturer, Fiat, since 1993. It is currently in its third generation.-Mark 1 :...
- Fiat Seicento
The Fiat Seicento is a city car produced by the Italian company Fiat, introduced in late 1997 as a replacement for the Fiat Cinquecento. The Seicento did not differ much from its predecessor, retaining the same engines, chassis and general dimensions, although it did gain a minor 9 cm in length...
- Fiat Topolino
The Fiat 500, commonly known as "Topolino" , is an Italian automobile model manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955.-History:...
- Fiat Uno
The Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-Uno Mark I :...
- Ford Anglia
The Ford Anglia was a British car from Ford in the UK. It was related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Ford Anglia name was applied to four models of car between 1939 and 1967....
- Ford Escort
Over the years, the name 'Ford Escort' has been used for several models.For more information, see:* Ford Escort Estate Car* Ford Escort * Ford Escort...
- Ford EXP
The Ford EXP and Mercury LN7 were the first two-seaters that Ford offered in 25 years. The coupes shared the wheelbase and mechanicals of the Ford Escort with a longer, more stylish body. It was first shown at the Chicago Auto Show and introduced in April 1981 as an early 1982 model.Comparing the...
- Ford Festiva
The Ford Festiva was a subcompact car sold by the Ford Motor Company in North America, Asia and Australasia, introduced in 1986 in Japan. The car was manufactured by South Korean automaker Kia, which at the time was part-owned by Ford, and was based on the Kia Pride. Its name means "festive".It was...
- Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta is a small front wheel drive supermini car designed by the Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India and South Africa...
- Ford Ka
The Ford Ka is a city car from the Ford Motor Company marketed in Europe and elsewhere.The name is officially pronounced as Ka as can be heard in Ford's advertising. The current European version is produced in Tychy, Poland, while the one sold in Latin America is built in Brazil and Argentina...
- Ford Model A (1927)
The Ford Model A was the second huge success for the Ford Motor Company, after its predecessor, the Model T. First produced on October 20, 1927, but not sold until December 2, it replaced the venerable Model T, which had been produced for 18 years...
- Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. The Model T set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile came into popular usage...
- Ford Model Y (AKA Ford 8)
The Model Y was the first Ford specifically designed for markets outside the United States of America, replacing the Model A in Europe. The car was powered by a 933 cc, 8 hp Ford Sidevalve engine, and was in production in England from 1932 until September 1937, in France from 1932 to...
- Ford Pinto
The Ford Pinto was Ford Motor Company's first domestic North American subcompact automobile marketed beginning on September 11, 1970. It competed with the AMC Gremlin and Chevrolet Vega, along with imports from makes such as Volkwagen, Datsun and Toyota. The Pinto was popular in sales, with 100,000...
- Ford Popular
The Ford Popular is best known as a car from Ford built in England between 1953 and 1962. When launched, it was Britain's lowest priced car.The name Popular was also used by Ford to describe its 1930s Y Type model...
- Geo Metro
- Geo Storm
The Geo Storm was a sport compact car manufactured by Isuzu and sold in the United States by General Motors from 1990 through 1993 as part of GM's Geo line of inexpensive automobiles. The same vehicles, with minor variations, were sold in Canada in the 1992 & 1993 model years only. The Storm was...
- Goggomobil
The Goggomobil was a microcar produced in the Bavarian town Dingolfing after World War II by Hans Glas.There was a conventional looking four passenger two-door sedan and a very sleek sports coupé. The engine was an air cooled, two stroke, two cylinder unit originally of 250 cc and but...
- Gurgel BR-800
Gurgel BR-800 was a small Brazilian car produced between 1988 and early 1992. The first prototype was produced in 1987. In almost four years of commercial production, less than 4,000 BR-800s were produced. In 1992, the production of BR-800 was over; Gurgel switched to producing the Gurgel...
- Gurgel Supermini
Gurgel Supermini was a little Brazilian car produced between 1992 and 1994. Its peak of production was in the first months of 1992, when it had just 0.1% of Brazilian market. Even being better than Gurgel BR-800, the Supermini fared even worse than the BR-800 in salles. It was a commercial failure...
- Hillman Avenger
The Hillman Avenger was a rear-wheel drive Small family car originally manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group between 1970 and 1976, and made by Chrysler Europe from 1976 to 1981 as the Chrysler Avenger and finally the Talbot Avenger...
- Hillman Imp
The Hillman Imp is a compact, rear-engined saloon car that was manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group from 1963 to 1976...
- Honda City
The Honda City is a subcompact car manufactured by the Japanese manufacturer Honda since 1981 for the Asian market.Since 2002, the City is also known as the Honda Fit Aria...
- Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously-running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only the Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1968, has been in production longer...
- Honda Insight
The Honda Insight is a hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by Honda and the first production vehicle to feature Honda's Integrated Motor Assist system. The first-generation Insight was produced from 1999 to 2006 as a three-door hatchback....
- Honda N360
The Honda N360 is a kei car, designed and built by Honda and produced from March 1967 through 1970, while its larger N600 brother lasted three more years...
- Honda Z600
- Hudson Jet
The Hudson Jet was a compact automobile produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan during the 1953 and 1954 model years. The Jet was Hudson's response to the popular Nash Rambler, and Hudson, with its limited financial resources, chose to pursue a compact instead of refurbishing...
- Hyundai Amica
- Hyundai Atoz
- Hyundai Getz
The Hyundai Click is a supermini car produced by the Hyundai Motor Company, sold in most of the world except the U.S. or Canada...
- Hyundai i10
The Hyundai i10 is a city car produced by the Hyundai Motor Company, launched on 31 October 2007, manufactured only in India, at Hyundai's Chennai Plant — and sold globally...
- IFA F9 (East German DKW)
The IFA F9 was a compact saloon manufactured under the auspices of the Russian and East German states between 1949 or 1950 and 1956. It was initially built at Zwickau at the plant previously owned by Auto Union...
- Isetta
The Isetta was one of the most successful microcars produced in the post-World War II years—a time when cheap, short-distance transportation was most needed. Although the design originated in Italy, it was built in a number of different countries, including Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil,...
- Kia Picanto
- Kia Pride
The Kia Pride is an automobile produced by South Korean manufacturer Kia Motors from March 1987 to 2000. It was a rebadged version of the Ford Festiva , which also sold in some markets as the Mazda 121...
- Kia Rio
The Kia Rio is a subcompact car produced by the South Korean automaker Kia Motors and introduced in August 2000 for the 2001 model year. In the company's lineup, it replaced the smaller Kia Pride, which ceased production in 2000.- Market and competition :...
- Lada
Lada is the trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Togliatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles sold currently are of the Lada brand but this has not always been so. Ladas were AvtoVAZ's export vehicles, the same models being sold under the Zhiguli brand on the domestic Soviet market...
- Lancia Ypsilon
The Lancia Y or later Lancia Ypsilon is a supermini produced by Italian automaker Lancia since 1996. It is the replacement of the Y10, although larger and more expensive.-First generation "Y" :...
- Lloyd (car)
Norddeutsche Automobil und Motoren GmbH was a German brand created in 1908 and was owned by the Norddeutsche Lloyd shipping company. The factory was in Bremen...
- maruti 800
Maruti 800 is a city car manufactured by Maruti Suzuki in India. It is a rebadged version of an old model of the Suzuki Alto. Over 2.5 million Maruti 800's have been sold since its launch in 1984.-History:...
- Mazda 121
Mazda has used the 121 name on a variety of cars from 1975 until 2001:* 1975–1981 — Large personal luxury car, see Mazda Cosmo* 1988–1991 — European export version of the Ford Festiva subcompact car----...
- Mazda Carol
The Carol is a name used by Mazda for its kei cars since 1961.-1961 P360 Carol:The R360 was replaced in 1961 with the Mazda P360 Carol, the company's first 4-passenger car. It was larger than the Mazda R360 it replaced, running on a 193 cm wheelbase for a total length of 298 cm...
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class
The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a luxury small car produced by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz. The first generation was introduced in 1997, and the all-new second generation model appeared in late 2004. It is available as a three or five-door hatchback...
- Mercury Lynx
The Mercury Lynx was a compact car produced by the Ford Motor Company for its Mercury division from 1981 to 1987. It was a rebadged version of the Ford Escort. In 1987, the Lynx was dropped after slumping sales . In 1988, Mercury launched the Tracer as the Lynx's replacement...
- Messerschmitt KR175
The Messerschmitt KR175 bubble car was the first vehicle built by Messerschmitt under its 1952 agreement with Fritz Fend. In concept, although not in actual design, it was an extended version of the Fend Flitzer invalid carriage...
- Messerschmitt KR200
The Messerschmitt KR200, or Kabinenroller , was a three-wheeled bubble car designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt from 1955 to 1964.-History:...
- Messerschmitt TG500
The FMR Tg500 was a sports car built by Fahrzeug- und Maschinenbau GmbH, Regensburg from 1958 to 1961. Based on the monocoque of the Messerschmitt KR200 three wheeled car, it was a four-wheeled car with a two-stroke straight-two engine. It was built by Fahrzeug- und Maschinenbau GmbH, Regensburg,...
- Mitsubishi Colt
The current Mitsubishi Colt is a supermini built by Mitsubishi Motors. They are manufactured in Japan at Okazaki and in Europe at their NedCar plant in the Netherlands, using the same underpinnings as its sister car, the now discontinued Smart Forfour...
- Morris Eight
The Morris Eight was a small car inspired by the sales popularity of the similarly shaped Ford Model Y. The success of the car enabled Morris to regain its position as Britain's largest motor manufacturer.-Morris Eight Series I:...
- Morris Minor (1928)
The Morris Minor was produced by the Morris Motor Company in two versions. From 1928 to 1932 the cars had an 847 cc single overhead camshaft engine. This was then replaced by a more conventional side-valve unit of the same capacity until production ended in 1934...
- Morris Minor
The Morris Minor is a popular British motor car aimed at the family market. It was the work of a team led by Alec Issigonis, who would go on to design the successful Mini. The Minor was launched at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948...
- Nash Metropolitan
The Nash Metropolitan is a car that was sold, initially only in the United States and Canada, from 1954 to 1962.It conforms to two classes of vehicle: economy car and subcompact car. In today’s terminology the Metropolitan is a “subcompact”, but this category had not yet come into use when the car...
- Nissan Micra
- Nissan Sunny
The Nissan Sunny is a small car from Nissan. It was launched in 1966 as the Datsun 1000 and although production in Japan ended in 2004, it remains in production today for the African and American markets. In the US, the later models were known as the Nissan Sentra; in Mexico, the Sunny is known as...
(DatsunDatsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd...
)
- NSU Prinz
The NSU Prinz is an automobile produced in West Germany by the NSU Motorenwerke AG. The car was built from 1957 to 1973, and received a model change in 1961 .- History :...
- Opel 4 PS
- Opel Kadett
The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automaker Opel between 1937 and 1940, then from 1962 to 1992.Delta in South Africa used the Opel Kadett name until 1999.-First generation :...
- Opel Olympia
The Opel Olympia is a small family car produced by the German automaker Opel from 1935 to 1940, from 1947 to 1953 and again from 1967 to 1970....
- Panhard Dyna X
The Panhard Dyna X was a light-weight compact saloon car designed by the visionary engineer Jean Albert Grégoire and first exhibited as the AFG Dyna at the Paris Motor Show in 1946....
- Panhard Dyna Z
The Panhard Dyna Z was a light weight motor car made by Panhard of France. It was first presented to the press at a Paris restaurant named "Les Ambassadeurs" on 17 June 1953 and went into production the following year...
- Panhard PL 17
The Panhard PL17 was a motor car made by the French manufacturer Panhard from 1959 until 1965.Presented on June 29 1959, as successor to the Panhard Dyna Z, the PL 17 was a development of the older car, but with an even more streamlined body than its predecessor...
- Peugeot 104
The Peugeot 104 is a supermini motor car designed by Paolo Martin and produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1972 and 1988.-Production History:
Saloon launch 1972...
- Peugeot 106
The Peugeot 106 is a supermini produced by French automaker Peugeot from 1991 to 2003. It also formed the basis of one of the earliest commercially successful electric cars.-Phase I:...
- Peugeot 107
The Peugeot 107 is a city car produced by the French automaker Peugeot since summer 2005.The 107 was developed by the B-Zero project of Peugeot and Citroën in a joint-venture with Toyota; the Citroën C1 and Toyota Aygo are badge engineered versions of the same car, although the Aygo has more detail...
- Peugeot 205
The Peugeot 205 is a supermini produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1983 and 1997. It was declared 'Car of the Decade' by CAR magazine in 1990.-History:The chic Pininfarina styled 205 is widely regarded as a modern classic...
- Peugeot 206
The Peugeot 206 is a supermini , manufactured by the French automaker Peugeot since 1998, in addition to licensed manufacturing by Iran Khodro since 2005.-The project:...
- Peugeot 207
The Peugeot 207 is a supermini produced by the French automaker Peugeot and unveiled in January 2006. According to JATO Dynamics, an automative market researcher, the model was the bestselling car in Europe in 2007.-Launch:...
- Plymouth Arrow
The Plymouth Arrow was an extension of the Mitsubishi Lancer/Dodge Colt known as the Mitsubishi Celeste in Japan. It was also known as the Dodge Arrow in Canada and as the Dodge Celeste in Puerto Rico. It was a small 2-door fastback coupe with a hatchback instead of a conventional trunk.The Arrow...
- Plymouth Cricket
Plymouth Cricket can refer to two badge-engineered automobiles associated with the Chrysler manufacturer.* Hillman Avenger, an automobile sold in North America between 1971 and 1973* Dodge Colt, an automobile sold in Canada between 1973 and 1975...
- Pontiac Astre
- Pontiac Firefly
- Pontiac Sunbird
The Pontiac Sunbird, produced by the Pontiac division of General Motors, was Pontiac's second small-car offering of the 70's. The Sunbird model ran for 18 years and was then replaced in 1995 by the Pontiac Sunfire...
- Pontiac Tempest
The Pontiac Tempest was an entry-level compact automobile produced by the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors, introduced in September 1960 for the 1961 model year. It shared the new monocoque Y platform with the Buick Special and Skylark, and Oldsmobile F-85 and Cutlass...
- Rambler
Rambler was an automobile brand name used by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company between 1900 and 1914, then by its successor, Nash Motors from 1950 to 1954, and finally by Nash's successor, American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1969...
- Rambler American
The Rambler American was an automobile manufactured by the American Motors Corporation between 1958 and 1969. The American was the second incarnation of AMC's forerunner Nash Motors second generation Rambler compact that was sold under the Nash and Hudson Motors marques from 1954 and 1955.The...
- Reliant Kitten
The Reliant Kitten is a small economy car which was manufactured from 1975 to 1982 by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. It has a glass fibre body and an 848 cc aluminum engine, providing economical performance...
- Reliant Rebel
The Reliant Rebel was a small glass-fibre car produced by Reliant between 1964 and 1973, conceived as an alternative to the Austin Mini and Hillman Imp...
- Reliant Regal
The Reliant Regal was a small three-wheeled car manufactured by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. Being a three-wheeler, and lightweight, the vehicle could be driven on a motorcycle licence in the United Kingdom....
- Reliant Robin
thumb|right|250px|1975 Greek advertisement for Mebea Robin The Reliant Robin is a small three wheeled car manufactured by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England...
- Renault 4
The Renault 4, also known as the 4L , is a hatchback economy car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1961 and 1994. It was the first front-wheel drive family car produced by Renault....
- Renault 4CV
The Renault 4CV is an automobile produced by the French manufacturer Renault from August 1947 to July 1961. An economical "people's car" inspired by the Volkswagen Beetle, it was the first French car to sell over a million units....
- Renault 5
The Renault 5 was a supermini produced by the French automaker Renault in two generations between 1972 and 1996. It was sold in many markets, usually as the Renault 5 and in North America as Le Car, from 1976 to 1986...
- Renault 8
The Renault 8 and Renault 10 are two small family cars produced by the French vehicle manufactuer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s. The 8 was launched in 1962, and the 10, a more upmarket version of the 8, was launched in 1965. Both ceased production and sales in France in 1971...
- Renault Alliance
The Renault Alliance is a subcompact automobile that was built and marketed in North America by the American Motors Corporation through its partnership with its majority owner Renault between 1982 and 1987, when the Chrysler Corporation acquired AMC. The Alliance was based upon the Renault 9 & 11,...
- Renault Clio
The Renault Clio is a supermini car produced by the French automobile manufacturer Renault. Originally launched in 1990, it is currently in its third generation...
- Renault Dauphine
The Renault Dauphine is an automobile produced by French manufacturer Renault from 1956 to 1967. A luxury version, badged as the Renault Ondine was sold from 1960 to 1962...
- Renault Juvaquatre
The Renault Juvaquatre is a small family car / compact car automobile produced by the French manufacturer Renault between 1937 and 1953. It was available in both sedan and station wagon body styles; later models of the station wagon were known as the Renault Dauphinoise.The Juvaquatre was...
- Renault Twingo
The Renault Twingo is a city car built by French automaker Renault, first presented at the Paris Motor Show in September 1992 and sold in continental European markets beginning in 1993...
- Saab 92
Saab 92 is an automobile from Saab. The design was very aerodynamic for its time, and the cW value was 0.30 . Full-scale production started December 12, 1949, based on the prototype Saab 92001. All of them were of the Deluxe version...
- Saab 93
The Saab 93, pronounced ninety-three, is an automobile manufactured by Saab. It was announced on August 18, 1955 and was first presented on December 1, 1955. It was styled by Sixten Sason and had a longitudinally-mounted three-cylinder 748 cc Saab two-stroke engine giving 33 hp . The...
- Saab 95
The Saab 95 was a 7-seater, 2-door station wagon made by Saab. Initially it was based on the Saab 93 sedan version, but the model's development throughout the years followed closely that of the 96 since the 93 was put off the market in 1960...
- Saab 96
The Saab 96 is an automobile made by Saab. It was introduced in 1960 and was produced until January 1980, a run of 20 years. Like the 93 it replaced, the 96 was a development from the old Saab 92 chassis and, on account of its improvements and modernisation, it opened new markets for the company...
- SEAT Arosa
The SEAT Arosa is a city car from the Spanish automaker SEAT, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, built between 1997 and 2005.The 1st generation was in production between 1997 and 1999...
- SEAT Ibiza
The SEAT Ibiza is a car constructed and marketed in the European supermini class, sold under the Spanish SEAT marque.Introduced in 1984, it was initially manufactured by SEAT S.A., based on joint venture designs from Fiat...
- SEAT Marbella
The SEAT Marbella was a badge-engineered Fiat Panda , produced by SEAT in Spain from 1986 until 1998.Previously, the model was called SEAT Panda and was a direct clone of the Fiat Panda model, but its name and some parts had to be changed because of a break in the relationship with Fiat...
- Simca 1000
The Simca 1000 was a small, rear-engined, four-door saloon manufactured by the French automaker Simca from 1961 to 1978. The car was inexpensive, and at the time of launch, quite modern, with a brand-new inline-4 engine. The RR layout was at that time quite popular in small cars. In addition to...
- Simca 1100
The Simca 1100 is an automobile built from 1967 to 1982 by Chrysler Europe's division Simca. It was replaced by the Talbot Horizon.The 1100 was the result of "Project 928", started in 1962, finalized by engineers Philippe Grundeler and Charles Scales...
- Škoda 105/120/125 (Estelle)
- Škoda Fabia
The Škoda Fabia is a supermini produced by Czech manufacturer Škoda Auto since 1999. It was the successor to the Škoda Felicia, which was discontinued in 2001...
- Škoda Favorit
The Škoda Favorit 135 and Škoda Favorit 136 were a range small family cars produced by Czech auto manufacturer Škoda Auto from 1987 to 1995. It was Škoda Auto's first car to locate the engine at the front, mounted transversely, and was also their first car to use front-wheel drive. The Favorit...
- Škoda Felicia
The Škoda Felicia, is a small family car produced by the Czech automaker Škoda Auto between 1994 and 2001 . It was one of the first models to benefit from Škoda Auto's takeover by the German giant Volkswagen Group...
- Smart Fortwo
The Smart Fortwo is a rear-engined two-seater car manufactured by Smart GmbH and introduced at the 1998 Paris Motor Show. Initially named the Smart City Coupe, the fortwo has now entered its second generation, and in 2008, an all electric concept version of the model, the fortwo ed,...
- Smart Forfour
The Smart Forfour was a supermini that was produced by Smart between April 2004 and June 2006. Unlike the other models of the marque, the Forfour was a more conventional five-door hatchback with a relatively roomy interior, available as a four- / five-seater....
- Standard Eight
The Standard Eight is a small car produced by the British Standard Motor Company from 1938 to 1959.The car was originally launched in 1938 as the Flying Eight. After World War II the Flying range of Standards was dropped but an updated car called the 8hp was re-introduced in 1945...
- Subaru 360
The Subaru 360 was the first automobile mass produced by Fuji Heavy Industries' Subaru division. A number of innovative features were used to design a very small and inexpensive car to address government plans to produce a small "people's car" with an engine no larger than 360cc when most in Japan...
- Subaru Rex
The Subaru Rex, also known as Ace, Viki , Sherpa or 600 in some countries, was a kei car automobile produced from 1972 to 1992 for sale in Japan by Subaru, although it was also sold in Europe and South America....
- Subaru Pleo
The Subaru Pleo is a compact kei car made by Subaru.It was launched in Japan on October 9, 1998, replacing the Vivio, when Japanese regulations dictated a size change in the kei car tax bracket, and every kei car model from every make was redesigned as a result.In June 1999, Subaru launched a...
- Subaru Justy
Since 1984, Subaru has marketed the Justy, a subcompact hatchback, either manufacturing the vehicle itself or marketing a rebadged version by others...
- Subaru Vivio
The Subaru Vivio was a kei car that was introduced in March 1992, and manufactured by Subaru until October 1998. It has a supercharged 658 cc engine which is small enough to place it in the lightcar class, which gives its owners large tax breaks in Japan. The Vivio feels roomy considering its...
- Suzuki Alto
The Suzuki Alto is a very small car designed by Suzuki. Its selling points include low price and good fuel economy. The model was introduced in 1979 and has been built in many countries worldwide.-1st Generation :...
- Suzuki SC100
- Suzuki Wagon R
The Suzuki Wagon R is a kei car first introduced in Japan in 1993, and is still in production by Suzuki. The R stands for recreation. It is one of the first cars to use the "tall wagon" design in which the car is designed to be unusually tall with a short bonnet and almost vertical hatchback and...
- Talbot Samba
The Talbot Samba is a supermini car manufactured by the PSA Group in the former Simca factory in Poissy, France, and marketed under the short-lived modern-day Talbot brand. Based on the Peugeot 104, it was the only Talbot not inherited from Chrysler Europe, engineered by PSA alone. It was also the...
- Talbot Sunbeam
- Tata Indica
The Tata Indica is a hatchback automobile range manufactured by Tata Motors of India. The models are also exported to Europe, Africa and other countries from late 2004. It is the first passenger car vehicle from Tata Motors. The Tata Indica is also considered India's first indigenously developed...
- Tata Nano
The Tata Nano is a rear-engined, four-passenger city car built by Tata Motors, aimed primarily at the Indian market. The car is very fuel efficient, achieving around on the highway and around in the city...
- Toyota Aygo
The Toyota Aygo is a city car sold since 2005. All Aygos are built at the new factory of the TPCA joint-venture in the city of Kolin, Czech Republic. The Aygo was first displayed at the 2005 Salon de l'Automobile de Genève. The name "Aygo" comes from "i-go", symbolising freedom and mobility...
- Toyota Corolla
The Corolla is a line of subcompact/compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million sold as of...
- Toyota Echo
The Toyota Echo is a model name previously used by the Toyota Motor Corporation on the export version of two different models.
The Echo is a compact, entry-level model that is perhaps most popular for its fuel efficiency...
- Toyota iQ
The Toyota iQ is a city car introduced at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, with Japanese sales beginning in October 2008 and UK sales in January 2009. The production iQ followed a concept vehicle presented at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show....
- Toyota Starlet
The Toyota Starlet is a small automobile manufactured by Toyota from 1973 to 1999, replacing the Publica...
- Toyota Tercel
The Tercel is a subcompact manufactured from 1978 to 1999 across five generations, in five body configurations — sized between the Corolla and the Starlet...
- Toyota Yaris
-Toyota Vitz:The Toyota Vitz, a hatchback sold as the Toyota Yaris in South Africa, Europe, South America, The Middle East and later in Australia - as the Toyota Echo - and North America and Jamaica-Toyota Belta:...
- Trabant
The Trabant is an automobile that was produced by former East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Sachsen. It was the most common vehicle in East Germany, and was also exported to countries both inside and outside the communist bloc. The main selling point was that...
- Vauxhall Agila
- Vauxhall Chevette
The Chevette was a model of car manufactured by Vauxhall in the UK from 1975 to 1984. It was Vauxhall's version of the family of small "T-Cars" from Vauxhall's parent General Motors ; the family included the Opel Kadett in Germany, the Isuzu Gemini in Japan, the Holden Gemini in Australia, the...
- Vauxhall Corsa (Opel)
- Vauxhall Nova
- Vauxhall Viva
The Viva was produced by Vauxhall Motors in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were known as the HA, the HB and the HC series....
- VAZ-1111
- Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1 is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003. It used an air cooled rear engined rear wheel drive ....
- Volkswagen Fox
The Volkswagen Fox is a city car produced and designed by Volkswagen do Brasil and sold in Latin America since 2004 and Europe since 2005. Currently the Fox is produced as a three-door and five-door hatchback...
- Volkswagen Gol
The Volkswagen Gol is a low cost subcompact car designed in Brazil and sold by German automaker Volkswagen since 1980. It is Volkswagen's entry-level car in the South American market, beneath the other superminis, the Fox and Polo. It has uninterruptedly been the best-selling car in Brazil since...
- Volkswagen Golf (Mk 1./ Rabbit)
The Volkswagen Golf is a hatchback / small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates -- prominently as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen...
- Volkswagen Lupo
The Volkswagen Lupo is a city car manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen from 1998 to 2005.It was introduced in 1998 to fill a gap at the bottom of the VW model range caused by the increasing size and weight of the VW Polo. Rivals included the Ford Ka, the Opel Agila and the Fiat Seicento...
- Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants.-History:...
- Volvo PV444
- Volvo PV544
- Wartburg
- Zaporozhets
The Zaporozhets was a series of subcompact cars designed and built from 1958 at the ZAZ factory in Soviet Ukraine . Different types of Zaporozhets were produced until 1994....