I had a CRX---loved it....cost a dime to drive it for a month.....cant raise a family with it.....but, if your a city slicker, single with nothin' better to do---it was the best damn car.......park it anywhere it fits........great price too......at the time it was $9000.00

I remember my brother in law had a VW Rabbit, it must have been in the early 80's.  I can't remember what the exact mpg were but it was far above the best you can get today.

Many of those cars were imported from Europe and were banned from the USA due to air quality and safety standards that the cars failed to meet.

Quoted from Shadow

Many of those cars were imported from Europe and were banned from the USA due to air quality and safety standards that the cars failed to meet.

In europe P Diddy and the like are the only ones driving Escalades and Navagators- but in the US the P-Diddy wannabes will hang on as long as possible-

Take a look at some of the vehicles available from GM and Ford's European divisions that could be produced in the US. Take examples from the offerings made by both companies in the UK. In the UK, Opel is sold under the Vauxhall brand. I'm getting my figures from here, remember that 1 Imperial mpg is only 0.833 US mpg.All the figures I'm quoting are in US mpg.

The Vauxhall Agila 2008 model. 30 city, 48 highway, 40 combined for the unleaded model. 43 city, 59 highway, 52 combined for the diesel model. This is an Opel model, owned by GM, sold under the Vauxhall brand name in Britain for the US equivalent of $18,000-20,000. The low dollar really jacks up that price, and I think that somewhere between $13,000 and $15,000 is a realistic production price if it was made in the US-

And it's not just GM. Ford continues to produce the Ford Fiesta for sale in the UK. Looking at the most fuel efficient Fiesta model, you get great gas mileage, bigger engines mean less miles per gallon. So for the most efficient unleaded model, 30 city, 50 highway, 40 combined. For the diesel model, you have a large engine, but still get great mileage. 40 city, 62 highway, and 52 combined. Remember that diesel has more energy density per gallon than unleaded, and it also generally more expensive. Again the UK price in US dollars is about $18,000-20,000. Which would likely be considerably lower once production occurred in the US

The point here is that Detroit has the capacity to import these designs into American production here and now. The thing that stops them is the cost of retooling their American plants

I agree with you we need a car that gets real good mileage and sells for a reasonable price. We ruined what decent gas mileage we had when they made Detroit put all the pollution control devices on their vehicles back in the 70's. I would really love to see a car that runs on hydrogen cell technology that would give us the same mileage as we have now for a reasonable cost.

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Quoted from Sombody:
... The point here is that Detroit has the capacity to import these designs into American production here and now. The thing that stops them is the cost of retooling their American plants

  
Do the vehicles that you discussed above meet U.S. (NTSB) safety standards?  Government regulations (e.g., safety standards, emissions, etc.) at both the federal and the state levels affect the vehicles that can be imported and marketed in the U.S and in individual states (e.g, diesel automobiles in NY).  

Americans love their full size luxury cars, SUVs, and trucks.  The safety provided by many of these vehicles
is preferred by those who must travel on high speed thoroughfares with commercial truck (i.e., tractor trailer) traffic.  

The highway systems that span vast open lands and the distribution of our people across regions of varying population densities leads to different transportation needs.  Mass transit is impractical in much of
the country.  Comparing transportation in the U.S. to western Europe is like comparing apples to aardvarks.

That said, I agree that vehicles with greater fuel efficiency, including hybrid, clean burning diesel, hydrogen, and electric, are needed.  There is a segment of society, particularly those living in urban areas,
for which these vehicles would be practical and safe.

Funny don't ya think how we hone in on us everyday Joe's. Crucifying the average american worker who has worked so damn hard for their money and choosing safety in a vehicle and willing to pay for it themselves! I'm sure that if you take all of the politians and corporate ceo's in this country, and combine all of them together, I would believe that they are using far more energy than the average joe's combined.

We already know that they travel by land in limo's. By air in jets. And what about how we taxpayers pay for their living quarters as well? Do you really think that they are cutting back on energy in the White House? And do you really think that every Governor in this country is also cutting back on energy in their governor's mansions? Hardly. And all of the above can be duplicated with every ceo of every corporation and every union leader.

And how dare anyone tell us how WE SHOULD CONSERVE AND CUT BACK. When most of these politicians, corporate ceo's and union leaders, just to name a few, are living in the lap of luxury....mostly at OUR expense. Shame on them! And shame on us for falling for the bs and not making more of a stink about it.

Quoted from 78

  
Do the vehicles that you discussed above meet U.S. (NTSB) safety standards?  Government regulations (e.g., safety standards, emissions, etc.) at both the federal and the state levels affect the vehicles that can be imported and marketed in the U.S and in individual states (e.g, diesel automobiles in NY).  

Americans love their full size luxury cars, SUVs, and trucks.  The safety provided by many of these vehicles
is preferred by those who must travel on high speed thoroughfares with commercial truck (i.e., tractor trailer) traffic.  

The highway systems that span vast open lands and the distribution of our people across regions of varying population densities leads to different transportation needs.  Mass transit is impractical in much of
the country.  Comparing transportation in the U.S. to western Europe is like comparing apples to aardvarks.

That said, I agree that vehicles with greater fuel efficiency, including hybrid, clean burning diesel, hydrogen, and electric, are needed.  There is a segment of society, particularly those living in urban areas,
for which these vehicles would be practical and safe.

You dont need to look far to see that before one new well starts pumping and any new refineries get built so they can refine that oil- the auto industry needs to get busy- real busy

http://www.economicpopulist.org/?q=content/detroit-getting-ready-retool-make-small-cars

Im starting to think the Republicans and the Democrats are jack'n me around-  I better start watching CNN a little more instead of checking out the facts-

American P-Diddy cars and SUVs are just representative of the American 'Pride' or arrogance.....again, let me say that the cost of filling up my car doesn't bother me, I can control where I go and how I get there and learn to prioritize(something ALOT of folks missed during the housing boom-hence sub-prime issue)....anyhow, the cost of food,heating,access to clean water and the like bother me more......we own a big ford pick up/sport vehicle thingy.....cost a fortune to fill up and drive.....also own a smaller ford car.....guess what we found out....ya pick how far and how often you drive........

Anyone should be able to buy, live and eat whatever and where ever they want. AS LONG AS we are living within our means. And for those who don't should be held personally responsible. Don't ask us to bail you out.

The government has no business bailing out people who have made really bad decisions. We the people didn't share in the profits when the housing market was booming so we shouldn't have to pay for it's failures.

Good point shadow!!

that's a fact Shadow.......

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Quoted from Shadow:
The government has no business bailing out people who have made really bad decisions. We the people didn't share in the profits when the housing market was booming so we shouldn't have to pay for it's failures.

Or bailing out corporations that have gone under due to inept management and risky business practices.  There is no sense of accountability or responsibility in today's society.  We have accepted the leftists view that we are victims and that our decisions and
our actions do not have consequences.