Economy Car
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Economy car is a term mostly used in the United States for cars designed for
low-cost A no-frills or no frills service or product is one for which the non-essential features have been removed to keep the price low. The term "Ruffle (sewing), frills" originally refers to a style of fabric decoration. Something offered to customers f ...
purchase and operation. Typical economy cars are small (
compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...
or
subcompact Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Pr ...
), lightweight, and inexpensive to both produce and purchase. Stringent design constraints generally force economy car manufacturers to be inventive. Many innovations in automobile design were originally developed for economy cars, such as the
Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...
and the Austin Mini.


Definition

The precise definition of what constitutes an economy car has varied with time and place, based on the conditions prevailing at the time, such as fuel prices, disposable income of buyers, and cultural mores. It typically refers to a car that is designed to be small and lightweight to offer low-cost operation. In any given decade globally, there has generally been some rough consensus on what constituted the minimum necessary
requirement In engineering, a requirement is a condition that must be satisfied for the output of a work effort to be acceptable. It is an explicit, objective, clear and often quantitative description of a condition to be satisfied by a material, design, pro ...
s for a highway-worthy car, constituting ''the'' most economical car possible''.'' However, whether that consensus could be a commercial success in any given country depended on local culture. Thus in any given decade, every country has had a rough national consensus on what constituted the minimum necessary requirements for the least expensive car that wasn't undesirable, that is, that had some commercially attractive amount of market demand, making it a mainstream economy car. In many countries at various times, mainstream economy and maximum economy have been one and the same.


Background

From its inception into the 1920s, the Ford Model T fulfilled both of these roles simultaneously in the U.S. and in many markets around the world. In Europe and Japan in the 1920s and 1930s, this was achieved by the much smaller Austin 7 and its competitors and derivatives. From the 1940s and into the 1960s, the
Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...
played both roles throughout much of the world, particularly in Germany and Latin America – due to high fuel consumption, British, French, Italian, and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese models, all with better fuel economy, were able to capture the maximum-economy position in their home countries. By the 1970s the hatchback had become the standard body type for new economy car models. From 1960-1994 the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
sold the economy car Zaporozhets (and in the 80s, its successors, ZAZ-1102, and VAZ-1111) on the world market. In the mid-1980s, the
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
n Zastava Koral (Yugo), was being sold as the cheapest new car on the U.S. market. South Korea's Hyundai models also sold well in the U.S., and have gone on to be successful around the world. Since the 1990s, the
automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, Maintenance, repairing, and Custom car, modification of motor ve ...
has become extensively
globalized Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
, with all major manufacturers being
multinational corporation A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...
s who use globally sourced raw materials and components, with most moving assembly to the lowest labour cost countries. Today, a majority of major manufacturer offers economy cars, including at least one truly small car that may fall into subclassifications such as
subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American Car classification, classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the Unite ...
,
supermini The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the third largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 15. ...
, B-segment;
city car The A-segment is the first category in the passenger car classification system defined by the European Commission. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined. A-segment sales represented approximately 4.2% of the ...
;
microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are ofte ...
; and others. Gordon Murray, the
Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
and
McLaren F1 The McLaren F1 is a sports car that was the first Motor vehicle type approval, type approved road-going sportscar manufactured by British Formula One team McLaren. It was the last road-legal, series-produced sportscar to win the 24 Hours of Le ...
designer, said when designing his new Murray T.25 city car: "I would say that building a car to sell for six thousand pounds and designing that for a high-volume production, where you have all the quality issues under control, is a hundred times more difficult than designing a McLaren F1, or even a racing car. It is certainly the biggest challenge I've ever had from a design point of view."


History


1886-1920

The
history of the automobile Crude ideas and designs of automobiles can be traced back to ancient and medieval times. In 1649, Hans Hautsch of Nuremberg built a clockwork-driven carriage. In 1672, a small-scale steam-powered vehicle was created by Ferdinand Verbiest; the ...
after many experimental models dating back at least a hundred years, started with the first production car – the 1886 Benz Tricycle. This began a period that was later known as the
Brass era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiator (engine cooling), radiators. It is generally considered to ...
which is considered to be from 1890 to 1918 in the U.S. In the UK this is split into the pre-1905 Veteran era and Edwardian era to 1918. The U.S. Veteran era is usually dated pre-1890. 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. For example, the 1908 children's book ''
The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...
'', pokes fun at early privileged motorists. The
automotive industry in France France was a pioneer in the automotive industry and is the List of countries by motor vehicle production, 11th-largest automobile manufacturer in the world by 2015 unit production and the third-largest in Europe (after Germany and Spain). It had c ...
were the world leaders during this period – the Locomotives Act 1865 (the 'Red Flag Act') had obstructed automotive development in the UK until it was mostly repealed by the
Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 ( 59 & 60 Vict. c. 36) removed the strict rules and UK speed limits that were included in the earlier Locomotive Acts which had greatly restricted the adoption of motorised vehicles in the United Kingdom. ...
. The
high wheeler A high wheeler is a car which uses large diameter wheels that are similar to those used by horse-drawn vehicles. These cars were produced until about 1915, predominantly in the United States. Design High wheelers were derived from horse-drawn ...
was an early car body style virtually unique to the United States. It was typified by large-diameter slender wheels, frequently with solid tires, to provide ample ground clearance on the primitive roads in much of the country at the turn of the 20th century. For the same reason, it usually had a wider track than normal automobiles. The first car to be marketed as an 'economy car' was the 1901–1907
Oldsmobile Curved Dash The gasoline-powered Oldsmobile Model R, also known as the Curved Dash Oldsmobile, is credited as being the first mass-produced automobile, meaning that it was built on an assembly line using interchangeable parts. It was introduced by the Olds ...
- it was produced by the thousands, with over 19,000 built in all. 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 Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...
plant, when the prototype was saved by a nightwatchman named Stebbins (who later became the
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
) and was the only product available to the company to produce. Although cars were becoming more affordable before it was launched, the 1908–1927
Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...
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 A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
first used by the French car maker
Panhard Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks#Military vehicles, Re ...
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 T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...
was a large scale
mass-produced Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...
car; that very innovation, along with the attributes it required a simple inexpensive design, that allowed it to be the first car to exemplify the ideals of the economy car. Although it followed the Panhard mechanical layout, it used an
epicyclic gearbox An epicyclic gear train (also known as a planetary gearset) is a gear reduction assembly consisting of two gears mounted so that the center of one gear (the "planet") revolves around the center of the other (the "sun"). A carrier connects the ...
more like later
automatic gearbox An automatic transmission (AT) or automatic gearbox is a multi-speed transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions. The 1904 Sturtevant "horseless ca ...
es, rather than the Panhard type
manual gearbox A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...
, which in a developed form is still in common use today. The innovations involved in making it a successful design were in its production and materials technology; particularly the use of new
vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an ...
steel alloys. Model T production was a leading example of the
Taylorism Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...
school of scientific management (also known as
Fordism Fordism is an industrial engineering and manufacturing system that serves as the basis of modern social and labor-economic systems that support industrialized, standardized mass production and mass consumption. The concept is named after Henry ...
) and its production techniques evolved at the
Highland Park Ford Plant The Highland Park Ford Plant is a historic former Ford Motor Company factory located at 91 Manchester Street (at Woodward Avenue) in Highland Park, Michigan. It was Ford's third factory, it was the second American Model T production facility ...
that opened in 1910, after it outgrew the Piquette Avenue Plant. The
River Rouge Plant The Ford River Rouge complex (commonly known as the Rouge complex, River Rouge, or The Rouge) is a Ford Motor Company automobile factory complex located in Dearborn, Michigan, along the River Rouge, upstream from its confluence with the Detr ...
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
assembly line An assembly line, often called ''progressive assembly'', is a manufacturing process where the unfinished product moves in a direct line from workstation to workstation, with parts added in sequence until the final product is completed. By mechan ...
, 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 In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of Productivity, output produced per unit of cost (production cost). A decrease in ...
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. In 1912 Edward G. Budd founded the
Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense produ ...
, which initially specialized in the manufacture of pressed-steel frames for automobiles. This built on his railroad experience. In 1899 he had taken his knowledge of pressed steel to the
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
industry. He worked with the
Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...
on a contract for
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
, building the first all-steel railcar. In 1913 in the UK, the 1018 cc "Bullnose" Morris Oxford was the first model launched by
Morris Motors Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same ve ...
. Only 1302 were made. The Oxford was available as a two-seater, or van but the chassis was too short to allow four-seat bodies to be fitted. It made extensive use of bought in components, including many from the U.S. to reduce costs. The 1915-1919 Morris Cowley (about 1400 produced) powered by a new US Continental engine was a bigger stronger better finished version of the first Oxford. The post–
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
Oxford was a deluxe version of that, now made plainer, 1915-1919 Cowley. They were larger cars with 50% bigger engines than the 1913 Oxford. By 1925 Cowleys and Oxfords were 41 per cent of British private car production and limousine and landaulet bodies for 14/28 Oxfords were supplied ex-factory. Morris then added a
commercial vehicle A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. Depending on laws and designations, a commercial vehicle can be any broad type of motor vehicle used commercially or for business purposes. Classi ...
operation and bought
Wolseley Motors Wolseley Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in early 1901 by the Vickers Armaments in conjunction with Herbert Austin. It initially made a full range, topped by large luxury cars, and dominated the market in the E ...
the following year. Cecil Kimber, a Morris employee, founded MG (Morris Garages) aiming to sell more Morrises. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Morris Motors, having swept in
Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...
, merged with the
Austin Motor Company The Austin Motor Company Limited was a British manufacturer of motor vehicles, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin, Herbert Austin in Longbridge. In 1952 it was merged with Morris Motors, Morris Motors Limited in the new holdi ...
together forming the
British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a United Kingdom, UK-based vehicle manufacturer formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris Motors, Morris and Austin Motor Company, Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merge ...
. In 1913 the British
Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...
company had its prototype ready for production. It had a
two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
engine with four cylinders arranged in pairs, and each pair shared a common
combustion chamber A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the air–fuel ratio, fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the Firebox (steam engine), firebox which is used to allow a mo ...
- a doubled-up version of what would later be called the "
split-single In internal combustion engines, a split-single design is a type of two-stroke engine, two-stroke where two cylinders share a single combustion chamber. The first production split-single engine was built in 1918 and the design was used on several ...
" engine. The pistons in each pair drove the
crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a reciprocating engine, piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating Shaft (mechanical engineering), shaft containing one or more crankpins, ...
together as they were coupled to it by a V-shaped
connecting rod A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a reciprocating engine, piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank (mechanism), crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the p ...
. For this arrangement to work, it is necessary for the
connecting rod A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a reciprocating engine, piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank (mechanism), crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the p ...
to flex slightly, which goes completely against normal practice. The claim was that each engine had only seven moving parts, four
piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder (engine), cylinder a ...
s, two
connecting rod A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a reciprocating engine, piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank (mechanism), crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the p ...
s and a crankshaft. This was connected to a two-speed
epicyclic gearbox An epicyclic gear train (also known as a planetary gearset) is a gear reduction assembly consisting of two gears mounted so that the center of one gear (the "planet") revolves around the center of the other (the "sun"). A carrier connects the ...
, to simplify gear changing, and a chain to the rear wheels. Solid tyres were used, even though these were antiquated for car use, to prevent punctures and very long springs used to give some comfort. Before production could start war broke out and from 1914 to 1918, the company made tools and gauges for the war effort. In 1914 Ford was producing half a million Model Ts a year, with a sale price of less than . 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. Also in that year Ford made headlines by increasing the minimum wage of his workers from $2.83 for a nine-hour day to $5.00 for an
eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time. The modern movement originated i ...
, to combat low workforce morale, and employee turnover problems because of the repetitive and stressful nature of working on the production line, and more radically, to turn his semi-skilled workers into potential customers. 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 Canada and in Manchester, England starting in 1911 and were later assembled in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan. At the New York Motor Show in January 1915, William C. Durant the head of
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
(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 (the source of its name), the same as the Model T touring. Its introductory price was , however, although it was reduced to later when the electric starter and lights were made a option. Henry Ford responded by reducing the Model T to . In 1916 Edward G. Budd's first big order for the
Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense produ ...
was from the
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
brothers, who purchased 70,000 bodies, mounting the steel bodies onto conventional chassis frames.


1920s

During the 1920s Edward G. Budd's pressed steel bodies were fast replacing traditional coachbuilt bodies all around the world. These were fully closed roofed bodies, until this time open tourer bodies were the standard body on the market. Budd envisioned pushing his technology even further, and in 1924 he found another visionary in
André Citroën André-Gustave Citroën (; 5 February 1878 – 3 July 1935) was a French industrialist and the founder of French automaker Citroën. He is also remembered for his application of double helical gears. Life and career Born in Paris in 1878, A ...
. By 1934, they had developed the
Citroën Traction Avant The Citroën Traction Avant () is the world's first mass-produced, semi-monocoque bodied, front-wheel drive car. A range of mostly four-door saloon (automobile), saloons and executive cars, as well as longer wheelbased ''"Commerciale"'', and thre ...
, the first
unibody A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had ...
, pressed-steel automobile. Budd also pioneered the use of electric arc welding in automobile manufacturing. It would be the 1930s before this technology was generally applied to economy cars. The
cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the c ...
was an attempt in the period before 1922 in the post-First World War austerity period, as a form of "four-wheeled
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
", with all the benefits of a motorcycle and side-car, in a more stable package. In 1920
Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...
in Britain made its first series of six cars from a works in
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
and the final revised production version was shown at the 1922
London Motor Show London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thame ...
. An agreement was reached with
Leyland Motors Leyland Motors Limited (later known as the Leyland Motor Corporation) was an English vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company diversified into car manufacturing with its acquisitions of Triumph and Rover in 1960 a ...
to produce the cars at their
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...
factory where work on reconditioning ex RAF wartime trucks was running down. This arrangement would continue until 1928 when Leyland wanted factory space for truck production. During the nearly seven years of the agreement 11,000 cars and 6700 vans were made. The car known as the Trojan Utility Car went onto the market at £230, reducing to £125 in 1925, the same as a
Model T Ford The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...
. Nothing was conventional. Rather than a
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
the car had a punt shaped tray which housed the engine and transmission below the seats. This is a similar idea to the chassis-less design of the contemporary 1922 Italian Lancia Lambda luxury car. The transmission used a chain to drive the solid tyre shod wheels. The 1527-cc engine to the ingenious Hounsfield design was started by pulling a lever on the right of the driver. To prove how economical the car was to run, the company ran the slogan "Can you afford to walk?" and calculated that over it would cost more in shoes and socks than to cover the distance by Trojan car. The astronomical success of the Model T accelerated after the First World War, and by the time Ford made his 10 millionth car, half of all cars in the world were Fords. It was so successful that Ford did not purchase any advertising between 1917 and 1923; more than 15 million Model Ts were manufactured, reaching a rate of 9,000 to 10,000 cars a day in 1925, or 2 million annually, more than any other model of its day, at a price of just $240. The need for constant reductions in price through the 1920s reflected increasing competition from newer designs for the relatively unchanged and increasingly obsolescent Model T. In 1923 Chevrolet developed a new car to compete with the Model T, the Chevrolet Series M 'Copper-Cooled', air-cooled car, designed by General Motors engineer at AC Delco
Charles Kettering Charles Franklin Kettering (August 29, 1876 – November 25, 1958) sometimes known as Charles Fredrick Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. For the list of patents issued to Kettering, see, Le ...
, (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 of small economy cars occurred in Europe. 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 Bugatti Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (15 September 1881 – 21 August 1947) was a Franco-Italian automobile designer and manufacturer. He received French citizenship in 1946 and is remembered as the founder and proprietor of the automobile manufacturing c ...
designed a small car for
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
. The 1911 Peugeot Bébé Type 19. It had an 850 cc 4-cylinder engine. The Citroën Type A 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 Citroën was a keen adopter of U.S. car manufacturing ideas and technology in the 1920s and 1930s. Andre Citroën re-equipped his factory as a scaled down version of the Ford River Rouge Plant, that he had visited in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. 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 Laubfrosch (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
Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
Citroën 5 CV of 1922. On an even smaller scale, European cars, such as the 747 cc Austin Seven, (which made
cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the c ...
s obsolete overnight.) The Austin 7 was considerably smaller than the Ford Model T. The wheelbase was only , and the track only . Equally it was lighter - less than half the Ford's weight at . The engine required for adequate performance was therefore equally reduced and the sidevalve was quite capable with a modest output. It would also start to catch on in Japan during the same time period, as a Datsun Type 11 that may have been pirated, at the start of their own automobile industry. It was also produced as a BMW Dixi and
BMW 3/15 The BMW 3/15 was BMW's first car, produced in its first version as a "Dixi" between 1927 and 1929 and then, following BMW's acquisition of the Automobilwerk Eisenach business in October 1928, in three subsequent versions as BMWs from July 1929 till ...
in Germany, Rosengart in France with French styled bodywork, and by
American Austin Car Company The American Austin Car Company Inc. was an American automobile manufacturing corporation incorporated in the state of Delaware. The company was founded on February 23, 1929, and produced motorcars licensed from the British Austin Motor Compan ...
with American styling, (later American Bantam) in the U.S. It displaced the motorcycle and sidecar combination that was popular in Europe in the 1920s. It spawned a whole industry of 'specials' builders. Swallow 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
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
. The Seven continued to be produced until the late 1930s along with an updated and restyled closed body, known as the "Big Seven" until World War II, but still on the early 1920s running gear, but with a slightly enlarged chassis and widened track. 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. Sloan Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a longtime president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. First as a senior executive and later as ...
.
Harley Earl Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American Automotive design, automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first ...
was appointed as head of the newly formed GM "Art and Color Section" in 1927. Harley Earl and
Alfred P. Sloan Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a longtime president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. First as a senior executive and later as ...
implemented
planned obsolescence In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is the concept of policies planning or designing a good (economics), product with an artificially limited Product lifetime, u ...
and the annual model change to emphasise design as an engine for the success of the company's products. This moved cars from being utilitarian items to fashionable status symbols - that needed regular replacement "to keep up with the Joneses." Later in 1937, the Art and Color Section was renamed the Styling Section, and a few years afterward became one of the GM technical staff operations as the Styling Staff., Chapter 15, "Styling". 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
consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
, 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. The seller's market in new cars in the U.S. was over, as customers wanted choice. The 'one model' policy had nearly bankrupted the Ford Motor Company. By the end of production in 1927 it seemed outdated, and was replaced by the Model A. The Ford Model T was voted
Car of the Century The Car of the Century (COTC) is an international award that was given to the world's most influential car of the 20th century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation. The winner, the Ford Model T, was annou ...
on December 18, 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1929 Chevrolet replaced the straight-4 engine that dated from 1913, with the Stovebolt Six engine that was to last until the 1960s as Chevrolet's base engine. A few years later Ford developed the Model 18 with the flathead V8. The same car was available with a slightly reworked Model A engine, marketed until 1933 (in U.S.) as the Model B. In Europe, it remained in the Ford lineup, as the Ford V8 in Britain in the 1930s which was re-styled and relaunched as the post-war
Ford Pilot The Ford Pilot (''Model E71A'') is a medium-sized car that was built by Ford UK from August 1947 to 1951. It was effectively replaced in 1951 with the launch of Ford UK's Zephyr Six and Consul models, though V8 Pilots were still offered for sal ...
. They were viewed as large cars in Europe. The 1932 Ford V8 (Model 18) coupe became the car of choice for post-war
hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...
ders. It was the first V8 engine in a low priced car, and along with the Chevrolet 6, 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) in Britain to compete with the Austin Seven. Also that year German
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
manufacturer DKW launched their first car, the P15, a rear-wheel-drive, wood-and-fabric bodied monocoque car, powered by a 600 cc inline two-cylinder two-stroke engine. Also, in the 1920s, Ford (with the Model T in Manchester, England),
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
(who took over
Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
in Germany and
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...
in Britain), expanded into Europe. Most Ford and GM European cars, especially economy cars, were technologically conservative and all were
rear-wheel-drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-whee ...
to a smaller European size, with improvements focused mainly on styling, (apart from the introduction of the 1935 monocoque
Opel Olympia The Opel Olympia is a compact car by German automaker Opel, then part of G.M., from 1935 to 1940, and after World War II continued from 1947 to 1953. It was one of the world's first mass-produced cars with a unitary body structure, after the 1934 ...
, and the
Macpherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles. The name comes from American automotive engineer ...
by Ford in the 1950s), until the late 1970s and early 1980s.


1930s-1945

In 1931 the
DKW F1 The DKW F1 was a small car mass produced by DKW (part of the Auto Union) between 1931 and 1932. It was launched at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1931. The F1 was the first of a series of front wheel drive cars, assembled at DKW's Zwickau pla ...
was launched. This was the first successful mass-produced
front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...
car in the world. It was priced at . (The British 1928-30
Alvis cars Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd was a British manufacturing company in Coventry from 1919 to 1967. In addition to automobiles designed for the civilian market, the company also produced racing cars, aircraft engines, Armored car (military) ...
'FWD' models had handling problems and only 150 were made. The British 1929 BSA was a three-wheel competitor to
Morgan Morgan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film * ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama * ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller * ...
and the motorcycle combination market, the 1931 four-wheeler was very short-lived. The 1929 U.S. Cord L-29 having been seriously flawed, production ended at 4,429. The 1930 U.S. Ruxton made about 500, production lasted for only four months.) The F1 featured a
front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used rega ...
using a water-cooled 494 cc or 584 cc transverse two-cylinder
two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a f ...
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, 250,000 were made. 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-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...
, BSA,
Trabant Trabant () is a series of B-segment, small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East Germany, East German car manufacturer HQM Sachsenring GmbH, VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. Four models were made: the Trabant P 50, Trabant 50 ...
,
Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...
,
Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab AB, a Swedish aircraft, aerospace and defence company, still known as SAAB, and together with subsidiaries as Saab Group ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab ...
,
Subaru is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first largest aut ...
,
Piaggio Piaggio Group () is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under five brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Derbi. Its corporate headquarters are ...
,
Puch Puch () is a manufacturing company located in Graz, Styria, Austria. The company was founded in 1899 by the industrialist Johann Puch and produced automobiles, bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles. It was a subsidiary of the large Steyr-Daimler-Puch ...
, Kawasaki,
Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...
,
Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...
,
Daihatsu is a Japanese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. One of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers, the company was known for building three-wheeled vehicles and off-road vehicle ...
,
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
, and
Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...
. The DKW type of two stroke engine was replaced with four strokes in western economy cars by the 1960s, but lived on in stagnating and cash strapped
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
East Germany's
Trabant Trabant () is a series of B-segment, small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East Germany, East German car manufacturer HQM Sachsenring GmbH, VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. Four models were made: the Trabant P 50, Trabant 50 ...
and
Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...
and
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
Poland's FSO Syrena until the 1980s. In the late 1920s in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Josef Ganz Josef Ganz (1 July 1898 – 26 July 1967) was a Jewish-German car designer born in Budapest, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Hungary). Early years Josef Ganz was born on 1 July 1898 into a Jewish family living in Budapest, then the second-larges ...
independent car engineer/inventor and editor of Motor-Kritik magazine had been a fierce opponent of the status quo of car design. He became a consultant engineer to Adler in December 1930. In the first months of 1931, Ganz constructed a lightweight economy car or peoples car, prototype at Adler with a tubular chassis, a mid-mounted engine, and
swing axle A swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension designed and patented by Edmund Rumpler in 1903 for the rear axle of rear wheel drive vehicles. This was a revolutionary invention in automotive suspension, allowing driven (powered) whee ...
independent rear suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in ...
. After completion in May 1931, Ganz nicknamed his new prototype ''Maikäfer'' (German for
cockchafer The common cockchafer (''Melolontha melolontha''), also colloquially known as the Maybug, Maybeetle, or doodlebug, is a species of scarab beetle belonging to the genus '' Melolontha.'' It is native to Europe, and it is one of several closely-rel ...
) which is a species of beetle. In July 1931 he was also consultant engineer to BMW on the 1932-34 BMW 3/20 successor to the
BMW 3/15 The BMW 3/15 was BMW's first car, produced in its first version as a "Dixi" between 1927 and 1929 and then, following BMW's acquisition of the Automobilwerk Eisenach business in October 1928, in three subsequent versions as BMWs from July 1929 till ...
model. It featured transverse leaf independent front and rear suspension and an updated overhead-valve
cylinder head In a piston engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders, forming the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines the head is a simple plate of metal containing the spark plugs and possibly heat dissipation fins. In more modern ...
version of the Austin 7 based engine. After a demonstration of the Adler Maikäfer by Ganz, the German Standard Fahrzeugfabrik company (unrelated to the British 'Standard' company), then purchased a license from Ganz to develop and build a small car according to his design. The prototype of this new model, which was to be called Standard Superior, was finished in 1932. It featured a tubular chassis, a mid-mounted engine, and independent wheel suspension with swing-axles at the rear. At about the same time from 1931, two years prior to Hitler's accession to power,
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...
founded ''Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH'' - the Porsche company to offer motor vehicle development work and consulting. Together with Zündapp they developed the prototype Porsche Type 12 "Auto für Jedermann" ("car for everyone"), which was the first time the name "Volkswagen" was used. Porsche preferred a 4-cylinder flat engine, but Zündapp used a water-cooled 5-cylinder
radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...
. In 1932 three prototypes were running but were not put into production. All three cars were lost during the war, the last in 1945 in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
during a bombing raid. In 1932 ASAP-Škoda in Mladá Boleslav Bohemia Czechoslovakia, produced a type Škoda 932 prototype of a streamlined 4-seater two-door car with a rear air-cooled flat-four engine designed by Karel Hrdlička and Vsevold Korolkov. This car's bodywork closely resembled the small car designs yet to come. In Berlin in February 1933, the first production model of the Standard Superior was introduced at the IAMA (Internationale Automobil- und Motorradausstellung). It had a 396 cc 2-cylinder 2-stroke engine. Because of some criticism of the body design, not in the least by Josef Ganz in Motor-Kritik, it was followed in April 1933 by a slightly altered model. In November 1933, the Standard Fahrzeugfabrik introduced yet another new and improved model for 1934, which was slightly longer with one additional window on each side and had a small seat for children or as luggage space in the back. This car was advertised as the German Volkswagen. During the early 1930s German car manufacturers one by one adopted the progressive ideas published in Motor-Kritik since the 1920s. In the meantime in May 1933, the Jewish Josef Ganz was arrested by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
on trumped up charges of blackmail of the automotive industry, at the instigation of those that he had ferociously criticized. He was eventually released, but his career was systematically destroyed and his life endangered. He fled Germany in June 1934 – the same month Adolf Hitler gave
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...
the brief for designing a mass-producible car for a consumer price of . Production of the Standard Superior ended in 1935. The Standard company was forbidden by the Nazis from using the term 'Volkswagen'. The
Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...
would be the longest-lasting icon of this 1930s era.
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
admired the ideals exemplified by the
Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...
, (even though he didn't drive himself), and sought the help of
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...
to create a 'peoples-car' ("volkswagen"), with the same ideals for the people of Germany. This car was to complement the new
Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...
s that were to be built. They had been planned under the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
, but he stole the credit for them. Many of the design ideas were plagiarised from the work of
Hans Ledwinka Hans Ledwinka (14 February 1878 – 2 March 1967) was an Austrian automobile designer. Youth Ledwinka was born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria), near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He started his career as a mechanic, a ...
, the
Tatra T97 The Tatra 97 (T97) is a Czechoslovak mid-size car built by Tatra in Kopřivnice, Moravia, from 1936 to 1939. History The Tatra 97 was designed to complement two full-size cars in the Tatra range: the Tatra 77 launched in 1934 and the Tatra 8 ...
and Tatra V570 with the Czechoslovakian
Tatra (car) Tatra is a Czech vehicle manufacturer from Kopřivnice. It is owned by the TATRA TRUCKS a.s. company, and it is the third oldest company in the world producing motor vehicles with an unbroken history. The company was founded in 1850 as ''Igna ...
company. It was also suspiciously similar in many ways to the Josef Ganz–designed cars, it even looked very similar to the Mercedes-Benz 120H prototype of 1931. The
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
Kraft durch Freude (German for
Strength through Joy NS Gemeinschaft ; KdF) was a German NSDAP-operated leisure organization in Nazi Germany. Richard Grunberger, ''The 12-Year Reich'', p. 197, It was part of the German Labour Front (), the national labour organization at that time. Set up in Nove ...
, abbreviated KdF) "KdF-Wagen" or "Strength through Joy - Car" project ground to a halt before serious production had started because of World War II. The KdF, was the Nazi state propaganda organisation to promote holiday and leisure activities of the population, approved of, and monitored by, the state. The 'price' of the free or subsidised activities was extensive Nazi ideological indoctrination. When the German car industry was unable to meet Hitler's demand that the Volkswagen be sold at or less, the project was taken over by the
German Labour Front The German Labour Front (, ; DAF) was the national labour organization of the Nazi Party, which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during the process of ''Gleichschaltung'' or Nazification. History As early as March 1933, ...
(Deutsche Arbeitsfront, DAF). This was the national
labour organization A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
, which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during the process of ''
Gleichschaltung The Nazi term (), meaning "synchronization" or "coordination", was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler—leader of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany—established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all ...
'' or Nazification. Now working for the DAF, Porsche built a new Volkswagen factory at Fallersleben, called "Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben" (
Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...
after 1945), at a huge cost which was partly met by raiding the DAF's accumulated assets and misappropriating the dues paid by DAF members. The Volkswagen was sold to German workers on an installment plan where buyers of the car made payments and posted stamps in a stamp-savings book, which when full, would be redeemed for the car. Due to the shift of wartime production, no consumer ever received a "Kdf-Wagen" (although after the war, Volkswagen did give some customers a DM 200 discount for their stamp-books). The project was not commercially viable and only government support was able to keep it afloat. The Beetle factory was primarily converted to produce the Kübelwagen (the German equivalent of the
jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...
). The few Beetles that were produced went to the diplomatic corps and military officials. After the war, the
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
company would be founded to produce the car in the new democratic
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, where it would be a success. From 1936 to 1955,
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
in Italy produced the advanced and very compact
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
Fiat 500 "Topolino" The Fiat 500, commonly known as "Topolino" (), is an Italian city car produced and manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955. The name ''Topolino'' is , and is also the Italian name for Mickey Mouse. History The Topolino was one of the smallest ...
or "little mouse", the precursor of the 1950s
Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 (, ) is an Economy car, economy / city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975. It was sold as a two-door semi-convertible or saloon car and as a three-door panel van or estate car. Launched ...
, it was designed by
Dante Giacosa Dante Giacosa (3 January 1905 – 31 March 1996) was an Italian automobile designer and engineer responsible for a range of Italian automobile designs — and for refining the front-wheel drive layout to an industry-standard configuration. He ...
. The inline four cylinder 569 cc  hp engine was placed right at the front of the chassis with the radiator behind it. This allowed for a sloping front and good legroom when combined with lowered seating. This also allowed Fiat to lower the roofline. Although nominally a two-seater more were often squeezed in behind the seats. Initially it had quarter elliptic
leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring (device), spring commonly used for suspension (vehicle), suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, e ...
rear suspension Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, spring (device), springs, shock absorbers and Linkage (mechanical), linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support b ...
, but with an
axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotation, rotating wheel and axle, wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In ...
locating
trailing arm A trailing-arm suspension, also referred to as trailing-link, is a form of vehicle suspension. In a motor vehicle it places one or more horizontal arms (or "links") perpendicular to and forward of the axle on the chassis or unibody, which are c ...
, that was upgraded to stronger semi-elliptic to cope with overloading by customers. The front suspension was independent and was used as the basis of the suspension of the first English Cooper racing cars in the 1940s that became successful in the 1950s. It had a four speed gearbox (when three was common) and all hydraulic brakes. It was a similar size to the Austin Seven but much more advanced. It was exported all over the world and produced at the NSU factory in Germany, Steyr-Puch in Austria and
Simca Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italy, Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simc ...
in France. It was facelifted with American influenced 'full width styling' of the frontal panels after the war, with headlights integrated into the wings/fenders. The
Fiat 1100 The Fiat 1100 is a small family car produced from 1953 until 1969 by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. It was an all-new unibody replacement for the Fiat 1100 E, which descended from the pre-war, body-on-frame Fiat 508 C Balilla 1100. The 1100 was ...
was first introduced in 1937 as an updated version of the 508 "Balilla" (its real name was the 508C) with a look similar to the 1936
Fiat 500 "Topolino" The Fiat 500, commonly known as "Topolino" (), is an Italian city car produced and manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955. The name ''Topolino'' is , and is also the Italian name for Mickey Mouse. History The Topolino was one of the smallest ...
and the larger
1500 Year 1500 ( MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday in the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year 1500 was the last year of the 15th century and the first year of the 16th century. ...
, with the typical late-thirties heart-shaped front grille, with styling by the emerging designer,
Dante Giacosa Dante Giacosa (3 January 1905 – 31 March 1996) was an Italian automobile designer and engineer responsible for a range of Italian automobile designs — and for refining the front-wheel drive layout to an industry-standard configuration. He ...
. It was powered by a 1,089 cc four cylinder overhead-valve engine. Drive was to the rear wheels through a four-speed gearbox, and for the period, its comfort, handling, and performance were prodigious, making it "the only people's car that was also a driver's car". The
Steyr 50 The Steyr 50 is a supermini, small car released in 1936 by the Austrian automobile manufacturer Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG. Design The streamliner, streamlined body was approved by Director Karl Jenschke to be constructed in 1935, however, in November ...
streamlined small car was introduced in 1936 by the
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n manufacturer Steyr-Puch. The car had a water-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine driving the rear wheels through a four-speed transmission. It had a similar engine and radiator layout as the Fiat Topolino that was launched at about the same time. To save room and weight a dynastarter was used, which doubled as the axle of the radiator fan. It was regarded as the "Austrian Peoples' Car" and was affectionately referred to as the Steyr "Baby". Professor Porsche had, despite rumors, not been involved in the design or production of the 50. Moreover, the little Steyr offered better seating and luggage space than Porsche's Volkswagen with shorter overall length, a large sheet metal sliding roof and was available with hydraulic brakes (instead of the early Volkswagens' cable-operated ones). In early 1938, the car was revised. It got a more powerful engine and a longer wheelbase. The new model was called the Steyr 55 and went on sale in 1940. A total of 13,000 Steyr "Babies" were sold. The production of Steyr cars was discontinued during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, after bombing of the factory. After the war, the factory was rebuilt and specialized in Austrian versions of the
Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 (, ) is an Economy car, economy / city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975. It was sold as a two-door semi-convertible or saloon car and as a three-door panel van or estate car. Launched ...
and
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
1500. Today the Steyr factory produces the BMW X models for Europe. 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, Citroën and Renault opened factories in England in this period. This situation only changed with the post-war growth of the EEC (
European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
) and
EFTA The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European Union ...
. 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, causing British car makers to produce under-square, low revving, long stroke engines. It was abolished after World War II as part of the British export drive for desperately needed, hard foreign currency, because it made British cars uncompetitive internationally. The technologically conservative 1930s
Morris Eight The Morris Eight is a small family car produced by Morris Motors from 1935 to 1948. It was inspired by the sales popularity of the Ford Model Y, styling of which the Eight closely followed. The success of the car enabled Morris to regain its posi ...
,
Ford Eight Ford 7Y is a car built by Ford UK from 1938 until 1939. During that time 65,098 cars were produced. The car was officially marketed as a Ford Eight, and was a rebodied and slightly larger version of the Model Y. The car was powered by a 8  ...
(Ford Model Y which was related to the German Ford Köln), and Standard Eight (Standard, later became Triumph) were named after their RAC horsepower car tax rating. The Ford Model Y had replaced the Model A in Europe in 1932 and ran until 1937. It was a much smaller and lighter car, weighing one third less, with an engine two thirds smaller in capacity than the Model A. The basic Model Y 'Popular' was an important milestone in British economy cars, being the first steel-bodied four-seater saloon to sell for £100; previously the only four-wheeled car to sell for that price had been the two-seater tourer model of the Morris Minor. The Model Y was reworked into the more streamlined Ford 7Y for 1938-1939. This was restyled again into the 1939 launched
Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Angli ...
. Initial sales in Britain actually began in early 1940. Production was suspended in early 1942, and resumed in mid-1945. Production ceased in 1948 after a total of 55,807 had been built. The Anglia was restyled again in
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
. Including all production, 108,878 were built. When production as an Anglia ceased in October 1953, it continued as the extremely basic
Ford Popular The Ford Popular, often called the Ford Pop, is a car from Ford UK that was 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. T ...
entry-level car until 1959. The
Ford Prefect The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars which was produced by Ford UK between 1938 and 1961 as an upmarket version of the Ford Popular and Ford Anglia small family cars. It was introduced in October 1938 and remained in production until ...
was a differently styled and slightly more upmarket version of the Anglia launched in October 1938 and remained in production until 1941, returning to the market in 1945. The car was face lifted in 1953 from its original perpendicular or sit-up-and-beg style to a more modern three-box structure. It was sold until 1961. The Anglia, Popular and Prefect sold well for a long time despite their old fashioned technology using transverse leaf springs and beam axles for front and rear suspension, side valve engines and only partly synchromeshed three speed gearboxes. They sold on price because of limited car supply on the used car market due to the Second World War, and new car market because of the British government's post war policy of exporting cars. The Morris Eight, introduced in 1935, was a deliberate close copy of the Ford and served as a lower cost, more profitable replacement for the 1928-vintage Morris Minor which had not achieved the hoped-for success. Prices for the Morris started at £112 and it offered more equipment than the Ford and a much more modern design than the ageing Austin Seven, which meant it became the UK's bestselling car by 1939. U.S. Industrialist Powel Crosley Jr. with a long track record in diverse car products and other consumer products such as phonograph cabinets, radios, and home appliances with his company Crosley, started production of cars from 1939 (switching to war production in 1942-45) until 1952. They produced small economy cars of a European rather than American scale. These featured a variety of innovative in-house designed engines of less than one litre capacity. They were popular in the 1940s due to their high fuel economy during fuel rationing because of the war. There were a wide variety of two-door body styles; Sedan, Convertible Sedan, Coupe, Convertible Coupe, Covered Wagon, and Station Wagon. Also, there was a successful sports car, the Crosley Hotshot. The styling of 1951 Crosley Super Sport is very similar to the 1958 Frogeye/Bugeye
Austin-Healey Sprite The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car produced in the United Kingdom from 1958 until 1971. The Sprite was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, two days after that year's Monaco Gra ...
. Production peaked at 24,871 cars in 1948. Sales began to slip in 1949, as the post war American economy took off, and even adding the Crosley Hotshot and a combination farm tractor-Jeep-like vehicle called the Farm-O-Road in 1950, could not stop the decline. In 1952, only 1522 Crosley vehicles were sold. Production was shut down and the plant was sold to the
General Tire and Rubber Company Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles, and semi trucks. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, Charles J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, ...
.


1945–1960

In anticipation of a repeat of the post First World War economic recession, GM started the "Chevrolet Cadet" project (a compact car intended to sell for less than ), that ran from 1945 to 1947, to extend the Chevrolet range downwards in the U.S. new car market. Chevrolet head of engineering Earle S. MacPherson was in charge of development. It had a unibody structure, an over-square over head valve engine, a strut-type front suspension, small-diameter road wheels, a three-speed gearbox, brake and clutch pedals suspended from the bulkhead rather than floor-mounted, and integrated fender/body styling. It was light and technically advanced, but GM's management cancelled it, stating that it was not economically viable - the anticipated post Second World War U.S. car market recession hadn't materialised. The
MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles. The name comes from American automotive engineer ...
, probably the world's most common form of independent suspension, evolved in the GM Cadet project by combining long tubular shock absorbers with external coil springs, and locating them in tall towers that directed the vertical travel of the wheels and also formed the "king pin" or "swivel pin axis" around which the front wheels could turn. It was elegantly simple, with just three links holding the wheel in place - the strut itself, the single-piece transverse lower arm, and the anti-roll bar that doubled as a drag link for the wheel hub. MacPherson took his ideas to Ford instead. They were first used in the French 1948
Ford Vedette The Ford Vedette is a large car formerly manufactured by Ford SAF in their Poissy plant from 1948 to 1954. Originally conceived by Edsel Ford and Ford designer Eugene T. "Bob" Gregorie as a “light” Ford model, smaller than the 1942 Ford. Ho ...
. Next in the 1950 British
Ford Consul The Ford Consul is a car that was manufactured by Ford of Britain from 1951 until 1962. The name was later revived for a model produced by Ford in both the UK and in Germany from 1972 until 1975. Between 1951 and 1962, the Consul was the four-c ...
and Zephyr (British mid-size cars, the same size as the Cadet), which owed more to the Cadet than just the MacPherson strut suspension, and caused a sensation when they were launched. In 1953, a miniaturised economy car version, the Anglia 100E was launched in Britain. These early 1950s British Fords used styling elements from the U.S.
1949 Ford The 1949 Ford is a line of cars produced by Ford from the 1949 to 1951 model years. The successor to the prewar 1941 Ford, the model line was the first full-size Ford designed after World War II, becoming the first Ford car line released after ...
'Shoebox'. 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 The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its p ...
,
Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV (, , lit. "two horses", meaning "two Tax horsepower#France, ''taxable'' horsepower") is an economy car produced by the French company Citroën from 1948 to 1990. Introduced at the 1948 Paris Paris Auto Show, Salon de l'Automobi ...
,
Renault 4CV The Renault 4CV (, as if spelled ''quat'chevaux'') is a car produced by the French company Renault from August 1947 through July 1961. It is a four-door economy car with its engine mounted in the rear and driving the rear wheels. It was the fir ...
, and
Saab 92 The Saab 92 was the first production car from Saab. The design was very aerodynamic for its time, with a drag coefficient (''cx'' or ''cw'') of 0.30. The entire body was stamped out of one piece of sheet metal and then cut to accommodate doors ...
looked extremely minimal; however, they were technologically more advanced than most conventional cars of the time. The 4CV was designed covertly by
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
engineers during the World War II German occupation of France, when under strict orders to design and produce only commercial and military vehicles. Between 1941 and 1944, Renault was under the Technical Directorship of a francophile German installed former Daimler Benz engineer called Wilhelm von Urach who turned a blind eye to the small, economy car project suitable for the period of post war austerity. The design team went against the wishes of Louis Renault who in 1940 believed that post-war Renault should concentrate on mid-range cars. Only after a row in May 1941 did Louis Renault approve the project. In October 1944 after the liberation, Louis Renault who was imprisoned on charges of collaboration, died in suspicious circumstances. In January 1945, newly nationalised Renault had officially acquired a new boss, the former resistance hero
Pierre Lefaucheux Pierre-André Lefaucheux (; 30 June 1898 – 11 February 1955) was a leading French industrialist and recipient of the Order of Liberation, awarded to heroes of France's Liberation during World War II. As the first chairman of Renault during the ...
, (he had been acting administrator since September 1944). Lefaucheux had been arrested by the Gestapo in June 1944, and deported to
Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...
concentration camp. The
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
transferred him to
Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
for interrogation, but the city was deserted because of the advancing allied front, the Germans abandoned their prisoner. In November 1945 the
French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...
invited
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...
to France looking to relocate the
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
project as part of war reparations. On 15 December 1945, Porsche was invited to consult with
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
about the Renault 4CV. Lefaucheux was enraged that anyone should think the almost production-ready Renault 4CV was in any way inspired by the German
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
, and that the politicians should presume to send Porsche to advise on it. The government insisted on nine meetings with Porsche which took place in rapid succession. Lefaucheux insisted that the meetings would have absolutely no influence on the design of the Renault 4CV, and Porsche cautiously went on record saying that the car would be ready for large scale production in a year. Lefaucheux was a man with contacts, as soon as the 4CV project meetings had taken place, Porsche was arrested in connection with war crimes allegations involving the use of forced labour including French in the Volkswagen plant in Germany.
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...
, despite never facing any sort of trial, spent the next twenty months in a
Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...
jail. The 760 cc rear-mounted four-cylinder engine, three-speed
manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...
4CV was launched at the 1946
Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...
and went on sale a year later. Volume production with the help of
Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...
aid money, was said to have commenced at the company's
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
ian
Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...
plant a few weeks before the
Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...
of October 1947, although the cars were in very short supply for the next year or so. On the 4CV's launch, it was nicknamed "''La motte de beurre''" (the lump of butter); this was due to the combination of its shape and the use of surplus paint from the German Army vehicles of Rommel's ''
Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...
'', which were a sand-yellow color. The VW featured a 1.1-litre, rear engined air-cooled 'boxer' flat four with rear-wheel drive, all round fully independent suspension, semi
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
construction and the ability to cruise on the
autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...
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. Production was restarted after the war by the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...
, under Major
Ivan Hirst Major Ivan Hirst (1 March 1916 – 10 March 2000) was a British Army officer and engineer who was instrumental in reviving Volkswagen from a single factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, into a major postwar automotive manufacturer. Education Hirst w ...
after it was dismissed as valueless for war reparations by the Western Allies. In 1948 Hirst recruited
Heinrich Nordhoff Heinz Heinrich Nordhoff (6 January 1899 – 12 April 1968) was a German engineer who led the rebuilding of Volkswagen (VW) after World War II. He was featured on the cover of ''Time'' magazine on Feb. 15, 1954. In 1948, Nordhoff accepted a Br ...
to run Volkswagen GmbH and in 1949 ownership was handed over to the West German government. The Volkswagen Type 1 'Beetle' was to become the most popular single design in history. Its production surpassed The Ford Model T on February 17, 1972. It was withdrawn from the European market in 1978. The Volkswagen Beetle was an icon of the post-war West German reconstruction known as the
Wirtschaftswunder The ''Wirtschaftswunder'' (, "economic miracle"), also known as the Miracle on the Rhine, was the rapid reconstruction and development of the Economy, economies of West Germany and Austria after World War II. The expression was first used to re ...
. The 375 cc
Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV (, , lit. "two horses", meaning "two Tax horsepower#France, ''taxable'' horsepower") is an economy car produced by the French company Citroën from 1948 to 1990. Introduced at the 1948 Paris Paris Auto Show, Salon de l'Automobi ...
had interconnected all round fully independent suspension, rack and pinion steering, radial tyres and front-wheel drive with an air-cooled flat twin engine and four-speed gearbox. 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 mid-1930s. It had been completely redesigned three times, as its market and materials costs had changed drastically during its development period. Engine size increased over time; from 1970 it was a still tiny 602 cc. It was in production until 1990. The
Saab 92 The Saab 92 was the first production car from Saab. The design was very aerodynamic for its time, with a drag coefficient (''cx'' or ''cw'') of 0.30. The entire body was stamped out of one piece of sheet metal and then cut to accommodate doors ...
had a transversely mounted,
water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and no ...
two-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categoriz ...
,
two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
based on a
DKW DKW (''Dampfkraftwagen'', – the same initials later also used for ''Des Knaben Wunsch'', ; ''Das Kleine Wunder'', and ''Deutsche Kinderwagen'', ) was a German car- and motorcycle-marque. DKW was one of the four companies that formed Auto U ...
design, driving the front wheels. It had aircraft derived
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
construction, with an aerodynamic ( drag coefficient) value of 0.30 – not bettered until the 1980s. It was later developed into the
Saab 93 The Saab 93 (pronounced ''ninety-three'') is the second production automobile that was manufactured by Swedish automaker Saab. Styled by Sixten Sason, it was first presented on December 1, 1955. The 93 was powered by a longitudinally-mounted th ...
,
Saab 95 The Saab 95 is a seven-seater, two-door station wagon produced by Swedish automaker Saab from 1959 to 1978. Initially it was based on the Saab 93 sedan, but the model's development throughout the years followed closely that of the Saab 96, th ...
, and
Saab 96 The Saab 96 is an automobile manufactured and marketed by Swedish automaker Saab from 1960 to January 1980, replacing the Saab 93. The 96 featured aerodynamic two-door bodywork, four-passenger seating and at first a two-stroke, three-cylinder e ...
. It was produced until 1980, switching to a V4 four stroke engine in the 1960s. The mechanicals were used in the
Saab Sonett The Saab Sonett is an automobile manufactured by Swedish automaker Saab between 1955 and 1957 and again between 1966 and 1974. The Sonett share its engines and other mechanical components with the Saab 93, 95 and 96 of the same era. It was mai ...
sports cars. Also in the immediate postwar period, the monocoque
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
Morris Minor The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971. It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6  ...
was launched in 1948. To reduce costs it initially reused the pre-war
side-valve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine, is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the Cam-in-block, engine block, instead of in the cyl ...
Morris 8 engine instead of an intended flat-four. Later, after the 1952 formation of
British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a United Kingdom, UK-based vehicle manufacturer formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris Motors, Morris and Austin Motor Company, Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merge ...
it had the
Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
designed 948cc and later 1098cc OHV
BMC A-Series engine The Austin Motor Company A-series is a British small straight-4 car, automobile engine. Launched in 1951 with the Austin A30, production lasted until 2000 in the Mini. It used a cast-iron block and cylinder head, and a steel crankshaft with thre ...
. It had a strong emphasis on good packaging and roadholding, with independent front suspension and rack and pinion steering, and American influenced styling. It was produced in different body styles including a 2-door and 4-door saloon, a 2-door convertible, a 'woody' estate car / station wagon, a van with a rear box and a pick-up truck. 1.3 million had been built by the end of production in 1971. It was designed by
Alec Issigonis Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Άρνολντ Κωνσταντίνος Ισηγόνης) (18 November 1906 – 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. He designed the Mini, launched by ...
. The 1947
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
Toyota SA The SA was Toyota, Toyota's first new passenger car design (as opposed to updating the Toyota AA, AA) after World War II. It was the first in a family of vehicles before the introduction of the Toyota Crown, Crown. A series of light trucks also sh ...
was Toyota's first true post war design. Although permission to begin full production of passenger cars in Japan was not granted until 1949, limited numbers of cars were permitted to be built from 1947, and the Toyota SA was one such car."Toyota seit 1936", Joachim Kuch, Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, Artikelnummer 17060 It had a 4-cylinder engine, 4-wheel independent suspension and a smaller, aerodynamic body. The project was driven by
Kiichiro Toyoda was a Japanese businessman and the son of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. His decision to change Toyoda's focus from automatic loom manufacture into automobile manufacturing created what later became Toyota. Toyoda Loom Works and ...
, but most of the design work was done by
Kazuo Kumabe Kazuo (カズオ, かずお) is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible spellings It has several written forms, and the meaning depends on the characters used (usually kanji, but sometimes hiragana). Common forms include: * 一雄: first son, ...
."Fifty Years of Toyota Concept Cars", in "the wheel extended", vol 17, no.3, 1987, Toyota Motor Corporation, ISSN 0049-755X The two-door body was aerodynamic in a style similar to the
Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...
. The doors were hinged at the rear (often called
suicide doors A suicide door is an automobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front. Such doors were originally used on horse-drawn carriages but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are less safe than front-hinged doors. ...
). The front window was a single pane of flat glass with a single wiper mounted above the driver. Only
right hand drive Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes called the ' ...
was offered. Toyota engineers (including Dr Kumabe) had visited
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
before
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and had studied
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
and
Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
designs (independent suspension, aerodynamic bodies, backbone chassis, rear-mounted air-cooled engines, economical production cost). Many Japanese companies had ties with Germany during the war years. But unlike other Japanese car firms Toyota did not partner with Western companies after the war, so it was free to use German designs. Many features of the prototype Beetle were subsequently put into the SA, although the Beetle's rear-mounted air-cooled engine feature was not used. Later on, Toyota revisited the economic principles exemplified by the Beetle when designing the 1950s successors to the SA and the later
Publica VEB Typoart was the only type foundry of East Germany. It was a state-owned enterprise ("Volkseigener Betrieb") located in Dresden. The foundry's most influential art directors were Herbert Thannhäuser (until 1963) and Albert Kapr (until 1987) ...
and Corolla. In the post war austerity of the late 1940s, when most of the Japanese population could not afford a car, but could afford a
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
, the Japanese codified a legal standard for extremely economical small cars, known as the keicar. The aim was to promote the growth of the car industry, as well as to offer an alternative delivery method to small business and shop owners. Originally limited to a mere 150 cc (100 cc for two-strokes) in 1949, dimensions and engine size limitations were gradually increased (in 1950, 1951, and 1955) to tempt more manufacturers to produce kei cars. It wasn't until the 1955 change to 360 cc as the upper limit for two-strokes as well as four-strokes that the class really began taking off, with cars from Suzuki
Suzulight Suzulight was the brand used for kei cars built by the Suzuki, Suzuki Motor Corporation from 1955 to 1969. They were Suzuki's first entry into automotive manufacturing, having previously only produced motorcycles. It was Japan's second front-wheel ...
(front-wheel drive based on the German Lloyd with a DKW type engine) and then Subaru 360, finally able to fill people's need for basic transportation without being too severely compromised. Early generation keicars on the market were mostly rear-engined, rear drive
RR layout RR, Rr or rr may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''RR'' (film), a 2007 experimental film by James Benning * Red Ribbon Army, a fictional army in the ''Dragon Ball'' series * Ruff Ryders Entertainment, a record label and East Coast rap coll ...
cars. From the end of the 1960s Keicars switched to front-engined, front-wheel-drive
FF layout In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used rega ...
. This market has thrived ever since, with the cars increasing in size and engine capacity, including sports cars such as the Honda Beat and Suzuki Cappuccino, and even miniaturised MPVs. In 1953, in Japan
Hino Hino may refer to: Places Estonia * Hino, Põlva County * Hino, Võru County ** Lake Hino Japan * Hino, Shiga * Hino, Tokyo * Hino, Tottori ** Hino District, Tottori ** Hino River Transportation * Hino Motors, a Japanese truck manufacturer own ...
entered the private car market, by manufacturing the
Renault 4CV The Renault 4CV (, as if spelled ''quat'chevaux'') is a car produced by the French company Renault from August 1947 through July 1961. It is a four-door economy car with its engine mounted in the rear and driving the rear wheels. It was the fir ...
under licence. Also, in 1953 the
Fiat 1100 The Fiat 1100 is a small family car produced from 1953 until 1969 by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. It was an all-new unibody replacement for the Fiat 1100 E, which descended from the pre-war, body-on-frame Fiat 508 C Balilla 1100. The 1100 was ...
in Italy was completely redesigned as a compact four-door sedan, with a modern monocoque bodywork and integrated front lights. While economy cars flourished in Europe and later 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 the early 1950s, the independent lower volume American auto manufacturers launched new 'small' cars. They were designed to be smaller than contemporary American cars, but would still have mainstream appeal, because they could still accommodate five passengers comfortably with conventional engineering and
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
, establishing the American sized 'Compact car'.
Nash Motors Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 until 1937. From 1937 through 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of Nash-Kelvinator. As sales of smaller firms declined after 1950 in ...
launched the
Nash Rambler The Nash Rambler is a compact, front-engine, rear-drive automobile manufactured and marketed by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation for model years 1950-1954 — as a sedan, wagon, and notably, a fixed-profile converti ...
and Kaiser-Frazer introduced the
Henry J The Henry J is an American automobile built by the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation and named after its chairman, Henry J. Kaiser. Mass production, Production of six-cylinder models began in their Willow Run factory in Michigan in July 1950, and four- ...
in 1950.
Willys-Overland Willys (pronounced , "Willis") was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II–era military jeeps (MBs), Willys ...
(the designers of the Second World War Jeep MB) the
Willys Aero The Willys Aero was a line of passenger cars manufactured first by Willys-Overland and later by Kaiser-Willys Corporation from 1952 through 1955 in the United States of America. It was also produced in Brazil from 1960 to 1971. Production US Th ...
in 1952, and
Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...
the 1953
Hudson Jet The Hudson Jet is a Compact car, compact-sized automobile produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, during the 1953 and 1954 model years. The Jet was the automaker's response to the popular Nash Rambler. The cost ...
. This
niche market A niche market is the subset of the market on which a product is appealed to a small group of consumers. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the ...
avoiding competition with the 'Big Three' of GM, Ford and Chrysler was not large enough to sustain all these competing models. They were priced too near the cost of a base model full sized car from the big three, that in the 1950s had a price war. US Fuel prices during this period were very low and the maintenance costs of the compacts were almost as much as full sized cars, so total running cost were not that much cheaper. Only the Nash Rambler made it to a second generation. The losses caused to the other car makers initiated the succession of mergers that eventually resulted in the American Motors Corporation (AMC). Nash also contracted with British Motor Corporation to build the American designed Metropolitan using existing BMC mechanical components, (the 1.5 Liter engine is a BMC B-Series engine also used in larger sizes in the
MG MGA The MGA is a sports car that was produced by MG from 1955 until 1962. The MGA replaced the MG TF 1500 Midget and represented a complete styling break from MG's earlier sports cars. Announced on 26 September 1955 the car was officially launched ...
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 1940s–early 1950s 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 The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...
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. In 1955 VW launched the Beetle-based Italian styled
Karmann Ghia The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia are a family of three overlapping sports car models produced by Volkswagen, marketed in 2+2 (car body style), 2+2 coupe (1955–1975) and 2+2 convertible (1957–1975) body styles, though German production ended one yea ...
coupé, that was developed from a 1953 concept car. Production doubled soon after its introduction, becoming the car most imported into the U.S, with more than 445,000 imported. Initially the stylish
Renault Dauphine The Renault Dauphine () is a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive four-door economy car, economy sedan (car), sedan with three-box styling, manufactured and marketed by Renault from 1956 to 1967 across a single generation. Along with such cars as the C ...
derived from the
Renault 4CV The Renault 4CV (, as if spelled ''quat'chevaux'') is a car produced by the French company Renault from August 1947 through July 1961. It is a four-door economy car with its engine mounted in the rear and driving the rear wheels. It was the fir ...
, 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 1955, the Japanese
Ministry of International Trade and Industry The was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Japan from 1949 to 2001. The MITI was one of the most powerful government agencies in Japan and, at the height of its influence, effectively ran much of Japanese industri ...
set a goal to all Japanese makers to create what was called a " national car" that was larger than the
kei car Kei car is the smallest category of Japanese expressway-legal motor vehicles. The term ''kei'' is a shortening of , (kanji: ), which translates to English as "light vehicle" (). With restricted dimensions and engine specifications, owners ...
. This influenced Japanese automobile manufacturers to focus their product development efforts for the smaller kei cars, or the larger "national cars". The concept stipulated that the vehicle be able to maintain a maximum speed over 100 km/h (62 mph), weigh below 400 kg (882 lbs), fuel consumption at or more, at an average speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) on a level road, and not require maintenance or significant service for at least . This established a "compact car" class, that is by far the most popular in Japan due to tax benefits stipulated by Japanese government regulations. One of the first compact cars that met those requirements was the
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
Toyota Publica The is a small car manufactured by the Japanese company Toyota from 1961 until 1978. Conceived as a family car to fulfill the requirements of the Japanese Government's "national car concept", it was the smallest Toyota car during that period a ...
with a
flat twin A flat-twin engine is a two-cylinder internal combustion engine with the cylinders on opposite sides of the crankshaft. The most common type of flat-twin engine is the boxer-twin engine, where both pistons move inwards and outwards at the same ti ...
engine, and the
RR layout RR, Rr or rr may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''RR'' (film), a 2007 experimental film by James Benning * Red Ribbon Army, a fictional army in the ''Dragon Ball'' series * Ruff Ryders Entertainment, a record label and East Coast rap coll ...
Mitsubishi 500 The Mitsubishi 500 was the first passenger car produced after the Second World War by Shin Mitsubishi Heavy-Industries, Ltd, one of the companies which would become Mitsubishi Motors. It was built from 1960 until 1962 and formed the basis for Mits ...
. The Publica and the Mitsubishi 500 were essentially "kei cars" with engines larger than regulations permitted at the time. In the late 1950s the DDR
German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
produced its 'peoples' car'. The
Trabant Trabant () is a series of B-segment, small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East Germany, East German car manufacturer HQM Sachsenring GmbH, VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. Four models were made: the Trabant P 50, Trabant 50 ...
sold 3 million vehicles in thirty years due to its
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
captive market A captive market is a market where the potential consumers face a severely limited number of competitive suppliers; their only choices are to purchase what is available or to make no purchase at all. The term therefore applies to any market wher ...
. It had a transverse two-cylinder air-cooled
two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
engine and front-wheel drive, using
DKW DKW (''Dampfkraftwagen'', – the same initials later also used for ''Des Knaben Wunsch'', ; ''Das Kleine Wunder'', and ''Deutsche Kinderwagen'', ) was a German car- and motorcycle-marque. DKW was one of the four companies that formed Auto U ...
technology. In 1957, Fiat in Italy launched the 479 cc 'Nuovo'
Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 (, ) is an Economy car, economy / city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975. It was sold as a two-door semi-convertible or saloon car and as a three-door panel van or estate car. Launched ...
designed by
Dante Giacosa Dante Giacosa (3 January 1905 – 31 March 1996) was an Italian automobile designer and engineer responsible for a range of Italian automobile designs — and for refining the front-wheel drive layout to an industry-standard configuration. He ...
with frontal styling by Claus Luthe. 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 in the post war
baby boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of births. This demography, demographic phenomenon is usually an ascribed characteristic within the population of a specific nationality, nation or culture. Baby booms are caused by various ...
, and needed their first car. It was also produced in Austria as the
Puch 500 The Puch 500 is a city car produced by the Austrian manufacturer Puch, a subsidiary of Steyr-Daimler-Puch in Graz. It was built under licence from Fiat and was based on the Fiat 500. The beginning In 1954 it was decided at Steyr-Puch to resume c ...
. Fiat had also launched the larger 1955
Fiat 600 The Fiat 600 (, ) is a small, rear-engined city car and Economy car, economy family car made by Italian carmaker Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1955 to 1969 — offered in two-door fastback sedan and four-door Multipla mini MPV body styles. The 60 ...
with a similar layout but with a water-cooled in-line four-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 Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
or uni-body construction (starting from the 1930s), from a separate
Body-on-frame Body-on-frame is a traditional motor vehicle construction method whereby a separate coachwork, body or coach is mounted on a strong and relatively rigid vehicle frame or chassis that carries the powertrain (the engine and drivetrain) and to wh ...
chassis made from thick steel. This relied on the shaped body panels and box sections, like sills/rockers, providing the integrity of the body-shell rather than a separate
frame (vehicle) A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had ...
for strength. A light car was a fast and/or economical car. The introduction of newly available computers for
structural analysis Structural analysis is a branch of solid mechanics which uses simplified models for solids like bars, beams and shells for engineering decision making. Its main objective is to determine the effect of loads on physical structures and their c ...
from the 1960s, with computers like the
IBM 360 The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of mainframe computer systems announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, and delivered between 1965 and 1978. System/360 was the first family of computers designed to cover both commercial and scientific applicati ...
, the thickness of sheet metal in bodyshells was reduced to the minimum needed for structural integrity. However, corrosion prevention /
rustproofing Rustproofing is the prevention or delay of rusting of iron and steel objects, or the permanent wikt:protection, protection against corrosion. Typically, the protection is achieved by a process of surface finishing or treatment. Depending on mec ...
, that had not previously been significant because of the thickness of metal and separate
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
, had not kept pace with this new construction technology. The lightest monocoque economy cars would be the most affected by structural
corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...
.


1960s

The world's first
hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
, the 1958
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
Austin A40 A number of different motor vehicles were marketed under the Austin A40 name by Austin between 1947 and 1967. Austin's naming scheme at that time derived from the approximate engine output, in horsepower. To distinguish between the different mo ...
Farina Countryman model that was a co-development of BMC and the Italian design house
Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (; ; short for Pininfarina Società per Azioni) is an Italian automotive design, car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 ...
at a time when this was unusual. It had a lift up rear window and drop down
boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...
lid. It was also sold as a two-door saloon. It was built in the UK and also in Italy by
Innocenti Innocenti () was an Italian machinery works, originally established by Ferdinando Innocenti in 1933 in Lambrate, a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Milan. Over the years, they produced Lambretta scooters as well as a range of automobiles, ...
. For 1965 Innocenti designed a new single-piece rear door for their Combinata version of the Countryman. This top-hinged door used struts to hold it up over a wide cargo opening and was a true hatchback – a model never developed in the home (United Kingdom) market. The Countryman name has 'estate' type associations, and BMC successor company
Rover Rover may refer to: People Name * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Stage name * Rover (musician), French singer-songw ...
used the name on
estate car A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate) is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door (the lift ...
s / Station Wagons so it is largely forgotten. The next major advance in small car design was the 1959 848 cc
FF layout In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used rega ...
Austin Mini from the
British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a United Kingdom, UK-based vehicle manufacturer formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris Motors, Morris and Austin Motor Company, Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merge ...
, designed by
Alec Issigonis Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Άρνολντ Κωνσταντίνος Ισηγόνης) (18 November 1906 – 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. He designed the Mini, launched by ...
as a response to the first oil crisis, the 1956
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
, and the boom in bubble cars and
Microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are ofte ...
s that followed. It was the first front-wheel-drive car with a water-cooled in-line four-cylinder engine mounted transversely - the
BMC A-Series engine The Austin Motor Company A-series is a British small straight-4 car, automobile engine. Launched in 1951 with the Austin A30, production lasted until 2000 in the Mini. It used a cast-iron block and cylinder head, and a steel crankshaft with thre ...
. 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 ( Hydrolastic 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 20th century after the Ford Model T.
Badge engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging (also known as badge engineering, an intentionally ironic misnomer in that little or no actual engineering takes place) is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. T ...
luxury versions with modified bodywork and wood and leather interiors were made under the names of Riley Elf and Wolesely Hornet. Customised versions were made by coach-builders like Harold Radford, and were very popular with the rich and famous of 1960s London. From 1964 a Jeep like version (that had been rejected by British Armed Forces), of the Mini, the
Mini Moke The Mini Moke is a small, front-wheel-drive utility and recreational convertible, conceived and manufactured as a lightweight military vehicle by British Motor Corporation (BMC), and subsequently marketed for civilian use under the Austin Moto ...
was popular with the
King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...
/
Carnaby Street Carnaby Street is a Pedestrian zone, pedestrianised shopping street in Soho in the City of Westminster, Central London. Close to Oxford Street and Regent Street, it is home to fashion and lifestyle retailers, including many independent fashion ...
,
Swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in ...
set. An Estate car / station-wagon (with a non-structural wood frame 'Countryman' version), a Van and Pick-up versions were also successful. In 1962, a slightly larger 1098cc (and later 1256cc) version of the Mini engineering design was launched, as the Austin/Morris 1100. It had front disc brakes as standard. It had Italian styling by
Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (; ; short for Pininfarina Società per Azioni) is an Italian automotive design, car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 ...
and used front-to-rear interconnected independent Hydrolastic suspension. It was available in sporting MG versions, and luxury wood and leather interior
Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...
, Wolesely and
Vanden Plas Vanden Plas is the name of coachbuilders who produced bodies for specialist and up-market automobile manufacturers. Latterly the name became a top-end luxury model designation for cars from subsidiaries of British Leyland and the Rover Group, ...
versions. It was for most of the 1960s, the top selling car in Britain, and was sold until the mid-1970s. It was sold as the Austin America in the U.S., Canada, and Switzerland between 1968 and 1972. It was also sold in South Africa - Austin Apache and Spain - Austin Victoria, with Triumph type Michelotti re-styling, built in local factories. BMC had hedged their bets after the launch of the front wheel drive Mini and 1100 and to meet the demands of more conservative customers, by keeping their rear wheel drive Austin A40 Farina in production until 1967 and
Morris Minor The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971. It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6  ...
until 1971, while front wheel drive was being accepted by the UK and European markets. Demand from older customers in particular kept the Minor in production, despite it being very outdated. Ford in the UK in 1959 launched the Anglia 105E. It had a new overhead valve engine and a four speed gearbox, which was a great improvement over the previous model Anglia 100E that had a side-valve engine and only three speeds. It was rear wheel drive using a rear beam axle and leaf springs, with front Macpherson struts used like its predecessor. It used much miniaturised late 1950s American-influenced styling that was very fashionable, including a sweeping nose line, and on deluxe versions, a full-width slanted chrome grille in between prominent "eye" headlamps. The car also sported a backward-slanted rear window and tailfins. This dated the car over its nine-year production life. The Anglia's
Ford Kent engine The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an straight-4, in-line four-cylinder Overhead valve engine, overhead valve (OHV) pushrod engine with a cast-iron cylinder h ...
was in production in a developed form into the 21st century. The launch in the 1960s of the
Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to: *Performance Cars of the original Mini series with uprated drive train and brakes, called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and also the successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000 *Cars of the Mini (mar ...
to exploit the exceptional grip and handling of the Austin Mini, along with its success in rallying, (
Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...
in particular) and circuit racing, first showed that economy cars could be effective sports cars. It made traditional sports cars like the
MG Midget The MG Midget is a small two-seater lightweight sports car produced by MG Cars, MG from 1961 to 1979. It revived a name that had been used on earlier models such as the MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and MG T-type. __TOC__ MG Midget MkI (19 ...
look very old fashioned. The rear-wheel-drive Ford
Lotus Cortina Lotus Cortina is the commonly used term for the Ford Cortina Lotus, a high-performance sports saloon, which was produced in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1970 by Ford Motor Company, Ford in collaboration with Lotus Cars. The original version, w ...
and Ford Escort 1300GT and RS1600, along with the
Vauxhall Viva The Vauxhall Viva is a small family car that was produced by Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were designated the HA, HB and HC series. The Viva was introduced a year after Vauxhall's fe ...
GT and Brabham SL/90 HB in the late 1960s opened up this market still further in Britain. Meanwhile, from the 1950s
Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing- and road-car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Abarth's logo is a shield with a ...
tuned Fiats and
Gordini Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and Car tuning, performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer) ...
tuned Renaults did the same in Italy and France. Also in 1959 the
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
DAF 600 The DAF 600 is a small family car produced by Dutch automaker DAF Trucks, DAF from 1959 until 1963. It was DAF's first production passenger car. The 600 was first presented at the Amsterdam Motor Show in February 1958 and was in production by 1959, ...
, with a rear-mounted automatic gearbox, was launched in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. The 600 was the first car to have a
continuously variable transmission A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is an automated Transmission (mechanical device), transmission that can change through a continuous range of gear ratios, typically resulting in better fuel economy in gasoline applications. This contr ...
(CVT) system – the innovative DAF
Variomatic Variomatic is the continuously variable transmission (CVT) of the Netherlands, Dutch car manufacturer DAF Trucks, DAF, originally developed by Hub van Doorne. It is a stepless, fully-automatic transmission, consisting of a V-shaped drive-belt, ...
. It was the first European economy car with an automatic gearbox. The CVT was continued through the 1960s and 1970s by DAF with the
DAF Daffodil The DAF Daffodil is an economy small family car that was manufactured by Dutch automaker DAF from 1961 until 1967. Together with the DAF 750, launched at the same time, it replaced the DAF 600. DAFs 750 was essentially the same car but with even ...
,
DAF 33 The DAF 33 is 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. 1966 had seen the introduction of the ...
,
DAF 44 The DAF 44 is a small family car that was introduced in September 1966 by the Dutch company DAF. It was the first car to be built at the company's new plant at Born in Limburg. Styled by Michelotti, it represented a cautious move upmarket ...
, DAF 46,
DAF 66 The DAF 66 is a small family car produced by the Dutch company DAF from September 1972 to 1976. It was the successor of the DAF 55 and was itself superseded by the reworked Volvo 66. The DAF 66 was the last four-cylinder car to feature the DAF ...
, and later by Volvo after they merged with the Volvo 340. The 1960s Austin Mini/Austin 1100 compact and innovative automatic gearbox, developed by
Automotive Products Automotive Products, commonly abbreviated to AP, was an automotive industry components company set up in 1920 by Edward Boughton, Willie Emmott and Denis Brock, to import and sell American-made components to service the fleet of ex- military t ...
(with a conventional epicyclic / torque converter coupling) was much less efficient at transmitting drive. In the 1960s the semi-monocoque/platform chassis 750 cc
Renault 4 The Renault 4, or R4 in short (and 4L, pronounced "Quatrelle" in French ), is an economy car built by the French company Renault from 1961 to 1994. Although the Renault 4 was first marketed as a short estate or wagon, its minimal rear o ...
(arguably the first small five-door hatchback, but viewed as a small estate car or station wagon at the time) was launched in France. It had a very soft but well controlled ride like the
Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV (, , lit. "two horses", meaning "two Tax horsepower#France, ''taxable'' horsepower") is an economy car produced by the French company Citroën from 1948 to 1990. Introduced at the 1948 Paris Paris Auto Show, Salon de l'Automobi ...
. In layout, it was essentially an economy car version of the 1930s designed
Citroën Traction Avant The Citroën Traction Avant () is the world's first mass-produced, semi-monocoque bodied, front-wheel drive car. A range of mostly four-door saloon (automobile), saloons and executive cars, as well as longer wheelbased ''"Commerciale"'', and thre ...
, in particular the 'Commerciale' derivative, but with fully independent rear suspension (the Commerciale used a flexible beam axle, similar to 1970s VW
twist-beam rear suspension The twist-beam rear suspension (also torsion-beam axle, deformable torsion beam, or compound crank) is a type of automobile suspension (vehicle), suspension based on a large H- or C-shaped member. The front of the H attaches to the body via rub ...
). 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. Citroën responded with the 2CV-based 1960 602 cc
Citroën Ami The Citroën Ami is a four-door, front-wheel drive Economy car, economy (B-segment) family car, manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1961 to 1978. The Ami was offered in sedan (car), saloon and station wagon, estate/wagon/break car body st ...
and hatchback 1967
Citroën Dyane The Citroën Dyane is an economy car, economy family car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1967 to 1983. The Dyane's design remained almost completely based on the Citroën 2CV and its underpinnings, but at the same time received a ...
. Also in France, in 1966 Renault launched the midrange
Renault 16 The Renault 16 (R16) is a large family car hatchback manufactured and marketed over a single generation by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France — and widely noted as the first French winner of the European Car o ...
- although it was not an economy car, it is widely recognised as the first non-commercial mass-market
hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
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. The hatchback improved the versatility of economy cars that were more limited in load carrying ability than larger cars. In the 1960s the Japanese MITI " national car" class of vehicles, saw the launch of the
Isuzu Bellett The Isuzu Bellett is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Isuzu between 1963 and 1973. Designed by Isuzu, the Bellett replaced the Isuzu Hillman Minx, manufactured by Isuzu under license with the Rootes Group. The car was avai ...
, Daihatsu Compagno and
Mazda Familia The , also marketed prominently as the Mazda 323, Mazda Protegé and Mazda Allegro, is a small family car that was manufactured by Mazda between 1963 and 2003. The Familia line was replaced by the Mazda3/Axela for 2004. It was marketed as the '' ...
in 1963, the
Mitsubishi Colt The Mitsubishi Colt is a nameplate from Mitsubishi Motors that has been applied to a number of automobiles since 1962. It was first introduced with a series of Kei car, kei and subcompact cars in the 1960s, and then for the export version of the ...
in 1965, and the
Nissan Sunny The is an automobile built by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1966 till 2004. In the early 1980s, the brand changed from Datsun to Nissan in line with other models by the company. Although production of the Sunny in Japan ended in 2004, the ...
, Subaru 1000, and
Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly Subcompact car, subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has bee ...
in 1966. Honda introduced their first four-door sedan in 1969, called the
Honda 1300 The Honda 1300 is an automobile which was produced by Japanese manufacturer Honda from 1969 to 1972. The largest car manufactured by the company to that point, the front wheel drive 1300 was released as a sedan and coupé intended to compete prima ...
. In North America, these cars were classified as
subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American Car classification, classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the Unite ...
s. The 1960s
Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly Subcompact car, subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has bee ...
, Datsun Sunny refined the conventional small rear-wheel-drive economy cars were widely exported from Japan as postwar international competition and trade increased. Japan also instituted the "Shaken" road-worthiness 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 1962 Fiat introduced the third generation
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
Fiat 1100 The Fiat 1100 is a small family car produced from 1953 until 1969 by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. It was an all-new unibody replacement for the Fiat 1100 E, which descended from the pre-war, body-on-frame Fiat 508 C Balilla 1100. The 1100 was ...
, called the 1100D. It was restyled into the 1100R from 1966. The Fiat 1100D was made in India from 1964 onwards. In 1973 (for that model year alone) it was named the Premier President. From 1974 onwards until it was finally discontinued in 2000, it was known as the
Premier Padmini The Premier Padmini was a four-seat saloon manufactured in India from 1964 to 2001 by Premier Automobiles Limited, a division of the Walchand Group, under licence from Fiat and marketed initially as the ''Fiat 1100 Delight'' — and from 197 ...
. In 1964
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
under the engineering leadership of
Dante Giacosa Dante Giacosa (3 January 1905 – 31 March 1996) was an Italian automobile designer and engineer responsible for a range of Italian automobile designs — and for refining the front-wheel drive layout to an industry-standard configuration. He ...
designed the first car with a transverse engine and an end on gearbox (using different length drive shafts) and a hatchback - the
Autobianchi Primula The Autobianchi Primula is a Supermini car, supermini economy car manufactured between 1964 and 1970 by the Italy, Italian automaker Autobianchi, partly owned by and later a subsidiary of the Fiat, Fiat Group. The Primula was Fiat's first model wi ...
, It had Pininfarina styling that bore a resemblance to the Austin 1100. It was put into limited production by Fiat under their
Autobianchi Autobianchi () was an Italian automobile manufacturer, created jointly by Bianchi (company), Bianchi, Pirelli and Fiat in 1955. Autobianchi produced only a handful of models during its lifetime, which were almost exclusively small cars, with the b ...
brand. Fiat still produced the
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
1100 of about the same size, so that any potential technical teething problems would not damage their brand. Primula production ceased in 1970, by which time 74,858 had been built. It was replaced by the
Autobianchi A112 The Autobianchi A112 is a supermini car, supermini produced by the Italy, Italian automaker Autobianchi. It was developed using a shrunken version of the contemporary Fiat 128's platform. The mechanicals of the A112 subsequently underpinned the Fi ...
and Autobianchi A111 with the same mechanical layout. They were only sold in mainland Europe, where they were popular into the 1980s (replaced by the Lancia Y10), but unknown in the UK. The French 1967
Simca 1100 The Simca 1100 is a series of France, French compact family cars – mainly C-segment hatchbacks, but also a Compact car, compact wagon and popular delivery vans – built for over 15 years by France, French car-maker Simca, from 1967 through ...
(who had previously used Fiat technology under licence), the 1969
Fiat 128 The Fiat 128 is a transverse front-engine, front wheel drive small family car manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1969 to 1985 as a two- or four-door sedan, three- or five-door station wagon as well as two- or three-door coupé. The 128 runn ...
, and the 1971
Fiat 127 The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction o ...
regarded as the first 'super-mini' brought this development to a wider audience. The 128 was Dante Giacosa's final project. This layout gradually superseded the gearbox in the engine's sump of BMC Austin Morris and later
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
PSA X engine The 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 was designed and manufactured b ...
, until the only car in production with this transmission layout by the 1990s, was the then long obsolescent Austin (Rover) Mini. The
Simca 1100 The Simca 1100 is a series of France, French compact family cars – mainly C-segment hatchbacks, but also a Compact car, compact wagon and popular delivery vans – built for over 15 years by France, French car-maker Simca, from 1967 through ...
was also the first small car, that was designed from the outset, with an angled single piece
hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
tailgate to enter large scale production. The earlier Renault 4 tailgate was near vertical like an estate car, and the
Austin A40 A number of different motor vehicles were marketed under the Austin A40 name by Austin between 1947 and 1967. Austin's naming scheme at that time derived from the approximate engine output, in horsepower. To distinguish between the different mo ...
originally had a split tailgate. The Simca was successful in France, but less so elsewhere due to 'tappety' engines and body corrosion. A total of 2.2 million cars were produced by 1985. In 1972 Renault introduced the monocoque
Renault 5 The Renault 5 is a five-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also call ...
supermini hatchback, that used the proven and successful
Renault 4 The Renault 4, or R4 in short (and 4L, pronounced "Quatrelle" in French ), is an economy car built by the French company Renault from 1961 to 1994. Although the Renault 4 was first marketed as a short estate or wagon, its minimal rear o ...
mechanicals and suspension. It was made until 1985, when it was replaced by the 'Super Cinq'.
American Motors American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the mergers and acquisitions, merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 19 ...
(AMC) marketed a version with sealed-beam headlamps and reinforced bumpers as the 'Le Car' in the U.S. from 1976 to 1983. GM's British and German subsidiaries re-entered the small car market with then conventional
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
cars for the first time since the Second World War in the early 1960s. The
Vauxhall Viva The Vauxhall Viva is a small family car that was produced by Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were designated the HA, HB and HC series. The Viva was introduced a year after Vauxhall's fe ...
, launched in September 1963, and was replaced in September 1966. It was also the first new small car produced by Vauxhall since 1936. The HA Viva was powered by a ,
overhead valve An overhead valve engine, abbreviated (OHV) and sometimes called a pushrod engine, is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with flathead (or "sidevalve") engines, where the v ...
, four cylinder, front-mounted engine driving the rear wheels. It was comparable in size and mechanical specifications with the new GM Germany
Opel Kadett The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel from 1936 until 1940 and then from 1962 until 1991 (the Cabrio continued until 1993), when it was succeeded by the Opel Astra. Originally, the Kadett was ...
released in 1962 in continental Europe. The Opel featured a brand new OHV 993cc engine, that in a developed form lasted until the early 1990s. The Viva and Kadett were sold alongside each other in many markets. The HA Viva was just an inch longer than the
Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Angli ...
which dated back to 1959. It was offered only as a two-door saloon. The HB Viva, announced in September 1966 and sold by Vauxhall until 1970, was a larger car than the HA, featuring coke bottle styling, and was modelled after American
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
(GM) models such as the
Chevrolet Impala The Chevrolet Impala () is a full-size car that was built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made auto ...
/Caprice of the period. It featured the same basic engine as the HA, but enlarged to 1,159 cc, but with the added weight of the larger body the final drive gearing was reduced to maintain performance. The Opel Kadett B was launched in 1965. In 1968 Ford replaced the outmoded Anglia with the Ford Escort which was sold across Western Europe. It was longer and wider than its predecessor to fill the gap left by increasing the size of Ford's next model up in the range the
Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car manufactured in various body styles from 1962 to 1982. It was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in five generations (Mark I through to Mark V, although of ...
. It had the same mechanical layout and suspension as the Cortina and Anglia, but with contemporary 'Coke Bottle' styling. It struggled to compete with the larger and more comfortable second generation 1965
Opel Kadett The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel from 1936 until 1940 and then from 1962 until 1991 (the Cabrio continued until 1993), when it was succeeded by the Opel Astra. Originally, the Kadett was ...
in
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. In the U.S. market, in 1959
Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Man ...
launched the
Studebaker Lark The Studebaker Lark is a compact car that was produced by Studebaker from 1959 to 1966. From its introduction in early 1959 until 1962, the Lark was a product of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In mid-1962, the company dropped "Packard" from ...
, then 1960 brought the Chevrolet Corvair,
Ford Falcon The Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate by Ford Motor Company, Ford that applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford ...
, and
Plymouth Valiant The Plymouth Valiant (first appearing in 1959 as simply the Valiant) is an automobile which was marketed by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation in the United States from the model years of 1960 through 1976. It was created to give ...
into the market segment dominated by Rambler. These vehicles were lower priced and offered better fuel economy than the standard domestic full-size models, that had grown in size and price through the 1950s. The Corvair, Chevrolet's rear-engined
compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class—predominantly used in North America—that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, before ...
, 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
Rambler American The Rambler American is a compact car that was manufactured by the American Motors Corporation (AMC) between 1958 and 1969. The American was the second incarnation of AMC forerunner Nash Motors' compact Nash Rambler, Rambler that was introduced ...
. In 1962 Chevrolet introduced the Chevy II / Nova line of conventional compacts first offered with 4- and six-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 six-passenger room and six-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 was followed by the Falcon-based
Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...
, introduced in 1964, establishing the "pony car" class which included Corvair's replacement, the
Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro sha ...
in 1967, expanding the domestic pony car market segment started in mid-1960s. The 1960s also saw the swan song of the rear-engined rear-wheel-drive car
RR layout RR, Rr or rr may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''RR'' (film), a 2007 experimental film by James Benning * Red Ribbon Army, a fictional army in the ''Dragon Ball'' series * Ruff Ryders Entertainment, a record label and East Coast rap coll ...
. The first models designed with this layout in Central Europe before the second world war, had better traction than any other two wheel drive car layout. They were very capable in the mountainous country there, that had many unsurfaced roads, just how capable was shown by the performance of the two wheel drive military Kübelwagen version of the VW Beetle. This layout also 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 round
independent suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in ...
, without the need for expensive
constant-velocity joint A constant-velocity joint (also called a CV joint and homokinetic joint) is a mechanical coupling which allows the shafts to rotate freely (without an appreciable increase in friction or Backlash (engineering), backlash) and compensates for the a ...
s needed by front-wheel-drive cars, or axle arrangements of
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
cars. They could have road-holding issues due to unfavorable weight distribution and wheel camber changes (rear wheel tuck under), of the lower-cost
swing axle A swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension designed and patented by Edmund Rumpler in 1903 for the rear axle of rear wheel drive vehicles. This was a revolutionary invention in automotive suspension, allowing driven (powered) whee ...
rear suspension design. These were highlighted and a little exaggerated by
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...
. These problems were ameliorated on later Beetles and were eliminated on the second-generation
Chevrolet Corvair The Chevrolet Corvair is a Rear-engine design, rear-engined, Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 engine, air-cooled compact car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet over two generations between 1960 and 1969. A response to the Volkswagen Beetle, it was of ...
with the switch to a four-link, fully independent rear suspension. The Hillman Imp, NSU Prinz 4 (styled by Claus Luthe) and Soviet Zaporozhets all had styling cues derived from the original Corvair. Connections to the Corvair are mentioned on their respective Wikipages. The only economy cars with this layout launched since the 1960s have been the turn of the millennium ultra compact two seater city car
Smart Fortwo The Smart Fortwo (stylized as "smart fortwo") is a two-seater city car manufactured and marketed by the Smart (marque), Smart division of the Mercedes-Benz Group for model years 1998–2024, across three generations — each using a rear-engi ...
and Indian market
Tata Nano The Tata Nano is a city car/microcar manufactured and marketed by Indian automaker Tata Motors over a single generation from 2008–2018, primarily in India, as an inexpensive rear-engine hatchback for motorcycle and scooter drivers — wit ...
. RR layout cars launched in the 1960s include: * The 874 cc Hillman Imp - UK. * The 583 cc NSU Prinz, and the relatively unsuccessful attempt at diversification of the
Volkswagen Type 3 The Volkswagen Type 3 is a compact car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen from 1961 to 1973. Introduced at the 1961 Frankfurt International Motor Show, the ''IAA'', the Type 3 was marketed as the Volkswagen 1500 and later as the Volks ...
, Volkswagen Type 4 -
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. * The 956–1289 cc
Renault 8 The Renault 8 (Renault R8 until 1964) is a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive small family car produced by the French manufacturer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s. It also formed the basis for the larger Renault 10, introduced in 1965. The ...
/10 and 777–1294 cc
Simca 1000 The Simca 1000, or Simca Mille in France, French, is a small, boxy Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, rear-engined four-door saloon car, saloon, manufactured for 18 years by French automaker Simca, from 1961 to 1978. Origins The origins of the ...
-
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. * The 2296 cc
Chevrolet Corvair The Chevrolet Corvair is a Rear-engine design, rear-engined, Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 engine, air-cooled compact car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet over two generations between 1960 and 1969. A response to the Volkswagen Beetle, it was of ...
- US. * The first 1960s air-cooled two-stroke in-line twin-engined generation of the 360 cc Keicar class - the 1958 Subaru 360,
Mitsubishi 360 The is a model series of kei cars, produced by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) over five generations, from 1962 to 2011, mainly for the Japanese domestic market. The Minica was first built by Shin Mitsubishi Heavy-Industries, one of Mitsubishi He ...
1961,
Mazda Carol is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., a cork-making factory, by Jujiro Matsuda. The company then acquired A ...
1962, Daihatsu Fellow 1966,
Honda N360 The Honda N360 is a small front-engine, front-wheel drive, two-door, four-passenger car manufactured and marketed by Honda from March 1967 through 1972 in Japan's highly regulated kei class — as both a two-door sedan and three-door wagon. ...
and the
Suzuki Fronte The Suzuki Fronte () is an automobile introduced in March 1962 as a sedan version of the Suzulight Van. The nameplate remained in use for Suzuki's Kei car sedans as well as some commercial-use derivatives until it was replaced by the Alto (orig ...
1967 along with the non Keicar, Renault based
Hino Motors Hino Motors, Ltd., commonly known as Hino, is a Japanese manufacturer of commercial vehicles and diesel engines (including those for trucks, buses and other vehicles) headquartered in Hino, Tokyo. The company was established in 1942 as a corpora ...
4CV was replaced by the 1961 Contessa -
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. *In
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
Eastern Europe there was the Škoda 1000MB/1100MB that was developed into the 1970s Škoda S100/110 and then the 1970s–1980s Škoda 105/120/125 Estelle -
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. * Centrally planned as ''the'' small
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
car, the Zaporozhets from the Ukrainian ZAZ factory (1960-1969 styled like a Fiat 600), (1966-1994 styled like NSU Prinz 4), was sold in the USSR and
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
/
COMECON The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, often abbreviated as Comecon ( ) or CMEA, was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc#List of states, Easter ...
countries of Eastern and
Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
. It had a low price and good fuel economy and was designed to be DIY maintained by the customer, because of lack of maintenance facilities in communist countries. It was also issued to Soviet war amputees by the state through their social welfare system. In total, 3,422,444 air-cooled Zaporozhets made. -
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...


1970s

The
1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...
(and again in 1979), emphasised the importance of fuel economy worldwide, as an increasing proportion of the cost of vehicle operation. This had particular impact in the United States with its greater distances, which was 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 vehicle design and construction for the U.S. market. The sales of imported economy cars had continued to rise from the 1960s. The first response by domestic American car makers included the U.S. produced,
FR layout A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (FR), also called Système Panhard is a powertrain layout with an engine in front and rear-wheel-drive, connected via a drive shaft. This arrangement, with the engine straddling the front axle, was the tra ...
cars, the
AMC Gremlin The AMC Gremlin, also called American Motors Gremlin, is a subcompact car introduced in 1970, manufactured and marketed in a single, two-door body style (1970–1978) by American Motors Corporation (AMC), as well as in Mexico (1974–1983) by AM ...
,
Chevrolet Vega The Chevrolet Vega is a Subcompact car, subcompact automobile manufactured and marketed by General Motors, GM's Chevrolet division from 1970 until 1977. Available in two-door hatchback, notchback, station wagon, wagon, and sedan delivery body st ...
, and
Ford Pinto The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1970 until 1980. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America. The Pinto was marketed in three bo ...
, along with captive imports. AMC was determined to have the first
subcompact Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Pr ...
offering and 1970 AMC Gremlin sales began six months ahead of the all-new 1971 models from GM and Ford. The Gremlin used the AMC Hornet's existing design with a shortened
wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
and "chopped" tail, and had an important low-price advantage. The
Chevrolet Vega The Chevrolet Vega is a Subcompact car, subcompact automobile manufactured and marketed by General Motors, GM's Chevrolet division from 1970 until 1977. Available in two-door hatchback, notchback, station wagon, wagon, and sedan delivery body st ...
, featuring attractive miniaturised Camaro styling, introduced in September 1970, was GM's first subcompact, economy car. Nearly two million were sold over its seven-year production run, 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 the aluminum-block engine developed a questionable reputation. Chevrolet increased the engine warranty to to all Vega owners, which proved costly for Chevrolet. 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 aluminium engine were discontinued at the end of the 1977 model year.
Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...
's cheapest car was a re-badged Vega variant exclusively available in Canada for the 1973-74 model years, and introduced in the U.S. the following year. The final 1977 models featured the first use of Pontiac's Iron Duke inline-4 engine. Lower priced versions of the
Chevrolet Monza The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact automobile produced by Chevrolet for the 1975 through 1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width, and standard inline-four engine. The car was designed to accommo ...
were introduced for 1978 and rebadged variants of the discontinued Vega were also added to the Monza line - the Monza wagon using the Vega Kammback body was sold for the 1978-79 model years, and the Monza S hatchback, a price leader model using the Vega Hatchback body, was also offered for the 1978 model year. The
Ford Pinto The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1970 until 1980. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America. The Pinto was marketed in three bo ...
was introduced one day after the Vega. It was small, economical, and a top seller. Controversy over the design of the fuel system and a Ford cost benefit analysis presented to the public as specific to the Pinto destroyed the reputation of the car. The
Ford Pinto engine The Ford Pinto engine was the unofficial name for a four-cylinder internal combustion engine built by Ford Europe. In Ford sales literature, it was referred to as the EAO or OHC engine and because it was designed to the metric system, it was some ...
though was successful in European Fords for twenty years, in successive mid and large European sized mainstay models of the; UK
Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car manufactured in various body styles from 1962 to 1982. It was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in five generations (Mark I through to Mark V, although of ...
, German
Ford Taunus The Ford Taunus is a family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Germany throughout Europe. Models from 1970 on were manufactured using the same basic construction as the Ford Cortina MkIII in the United Kingdom, and later on, the two car mode ...
, the
Ford Sierra The Ford Sierra is a Mid-size car, mid-size/D-segment, large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford of Europe from 1982–1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Bob Lutz (businessman), Robert Lutz and Patrick Le Quément, and was noted for ...
, and the Ford Granada amongst others. By 1970, Nissan released their first front-wheel-drive car that was originally developed by
Prince Motor Company The Prince Motor Company (Japanese language, Japanese: ) was an automobile manufacturer, automobile marque from Japan which eventually merged into Nissan in 1966. It began as the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, a manufacturer of various airplanes fo ...
which had merged with Nissan in 1966. This was introduced in 1970 as the Datsun/
Nissan Cherry The Datsun Cherry (チェリー), known later as the Nissan Cherry, is a series of subcompact cars which formed Nissan's first front-wheel drive supermini model line. The Nissan Cherry featured the front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout. The Ch ...
. In 1973, the
Energy Crisis An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant Bottleneck (production), bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particu ...
started, which made small fuel efficient cars more desirable, and the North American driver began exchanging their large cars for the smaller, imported compacts that cost less to fill up and were inexpensive to maintain. The
Toyota Corona The is an automobile manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota across eleven generations between 1957 and 2001. On launch, the Corona was Toyota's second-highest product in their range, just below the Crown. The Corona was marketed in the ...
, the
Datsun 510 The Datsun 510 was a series of the Datsun Bluebird sold from 1968 to 1973. Outside the US it was sold as either the Datsun Bluebird or as the Datsun 1300/1400/1500/1600/1800 (depending on engine variant). The rear-wheel drive 510's engineering ...
, the
Mitsubishi Galant The is an automobile which was produced by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi from 1969 until 2012. The model name was derived from the French word ''galant'', meaning "chivalrous". There have been nine distinct generations with total cumulative ...
(a captive import from Chrysler sold as the
Dodge Colt The Dodge Colt is a subcompact car manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors and marketed by Dodge for model years 1971 to 1994 as a captive import. Rebadged variants included the Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, both were marketed by Plymouth. The ...
), the Subaru DL, and later the
Honda Accord The , also known as the in Japan and China for certain generations, is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, best known for its four-door sedan variant, which has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States sinc ...
gave buyers increased passenger space and some luxury amenities, such as air conditioning, power steering, AM-FM radios, and even power windows and central locking without increasing the price of the vehicle. In 1972, the
Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/Honda City, City and Honda Accord in Honda's global passenger car line-up. The first-generation Civic was introduced in July 1972 ...
was launched, the
CVCC CVCC, or , is an internal combustion engine technology developed and trademarked by the Honda Motor Company. The technology's name refers to its primary features: Compound refers to the use of two combustion chambers; Vortex refers to the vo ...
(Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion)
Stratified charge engine A stratified charge engine describes a certain type of internal combustion engine, usually spark ignition (SI) engine that can be used in trucks, automobiles, portable and stationary equipment. The term "stratified charge" refers to the working f ...
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 the need to use a
Catalytic converter A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...
for the new
California emission standards California () is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the sout ...
- nearly every other U.S. market car for that year needed exhausts with catalytic converters. The Japanese, who had previously competed on price, equipment and reliability with conservative designs, were starting to make advanced, globally competitive cars. The
Audi 50 The Audi 50 (known internally as ''Typ 86'') is a small supermini car produced by German automaker Audi from 1974 to 1978, and sold only in Europe. Introduced two and three years after the French Renault 5 and the Italian Fiat 127 respectively, ...
designed by Claus Luthe was a front wheel drive
supermini The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the third largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 15. ...
three door hatchback car launched in 1974 and produced until 1978, and sold only in Europe, 180,812 were built. A re-badged cheaper, lower equipment version was marketed as the Volkswagen Polo Mk1 (1975-1981) sold more than 500,000. It impacted sales of the Audi, causing production to come to an end early compared to the Polo. The Volkswagen Derby was the booted two door saloon (three-box) version of its Volkswagen Polo Mk1 supermini, between 1977 and 1981 in Europe. Ford had sold 2 million Escorts across Europe by 1974, the year the MK2 was launched with a squarer flatter panel body re-style. The most successful market was the UK. The Escort's success was greatly helped by its numerous rallying successes in the 1970s, and the performance versions like the Escort Mexico and RS2000 that traded on that success, and provided a halo effect for the lesser models. The
Chevrolet Chevette The Chevrolet Chevette is a front-engine, rear-drive subcompact manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet for model years 1976–1987 as a three-door or five-door hatchback. Introduced in North America in September 1975, the Chevette superseded ...
was introduced in September 1975 and produced through to 1987. It was a successful and 'Americanized' version of the GM T platform (1973) 'world car' that was developed with
Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
, GM's German subsidiary and
Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...
of Japan.
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
having taken control of
Simca Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italy, Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simc ...
(and Hillman in the UK) in the 1960s, as part of expansion plans to match GM and Ford, turned to their French subsidiary, when they needed to launch an American made sub-compact, to comply with federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations that were being introduced starting with the 1978 model year cars. The replacement for the Simca 1100, the C2 project, became the (Simca) Talbot Horizon that won
European Car of the Year The European Car of the Year award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising media of the award are '' Auto'' (Italy), '' Aut ...
1978, and more than 3 million were sold in the United States as the
Dodge Omni The Dodge Omni is a subcompact, subcompact car that was manufactured by Chrysler, Chrysler Corporation from the 1978 to 1990 model years. Marketed alongside the Plymouth Horizon, the Omni was the first front-wheel drive Chrysler vehicle; the pai ...
and Plymouth Horizon from 1978 to 1990. It had been re-engineered with a federal emission VW Golf 1.7L engine and MacPherson strut suspension for the U.S. market.
Chrysler Europe Chrysler Europe was the American automotive company Chrysler's operations in Europe from 1967 through 1978. It was formed from the merger of the French Simca, British Rootes and Spanish Barreiros companies. In 1978, Chrysler divested thes ...
was sold to
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
in 1978, due to mounting operating losses in Europe and the U.S. that required a U.S. government bailout. Captive imports were the other response by U.S. car makers to the increase in popularity of imported economy cars in the 1970s and 1980s. 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 Opel,
Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car manufactured in various body styles from 1962 to 1982. It was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in five generations (Mark I through to Mark V, although of ...
,
Mercury Capri Capri (later Mercury Capri) is a Nameplate (automotive), nameplate marketed by the Mercury (automobile), Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford Motor Company over three generations between 1970 and 1994. From 1970 to 1978, the Capri was a sport compact ...
,
Ford Festiva The Ford Festiva is a four passenger, three-door, front-drive subcompact car manufactured in South Korea by Kia, under license from Mazda and marketed by Ford for model years 1986–2002 over three generations in Japan, the Americas, and Austral ...
, and
Dodge Colt The Dodge Colt is a subcompact car manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors and marketed by Dodge for model years 1971 to 1994 as a captive import. Rebadged variants included the Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, both were marketed by Plymouth. The ...
are examples. Technologies that developed during the post-war era, such as disc brakes, overhead-cam engines and
radial tire A radial tire (more properly, a radial-ply tire) is a particular design of vehicular tire. In this design, the cord plies are arranged at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, or radially (from the center of the tire). Radial tire constructio ...
s, had become cheap enough to be used in economy cars at this time (radials began to be adopted in the 1950s and 1960s, and front disc brakes in the 1960s, towards the bottom of the market in Europe). This led to cars such as the 1974 Mk 1
Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/ small family car ( C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplate ...
designed by
Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002. He w ...
,
Fiat 128 The Fiat 128 is a transverse front-engine, front wheel drive small family car manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1969 to 1985 as a two- or four-door sedan, three- or five-door station wagon as well as two- or three-door coupé. The 128 runn ...
and 1972
Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/Honda City, City and Honda Accord in Honda's global passenger car line-up. The first-generation Civic was introduced in July 1972 ...
. Some previously exotic technology, electronic
fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All c ...
, became affordable, which allowed the production of high-performance hot hatch
sport compact Sport compact is a United States marketing classification for a high-performance version of a compact or a subcompact car. There is no precise definition, and the description is applied to various models for promotional purposes. Cars began to ...
s like the 1976
Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/ small family car ( C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplate ...
GTI. This car combined economy of use and a practical hatchback body, with the performance and driving fun that kicked off the hot hatchback boom. Also introduced in 1976 was the 1.5 L VW Golf diesel—the first small diesel hatchback. It used new Bosch rotary mechanical diesel injection pump technology. Also in that year,
Ford of Europe Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork (city), Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany. History Ford of Europe was founded in 1967 by the merger of Ford of Bri ...
(produced by the merging of Ford national operations in Europe) launched their first front-wheel-drive small car, the
Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car that was marketed by Ford from 1976 to 2023 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and had been positioned below the ...
, having gained experience from the Ford of Germany 1960s European midsized
Ford Taunus P4 The Ford Taunus 12M is a small family car produced by Ford Germany from September 1962 to August 1966. The Taunus 12M name had been used for the car's predecessor and would be used for subsequent Ford models, which is why the 12M introduced in 1 ...
and Ford of Brazil Ford Corcel.


1980s

GM Europe (Vauxhall/Opel) introduced their first European market front-wheel-drive car, the Opel Kadett D/
Vauxhall Astra The Vauxhall Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) that has been sold by Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall since 1980. Over its eight generations, it has been made at several GM/Opel/Stellantis plants around Europe - however most versio ...
, Golf-sized car in 1979 by Opel in Germany and 1980 by Vauxhall in the UK. In 1980, Fiat introduced the Giugiaro designed Mk 1
Fiat Panda The Fiat Panda is a city car manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat since 1980, currently in its third generation. The first generation Panda, introduced in 1980 as the Mk1, was a Car body configurations#Two-box design, two-box, thr ...
. 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. Also in 1980, the all new hatchback and front wheel drive third generation Ford Escort Mark III (Europe) was launched. Previous Escorts were saloon/sedans with front engine and rear wheel drive. In 1981 Ford launched the American version of the Ford Escort. In 1982 GM launched their first front-wheel-drive
supermini The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the third largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 15. ...
, the
Opel Corsa The Opel Corsa is a supermini car manufactured and marketed by Opel since 1982 — as well as other brands, namely Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall, Chevrolet, and Holden. At its height of popularity, the Corsa became the best-selling car in the ...
/Vauxhall Nova in Europe. In 1983 Fiat launched the next step forward in small car design, the
Fiat Uno The Fiat Uno is a supermini manufactured and marketed by Fiat. Launched in 1983, the Uno was produced over a single generation (with an intermediate facelift, 1989) in three and five-door hatchback body styles until 1995 in Europe — and un ...
. It was designed by
Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002. He w ...
's
ItalDesign Italdesign-Giugiaro S.p.A. () is a design and engineering company and brand based in Moncalieri, Italy, that traces its roots to the 1968 foundation of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. Best ...
. The tall, square body utilising a
Kamm tail A Kammback—also known as a Kamm tail or K-tail—is an :Automotive styling features, automotive styling feature wherein the rear of the car slopes downwards before being abruptly cut off with a vertical or near-vertical surface. A Kammback re ...
achieved a drag coefficient of 0.34, and it won much praise for an airy interior space and fuel economy. It incorporated many packaging lessons learnt from Giugiaro's 1978 Lancia Megagamma 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 Year Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards. The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by '' Motor Trend'' magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of ...
in 1984. Also in 1983 Peugeot launched the Pininfarina-styled
Peugeot 205 The Peugeot 205 is a four-passenger, front-engine, supermini ( B-segment) car manufactured and marketed by Peugeot over a sixteen-year production run from 1983 to 1999, over a single generation. Developed from ''Projet'' M24 and introduced on 2 ...
. 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)
Citroën BX The Citroën BX is a large family car which was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1982 to 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, ...
, the beginning of the start of the boom in diesel sales in Europe. The 205 GTI was as popular as the Golf GTI in Europe. The 205 was named "Car of the Decade" in the UK, by
CAR magazine ''Car'' is a British automobile, automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Media Group, Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published or licensed by Bauer Automotive in South Korea (since March 2016), Brazil, China ...
in 1990. In the US Chevrolet offered three new small economy cars in the 1980s to replace the Chevette: the
Chevrolet Sprint The Suzuki Cultus is a supermini car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Suzuki from 1983 to 2016. The nameplate is currently used as a rebadged second-generation Suzuki Celerio in Pakistan since 2017. It was first presented at the 25th Tok ...
, a three-cylinder Suzuki-built hatchback, The Chevrolet Spectrum built by
Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...
and the
Chevrolet Nova Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
built by
NUMMI New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) was an American automobile manufacturing company in Fremont, California, jointly owned by General Motors and Toyota, that opened in 1984 and closed in April 2010. The plant is located in the East Ind ...
in California, a GM-Toyota joint venture.


1990s

Chevrolet offered the Geo brand in the US in the 1990s featuring the Suzuki-built Geo Metro (marketed as the Suzuki Swift in Europe,
Suzuki Cultus The Suzuki Cultus is a supermini car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Suzuki from 1983 to 2016. The nameplate is currently used as a rebadged Suzuki Celerio#second, second-generation Suzuki Celerio in Pakistan since 2017. It was first pres ...
in Japan, and Holden Barina in Australia), the Isuzu-built
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...
, and the NUMMI-built Prizm. In Europe in 1993, Fiat launched the boxy and conservatively styled but very well packaged front wheel drive Fiat Cinquecento that could accommodate four adults that was only slightly larger than an Austin Mini. It eventually replaced the first Fiat Panda and also the aged rear engined rear wheel drive 1970s Fiat 126, as the smallest car in the Fiat range. But the real breakthrough in small car design was the 1993
Renault Twingo The Renault Twingo is a city car made by the French company Renault from 1992 to 2024 across three generations. The name is a portmanteau of ''twist'', ''swing'', and ''tango''. The first-generation Twingo (two door, front engine) debuted at t ...
which was a revolution in styling by being the first 'one box' small car to reach production. The early pre-production
Citroën AX The Citroën AX is a supermini which was built by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1986 to 1998. It was launched at the 1986 Paris Motor Show to replace the Citroën Visa and Citroën LNA. Overview Development of this model started in 19 ...
supermini launched in 1987 was a 'monobox' design, but the production version was much more conservative after negative reactions in focus groups. Both had the interior space of a much larger car. The Twingo and Cinquecento relaunched the city car market in Europe - for decades the only competitors in this market were the Austin Mini and the Polish built Fiat 126 (developed from the 1950s Fiat 500).


Economy cars since 2000

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 such as the Volkswagen Golf and Toyota Corolla, have increased in size and moved upmarket over several generations, and their makers have added smaller new models in their original market niches. The 2003
Volkswagen Golf Mk5 The Volkswagen Golf Mk5 (codenamed ''Typ 1K'') is a compact car/small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen, as the fifth generation of the Golf in three- or five-door hatchback (August 2003 – 2008) and a five-door station wagon ...
had put on so much weight, that some models weigh the same as a Volvo 200 Series. The
supermini The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the third largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 15. ...
2002
Volkswagen Polo Mk4 The Volkswagen Polo Mk4 is the fourth generation of the Volkswagen Polo supermini car produced by the German manufacturer Volkswagen. It was marketed from early 2002 to 2010 in most countries except Argentina and the USA. It was manufactured in ...
was longer and wider than the 1970s
Volkswagen Golf Mk1 The Volkswagen Golf Mk1 is the first generation of a small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen. It was noteworthy for signalling Volkswagen's shift of its major car lines from Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, rear-wheel drive ...
. Gordon Murray the
Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
and
Mclaren F1 The McLaren F1 is a sports car that was the first Motor vehicle type approval, type approved road-going sportscar manufactured by British Formula One team McLaren. It was the last road-legal, series-produced sportscar to win the 24 Hours of Le ...
designer, said when designing his new Murray T.25 city car: "Today with all the promises of hydrogen and hybrids and electric cars, if you could take ten percent out of the weight of every car, the effect in the next ten years would be more than that of all the hybrids and electric cars on the planet." The
City car The A-segment is the first category in the passenger car classification system defined by the European Commission. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined. A-segment sales represented approximately 4.2% of the ...
market in Europe from the 1990s has seen increased competition, with the market split between standard and 'designer' city cars that are sold for a premium. These cars are at the lower end of supermini size or smaller. Standard city cars include the
Toyota Yaris The is a supermini/subcompact car sold by Toyota since 1999, replacing the Starlet and Tercel. Up to 2019, Toyota had used the Yaris nameplate on export versions of various Japanese-market models, with some markets receiving the same vehicl ...
, Citroën C1/
Peugeot 107 The Peugeot 107 is a city car produced by France, French automaker Peugeot, launched in June 2005, and produced until 2014. The 107 was developed by the B-Zero project of PSA Peugeot Citroën in a joint venture with Toyota; the Citroën C1 and T ...
/
Toyota Aygo The Toyota Aygo is a city car (A-segment) marketed by Toyota mainly in the European market between 2005 and 2022 across two generations. The Aygo was first displayed at the Geneva International Motor Show#2005, 2005 Geneva International Motor S ...
(built in the same factory),
Fiat Panda The Fiat Panda is a city car manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat since 1980, currently in its third generation. The first generation Panda, introduced in 1980 as the Mk1, was a Car body configurations#Two-box design, two-box, thr ...
,
Kia Picanto The Kia Picanto is a city car that has been produced by the South Korean car manufacturer, Kia, since 2003. Other names of the car include Kia Morning () in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan (first two generations) and Chile, Kia EuroStar in Taiwan ...
, Chevrolet Matiz, Volkswagen Fox,
Mitsubishi Colt The Mitsubishi Colt is a nameplate from Mitsubishi Motors that has been applied to a number of automobiles since 1962. It was first introduced with a series of Kei car, kei and subcompact cars in the 1960s, and then for the export version of the ...
,
Volkswagen Lupo The Volkswagen Lupo (''Typ'' 6X) is a city car that was produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen, from 1998 to 2005. It shares most of its aspects with the Volkswagen Group's SEAT Arosa, both derived from the Volkswagen Polo Mk3 platfor ...
, and 2011
Volkswagen Up The Volkswagen Up (stylized as Volkswagen up!) is a city car produced by the Volkswagen Group from 2011 to 2023. It was unveiled at the International Motor Show Germany#2011, 2011 International Motor Show Germany (IAA). Production of the Up star ...
. The 'designer' city car became increasingly popular in Europe in the 1990s. The first car of this kind was a limited success, the 1985 Lancia Y10, because it had been hampered by its poor ride, from being based on the original utilitarian
Fiat Panda The Fiat Panda is a city car manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat since 1980, currently in its third generation. The first generation Panda, introduced in 1980 as the Mk1, was a Car body configurations#Two-box design, two-box, thr ...
. Also,
Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...
was a dying brand in the UK at this time. The 1993
Renault Twingo The Renault Twingo is a city car made by the French company Renault from 1992 to 2024 across three generations. The name is a portmanteau of ''twist'', ''swing'', and ''tango''. The first-generation Twingo (two door, front engine) debuted at t ...
and
Ford Ka The Ford Ka is a small car manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1996 to 2016 as a city car and from 2014 to 2021 as a subcompact car. It entered its second generation in 2008, produced by Fiat in Tychy, Poland. A third generation was introduced ...
in 1996, marked an upsurge in sales for this niche. The Ka was to be launched along with the mid-1990s Fiesta with the innovative Australian two stroke
Orbital engine The Sarich orbital engine is a type of internal combustion engine, invented in 1972 by Ralph Sarich, an engineer from Perth, Australia, which features orbital rather than reciprocating motion of its central piston. It differs from the conceptual ...
, but tightening emissions laws meant that it was launched with an updated
Ford Kent engine The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an straight-4, in-line four-cylinder Overhead valve engine, overhead valve (OHV) pushrod engine with a cast-iron cylinder h ...
instead. This was followed by the innovative engineering designs;
Mercedes-Benz A-Class The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a car manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. It has been marketed across four generations as a front-engine, front-wheel drive, five-passenger, five-door hatchback, with a three-door hatchback offered for the second generat ...
with an under floor engine, the two seater rear engined
Smart ForTwo The Smart Fortwo (stylized as "smart fortwo") is a two-seater city car manufactured and marketed by the Smart (marque), Smart division of the Mercedes-Benz Group for model years 1998–2024, across three generations — each using a rear-engi ...
, and the aluminium bodied Audi A2 which in its most aerodynamic form only achieved a . Sales really took off with the 2001
BMW Mini Mini (stylised as MINI) is a British automotive brand founded in Oxford in 1969, marketed by German multinational automotive company BMW since 2000, and used by them for a range of small cars assembled in the United Kingdom, Austria, Netherl ...
with its modern but conventional front wheel drive engineering and re-interpretation of the classic Austin Mini styling. This has sold well in other markets including North America. Other cars of this type include the
Mitsubishi Colt The Mitsubishi Colt is a nameplate from Mitsubishi Motors that has been applied to a number of automobiles since 1962. It was first introduced with a series of Kei car, kei and subcompact cars in the 1960s, and then for the export version of the ...
-based
Smart Forfour The Smart Forfour (stylized as "smart forfour") is a city car (A-segment) marketed by Smart (marque), Smart over two generations. The first generation was marketed in Europe from 2004 to 2006 with a front-engine configuration, sharing its platform ...
, VW Polo based Audi A1,
Fiat Panda The Fiat Panda is a city car manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat since 1980, currently in its third generation. The first generation Panda, introduced in 1980 as the Mk1, was a Car body configurations#Two-box design, two-box, thr ...
based Fiat Nuova 500, Citroën C3 based
Citroën DS3 The DS 3 (formerly known as Citroën DS3 and DS 3 Crossback) is a Supermini, luxury supermini initially produced by the French automobile manufacturer Citroën and officially launched in January 2010. Positioned below the DS 4, this was the firs ...
, and Fiat Grande Punto based
Alfa Romeo MiTo The Alfa Romeo MiTo (Type 955) is a front-wheel drive, three-door B-segment, supermini designed by Centro Stile Alfa Romeo and first presented in 2008 at Castello Sforzesco in Milan with an international introduction at the British Motor Show in ...
. The
Toyota iQ The Toyota iQ is a city car manufactured by Toyota and marketed in a single generation for Japan (2008–2016); Europe (2008–2015); and North America (2012–2015), where it was marketed as the Scion iQ. A rebadged variant was marketed in Euro ...
, designed in France, went on sale in January 2009 in the UK. It is a competitor for the
Smart ForTwo The Smart Fortwo (stylized as "smart fortwo") is a two-seater city car manufactured and marketed by the Smart (marque), Smart division of the Mercedes-Benz Group for model years 1998–2024, across three generations — each using a rear-engi ...
but with occasional rear seats. 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 99 g/km rating. It also achieved the top
Euro NCAP The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven, Belgium. Formed in 1996, the first results were released in February ...
5/5 stars safety rating. A development in recent years in Europe, has been the launch of small MPVs/people carriers. This is a development of the
Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002. He w ...
tall car, high-seating packaging innovation first used in the
Fiat Uno The Fiat Uno is a supermini manufactured and marketed by Fiat. Launched in 1983, the Uno was produced over a single generation (with an intermediate facelift, 1989) in three and five-door hatchback body styles until 1995 in Europe — and un ...
. The niche first emerged in Japan with the 1993
Suzuki Wagon R The is a kei car manufactured and marketed by Suzuki since 1993. The R in the name stands for Revolution and Relaxation. The Wagon R uses a "tall wagon" configuration to maximize cabin space within kei car dimensional restrictions. The Wag ...
Keicar class car. This was sold by GM in Europe from 2000 as the Vauxhall/ Opel Agila. This was followed by the slightly larger
supermini The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the third largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 15. ...
based cars like the
Renault Modus The Renault Modus is a mini MPV produced by the French manufacturer Renault from August 2004 to December 2012, in Valladolid, Spain. The production version is very similar to the concept car of the same name, which was presented at the 2004 Gen ...
, Citroën C3 Picasso,
Fiat Idea The Fiat Idea is a car manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 2003 to 2012 over a single generation with one intermediate Facelift (automotive), facelift. It is a five-passenger mini MPV with five doors. It has a front-engine, front-wheel drive l ...
,
Nissan Note The is a supermini/Subcompact car, subcompact hatchback or a mini MPV manufactured and marketed globally by Nissan. Introduced in 2004, the first-generation Note was primarily marketed in Japan and Europe, and was produced in Japan and the Unit ...
, and the Vauxhall/
Opel Meriva The Opel Meriva is a car manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Opel on its Corsa platform, from May 2003 until June 2017 across two generations. Described as a mini MPV, it was marketed as the Vauxhall Meriva in the United Kingdom, ...
that is also produced in Brazil. Their tall packaging designs offer the interior space of a larger car. The higher seating increases visibility for the driver that is useful in urban driving. They also make it easier to get in and out, which is useful for those with personal mobility problems, such as the elderly and the disabled. The conflicting design goals for economy cars – small size with maximum usable interior space, low cost and light weight with acceptable safety performance (light cars have a higher ratio of unsprung suspension mass to sprung mass, which affects ride quality) and the need for light materials with acceptable durability – continue to stimulate innovative development. Technology improvements such as electronic engine management, adoption of four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, direct injection of petrol/Gasoline and diesel,
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...
power, and smoother, more powerful
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
s with very high pressure electronic injection, have dramatically improved fuel economy and performance and lowered emissions. The latest technologies to improve efficiency are
engine downsizing In the automotive industry, engine downsizing is the practice of utilizing smaller combustion engines over larger ones of the same power capacity when manufacturing vehicles. It is the result of car manufacturers attempting to provide more effici ...
and automatic engine stop-start. Automatic engine stop-start systems like VWs BlueMotion, shut the engine down when the car is stopped to reduce idling emissions and boost economy, and it is now mandatory not to idle unnecessarily in cities in Germany. It is an updated version of the 1980s VW 'Formel E' system that was developed into the 1990s VW 'Ecomatic' system. The application of turbo-charging to downsized engines is one way to achieve efficiency benefits into fuel economy and emission benefits instead of for performance. The recent
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
' Multiair' system, is an electro-hydraulic development of
variable valve timing Variable valve timing (VVT) is the process of altering the timing of a Poppet valve, valve lift event in an internal combustion engine, and is often used to improve performance, fuel economy or emissions. It is increasingly being used in combina ...
that allows the engine management computer to control valve timing, improving engine efficiency, giving better
torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Wh ...
, power, economy, and emissions. Safety design is a particular challenge in a small, lightweight car. This is an area where
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
has been particularly successful.
Sport compact Sport compact is a United States marketing classification for a high-performance version of a compact or a subcompact car. There is no precise definition, and the description is applied to various models for promotional purposes. Cars began to ...
s and hot hatches have developed into their own competitive genre. Although their economy has been compromised, these models offer higher performance because of the lightness of the platforms that they are based upon. As an alternative to manual
synchromesh A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system where gear changes ...
gearboxes, automatic
continuously variable transmission A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is an automated Transmission (mechanical device), transmission that can change through a continuous range of gear ratios, typically resulting in better fuel economy in gasoline applications. This contr ...
(CVT) gearboxes are optional on some economy cars, such as
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...
,
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
, and the MINI ONE and
MINI Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to: *Performance Cars of the original Mini series with uprated drive train and brakes, called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and also the successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000 *Cars of the Mini (mar ...
.
Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company, headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, cars, trucks, vans, and busses, buses. T ...
from India, recently announced that it too would use a variomatic transmission in its Nano. 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 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 U.S. Fuel costs are also a much higher proportion of income, due to generally higher wages and lower living costs in the U.S. 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 countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...
has also created a new market for inexpensive new cars. Unlike in the postwar period this demand has not been met by utilitarian models, but advanced 'peoples' 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 Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and Brazil; the Citi Golf is an example. Some mainstream European auto makers have developed models specifically for developing countries, such as the Fiat Palio,
Volkswagen Gol The Volkswagen Gol is a subcompact car that was manufactured by Volkswagen do Brasil from 1980 to 2023 as Volkswagen's entry-level car in the Latin American market—where it succeeded the Volkswagen Type 1 (Fusca) and the Volkswagen Bra ...
and
Dacia Logan The Dacia Logan is a family of automobiles produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since mid-2004, and was the successor to the Dacia 1310 and Dacia Solenza. It has been produced as ...
.
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
has teamed up with India's Mahindra and Mahindra to produce a low-cost car in the range of to . The
Tata Nano The Tata Nano is a city car/microcar manufactured and marketed by Indian automaker Tata Motors over a single generation from 2008–2018, primarily in India, as an inexpensive rear-engine hatchback for motorcycle and scooter drivers — wit ...
launched in January 2008, in India by
Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company, headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, cars, trucks, vans, and busses, buses. T ...
, was claimed by Tata to be the world's cheapest car at . The Nano, like the 1950s
Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 (, ) is an Economy car, economy / city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975. It was sold as a two-door semi-convertible or saloon car and as a three-door panel van or estate car. Launched ...
, has a rear engine and was styled by Italians. It is designed to get whole families off scooters and onto four wheels. The Nano fell short of the sales projections of Tata. Like the US market rejection of the Austin 7 in the 1920s, many Indian consumers felt the car was too compromised to be acceptable, and it faced strong price competition from Indian motorcycle producers. Production ended in 2018. The
Tata Indica The Tata Indica (from "Indian Car") is a B-segment car launched by the Indian manufacturer Tata Motors in 1998. It was the first Indian hatchback with a diesel engine. It was the first passenger hatchback from Tata Motors, with previous models bei ...
that was formerly sold in Europe as the City Rover until the 2005 collapse of Rover, sold poorly in the UK as it was overpriced for a basic car. 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
business strategy In the field of management, strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by an organization's managers on behalf of stakeholders, based on consideration of resources and an assessment of ...
. Ford was saved by the Model A and Volkswagen was saved by the Golf. Ford started the Mercury and Lincoln 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 Up The Volkswagen Up (stylized as Volkswagen up!) is a city car produced by the Volkswagen Group from 2011 to 2023. It was unveiled at the International Motor Show Germany#2011, 2011 International Motor Show Germany (IAA). Production of the Up star ...
to
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...
s and
Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...
s, and it also owns
SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...
and Skoda. China has become one of the fastest growing car markets, recently overtaking the U.S. as the largest producer of cars in the world. It is followed by India with a preference towards inexpensive, basic cars, but they are both moving upmarket in their tastes as their economic rise continues. India is becoming a global outsourcing production centre for small cars. The
Suzuki Alto The is a kei car produced by Suzuki since 1979. The model, currently in its ninth generation, was first introduced in 1979 and has been built in many countries worldwide. The Alto originated as a commercial vehicle derivative of the Fronte, ...
and Hyundai i10 are already being exported to Europe from India. In March 2010 at
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
formerly Madras, the Renault-Nissan Alliance opened a plant to produce 400,000 units per year at full production. The first vehicle to be produced at the plant will be the new Nissan Micra, for the Indian market as well as for export to over 100 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Production of the Micra has been re-located from the UK and other developed countries. In 2011, the plant will start production of the Renault Koleos and Fluence, for the Indian market based on the same platform. The Maruti version of the Suzuki Swift is also produced in India. Gordon Murray the
Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
and
Mclaren F1 The McLaren F1 is a sports car that was the first Motor vehicle type approval, type approved road-going sportscar manufactured by British Formula One team McLaren. It was the last road-legal, series-produced sportscar to win the 24 Hours of Le ...
designer, has pointed out the difficulty of making economy cars cost-efficient. His solution is a laser cut tubular steel space-frame chassis built with an automated tube mill, braced with bonded low-cost composite sheets that would be a cheaper and greener means of production. Murray's 'iStream' simplifies each process with an eighty percent smaller factory with lower cost production, making light weight efficient cars. There are no sheet metal presses, spot welders or paint plants. It would be built local to its market. Murray was reported to be negotiating production licences. The T25 and T27 were projected to be available in 2016.


See also

*
Fuel economy in automobiles The fuel economy of an automobile relates to the distance traveled by a vehicle and the amount of fuel consumed. Consumption can be expressed in terms of the volume of fuel to travel a distance, or the distance traveled per unit volume of fue ...
* Automobile costs


References


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Economy Car Automotive industry in the United States Transport economics