6 World-Market Performance Cars That Were Strangled For America
As much as Donald Trump refuses to admit it, America in 2015 is part of a global community and it’s not going to change. I promise that’s as political as I’m going to get, but I mention it because it applies to automobiles as much as anything else, and it’s a big deal for us in the States.
Next year I’ll finally have the chance to sample a Focus RS, a phenomenal machine denied on these shores for far too long. Likewise, American muscle is opening up to different markets as well. I suspect some of the muscle haters will be quite surprised at just how good the likes of the new Mustang are after a few minutes behind the wheel; kind of like how I felt the first time I drove a Mk 2 Volkswagen GTI.
It’s too bad this couldn’t have happened sooner. I know getting all the various government certifications for U.S. market cars can be a pain for manufacturers, but there were several models that were already here; except their performance variants didn’t show up as the superheroes everyone else knew. Here are a few gut-punching examples of what I’m talking about, with pics (and a killer video) of what they should’ve been.
1. Ford SVT Focus
I’ll jump right into the biggest Ford faux pas since turning the Mustang into a Pinto. When the first-generation Focus RS - pictured above - appeared in the UK with its 212bhp turbo’d mill, there were plenty of Americans excited to get one. Instead, the best we got was the SVT Focus (also known as ST170 in other markets, which was the slightly less-hot Focus).
It was a neat enough hot hatch, but didn’t pack nearly enough punch to be competitive in the U.S. market; even the freakin’ Dodge Neon got a turbo. Ford already had one for the Focus elsewhere, so why did it take 14 years to cross the Atlantic?
Here’s another case of the missing turbo. Subaru apparently wasn’t sure how Americans would take to their pint-sized first-generation WRX rally missile, so instead they sent us the exact same car, just without all the horsepower. I suppose it makes a certain kind of sense, in the same way a lightbulb makes sense as a doorstop. The first-generation WRX is arguably the best looking of the entire run, and it’s the only one not sold in America. Sigh.
3. Audi Quattro
This one is a bit different than the others, because America did get the Audi Quattro, complete with a turbocharger and everything. Sadly it was a bit neutered by the time it arrived in 1983, packing just 160bhp as opposed to the 197bhp seen everywhere else. Yes, it was a victim of U.S. emission regulations, but other cars were coming into the States without such dramatic power losses.
I get the feeling Audi just shrugged their shoulders and tossed us a bone instead of, you know, actually trying to give us something cool. That’s why the original Audi Quattro isn’t such a big deal over here, since apparently it wasn’t a big deal to Audi to make it a big deal to us. But it should have been.
4. Merkur XR4ti
I don’t have the slightest idea why Ford thought their Sierra XR4i would sell better in America if they called it a Merkur. Doesn’t matter, because it didn’t sell worth a damn, which is sad because it was a cool car that still has a cult following today.
Maybe if Ford had gone for the jugular and packed it with the same 2.0-litre turbo from the Sierra Cosworth instead of the 2.3-litre turbo used Stateside in the Mustang SVO and Thunderbird, it would have garnered more attention.
5. Nissan 240SX
Drifters around the U.S. understand this one all too well, because many end up swapping their 240s with the engine they should’ve had in the first place. I’m talking about the much-loved SR20DET with its boosted 200bhp that thrilled everyone. Everyone except us Americans I mean, because our Silvias came with a non-turbocharged 2.4-litre KA24DE making 155bhp. The only real complaint on this car through the years was a lack of power, and the fix was already in use everywhere else. This sort of thing only fueled the anti-import brigade’s fire.
6. Honda Civic Si
So yeah, we still get Honda’s runner-up Si as opposed to the Type R. I’m told there are enough structural differences between the two as to require Honda to go through a whole new set of certifications to be legal in the States. Here’s a thought: why not just drop the same performance bits into the Si and call it, I don’t know, a Type-SiR? Or better yet, get on the global bandwagon and build a single car to fit multiple markets. Everyone else is doing it, and yes there are many, many enthusiasts in the U.S. who would love to dance with this car. C’mon Honda, time to step up.
Comments
Toyota Sprinter AE86 and it’s Corolla GT-S import, it had slightly less power, but weight gained to make it worse.
I swear, 4Kids was behind this…
The sierra pictured is actually a sierra cosworth, this is the XR4i Merkur
Besides the civic.. Nothing but great cars we didn’t get
Ep3 type r was a great car…H badge doesnt bring it down in any way.
The complaint that he makes on honda is as stupid as it gets ,yeah don’t do the best you can just drop some bops and bits on your “normal” civic and call it type-r ,derp ,everyone complained for years hondas aren’t what they were ,they don’t make good sports cars anymore balablabla ,and when they do they get hated ,they made the car better ,if they can’t put on the US too bad ,deal with it ,you already have enough to choose from buck up do a conversion ,tune it yourself buy another thing damn you americans are whinny ,we don’t have almost any true american car in Europe ,do we care ? YES do we cry ? Maybe but jesus at least you got all those platform and the potential that comes with them ,we didn’t not that we needed american platforms to have potential but that’s not the point also I don’t hate american cars in fact I love them but you already have a lot to play with ,you just want what you can’t have .
The difference is you were never promised those true American cars that you want. You have to understand that before they started selling the cars in this list in the U.S. the manufacturers hyped them up. They promise to send us the real deal and when they finally debut here we get some watered down version. Sometimes we don’t get them at all. That’s why it’s upsetting. They get us so excited and then they let us down. Not to mention, if you really want an American car chances are you can legally import it. By law we are prohibited from doing so. We have to sit here and wait 25 years at which point the car is either worth too much money, too difficult to find a nice one, or parts have become too expensive. Imagine that you want a dog more than anything in the world and every year your mother promises to buy you one on your birthday. But every year your birthday comes around and she gives you a small cheap toy version of the dog that you want. It’s a major let down and you can’t help but not be a bit bitter about it.That’s what they do to us. What you think is that we get the dog but then we see someone else’s slightly cooler dog and want that instead. That’s just not the case.
Some V8 pickup love?
Ute* not pickup. F150 is a pickup and el Camino is a ute. But yeah I want them
But we have guns… So f@ck yeah bubs
Okay so I don’t get why is there such a big difference between the British CT writers and the american writers? Like this guy is American and his writing style is pretty straightforward, whereas the British writers use a lot of words that people don’t use day to day. Is it just me or does anyone else feel the same way?
Maybe we do actually use more…elaborate words on a day to day basis, certainly in my area anyway.
Bullsh*t because im from brazil and we never got any of this cars except for the subaru (sort of we got a turbo version) americans always likes to complain with their mouth full, i say that because i spent a year living on the us
Don’t be mad you were deported..
As an ‘Murican I can agree our economy and our political correctness ideas or stupid on so many levels. Like if someone got shot and died then if they can’t make it a race issue then they blame guns! It’s absolutely stupid. My uncle got his skyline impounded just cause it was RHD and he had to go prove the legalization of the car! It’s a great country but dang some people can be stupid sometimes.
Exactly my thoughts! We car guys are doing no harm!
Meanwhile in Brazil, we got no focus/fiesta ST, no focus RS, no brz/gt86… well, no sports cars really, you have to import everything or buy them at a specialized dealership that have imported them already. Some dealerships have some newer Camaros, but they’re expensive as hell compared to US prices.