With an all-but-sure-thing global economic recession waiting in the wings, it’s going to be a rough few years for the automotive industry. With trillions set to be scrubbed from the bank accounts of average middle class folks, retirement accounts wiped out, and car buying plans thrown out the window, new vehicle sales are almost certainly going to dip, and average transaction prices will trend (hopefully) downward as those who can still afford a car will be buying smaller and cheaper units to help them save at the fuel pump.
In the 1990s and post-2008 economic slumps, The Big Three rushed to add captive imports to their portfolios in order to beat the recession. With imports now subject to a massive 25% tariff, this isn’t an option anymore. Which small and fuel efficient cars should automakers start building in the U.S. to make it through the next decade intact?
Look back to the 1990s and you’ll see a huge influx of successful cheap and cheerful models, like Ford’s Fiesta and Aspire—both rebadged Kias imported from Korea—or General Motors’ Geo lineup cribbed from Toyota, Isuzu, and Suzuki. If you need more recent examples, look to Ford importing the Mexican-built Fiesta again following the 2008 financial crisis. There are dozens of other examples, so feel free to insert your favorite.
Car prices skyrocketing
With current automotive sales transaction prices already significantly higher than at any point in history, there is almost certainly a pricing crisis on the horizon as individual component prices rise and push current vehicle MSRPs through the roof. In the past this has meant a trend toward smaller and less expensive cars, the kinds of cars that automakers have been slowly killing off over the last decade. Will this new economic state entice Honda to bring the Fit back to the U.S. market, this time built in Ohio? Will Chevrolet revive the Cruze or Spark? Is this the time for Toyota to partner with Mazda to return the Yaris Hybrid and 2 Hybrid stateside? As a small car enthusiast, I sure as hell hope so!
Wikimedia Commons
Toyota currently sells the Yaris Hybrid 130 GR Sport in Europe, and I would absolutely love to see this tiny warm hatchback make its way over here. It’s built on the TNGA-B platform, itself a shorter version of the Corolla chassis. Perhaps with some tooling updates the Toyota Yaris and Mazda2 could be built alongside the Corolla at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi in Blue Springs, Miss. With a seemingly bullet-proof Toyota 1.5-liter gasoline hybrid drivetrain, the Yaris Hybrid 130 GR Sport delivers 129 horsepower, while sipping fuel at a tick over 60 miles per gallon, and looking like a million bucks. The GR Sport model gets improved suspension, added chassis stiffness, and more sport-oriented steering. Maybe Mazda can spin up a MazdaSpeed2 Hybrid from the 2 Hybrid (above) based on Toyota’s GR Sport model as well. That all sounds great to me.
So let’s hear it. Which global car that isn’t currently sold in the U.S. market should be brought here to combat the pending economic collapse? What grass-is-always-greener cheap, small, and economical car do you wish someone would move production to the U.S. to fight tariffs? Sound off in the comments below, we want to know!
