Some European cars never seen in North America

Volkswagen Scirocco

Years ago when VW brought out the first Golf (aka Rabbit), they also sold the Scirocco sport compact coupe in North America. It was based on the golf platform, but had a body that was much lower and sleeker. Volkswagen thought of it as a replacement for the Karmann Ghia coupe that they produced from the late fifties and into the early seventies. 

Fast forward nearly forty years and those Germans are keeping the 3rd generation Scirocco, a sleek little two door hatchback, all to themselves. The reason, they felt this great-looking, fun to drive coupe might negatively affect sales of the competent but visually boring Golf GTI... duh!  

Audi A3 Convertible (current)

Audi has the cornered the market on cars with clean and simple lines. While out on a stroll in Sinsheim Germany the other day we came across several Volkswagen and Audi cars on display. The one car in the group that stood out was the A3 Convertible. In addition to the typical Audi flawlessly executed styling details, what really keeps this car looking so nice is the soft top. The trend today is away from the soft top to retractable hardtops, but the cuts in the body necessary for them to function messes up the look of many such cars. I know the hard roof has its advantages but it comes at a cost beyond just the financial.

Good News! I’ve read the 2015 A3 convertible is coming our way with an all wheel drive option. It won’t be cheap but...

Smart Roadster (2003 – 2005)

I woke up on our last day in Germany, looked out the window of our hotel room and what did I see? A very clean example of the Smart Roadster Coupé, with all the Brabus options. The Coupé has the extended glass "roof" over the engine bay, giving it more luggage space than the lesser model with the short roof. Too bad the car in this picture isn't situated next to another car for a size reference – a Miata would look massive next to this. 

Smart only made 43,091 of these cars from 2003 to 2005, and never sold them in the North American market. This car would have come from the factory with a 99 horsepower engine. Until one takes up the challenge of driving fast in a relatively low horsepower car, they won't know what pleasure can be had from wringing every last bit of "go" out of one. Something a Porsche Turbo driver will never experience, even going twice as fast.

Wikipedia says, “For those who have driven it, and fallen in love with it, it has proven to be an excellent driver's car with fuel consumption in the high 40s or low 50s miles per imperial gallon. Running costs are low and the car is one of the few true sports cars built in the spirit of the 1950s classic British sports car. Influential British motoring television show and magazine "Top Gear" praised the Roadster, awarding it Fun Car Of The Year for 2005.”

Sadly it was discontinued, not by slow sales, but production issues that put warranty costs over $5,000.00 (Cdn) per unit. Too bad.

Peugeot 1007 (2004 – 2009)

Here's an oddity we stumbled upon in Cologne. If you were to take a small minivan and chop out the section containing the front doors and seats, then weld the front and rear back together, you'd have this car. It has only one door on each side - a power sliding door if you can believe it. Too weird. But then again, in tight European parking spaces, those doors make a lot of sense.

Ford Ka

Picture a two door Ford Fiesta that got left in the dryer a little too long. This mini-sized tall hatchback has outgrown its quirky first generation design is now quite a tidy-looking little car. I'd buy one, but then I happen to like small cars. I saw lots of these cars zipping around all over Germany, but never got the chance to get a picture, this nice shot thanks to google images.

Volkswagen California

Looking a lot like the old Westfalia camper vans, this mid-size by European standards even has a pop-up roof like the old "Westies" had. Sadly, it will never travel the state its named after.

Convertible Everything

Earlier in this post I criticized retractable roof cars as being less visually appealing than their soft-top brethren. While that is true, it doesn't mean they aren't without merit. I saw lots of different retractables, some that looked quite nice, especially if you choose a dark colour so the awkward body joints are less noticeable. As my friend JD says, "If the top goes down, the fun goes up!"