Originally Posted by
lopek77
Not anymore my friend...many "American" cars ARE European versions. Buicks, Chevys, Fords (inluding your Focus), Cadillacs, Dodges... are 100% European size. They are re badged Opels, Daewoos, Toyotas, Fords, Alfas, Fiats and so on. Even some Jeeps and Chrysler cars are more European that American.
You right about road width...European countries are way older than USA. They used to have roads before cars were invented. And it's hard to make a wide roads if there are some 700 or more years old buildings in the way already
Some people like to argue about American/European/Japanese cars...I always ask what car/brand is more American....Toyota or GM? The answer may surprise you...
Well... sort of. As far as "re-badged" you can go all day deciding which is a re-badge of what but it's all the same company. Their marketing folks have just bought and established different brands in different markets. Is Chevrolet a re-badged Vauxhall or a Vauxhall a re-badged Chevy? Neither. They are a General Motors product badged for their respective market. Heck, even in the U.S., GM is fond or re-badging the same car with different branding to attract key established markets (like the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G6). Ford used to do this as well (Mercury Cougar, Ford Thunderbird, Lincoln Continental, Ford Mustang. All the same chassis, most parts interchangeable. Just re-badging and a few option variations; like the Mustang having a 'high output' engine; same 5.0L motor as the others but with beefed up intake and exhaust components, and the Lincoln having more 'luxury' features as standard)
The Mk.3 Focus (2012 and up) was designed from the ground up as a 'global car'. It's not a re-badged European car, or an American car forced on Europe. It was a car built and designed to be sold everywhere in the world without modification (with the exception of right-hand drive for those countries). And actually, the Mustang is going to have it's first right-hand drive models available soon. Previously if you lived in the U.K., Japan, etc., you had to import the Mustang from another country and it was left-hand drive. But even my 2014 "Global" focus is wider than the Fiat's you'll find on old Italian streets. But it fits nicely on American roads! Even the Mustang, which is pretty wide, doesn't have problems here. But it would be tough even on some British roads.