Remember: slow cars can be fun too, especially in other countries where they’re still a thing. You’ll probably have more fun being handed the rental keys to some subcompact with a 1.3 liter, 98 horsepower diesel and a manual, than you would blasting down the autobahn in some supercar.
We asked readers what boring cars they saw when traveling abroad got them excited. Here are their responses.
The only time I’ve been out of the country was when I visited Canada in 2003. I remember getting a kick out of the weird badge engineered cars that we don’t have here like the Pontiac Firefly (a Metro) and the Tempest (a Corsica). Neons with the Chrysler wing badge on the grille were strange to see as well.
The car we know as the Geo Metro was just one of dozens of nameplates that GM used for the car around the world. It was a captive import as part of an agreement with Suzuki being marketed as everything from Geo, to Firefly, Chevy Sprint, Suzuki Cultus, etc.
Submitted by: Brad Thompson (Facebook)
Back in the late ‘00s, took a trip to Australia. I was so excited to see all the Falcons and Commodores and the Utes.
For the few days that we rented a car there, I absolutely wanted to drive an Aussie built RWD sedan. When we got to the rental counter, I was going to be put into a Toyota Camry. I told the nice lady behind the counter that I didn’t come all the way to Australia to drive something I could drive in America. I wanted to drive a Falcon or a Commodore.
Her face lit up, and she made a few phone calls. She pulled a Falcon XR6 from another Hertz location a few miles away and put me in that. To my travel companions, they could care less. But I loved piloting that thing for the few days I had it.
The land down under had an almost American-like love with big rear wheel drive sedans with big engines. Sadly, most of them are now gone. GM shuttered Holden at the beginning 2020. 2016 marked both the end of Ford Falcon production and the company closing its manufacturing facilities in the country.
Submitted by: Magnum_SRT8
When I was in Aruba, I saw Suzuki Jimmys everywhere.
The rest of the world enjoys this thing. The U.S. will most likely never see it, unless you wait 25 years, of course.
Submitted by: Matt Farb (Facebook)
Anything you don’t expect to see. I saw SOOOOOO many Chrysler products in Italy, including a PT Cruiser, a few Jeeps, and a goddamn Dodge Nitro. Mind you, this was in 2018, long after many Nitros had left American Roads.
Random fact: the Nitro was offered with a VM Motori 2.8-liter diesel I4 in international markets.
Submitted by: EssExTee
I don’t know why, but I find DS vehicles extra special because they are a sub-brand of a brand that we do not have in the U.S. (Citroen).
Stellantis (then Fiat Chrysler) was considering bringing the DS brand to the U.S. about five years ago. Then it changed its mind earlier this year opting to focus on Alfa Romeo as the company European luxury brand instead.
Suggested by: askars
Toyota Hiace vans. Surely extremely boring to locals, I wish we could be bored with them in the U.S.
Suggested by: Ted Ladue
Station wagons. In the US they’ve all but died out in favor of crossovers, but in Europe they’re alive and well. Seems like nearly every sedan model has a corresponding wagon variant.
The segment is nearly gone in the U.S. Europeans still flock to wagons though. Even with a 26 percent sales drop last year, Europeans still bought over a million of these things.
Submitted by: As Du Volant
In Iran, I got super pumped to spot a RWD 405 (a bastard child of a Peugeot of the late 80's, originally FWD, and a Hillman Hunter from 20 years prior), which the ever-quirky Iranian automotive industry produced for a few years.
This generation of the Peugeot 405 was manufactured by Iraninan automaker Khodro. It was made for 30 years nearly unchanged before production ended in 2019.
Submitted by: Grolar
For some reason Ford brought this Focus Estate to the Detroit auto show in 2011. I saw these and Mondeo (Fusion) estates and liftbacks all over Ireland when I have visited.
Submitted by: mdensch
I saw one in Bermuda and fell in love with it. Shame that Suzuki could never really get it together in the US - their offerings elsewhere are pretty cool!
The Ignis has been around since 2000. It replaced the Cultus (aka Geo Metro). Its only been a small crossover since 2016 when its second generation was introduced.
Submitted by: Brohio2016