Mad-King Donald believes the rest of the world should be begging to buy American. Now cars and truck sales, or rather lack of them in Europe and Japan has him upset. Autos are pretty big ticket items and naturally significant to his ongoing shoot himself and our country in the foot trade war. He of course is convinced anemic sales in those markets is evidence of long-held “screw America” sentiment. He just can’t get it through his head there is a very practical reason, the width of the roads in those places is a key reason auto popular HERE don’t sell THERE.
An auto oriented outlet, Japolink.com explores this issue. I sometimes read articles from them because they explain stuff in a way that us non-gearheads can relate to. They start out on what Trump would call a “nasty” note, saying there aren’t many things beyond Reality TV shows and crafting ‘perfect’ tweets. (At least they didn’t whack him over “perfect” phone calls) Alas they say he doesn’t understand jack about the buying dynamics of Japan and Europe. Trump wants people in those places to buy American and trucks in particular. At least they aren’t snide when they point out what damned near all of us know – American trucks tend to be BIG, and roads in Europe and much of Asia are NARROW.
It really is that simple. American cars, trucks and SUVs tend to be big and roads be they highways or city streets in other countries tend to be small. Or rather narrow. For drivers overseas driving around in something commonly seen on OUR roads is kind of like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. A normal person finds themselves a round object for the round hole but some are idiot and try to hammer that damned square peg in!
So it is here. The author says Trumpty wants more of our ‘Big, Beautiful cars’ to be sold in those markets, while wryly stating more or less that while it’s a nice thought Trump has about creating more sales over there it’s not going to work! It’s not about safety although as he notes that’s certainly an issue. What’s called ‘rollover’ has been an issue in American trucks and SUVs for decades. While the author doesn’t dig much into it neither is “home” brand loyalty.
Let’s face it – for decades Americans have been encouraged to buy American when shopping for an auto of any sort. Sometimes there have even been campaigns meant to ‘shame” Americans who bought foreign cars. I say take a look around and especially if you’re older think back. Americans got tired of paying out big bucks for less than old-school quality American vehicles four-plus decades ago. Detroit refused to adapt to both rising gas prices caused by the oil shocks of the 1970s and matching nicer looking designs of imports. Foreign cars offered a better and nice looking car for a competitive price and suddenly Detroit was back on its heels. General Motors, ours and prior to Reagan the worlds clear leader in auto manufacturing took too long to respond.
Ever since American manufacturers have had to actually compete. It took long enough for them to do so they will never dominate again. Add in the still stubborn resistance to producing more fuel efficient autos and the highly profitable here in the U.S. for BIG trucks and SUVs it truly astounds me that Trump doesn’t get two obvious facts. Plenty of Americans buy foreign because THEY produce quality and more fuel efficient autos. If American manufacturers can’t or won’t produce what American consumers want and inspire “home brand” loyalty why the hell does Trump believe he can convince people in Europe and Asia (Japan in particular) to dump their own brands for American ones?
Even if Trump was the marketing genius and master salesman he thinks he is there’s the issue I’ve already raised. American roads not only aren’t as well built, they are a LOT wider than the roads in Europe and Japan/Asia. The linked article quotes a dealer who told Reuters about the general attitude towards American autos in Japan:
“American cars are designed for wide roads and freeway driving, so handling them on narrow Japanese streets can be tricky. It takes a bit of technique,” said Yumihito Yasue, president of Johnan Jeep Petit in Tokyo, which imports and services vintage cars from the United States. His customers tend to be enthusiasts in their 50s and 60s who grew up seeing American cars on TV and in movies.
Trump doesn’t do numbers, except I guess to make up ones which cause him to sound wildly knowledgeable and/or right, or successful. However there’s a cold, hard reality in actual real data. Of 3.7 million new vehicles sold in Japan in 2024 only six percent were foreign made. To put a finer point on it American cars are part of a six percent that includes every other country that tries to sell cars in Japan. So there’s the combination of them having plenty of home-built choices actually designed for use in their own country, their own “buy at home” attitude which is much stronger than ours, AND the issue that with the exception of a handful of models American cars are too freaking big for their streets and highways!
The linked article also cites Reuters explaining why things aren’t much better in Europe:
In Europe, smaller locally-made U.S. cars have done well: models like the best-selling Ford Puma and the older Fiesta. But over the past two decades, Ford and General Motors have pivoted towards larger pickups and SUVs, vehicles less suited to Europe’s narrow streets and compact-car culture.
Ford, a big player in Europe from the early 1900s, has seen sales in the region fall sharply, from 1.26 million vehicles in 2005 to just 426,000 in 2024, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). Its market share dropped from 8.3% to 3.3%.
GM exited Europe in 2017, selling Opel after pulling back Chevrolet, but returned with its Cadillac Lyriq last year. It sold a mere 1,514 of the U.S.-made SUV, according to auto data firm Jato.
When Americans think about driving in Europe we tend to imagine being in a nice, powerful car with our foot pushing the gas pedal all the way down on one of Germany’s spacious Autobahns. Alas, those superhighways make up only a fraction of the roads in Europe. Most highways are much narrower and city streets are downright cramped. Some of the American models that are so profitable to automakers that sell well in this country are two-meters wide.
Getting people in places where so many of the roads which have to handle two lanes of traffic are no more than FOUR meters wide is problematic to say the least. That’s why I said earlier it’s an automobile version of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Maybe Trump who fancies himself a master-construction guy (his delusions of grandeur are unlimited) who will build the biggest, best roads people in Europe and Japan have ever seen. LOTS of room for American cars and with HIM overseeing it all they will be the “very best roads” and cost “practically nothing.”
Ah but there’s reality. We make lots of bigger cars than road in other countries can easily handle. Faced with the choice of buying a smaller (and more fuel efficient) car or truck or a great big American gas guzzler that’s difficult to maneuver and park it’s a simple choice. Especially now when you add in the freaking Trump created tariff! Trump just doesn’t get it.
Neither do the MAGA goobers who still believe he’s the greatest President, businessman, hell EVERYTHING in human history. The worst part is U.A.W. workers who don’t get it. Enough of them have their heads up their asses so far they too can’t process cold, hard facts. And they support Trump to an extent that there’s word they might oust the head of their union. Like a Trump supporting toadie will make it all better. It’s yet another bitter lesson MAGAs and especially auto worker MAGAs will have to learn.
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I’ve not been to Europe, but my ex-husband was sent to Sicily for a military exercise. He said the streets, besides being narrow, have no sidewalks. So the edge of a car lane is a building. I’m sure a lot of the older parts of many European countries are like that. Like you said, why would they want gas-guzzlers?
IIRC, the Japanese drive on the left side of the road, like England and Ireland.
Oops…
Add in the fact that much of that outside world drives on the other side of the road: Britain, Japan, India for example. Is Detroit prepared to make right-hand-drive cars and trucks and SUVs which still won’t fit comfortably on the world’s roads? Trump’s attitude is so typical of that good ol’ American ethnocentrism which is more handily known as cultural ignorance.
It’s actually safer to have people drive on the left side of the road. I don’t know how the practice got started but I do recall decades ago reading about studies in human reaction to danger. When faced with getting hit it’s natural to instinctively duck. Also natural to try to move out of the way and overwhelmingly people in tests would move to their LEFT. In other words facing a collision the instinct would be to yank the wheel to the left, and the other driver would do the same. That vastly reduces the chances of the vehicles hitting each other. On the other hand, driving on the right side of the road whether we realize it or not if we were to see a vehicle coming at us in our lane or drifting over into our lane we have to fight instinct to yank the wheel to the right to avoid a head-on collision.
The fact is, if American made cars are the right sort, they get exported and bought overseas. Every Mercedes Benz ML class SUV, every BMW Z3 and Z4 sportscar sold worldwide have been US made for decades. Of course, some people will say these aren’t American companies. What could be more American than Jeep? Made by European conglomerate Stellantis, current owner of Fiat, Maserati, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel, and Vauxhall. Jeep now make small models, not sold in the US but sold in Europe, Asia, and South America. The Jeep Avenger, available in full electric, hybrid, and combustion engine form was the European Car Of The Year in 2023, like most European Fords, not sold in America.
It’s purely a size issue, the rest of the world sees a practical family five door hatchback as a VW Golf, in the US, it’s a Chev Tahoe or Suburban.