To put it frankly, Americans are pretty spoiled when it comes to automotive choices. As one of the world’s largest markets, automakers are eager to produce and sell cars in the nation, which means that its customers have access to a lot of cars that would make enthusiasts on other parts of the globe green with envy. Even so, there remains a lot of forbidden fruit for Americans.
In fact, there are so many cool cars that were never sold in the U.S., that writers at this and other publications can count on receiving a bountiful harvest of clicks every new year by writing articles outlining which 25-year-old vehicles will finally become legal to import into the country.
However, one needn’t look that far back to find cool cars that aren’t available in the U.S. Given the average American’s taste for all things massive, small cars like the Volkswagen Up! GTI, the adorable and capable Suzuki Jimny, or the mighty Toyota GR Yaris are sadly unavailable to enthusiasts.
Read: 10 Import Cars That Get Their 25-Year Green Cards In The USA In 2023
It’s not all small stuff, though. Sometimes automakers choose to skip out on the market because importing the vehicle would cost too much to justify pleasing the quite limited number of customers who would actually put money down for them. For instance, the Genesis G70 Shooting Brake, the Volkswagen Scirocco R, or the Alpine A110 would all have been massively popular with a miniscule proportion of the population, if they had only been given the opportunity.
On the other hand, some vehicles seem like they would be a sure hit, but still can’t be sold. For instance, there are Australian “utes,” like the HSV Maloo or the Ford Falcon Ute, whose body style has a history in the U.S. with vehicles like the El Camino and the Ranchero, but the nation’s population is still sadly denied them.
And these aren’t the only sad cases like these. So, which car do you most wish had been offered stateside? What vehicle makes you yearn to be free of import restrictions? Let us know in the comments below.
