Thanks Clavis, good article.

"There's already news Tata Motors plans to bring the Nano to the United States in 3 years time."

Back in 1988 when I made my first trip to Japan, I noticed they had an entire class of vehicles - small cars & light delivery trucks - with special designation for their small (less that 1500 cc) engines. These vehicles were well built and very fuel efficient and I wondered why they weren't being exported. I made inquiries and was told that they were prohibited in North America because of their narrow wheel base, which seemed more like a protectionist excuse than a legitimate safety concern.

Several years later I had a chance to drive one - a Mitsubishi I believe - and I just loved it. It kept highway speed with no problem, had a surprising amount of interior space for it's size, was easy to park, and went forever on a tank of gas. Had they been available in Canada I most surely would have bought one. Recently I've seen these vehicles on our roads, but with right hand drive. I did some checking and found that they're being imported, since for some reason the restrictions don't apply if it's a private deal.

So, someone's found a workaround and there's now a small but growing market for these things. I keep seeing one brand, the Mitsubishi Delica all over the place, and from talking to someone who owns one, I'm considering buying one myself. The only drawback, apart from right hand drive, is that the sliding door is on the street side, which is a hazard if you're moving a lot of freight or carrying passengers.

Still, the upshot is, Japan's been making tiny, fuel efficient cars since the 60's and for what looks like trade reasons alone, hasn't been able to sell them in North America. Heh... maybe GM could make them under licence and get their sales going again. With gas prices sure to rise in the future, they are a shoe-in for the North American market. No chance of ever catching up though. I've driven the Echo and looked at the Smart Car, but given the choice, I'd buy Japanese, so it's the same dillema as with the mid and full sized cars - superior technology. But that's how the market's supposed to work, right? Comparative advantage?

ebear