Ford and GM have tried importing their European cars before. I'm mostly familiar with Ford's efforts. Back in the early 60's, they imported the English Cortina as an economy car alternative to the VW Beetle. It lasted a couple of years. In the 70's, they imported the Capri, which was a very nice car, but they wouldn't support it. Then in the 80's, it was the Merkur. GM has a similar track record. They imported the Opel in the 60's and later the mini-Corvette look-alike, the Opel GT in the 70's, but didn't support them. The American automakers can't commit to importing one of their European car lines, and fully supporting them. The Capri's and Opels were very nice cars, and probably ahead of their times. But GM and Ford would rather sell Lincolns and Cadillacs, or high end pickups, so small economy cars don't hold their interests. Look at their latest attempts....the Cadillac Caterra and the (Australian) Capri. Both losers, through no real fault of the cars themselves. GM is going to sentence the GTO to the same fate.
