In the 1950's and 60's cars manufactured outside the United States were called imports. What started as a trickle became a flood in the 70's and 80's, and now foreign manufactured or owned car companies dominate the market. Companies like Honda and Toyota now have factories inside the US, with the new imports coming from Korea, and soon even China.

Probably the first successful import was the Nash Metropolitan, a small, four-cylinder car manufactured by British Leyland using the Austin 1500 engine. Sold under both the Nash and Hudson label, these little cars craved a small niche in the US market in the late 50's into the early sixties, and established there was a market for an inexpensive, fuel efficient car.

The first mega-successful import was the original Volkswagen Beetle. Designed in Nazi Germany as "the people's car," this brilliant rear-engine car did what Germany failed to do in the war. It conquered the world. Reliable, fuel efficient, cheap to buy, the "Bug" became a worldwide success. Embraced in the 60's as a counter culture icon, the VW Beetle offered everything Detroit ignored. Its success opened American's minds, and the US Market to imports.

The 70's saw the rise of imports from Japan. Once again, coming into the market offering small, fuel efficient four cylinders, Japanese cars soon established a reputation for high quality and low maintenance cost. An early hit on the US market were the small Toyota pickup trucks, which immediately found a home in the US as utility and delivery vehicles. For years, Detroit ignored this growing market, until it was almost to late. By the time American manufactures responded to the small cars and trucks from Japan, their reputation for quality and reliability was firmly established. Detroit's response was cars like the Ford's Pinto or GM's Vega or Chevette, which lacked the reliability and performance of their Japanese competition.

Probably the most infamous import is the Yugo, manufactured in the former Yugoslav Republic. Extremely inexpensive to purchase, these tiny cars instantly developed a reputation as one of the worst manufactured cars ever made. Plagued by a bad design, low or non-existent manufacturing quality, and a poor dealer network, the sad Yugo became a joke.

In the late 80's, Ford began importing the Festiva, a car manufactured in Korea by KIA. A worldwide success, the Festiva, or the World Car, became a major seller, and placed Korea on the world stage as a high quality manufacturer of automobiles. KIA along with Hyundai moved into the US market in the 90's, challenging the Japanese in both cost and quality.

China is poised to enter the world market, with companies like Chery, Geely Auto, Brilliance China Automotive, and Shanghai Automotive Industry trying to develop their own brands overseas. They will be using the now tried and true approach of manufacturing a small, inexpensive, fuel-efficient car for the entry-level buyer. Time will tell whether they will be the next Honda or KIA, or the next Yugo.