Subcompact car
Encyclopedia
Subcompact car is a North America
n term used to describe automobile
s whose class size
is smaller than that of a compact car
, usually not exceeding 165 inches (4,191 mm) in length, but larger than a microcar
. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), a passenger car is classified as subcompact if it has between 85 cubic feet (2,407 l) and 99 cu ft (2,803 l) of interior volume.
, and then popularized in the 1950s with the introduction of the Nash Metropolitan
, as well as a number of imported models, notably the Volkswagen Beetle
and various small British cars.
The Chevrolet Vega
and Ford Pinto
were introduced in September 1970 for the 1971 model year
. The two would find over five million buyers by the end of the decade. The AMC Gremlin
was described at its April 1970 introduction as "the first American-built import".
The Pontiac Astre
, the Canadian-born re-badged
Vega variant was released in the U.S. September 1974. The Vega-based Chevrolet Monza
and the Pinto-based Ford Mustang II were upscale subcompacts also introduced for the 1975 model year as larger pony cars the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang sales had fallen. The Camaro was scheduled for cancellation, but sales stabilized with the end of the gas crisis. The Monza with its GM variants Pontiac Sunbird
, Buick Skyhawk
, and Oldsmobile Starfire
and the Mustang II continued until the end of the decade. The Chevrolet Chevette
was GM's new entry-level subcompact introduced in September 1975 as a '76 model. It was a successful and 'Americanized' design from experienced (but technologically conservative) Opel
, GM's German subsidiary. The front-wheel drive
(FWD), US-built Ford Escort and Mercury Lynx
subcompacts were introduced as 1981 models replacing the Ford Pinto and Mecury Bobcat.
Captive imports was the other response by U.S. car makers to the increase in popularity of imported subcompact cars in the 1970s and 80s. These were cars bought from overseas subsidiaries or from companies in which they held a significant shareholding. GM, Ford, and Chrysler sold imports for the U.S. market. The Buick Opel
, Ford Cortina
, Mercury Capri
, Ford Festiva
, and Dodge Colt
are examples. Chevrolet offered two front-wheel drive subcompact economy cars in the 1980s to replace the aging Chevette, the Chevrolet Sprint, a three-cylinder Suzuki-built hatchback and the Chevrolet Spectrum built by Isuzu
, and offered the Geo
brand in the 1990s featuring the Suzuki-built Metro. , numerous models of subcompacts are sold in North America, including the Chevrolet Aveo
, Ford Fiesta
, Honda Fit
, Hyundai Accent
, Kia Rio
, Mazda 2, Nissan Versa, Scion xD
and Toyota Yaris
.
or the City car
category (as defined by Euro NCAP) in Europe
.
In 1976, Ford of Europe launched their first FWD subcompact, the Ford Fiesta
. In 1982 GM launched their first FWD subcompact in Europe, the Opel Corsa
/Vauxhall Nova, the midrange mark two Vauxhall Cavalier
GM J platform
'world car', having been introduced the previous year.
Current examples include the Ford Fiesta, Opel Corsa D, VW Polo V and Peugeot 207
. Overall in 2008, of the fifteen best selling types of car in Europe, seven were Superminis
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n term used to describe automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s whose class size
Vehicle size class
Vehicle size classes are a way of classifying cars. The common North American parlance is word-based, while English-speaking European writers also use words to describe car sizes...
is smaller than that of a compact car
Compact car
A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
, usually not exceeding 165 inches (4,191 mm) in length, but larger than a microcar
Microcar
A microcar is the smallest automobile classification usually applied to standard small car . Such small cars were generally referred to as cyclecars until the 1940s. More recent models are also called bubblecars due to their egg-shaped appearance.-Definition:The definition of a microcar has varied...
. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA), a passenger car is classified as subcompact if it has between 85 cubic feet (2,407 l) and 99 cu ft (2,803 l) of interior volume.
History
In North America, the term "subcompact" came into popular use in the early 1970s. Previously, cars in this size were variously categorized, including "small automobile" and "economy car." This type of car was first seen in 1939 with the CrosleyCrosley
The Crosley was an automobile manufactured by the Crosley Corporation and later by Crosley Motors Incorporated in the United States from 1939 to 1952.-History:...
, and then popularized in the 1950s with the introduction of the Nash Metropolitan
Nash Metropolitan
The Nash Metropolitan is a car that was sold, initially only in the United States and Canada, from 1954–1962.It conforms to two classes of vehicle: economy car and subcompact car. In today’s terminology the Metropolitan is a “subcompact”, but this category had not yet come into use when the car was...
, as well as a number of imported models, notably the Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
and various small British cars.
North America
The subcompact market segment expanded in the 1970s with the introduction of new domestic-built models produced by North American automakers in response to the growing popularity of small imported cars from Europe and Japan.The Chevrolet Vega
Chevrolet Vega
The Chevrolet Vega is a subcompact, two-door automobile that was produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1971-1977 model years. Named after the star Vega, the car was powered by a lightweight aluminum-block inline four-cylinder engine...
and Ford Pinto
Ford Pinto
The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car produced by the Ford Motor Company for the model years 1971–1980. The car's name derives from the Pinto horse. Initially offered as a two-door sedan, Ford offered "Runabout" hatchback and wagon models the following year, competing in the U.S. market with the AMC...
were introduced in September 1970 for the 1971 model year
Model year
The model year of a product is a number used worldwide, but with a high level of prominence in North America, to describe approximately when a product was produced, and indicates the coinciding base specification of that product....
. The two would find over five million buyers by the end of the decade. The AMC Gremlin
AMC Gremlin
The AMC Gremlin is a two-door subcompact car produced in the United States and Canada by the American Motors Corporation between 1970 and 1978. AMC reduced its development and manufacturing costs by adapting a shortened Hornet platform with a Kammback-type tail...
was described at its April 1970 introduction as "the first American-built import".
The Pontiac Astre
Pontiac Astre
The Pontiac Astre is a subcompact automobile that was produced by the Pontiac division of General Motors. Essentially a rebadged Chevrolet Vega, it was introduced in Canada for the 1973 model year and sold there exclusively through 1974. It debuted in the U.S...
, the Canadian-born re-badged
Badge engineering
Badge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...
Vega variant was released in the U.S. September 1974. The Vega-based Chevrolet Monza
Chevrolet Monza
The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact, four-passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1975–1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width and 140 CID inline-4 engine...
and the Pinto-based Ford Mustang II were upscale subcompacts also introduced for the 1975 model year as larger pony cars the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang sales had fallen. The Camaro was scheduled for cancellation, but sales stabilized with the end of the gas crisis. The Monza with its GM variants Pontiac Sunbird
Pontiac Sunbird
The Pontiac Sunbird, produced by the Pontiac division of General Motors, was Pontiac's second small-car offering of the 70's. The Sunbird model ran for 18 years and was then replaced in 1995 by the Pontiac Sunfire...
, Buick Skyhawk
Buick Skyhawk
The Buick Skyhawk are automobiles produced by the Buick division of General Motors in two generations for the 1975 through 1989 model years. 1975 through 1980 models, all 2-door hatchbacks, were built on the subcompact, rear-wheel drive H-body platform...
, and Oldsmobile Starfire
Oldsmobile Starfire
Oldsmobile Starfire are automobiles produced by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors in two generations from 1961–1966 and 1975–1980. The Starfire nameplate was also used for the 1954–1956 Ninety- Eight series convertibles, and all 1957 Ninety-Eight series models. 1961 was the first year for...
and the Mustang II continued until the end of the decade. The Chevrolet Chevette
Chevrolet Chevette
The Chevrolet Chevette was introduced in September, 1975 and manufactured for model years 1976-1987 based on GM's worldwide T platform and superseding the Vega as Chevrolet's entry-level subcompact...
was GM's new entry-level subcompact introduced in September 1975 as a '76 model. It was a successful and 'Americanized' design from experienced (but technologically conservative) Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
, GM's German subsidiary. The front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...
(FWD), US-built Ford Escort and Mercury Lynx
Mercury Lynx
The Mercury Lynx was a compact car produced by the Ford Motor Company for its Mercury division from 1981 to 1987. It was a rebadged version of the Ford Escort. In 1987, the Lynx was dropped after slumping sales . In 1988, Mercury launched the Tracer as the Lynx's replacement...
subcompacts were introduced as 1981 models replacing the Ford Pinto and Mecury Bobcat.
Captive imports was the other response by U.S. car makers to the increase in popularity of imported subcompact cars in the 1970s and 80s. These were cars bought from overseas subsidiaries or from companies in which they held a significant shareholding. GM, Ford, and Chrysler sold imports for the U.S. market. The Buick Opel
Opel Manta
The Opel Manta was a rear-wheel-drive sports coupé motor vehicle built by Opel, from 1970 to 1988.-1970–75: Opel Manta A:The Manta A was released in September 1970, two months ahead of the then new Opel Ascona on which it was based...
, Ford Cortina
Ford Cortina
As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...
, Mercury Capri
Mercury Capri
-First Generation :See also Ford CapriThe Mercury Capri was built in Cologne, Germany, and was sold through Lincoln-Mercury dealers in North America. The European Capri was first sold in the US in April 1970 and carried the Mercury marque identification as Ford already had a Mustang for the same...
, Ford Festiva
Ford Festiva
The Ford Festiva is a subcompact car that was marketed by the Ford Motor Company between 1986 and 2002. Built by Mazda in Japan and Kia Motors in South Korea, the Festiva was sold in Japan, the Americas, and Australasia...
, and Dodge Colt
Dodge Colt
The Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, were subcompact cars sold by Dodge and Plymouth from 1970 to 1994. They were captive imports from Mitsubishi Motors, initially twins of the rear-wheel drive Galant and Lancer families before shifting to the smaller front-wheel drive...
are examples. Chevrolet offered two front-wheel drive subcompact economy cars in the 1980s to replace the aging Chevette, the Chevrolet Sprint, a three-cylinder Suzuki-built hatchback and the Chevrolet Spectrum built by Isuzu
Isuzu
, is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures...
, and offered the Geo
Geo (automobile)
Geo was a brand of small cars made by General Motors as a subdivision of its famous Chevrolet division from 1989 to 1997. Its original slogan was "Get to know Geo." Originally formed by GM to compete with the growing small import market of the mid 1980s, the line continued through the 1997 model...
brand in the 1990s featuring the Suzuki-built Metro. , numerous models of subcompacts are sold in North America, including the Chevrolet Aveo
Chevrolet Aveo
The Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact automobile manufactured since 2002, originally by the South Korean General Motors subsidiary, GM Daewoo—and later by other GM-affiliated entities...
, Ford Fiesta
Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta is a front wheel drive supermini/subcompact manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India, Thailand and South Africa...
, Honda Fit
Honda Fit
The Honda Jazz is a five-door hatchback subcompact manufactured by the Honda Motor Company of Japan, first introduced in June 2001 and is now in its second generation. The Jazz shares Honda's Global Small Car Platform with the City/Fit Aria, Airwave/Partner, Mobilio, Mobilio Spike, Freed and Freed...
, Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Accent
The Hyundai Accent , or Hyundai Verna in South Korea, is a subcompact car produced by Hyundai. In Australia, the first generation models carried over the Hyundai Excel name used by the Accent's predecessor. The Accent was replaced in 2000 by the Hyundai Verna in South Korea, although most...
, Kia Rio
Kia Rio
The Kia Rio is a series of subcompact automobiles produced by Kia Motors since August 2000. Two generations have been produced, both in five-door hatchback and four-door sedan body styles, all equipped with inline-four gasoline and diesel engines, and front-wheel drive...
, Mazda 2, Nissan Versa, Scion xD
Scion xD
The Scion xD is a five-door hatchback subcompact marketed in the US and Canada by Japanese manufacturer Toyota beginning with the 2008 model year — replacing the xA. The Scion xD and the second generation xB were first shown to the public on February 8, 2007 at the Chicago Auto Show...
and Toyota Yaris
Toyota Yaris
The Toyota Yaris is a subcompact car produced by Toyota since 1999. Between 1999 and 2005, some markets received the same vehicles under the Toyota Echo name...
.
Europe - Superminis/City cars
Many contemporary cars branded as "subcompact" fall into either the SuperminiSupermini
A superminicomputer, or supermini, is “a minicomputer with high performance compared to ordinary minicomputers.” The term was an invention used from the mid-1970s mainly to distinguish the emerging 32-bit minis from the classical 16-bit minicomputers...
or the City car
City car
A city car is a small car intended for use primarily in an urban area.City cars are sold worldwide and most automotive industry manufacturers have one or two in their line-up. In North-America city cars are often referred to simply as "subcompacts" alongside the superminis. These kind of cars...
category (as defined by Euro NCAP) in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
In 1976, Ford of Europe launched their first FWD subcompact, the Ford Fiesta
Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta is a front wheel drive supermini/subcompact manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India, Thailand and South Africa...
. In 1982 GM launched their first FWD subcompact in Europe, the Opel Corsa
Opel Corsa
The front-wheel drive Opel Corsa was first launched in September 1982 to replace the Opel Kadett C City, and to fill the gap vacated as the Kadett grew in size and price. Built in Zaragoza, Spain, the first Corsas were three-door hatchback and two-door saloon models, with four-door and five-door...
/Vauxhall Nova, the midrange mark two Vauxhall Cavalier
Vauxhall Cavalier
The Vauxhall Cavalier is a large family car sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall Motors, the British division of General Motors , from 1975 to 1995...
GM J platform
GM J platform
The J platform, or J-body, was General Motors' inexpensive front-wheel drive automobile platform from the 1980s and 1990s. The platform replaced the GM H platform. The J-platform is the only platform of GM to have a model in each of its "Original 5" passenger car divisions...
'world car', having been introduced the previous year.
Current examples include the Ford Fiesta, Opel Corsa D, VW Polo V and Peugeot 207
Peugeot 207
The Peugeot 207 is a small family car produced by the French automaker Peugeot and unveiled in January 2006.-Launch:The 207 was launched in France, Spain and Italy during April 2006 and later on in other European, Israeli and Arabic markets....
. Overall in 2008, of the fifteen best selling types of car in Europe, seven were Superminis