Sales of new cars were up in France, Germany and Spain in the month of October. A sign of a strengthening economy? Perhaps, perhaps not. One thing is certain: They aren’t buying Chevy Impalas and Ford Tauruses. Though some automakers have had success with “world” cars (VW sells its Golf almost everywhere except McMurdo Station), most carmakers sell different cars in different markets. Here in the U.S., we never see late-model Peugeots, Renaults or Alfa Romeos—to say nothing of Skodas, Seats or Citroëns—but even well-known companies like Mercedes and BMW have cars tailored to a particular market. These models may carve up the autobahn, zip down the autostrada or cruise the kosokudoro, but you’ll never see them on our freeways.
