Americans in Paris - When Cadillac and Chevy came to Europe

Hello all! :D
While American car builders do sell cars in Europe with the likes of Ford, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, there was a seldom remembered period in the late 1990s and early 2000s when General Motors attempted to introduce their Cadillac and Chevrolet marques in Britain and Europe via Opel and Vauxhall dealerships, but what resulted was a short-lived venture with trickling sales.
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[@demonstructie]

That Blazer ad that starts at 5:02 is incredible for the time. Really impressive.

[@tomanderson6335]

Other notable American GM products that were sent over to Europe during the early '90s to the early '00s: -Buick Park Avenue -Oldsmobile Alero (which was rebadged as a Chevrolet) -Pontiac Trans Sport (the first generation "Dustbuster" U-body minivan, which was even offered with a Euro-specific Olds Quad4 inline-four and 5-speed manual) -Opel/Vauxhall Sintra (second generation U-body built in Georgia alongside the USDM Chevy Venture, Pontiac Trans Sport/Montana and Olds Silhouette)

[@sharpfalcon6196]

The Pontiac Firebird (fourth generation F-body built in Quebec) was also sold there, until 1997.

[@hazzalandy]

Was going to comment about how blunt a pushrod V8 was in the 90's, then I remembered that was actually quite common and we loved the Rover V8 well into the 00's .

[@pilskadden]

GM and Chrysler still produce only pushrod V8’s in 2023.

[@Grisu1805]

I owned a used STS for a while in Germany. I fell in love with it, but parking and accelerating as well as finding a repair shop that won't bill you a fortune and take a month to get the brakes replaced was a pain in the ass. I'd still buy one, but not as a daily driver anymore.

[@gkjsooley]

Great video. In certain European markets in the 1990s GM attempted to sell the Oldsmobile Alero as the Chevrolet Alero, along with the Buick Park Avenue and Pontiac Tran Sport mini van.

[@manofthehour6856]

Yes, I forgot about that. I remember reading Autocar magazine, and being intrigued in the reports of the select US vehicles marketed in Europe. I remember a silver Park Avenue with German plates in a magazine article. Also, not only was the Oldsmovile Alero sold as the Chevrolet Alero, but the final Trans Sport was an Oldsmobile Silouhette I believe sold as the "CHEVROLET Trans Sport".

[@SaraSpruce]

In Finland, we also got the Oldsmobile Alero as the Chevrolet Alero and the Pontiac Trans Sport/Montana as the Chevrolet Trans Sport. In general, it seems American brands have done better in the Nordic countries/Scandinavia than the rest of Europe, even though the only brands still sold here officially are Ford (the Edge, Explorer and Mustang being the only American-designed models), Jeep and Tesla.

[@mikojarvinen6273]

I have noticed that too. When I was in France or UK I didn’t see many American cars. In Sweden, Estonia and Czech republic they seemed to be quite common. I heard they sell most American cars in Switzerland.

[@kevinbarry71]

Somebody tried to sell the AMC pacer in Europe? As an American, please accept my apologies.

[@Random-nf7qb]

Are they really that bad? To me it's a quirky RWD hatchback. Would love a Gremlin with a V8.

[@kevinbarry71]

@@Random-nf7qb I never owned one. However if you want an American to laugh at you, that is the best way to do it. Show up in one of those things. As far as quality goes, they're probably about equal with any other American made car from that time; which is to say, pretty terrible.

[@hhs_leviathan]

Apologies accepted also forgive us for trying to sell Lada Rivas in the US...

[@Random-nf7qb]

@@hhs_leviathan Rivas were good. And they weren't sold in US, but in Canada

[@billolsen4360]

@@hhs_leviathan One can still see old Rivas in "Russian Car Crashes" videos on youtube, lol. I am thinking many are now vodka-powered, Komrade!

[@hughjass1044]

American cars are sort of a niche market in Europe like European cars are in America. They each have their fans but are not all that popular. Japanese cars on the other hand, are popular everywhere. I guess there's wisdom in building a quality product that can work in just about any market. Gosh, imagine that.

[@VDPEFi]

My dad bought a 1999 STS in England, it was a fabulous car in so many ways, it sounded wonderful, it was extremely quick, the Bose stereo was epic and it had a mini disc player for Pete's sake! We loved it despite the flaws. Eventually it wouldn't stop overheating so traded it for a jaguar xkr....I know :)

[@kevinbarry71]

The feature in the Cadillac that shut off cylinders to prevent overheating had nothing to do with desert conditions. American cars are tested to run in Arizona and Nevada. It had more to do with its unreliability. They plan for it losing coolant. As it did when the head bolts inevitably failed destroying the engine

[@Peter1Europe]

Some say this feature was the answer to most common in US reason for engine failure - overheating .

[@Rich-on6fe]

A solution so shit that it betrays the fact that they didn't know how, or couldn't be bothered, to make it water-tight. Instead of hiring some consultants to help them make a better engine, it's: "I know, let's make a software change that means it will die a bit slower after all the water pisses out". Still bloody dies. I can understand having this feature in a military vehicle after you've made every other effort, but in a car: what cheap bastards. Cheap: that's why nobody wanted them.

[@billolsen4360]

When the incentive is always to make a quick dollar, instead of operating your firm for the long term, those things happen.

[@grahamjohnson7412]

The strangest American vehicle I ever saw in Europe was a big red Dodge Ram 2500 dualie diesel parked in downtown London. Trucks like that are a dime a dozen here in Texas but I was more than a little surprised to see one in London. To this day I have no idea why someone would want to drive a hulking super duty truck on London roads while paying UK fuel prices to do it.

[@brian_castro]

After listening to this video in the first minute and a half, I already know why the Chevrolet Blazer failed in Europe, after hearing you describe it as a 5 door station wagon. I’m not surprised that company had a hard time selling an SUV in Europe in the mid to late nineties. Back then in America, sport utility vehicles were just making their way out of the suburbs and rural countryside, and into more densely populated city centers, where there size and made them very impractical to get around narrow streets and find scarce parking.

[@jackblakesley2103]

This is such an obscure and unique footnote in car history I've always been interested in, thanks.

[@ML-vy8xo]

The Oldsmobile Alero was also sold on the continent as a Chevrolet.

[@Niro.C]

The Seville was launched in 1992 with a 4.9L V8 carried over from firmer Seville model, it had 200HP and was very reliable comparing to the 4 6L Northstar engine.

[@runoflife87]

The S-10 Blazer was assembled in Russia for 96-98 model year and actually failed in the end being too expensive for its equipment level and having engine/transmission issues. But 90's were the time of american used cars, especially Ford saloons/estates (Taurus, US Escort, Crown Victoria).

[@tetchuma]

It brightens my day when I see another car history video from you! - Chad in Dallas, TX

[@PaulR1200]

Another fine piece of work, well done mate, from NZ

[@barrydysert2974]

Your free and fair assessment is most appreciated. Thank you. 👍🖖

[@bluebear6570]

American car makers have never understood the European markets. Fitrst of all, it is not a single market, but each country has its own set of needs and wants. Second, quality is more important than size. Third, fuel consumption is a vital factor in a decision to buy. Fourth, European styling is less "bragging".

[@kaitlyn__L]

Well, Ford and Vauxhall/Opel certainly understood it. Because they had local teams instead of getting the American designers to make a “world car”. Though even then there’s things like the Mondeo succeeding in Europe despite failing hard in NA.

[@DiRF]

"quality is more important than size" As an American who happens to prefer smaller vehicles, this is absolutely true. Even Japanese and European carmakers will "cheapen out" their smallest vehicles to appeal to the American notion of small cars being cheap. VW ****ed up the USDM Jettas for this reason, and Nissan gave us garbage like the Versa sedan. When it comes to vehicles for myself, I tend to gravitate towards smaller JDM cars that have been relatively "untouched" in their journey across the Pacific and haven't be "de-contented" in the name of lowering the price.

[@billolsen4360]

As I understand it, the only American model with staying power on the continent has been the Jeep CJ. Narrow enough, short enough and utilitarian enough to fill the bill for a real 4WD Sports car. Still see a number of them in Euro car crash videos on youtube.

[@Random-nf7qb]

@@DiRF How were usdm jettas worse? You got the 07K engine.

[@DiRF]

@@Random-nf7qb They replaced the suspension with a cheaper design, destroying the ride and handling and used far cheaper materials in the interior, giving it a bottom-of-the-barrel feel.

[@haweater1555]

Interesting! It did not mention if the GM cars were sold in other countries on the Continent. How much of a factor for slow sales in the UK was prejudice against Left Hand Drive vehicles? How common are they there? Whether it sales of new cars not available in RHD or imports of used cars from the continent? RHD is so uncommon in Canada/USA that there are no onerous regulations against use, yet in the RHD market of Australia, imports of LHD are severely restricted.

[@Jadegreif]

Interesting as always. Appreciate the efforts you go through to provide visual material to all the cars mentioned, and not just roll stock fotage that is vaguely smilar to the topic.

[@shaneharrisnj3484]

And thus, The Netherlands loved the Chevy Express as their ambulance until Mercedes upgraded the Sprinter...

[@MrStabby19812]

Only ones I can say I've seen driving on uk roads are the two Chevys (Corvette & Camero) in small numbers. And a suprising amount of Chrysler Voyagers

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

Saw a rhd chevy blazer not long ago

[@manofthehour6856]

Following up on a previous comment, it occurred to me that this is not GM's US arm's first attempt in Europe, but only one more recent memory, and certainly its most ambitious. Firstly, GM was building certain US models from kits in Biel, Switzerland since the 1930s and into the 1960s for that market, and indeed, the Swiss have an unusual interest in American cars. I can remember rather vividly a circa 1988 GM advertisement here in the US of a Chevrolet Beretta with the driver standing next to it waiting patiently for sheep to cross the road with the text explaining he was a Chevrolet dealer rep in Switzerland. I am sure that by the 1980s, GM very much wanted the "street cred" of having its models sold in Europe for bragging rights and give people loyal to European marques a pause to consider an American vehicle either again or maybe for the first time. Additionally, various GM cars were sold in the UK with many of the lower-spec Chevrolet and Pontiac models for the purpose of taxes being sourced from the General's Oshawa, Ontario plant in the Commonwealth country of Canada. Buick was favored by King Edward VII, and it was actually a Canadian McLaughlin Buick for the purposes of British pride.

[@mancunianace8428]

Again informative and we'll put together. Bravo sir.

[@ML-vy8xo]

07:15 The Mercedes SUV was launched as the ML-class before subsequent generations were rebadged GLE

[@billolsen4360]

The first ML class models had lots of infuriating flaws, they may be why Mercedes kept the concept but changed the badging. BMW people say the ML class helped them sell lots of X5s.

[@DrivermanO]

One of the dealers in the Group I worked for was one of the 12. Expensive experiment! But I have a memory the Dodge Charger was here too, but only LHD. That was a car and a half.

[@nigel-Rollercam-channel]

I honestly really like the exterior and interior styling of late 90's Cadillac Seville, I remember the Seville in a modified form in the movie Equilibrium. I really do not understand why GM could not make a decent aluminum block V8 back then. I have been driving a 1993 Audi V8 4.2L with over 200k kms on that companies first aluminum V8. Even though it is an interference engine it survived the timing belt snapping at idle with no internal damage. The BMW aluminum V8 engines and its issues with the Nikasil coating was a huge issue as well with high sulfur fuel at least in North America.

[@judethaddaeus9742]

Great video! For some reason, American car manufacturers have too long a history getting US-sourced models lost in translation on the European market. I have a couple of notes: 1. Cars like the Blazer, Corvette, and Camaro were good value and good performers, but were largely derided due to their poor-quality interiors, which were extremely plasticky. Car Magazine regularly joked about the Camaro’s body panel gaps, as well. 2. The Cadillac CTS actually launched 2 years prior to the new STS, and was smaller than the 2004 STS. The STS was also not the last of the Cadillac land yachts, as the larger DeVille/DTS series continued through 2011. 3. It should also be noted that Cadillac made 2 attempts at bringing European-designed cars to the US market in the form of the J-body Vauxhall Cavalier Mk2/Opel Ascona C-based Cadillac Cimarron in 1982 and the Opel/Vauxhall Omega based Cadillac Catera in 1997. Both cars also flopped badly on the US market. 4. Cadillac would make yet another attempt at selling a competitive European model with the SAAB 9-3 based Cadillac BLS in 2006. But this car flopped in Europe, as well. 5. GM sold SAAB in 2010, not 2013 as the video says.

[@DaveSCameron]

I worked installing machinery in Ford's, Opel and various others including Renault Douai, its interesting watching how its panned out, since then as Dagenham halted car production in favour of Koln.

[@smorris12]

"Most powerful FWD car" is on a par with "sports SUV" as one of the most pointless boasts for a car

[@alan6832]

When they can only sell a few of a model in Europe, why do they give up? What is wrong with selling a few examples of a model of car? Isn't it better than not selling any of that model? On a worldwide basis, if you can't sell a bunch, than you can't mass produce them, but on a particular continent, Can't you just stick 5 or 10 of them on a roro or container ship with a bunch of other stuff and sell those 5 or 10? Germany has enough US soldiers alone to buy those.

[@smorris12]

@@alan6832 Mostly because it either costs them more then they recoup or, if they don't lose, they only make £50 which isn't worth the effort. And, assuming there is a dealer network to even provide servicing and support, this network has to be trained up on those cars. Again more effort and expense.

[@manofthehour6856]

Excellent way to put it, and each claim is a bit of an oxymoron. The Blazer was good in snow, but was a small gasguzzler. When I see the enhanced videos depicting it as nimble, all I can think of is how the contents and passengers are rolling around wildly. One of the worst handling vehicles I've driven.

[@hhs_leviathan]

Why not, it's a Cadillac, they are never meant be sporty: it's supposed to be big, pretty, good on highway merges and comfortable. I don't see a problem in it being FWD...

[@smorris12]

@@hhs_leviathan It can be FWD, fine, but there is no point in Christendom in making it super powerful as it can't use the power sensibly while pointlessly guzzling fuel. It's not a sensible balance.

[@David_Walker16-3-51]

Why do you keep lumping Saab in with Vauxhall and Opel? Saab was a relatively late “chance your arm acquisition” that didn’t really work out, while Vauxhall and Opel were GM in Europe, dating back to the 1920’s, as was Holden in Australia. Not really the same thing at all. Renaming Daewoo as Chevrolet was a bit of a cynical move too. You can fool some of the people etc.

[@manofthehour6856]

Absolutely excellent presentation. Always very well presented......UPDATE: 1/16/22....I had use of a 2003 Blazer for a while here in the USA, and though slow, a fuel hog, and really leaned and rolled just as I can see in the commercials here, it was damn fantastic in Winter weather. I was caught in a snowstorm in Toronto, and able to drive a few hours home without a care in the world as it stuck like glue to the snow covered pavement. I also found it on the smaller size, and think a Discovery would have more space that was better utilized. The biggest problem with Cadillac was the GM preoccupation with front-wheel drive since the early 1980s. The FWD alone would eliminate it from my purchase consideration, although I would never put it in the same class as a BMW 7-Series or Mercedes S-Class. I just can't see a Seville being used as a proper limousine / liveried town car or the chairman's car. In a way I am surprised that the Camaro was not more popular. Yes, it may be somewhat brash, but there are some British and Europeans who like that. If buyers were turned off by the opinions of car enthusiast magazines by criticism of its "image", that is too bad. People should have confidence in their own tastes and not what Jeremy Clarkson or whoever has to say about something.

[@mikojarvinen6273]

I think there’s a lot of potential for GM to start successfully selling their American cars in Europe or at least in nordic countries. Here in Finland Ford’s American models are surprisingly common. Mustang and Mach-e seem to be common. I see the new Explore almost daily and Tesla is super common. Chrysler has been popular before (and still is a common sight) Jeeps sell very well in Europe. For some reason not so well here (supply chain issues I heard).

[@mikojarvinen6273]

I myself have owned several American cars. My favorite of them all is the Cadillac Seville STS. I felt it was nearly a perfect car for me. I’m aware of the reliability issues and that probably why I’ll get next the newer STS which is much better. I have also owned comparable cars to Seville. I still think Seville is the best although I loved my S-type too and current A6 is decent.

[@SuperYellowsubmarin]

The Jeep Cherokee and later Grand Cherokee were quite popular and having owned a ZJ, were actually very good cars. The Blazer was one too many US SUV on the market.

[@rcajavus8141]

Chgevrolet dealership and showroom was right opposite the Eiffel Tower, I think it was Rue Roosevelt! :) been there in 1999. trying to talk my father into buying a new Camaro (and IT WAS CHEAP back then, 34 000 DEM or 17 000 EURO if euro was around then

[@JK061996]

I remember seeing the Trailblazer and Tahoe listed in Italian car magazines of the early 2000s, but I don't know whether they were officially sold by Chevrolet. Anyway, I have seen a couple C5 Corvettes and one Trailblazer in my whole life.

[@hhs_leviathan]

I was genuinely considering getting a Seville, but that insurance rate... Maybe I'll try my luck when they get classic car insurance, but still...

[@celebalert5616]

You know why he called it Americans in Paris? Because Americans *were* in Paris

[@allie-873]

I think that GM might've been able to sell the camaro and corvette better if they'd made a dedicated European market company (or just sold them as Vauxhalls and Opels with another product name)

[@SeverityOne]

Nah, Opel is past it. I drive a red Astra GTC, like the one at 11:26, and while it's a really fun car to drive -pretty much best drive in the C-segment that is not a hot hatch- there are very few of them around. Opel -and presumably, Vauxhall too- has a boring image, the cars depreciate quickly, etc. If you think sporty, you don't really think of Opel and the likes. A hot hatch, like the Golf GTI, Mégane RS, sure, but not a proper sports car. The Japanese do a better job there, offering both family cars and performance cars, and selling them.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@SeverityOne yeah, Vauxhall have a fairly stuffy and utilitarian image in the UK too.

[@mikojarvinen6273]

Selling American cars under a european brand would be a disgusting. There are actually fans of American cars including myself. I would not buy a rebranded car. We want the real stuff. Brands are recognized it’s not the problem. Some people simply seem to oppose them but there’s a lot potential. Jeep and earlier Chrysler brands have been successful. Tesla sells thesedays. GM can do it too if they would put more effort.

[@markotrieste]

Please avoid numerical comparisons between any car and a Ferrari, it's just silly. You don't buy a Ferrari to get the most bang for the buck.

[@mustsilm]

Could you also do video of Chrysler Europe? It was joint adventure with the french.

[@sutherlandA1]

Chrysler once owned their own European division acquiring British Rootes, French Simca and Spanish Barrios but bailing in the late 70s

[@anareel4562]

soon as i saw the STS with that "Northstar" i knew it was gonna be a bad time

[@billolsen4360]

My cousin had an 1995 STS before it was an STS, back when it was called Seville and drive it 300,000 miles. She just got in at the right time, before that Northstar mistake.

[@m3gAnac0nda]

My great uncle (France) had a 50s cadillac back in the 60s. Impossible to drive in small roman towns, but way more comfortable than euro cars. I'd like to buy a us truck, not a big boy, a normal size one. Do Ford, Gen. Motors offer those? The only ones i see are Toyota, Nissan and GMC...

[@americanace96]

Not really. Even their "compact" trucks are similar in size to their full size counterparts. I could argue the Korean Hyundai Santa Cruz if you want something this side of 2020 but the US trucks you seek were built in the early to late 2000s.

[@donsolaris8477]

Ford Ranger

[@fbboringstuff]

Get a early 00’s taco (Tacoma) from a classified style site… it’s a federalised hilux and well… top gear proved how tough the old ones are.

[@thomasburke7995]

You failed to mention that the MB suv was built in America and exported to Europe..

[@michaeljeffry3639]

The Blazer was sold as an Opel in Indonesia.

[@sjoormen1]

They were right. Their place was in the US.

[@-DC-]

It's said that somewhere a Northstar is still running with intact headgaskets, complete garbage as it turned out.

[@Glenni91N]

I just saw an STS yesterday actually, they were probably a bit more popular here in Norway, as there's more people that like American cars in Scandinavia, as opposed to the rest of Europe, you even see Chevy Suburbans pretty often in these parts.

[@Jpmpmpm]

More of this please

[@HarborLockRoad]

I had a 1991 v6 blazer....worst lemon i ever had....wasnt sad to see it go.

[@Jpmpmpm]

More please

[@smorris12]

While the Corvette seems like an excellent car to bring over here, any new owners wouldn't have made it very far before encountering a corner and having the cheap, simple rear suspension fling them and their new purchase into the field opposite

[@mikojarvinen6273]

Corvette doesn’t have a cheap rear axle. In fact its suspension is very clever and advanced. Independent suspension all around and that been said Camaro did have a solid rear axes. How is that a big deal though? My 2004 Audi A6 has a solid rear axel while being a much more expensive car.

[@mindphaserxy]

GM sold the wrong pony car in Europe. Should have put the Firebird over the pond because it had way better styling and higher end models like the Trans Am WS6 really had awesome performance and tuned suspensions that would have done better on European roads.

[@paullacey2999]

They failed on several fronts,Cadillac was to be prestige but was sold from Vauxhall showrooms,the Camaro and Corvette was LHD only,and the Blazer had no diesel which everybody wanted back then.GM did appear not to understand what our market wanted on an epic scale.....Ford is currently paratrooping in American cars at the moment too funnily enough!And Chrysler/Dodge gave up the ghost years ago.....

[@cacline72]

S10 Blazer: Fails in the UK and Europe *Laughs in XJ Cherokee*

[@cacline72]

@Chuck Kirchner Why do you think I daily a 1995 Jeep Cherokee? Lmao

[@Tuppoo94]

The problem for the Americans is that their cars just don't fit the European market. US cars are often larger and more thirsty than European competitors, which doesn't go well with cramped European cities and taxes based on weight and emissions. The Corvette may be a capable and relatively affordable machine in the US, but where I live the taxes more than double its price, putting it well out of reach of most buyers. Also, if one's going to spend 100-200k€ on a car, they might as well get a second-hand Ferrari just for the badge. This leaves the Corvette with no market. The Cadillac suffers from a similar problem. It's never going to win over enough BMW or Mercedes customers, and thanks to its V8 engine it's too expensive to buy and run for customers in a lower category, even though the car might be competitive there otherwise.

[@kettle_of_chris]

Get Carter w/Stallone is the reason I fell in love with the Black on Black Seville STS. (the movie...not so much) Never did get an STS, but man I love the way it looks! Throw me a "like" if you agree

[@zSprayzZ]

Whos in Paris again?

[@VickersV]

Very good video, fwd v8 haha.

[@aircraft2]

As you may know, GM failed in Europe, but: It's not as simple as 'eURoPEaNs pReFER sMALLer CaRS', its that GM has a shitty reputation worldwide. In Europe, competitors were able to offer a better product and that hurt GM's sales greatly. This also coincidentally happened to GM in Japan. In the US, GM has bribed the US government so much that the vast majority of its competitors are regulated out of existence in the US market, and therefore people have no choice.

[@rockinrusskiy1798]

It also had to do with perception. most europeans had this wild idea that german tech was far superior to american.. of course now 10-20 years later we see thats not the case . As evidenced by consumer reports about 10 and 20 year old bmws. Cheap plastic intake/ cooling parts. oil consumption. valve seals. etc. i rest my case. unfortunately at the time it wasnt evident. So in hindsight the chevys were better. its just europeans had a blindspot. .. are we going to have a repeat of the same european blindspot with TESLA? They kick ass in every category. I think its more of a automotive arrogance or even jealousy issue than quality or performance issue... prove me wrong!

[@AJSAN1971]

There's a reason the Ferrari was 100K more than the C5 Corvette and why would anyone buy anything with a Northstar V8? One of the most self-destructive engines ever built.

[@billolsen4360]

Actually, Corvettes are pretty reliable, they never used a Northstar as far as I know, but an old pushrod design that goes back to the 1960's. However, it's not GM's way to go into a market "small"...they have try selling Corvettes along side Camaros & Buick Park Avenues too.

[@AJSAN1971]

I wasn't connecting the Northstar with Corvettes, that was a Caddy thing. I'm suggesting that Corvette quality may be the reason why it's so much cheaper than an Italian supercar. They are horses for courses and it's unfair to compare them directly as, in my opinion, they aren't targeted at the same customers.

[@billolsen4360]

@@AJSAN1971 Corvettes are built by mass production methods, but much more slowly than the typical Chevrolet so attention can be given to details. Italian supercars are hand built by master craftsmen, people with money like that cache. It's a toss up as to which method is better since the components (starters, pistons, etc.) used are designed and built using the latest technology, Chevrolet or Ferrari.

[@mikojarvinen6273]

C5 Corvette is a great sport car a regular person can afford to run. It’s a car you can easily daily drive too. I myself owned a Cadillac Seville STS with a Northstar V8. Wonderful engine and faults are over-exaggerated.

[@Jpmpmpm]

Europe don't got to much Cadillac dts and Fleetwoods and dhs and Devilles of 2000 s and till 2011 or Lincoln Town car

[@drstevenrey]

The times when it was chic to have an American car in Europe was well over by 1965. By then all European cars had taken over the Americans by miles. And no, the client that wants a Ferrari does very very definitely NOT want a Corvette. The American cars here were the worst of slush mobiles ever produced. You can never ever compare the STS with a Mercedes, actually you can't even compare it with a Fiat of the time.

[@u2santi]

Erm… Chrysler has been absorbed by the Italians and lately by Stellantis

[@tobygoodguy4032]

Oh well ... an earnest attempt was made. Much has changed - or has been abandoned in the wake of Y2K.

[@pilskadden]

I rented a Camaro once in the US. It was good looking and it drove well with its powerful V8 engine. But I would never buy it with my own money. It just didn’t feel special. Cheap and nasty plastic everywhere. Switches and column stalks seemed to be right out of a Chevy Spark. Bigger is not always better. Perceived quality also matters… at least to europeans.

[@georgepom328]

I prefer the Land Rover Discovery to the Chevy

[@vikramrao6391]

For the price, nothing comes to American cars when you want to cross a continent. Apart from the Cadillac. I still see the others on the streets today. American cars work well in America and no where else. Too much excess.

[@mikojarvinen6273]

That’s not true. I have owned several American cars in Finland and they have all worked well and I’m not the only person who buys them. There’s a pretty large niche market for them and it seems to be growing. Ford’s American models are very common. They also started selling the new RAM hear and it’s been more successful that anyone would have imagined.

[@vikramrao6391]

@@mikojarvinen6273 good to know. I stand corrected.

[@alxa4739]

Playboy truck of the year! If there's something guys that take pictures of naked women know, it's trucks

[@robbybobbyhobbies]

At the time this was set, UK was part of Europe ("UK and Europe" was said more than once, "Britain and Europe" is in the description ). No need for the sop to the swivel-eyed beetroot-faced mob or to deny the reality. We were once part of Europe and in the geographical sense we still are.

[@billolsen4360]

What is "'the sop" and what is a "swivel-eyed beetroot-faced mob?" LOL. Those words must be English, but unheard of on the west side of the pond.

[@robbybobbyhobbies]

@@billolsen4360 hi Bill - the sop is the bit of “British exceptionalism”. It’s pandering to the subset of our population who never liked the idea of the UK being in Europe. During the Brexit debacle, this group of (generalising wildly here) old-fashioned, Britain won the war, bring back Churchill, Europe never did anything for us merchants were “led” by one of our very own Trump analogs, N. Farage. I forget which columnist or commentator coined the “swivel-eyed, beetroot-faced” line to describe him or his acolytes, but it fits perfectly.

[@trashrabbit69]

Surprised you didn't mention the Buick Park Avenue for having a brief stint in Euro markets in the early 90s. Seeing a positively geriatric bloated monster next to aero Sierras and 405s must've been a sight to behold, especially considering parking space.