Renault/Nissan is one of the global giants in car manufacturing. Peugeot is known for making high-quality upper end seadans. And CITROEN was a very technically advanced make-they pioneered gas suspensions, traction control etc. Why aren’t these cars sold in the USA? As gasoline prices in the USA get up to European levels, I would think that there would be a market for these high-mileage cars. So why aren’t they sold here?
Because the Japanese have already sewn up the market?
Because people have vivid memories of the Renault LeCar?
Is that what we call in Europe a Renault 5?
I don’t know about Peugeot being a “high-quality” brand. French cars are not renowned in Europe for their build quality or reliability. PSA (Peugeot/Citroen) did have a reputation for managing to combine good handling with a comfortable ride, but the other makers have since caught up. Citroen designs have also become a lot more conventional, although lately they seem to be getting more adventurous again.
Also, they compete mainly in the small hatchback market, and these are very small cars by US standards. You certainly don’t see many of their larger sedans like the Peugot 607 and the Citroen C6 outside France.
This is a good chunk of the answer. As the Japanese have been able to take such a large market share on French (and other European) makers’ own turf, it’s hard to think of a reason French cars would be easy to sell in the states.
Totally priceless comments on the link.
Renault Dauphine
/ending hijack
Is Renault/Nissan one company now? Because Nissans are sold in the US, I think topped only by Hondas.
I have a Honda Civic LX, and I love that little car to death. 35 mpg, power window and locks…mmmm…
Nissans are sold in the US…
Ancient joke:
In Heaven, the police are British, the cars are German, the cooks are French, and the women are Italian.
In Hell, the police are German, the cars are French, the cooks are British, and the women are Italian.
Two more factors to consider: homologation and import tariffs. Homologation is the requirement to demonstrate or modify foreign-built designs to meet US safety and emissions standards. Even if a European-built car technically meets CE standards that are in excess of US standard, the paperwork and testing still has to be done to satisfy those requirements. For an automaker who doesn’t already have a strong distribution system or marketing presence in the US, meeting those standards is costly and risky, and unless they have a product that is uniquely desirable–say, the Porsche 911 or the Volkswagon Beetle–it may just not make good business sense to even attempt it. Note that the German players who have been so successful at selling premium cars in the US don’t bother certifying and importing their econobox models; pricewise, they can’t compete with Detroit and Nippon in that arena, plus it would undermine their percieved premium status. If the US were to homogenize our regulations with Europe, it would reduce or eliminate that barrier, but that is unlikely to say the least.
Import tariffs are another block; in the Sixties, Volkswagon hurdled it by offering a vehicle so functional and inexpensive (the Beetle) that they could absorb tariff costs anad still make a profit. Ditto for the Japanese and their fuel-efficient designs which became so popular during the oil crisis and Detroit’s strategy of planned obselence. You’ll note, however, that most of the Japanse carmakers, as well as BMW, now build a significant number of their vehicles in the US, thus avoiding tariffs.
As others have noted, the French cars aren’t particularly known for their reliability or performance; they’re of average quality, and thus have no particular appeal to American buyers save for the small cachet of people who want something unique for the sake of being different. “Kent, you know you’re not supposed to park that on campus.”
Stranger
My ex-fiancée had a Le Car back in the '80s. She liked it. I think that BrainGlutton might be right. There were a lot of cars in the '80s that were not as good as they should have been. Foreign automakers had been struggling to keep up with EPA regulations, and the 1979 oil embargo had a lot of carmakers lightening their cars for better efficiency. Then the SUV craze hit. Americans wanted big vehicles and I suspect that European economy car makers couldn’t keep enough market share with the Japanese selling so many cars here.
I’ve never seen many Citröens around, even when I lived in L.A. and back when they were still imported. Renaults seemed more popular, but they were few compared to Japanese cars. The Italians left the market too. The Maserati Biturbo was moderately popular in L.A., but the early ones had problems. Fiats seemed uncommon. Alfa-Romeo Spyders were rather popular in L.A., but they disappeared eventually as well.
So I think it was a combination of often-poor reputations, the desire for SUVs, and the plethora of Japanese cars competing against the European cars.
That’s another good point. The Europeans make compact, small-engined, often turbocharged and/or direct injection diesel engined cars which don’t seem to be popular among consumers.
Heh, remember the Chysler/Maserati bastard? Those things sold like hotcakes. 
The Alfa-Romeo Spyder got a big boost after Dustin Hoffman drove one in The Graduate. While Alfa-Romeo imported other cars (a sedan and a fastback, as I recall) they were never big sellers. With exoticars that have large margins (Ferarri, Lotus, Porsche) manufacturers can afford to jump through the hoops/bribe the appropriate officials to get their imports declared legal, although even that is sometimes prohibitive (Porsche 959 comes to mind).
Stranger
Must’ve been a helluva boost! I remember a dealership in Santa Monica in the late-'80s/early-'90s. I only have the vaguest memory of the Chrysler/Maserati. Like, ‘Oh, yeah. I remember hearing something about that.’
Up here in NoWA I see a lot of Fiat convertibles in the summer. I even saw a Fiat 850 for sale a few months ago.
Personally I think it would be much more interesting if the French and Italians re-entered the American market. I like Japanese cars, but I like variety. And if the British would start sending MGs over here… Oh, wait.
I think about a year ago, the 959 got approved.
http://www.canepa.com/SportsLuxury/Showroom/959ArticleAutoweek.asp
Yep. …
Yeaaah.
I have had a simca, and currently have an opel hanging around on the farm.
Actually, I lust after a 1974 matra-simca Bagheera …
Oh, come on, get it right:
In Heaven, the cars are made by Germans, the food cooked by the French, the lovers are Italian, and everything is organised by the Swiss.
In Hell, the cars are made in France, the cooks are German, the lovers are Swiss, and everything is organised by the Italians.
(Yes, I’m sure there’s an infinite number of variants…)
No, no.
In Heaven, the cars are made by Germans, the food cooked by the French, the lovers are Italian, the police are British, and everything is organised by the Swiss.
In Hell, the cars are made in France, the police are German, the lovers are Swiss, food is British, and everything is organised by the Italians.
In heaven, the cars are Australian, the food is Greek, the police are Irish, and the women are Chinese.
Well, that’s my version of heaven anyway.
In heaven, the cars are American V-8’s, the food is cooked over charcoal, the women are heiresses, and the cops are out of town on training missions.
Hey, I ain’t winning the Powerball. Let me have a little dream.