- In the early years of car manufacturing, automobiles were marketed mostly inside of their country of origin, with very few imported into the United States. But in 1907, Samuel Stevens, of Rome, New York, imported a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, arguably the first instance of an automobile import to the United States (see Resources below). By the 1930s, automobiles were being imported to the United States in relatively small numbers, with the dominant producers being French and British manufacturers. German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz began importing cars in 1952 through a single dealer, while Volkswagen's famous Beetle became popular in the 1960s and BMW officially entered the United States market in the 1970s. Japanese imports started off sluggishly in the 1960s, but the oil embargo in the 1970s made the fuel-efficient Asian imports attractive to American buyers. Korean, Yugoslav, French and Swedish imports have also made an entry, with varying success, into the United States markets throughout the late twentieth century. In 2006, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the total number of imported cars sold in the United States was over 2,300,000, with Japanese and German cars comprising the majority of the list (see Resources below).
- Japanese imports are the most popular imported cars for several significant reasons. While Toyota, Nissan (then called Datsun) and Honda offered well-built, fuel-efficient cars in the 1970s, American automobile manufacturers were still offering cars with large engines and were generally considered of poor quality. The Japanese imports were so reliable and attractive that one of the largest American automobile manufacturers, Chrysler, was on the verge of collapsing and needed government loans to stay afloat. In the late 1980s, after having successfully established themselves as makers of reliable cars and light trucks, Toyota and Nissan debuted their luxury lines, Lexus and Infinity. Though American consumers were initially skeptical about a Japanese "luxury" car, Lexus and Infinity have captured a large percentage of the American luxury car market from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. In fact, Lexus overtook BMW in total sales in 2005, selling over 300,000 to BMW's 266,000.
- BMW's first post-war production cars in the 1950s were poor performers, unreliable and largely unwanted by the consumers in Europe. By the time BMW landed in America in the 1970s, they had become a company with a reputation for innovation and considered themselves rivals to Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes, on the other hand, was faring significantly better. In 1952, Max Hoffman began importing and selling Mercedes-Benz automobiles and his sales were encouraging enough that Mercedes-Benz established Mercedes-Benz Sales, Inc. in 1957, effectively squeezing Hoffman out of the import business.
In the 1960s, Ferdinand Porsche's Hitler-inspired Beetle became immensely popular because of the "Herbie" series of films from Disney. Afterward, the tinye cars with engines in the rear became a counter-cultural icon, spawning a devoted following that exists to this day. In the 1980s, partly because of concerns about fires and other mechanical problems, Volkswagen began putting the engine in the front of the vehicle, focused on creating a more reliable product while retaining its reputation for fuel efficiency and fun. - Other countries' auto manufacturer have attempted to infiltrate the world's largest and most lucrative automobile market throughout the twentieth century. Yugoslavia's Yugo debuted in the early 1980s as did Korean manufacturer Hyundai. Both had a reputation for being underpowered and poorly made imports. Yugo floundered in America, partly because of its 3-cylinder engine and partly because of economic and political turmoil at home. Hyundai, however, fared better and improved its reputation and quality. Hyundai currently plans to challenge Japanese and German luxury car manufacturers with its Genesis line.
French automaker Peugeot was accepted by some American consumers and was somewhat successful until the 1980s, when it withdrew from the American market. Saab, a Swedish aerospace manufacturer, also has had middling success in American markets. Though considered a high-performance car company in Europe, Saab has not gained the kind of acceptance that German and Japanese imports have. Volvo, another Swedish import, has fared better not because of fuel economy or performance (at least initially), but because of the company's focus on safety. Volvo remains a steady seller, though after its acquisition by Ford in the 1990s, there has been increased focus on performance and styling. - As the Ford/Volvo mergers exemplifies, it is increasingly difficult to discern what exactly an imported car is. Though in the 1970s and earlier, most imported cars were manufactured and assembled overseas and imported to the United States, since the 1980s, there has been increasing manufacture of imported car brands in the United States, and many American companies actually produce their cars outside the United States. For example, Toyota is still considered an import car despite the fact that it manufactures and assembles most of its cars in the United States, while General Motors is considered a domestic manufacturer despite automotive plants in Mexico and Canada. The shift in delineating "imported" versus "domestic" cars has thus shifted to where the company originated or is currently based; basically, any auto manufacturer who is not Ford, General Motors or Chrysler is considered an "import" manufacturer.
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