There are people in the U.S. that are connoisseurs of wines, soft drinks, guns, food, music, books, television movies and shows, as well as cheese. Me? I am a connoisseur of cars and trucks. I love all kinds of motor vehicles: Classics, Multi make, domestic and foreign.
I was recently watching pictures taken from the New York Auto Show on the new line of Cars and Trucks for 2010. They were all very interesting and all seemed to be well built. Nevertheless, I felt that there were some cars that were missing from the presentation. Two days later, I looked at the vehicles from an Auto Show from Geneva, Switzerland, and, sure enough, I was correct.
At this time, there are vehicles that are not allowed to be sold in U.S. markets. Vehicles like the Fiat Bravo, the 500c and the 4X4 Panda. Like Renault's 4X4 Duster, the Ménage and the Master. Like the new Alfa Romeo Spider, the Gulietta and some others. This is primarily due to restrictions on free trade. I find these restrictions not only ridiculous and wrong, but an impediment to the right of a person to buy a product of his or her choosing.
These restrictions on trade are in place to please unions like United Auto Workers and, in my view, to please Detroit's big three automakers: General Motors, Ford and Chrysler from competition from abroad. This is sad. Looking at these European Vehicles, I feel that if these car companies were allowed to place their products in U.S. Markets, the American Public would go wild for them. Alas, that is not the case as of now, and it is all because of fear and the restrictions on freedom of trade.