For the past ten years or so, automakers in the United States have turned over to Japan for its small car market. But as consumers are now going for vehicles with better fuel economy, we can expect changes in the soon enough. In fact, certain changes and developments are already taking place. As of the moment, the Ford Focus already has its place in showrooms. By the first quarter of next year, General Motors Corporation will make the world have a look into the future of GM small cars. Many are already anxious to see how GM’s small cars will look like especially with the rumors about the automaker’s Saturn Astra as well as other compacts that are to be released really soon.

The new small vehicles are believed to be a lot better than those of that came before it. According to industry analysts, Detroit has a long way to go if it wants to unseat the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic for these two vehicles have 30 percent of the small car market. The 70 percent goes to foreign nameplates. In the years that passed, Ford and GM have a vision for small cars as they witness the market for it grows. With this vision, Ford and GM has already plans for their small cars as well as small crossover vehicles, which is not far off from those that is offered by Toyota. Aside from this, GM plans on coming up with a rear-wheel-drive small Cadillac. This would be the one they would have against the BMW 3 series.

Both Ford and GM see the small car market growing so much that they plan to have a wide array of cars and small crossover vehicles similar to what Toyota now offers. GM even has plans for a rear-wheel-drive small Cadillac to compete with BMW's 3-series. According to the Chief Executive of Ford Motor Co. Alan Mulally, it seems that Ford will take on the same strategy as Toyota. He added that, “[w]e have been really focusing on dynamite, stylish, neat, comfortable, well-crafted smaller cars with the fuel prices staying up in the United States and the changing tastes with global warming and energy security, then all of a sudden, I think we're going to start to come together. You're going to see all of the neatness of those smaller cars that are very fuel efficient. We're going to see that in the United States, and I want to be on the leading edge of that."

Source: ap.google.com