AUTOS: Booming Small Cars

General Motors last week finally climbed aboard the booming small-foreign-ear bandwagon. G.M. Boss Harlow H. Curtice announced that G.M. in September will begin U.S. sales of its English-built Vauxhall Victor and West German-built Opel Rekord, both four-cylinder sedans previously sold by G.M. only outside the U.S.

G.M.’s Victor, a yard shorter, a foot narrower and 1,000 Ibs. lighter than a Chevrolet, is a 55-h.p. wrap-around-look car that gets 35 miles per gallon. It is expected to sell for about $1,800 v. Chevrolet’s cheapest price of about $2,000. The Opel, which approximates the Victor in performance, will get a face-lift before appearing in the U.S.

A prime reason for G.M.’s change of mind is the soaring U.S. sales of small foreign cars, which may double in 1957 to 200,000 (about 4% of the total U.S. market). While steady inroads on U.S. low-cost models are being made by such foreign standouts as West Germany’s Volkswagen, Ford and American Motors have also been cashing in. In the first four months of this year, British Ford sales in the U.S. hit 3,201 v. 717 in the same period last year. Sales of American Motors Corp.’s Metropolitan, made by Austin of England, arp up 84% so far in 1957.