What I mean is that the issue of competing against the Mk1 Escort would cease to exist with the introduction of the Mk2.
Pontiac Executive/Grand Ville (1958-1960): For the 1959 model year General Motors decided to take Pontiac's offerings further upmarket, and built two Pontiac cars on the longer-wheelbase C-Body platform: the lower-priced Executive and the fancier Grand Ville. The styling was based on the lower Bonneville series, but with more extravagant styling features, partially inspired by the Oldsmobile 98. The new cars could be ordered with either the standard 389 ci V8 engine, or the new 415 ci one, and with a choice of a 3-speed manual or 4-speed automatic. The line was successful enough for the lower-end Chevrolet to get its own C-Body line for the 1960 model year, comprising of three models - Nova, Monte Carlo and Coronado.
Peugeot 2007 (2006-2013): In 2006 Peugeot decided to enter the small MPV segment with the 2007, a taller, more practical 207 derivative. It looked quite similar to the Opel Meriva B, Mk1 Renault Modus and Peugeot 207, and shared most of the 207's engine and transmission range, except for the more potent 207 RC powertrains. While it was relatively successful at first, even selling more than 100,000 units in its first full year of sales, the shrinking of the small MPV segment led to dropping sales and the 2007 getting replaced by a crossover, the 2008, in 2013.
Did you concieve it as smaller version of 3008? --- Post updated --- Mazda 1 (2008 - 2016) Mazda's try in A segment. The car was built on same platform as Mk2 Ford Ka and Fiat 500, except it has 5 doors, and style similar as Mazda 2. Engines are same as in Ford and Fiat, 1.2 petrol with 68 HP and 1.3 diesel with 74 HP. The car was introduced few months after Ka, and it was built on the same production line as Ka and 500, in Poland. Sales were decent at first. From 2012 sales were starting to slow and in 2014 model was facelifted, when it got style like on Mk3 Mazda 2, both inside and out. In 2015 Ford and Mazda ended their partnership, and next year this car was killed. Because of that, but also because of small sales then. Approximately 430K examples were produced.
Alfa Romeo 6C GT/6C Spider/Dodge Viper/Maserati Alfieri/Mazda RX-9 (2018): In 2018 Fiat-Chrysler-Mazda debuted a new platform, used to build a group of 2+2 sports coupes/convertibles - the Alfa Romeo 6C, Dodge Viper, Mazda RX-9 and Maserati Alfieri. The cars shared one body shell, 8-speed automatic gearbox, driveshaft suspension design, set of wiring and convertible roof, among others, in order to lower development costs. All were rear-wheel-drive only. Each car was available with different engines. The Alfa could be had with a 350 HP or 450 HP 3.0 biturbo V6, or a 550 HP (Quadrifoglio Verde) 2.9 one. The Dodge had a 375 HP 5.7 V8, or a 6.4 one in various stages of tune: 485 HP (R/T), 560 HP (SRT 392), 717 HP (SRT 392S) or 840 HP (SRT Hellcat). The Mazda was equipped with a 1.9 trirotor rotary engine that had either 375 HP with natural aspiration (base), 470 HP (single turbo; Mazdaspeed) or 580 HP (biturbo; Mazdaspeed S). Finally, the Maserati was available with a 350 or 450 HP 3.0 biturbo V6, a 550 HP 2.9 one or a 665 HP 3.8 biturbo V8 (in the S version). In 2019 plug-in hybrid variants were introduced. The systems would add 110 HP to the cars' power output, and these were added to all variants of the Alfa (adding the 660 HP GTA to the range), the SRT 392S and Hellcat Dodge (creating a new, top Demon trim), all versions of the Mazda (replacing the Mazdaspeed and Mazdaspeed S in Europe, and adding a Mazdaspeed R model) and the 450 HP, 550 HP and 665 HP Maserati (replacing the 550 HP and the 665 HP one in Europe, and adding a new Alfieri R trim level). The cars were well-received by journalists, but niche appeal meant that they're barely making a profit.
Isuzu Gemini (2000 - 2005) Essentially a rebadged Opel Astra G. It was just available as hatchback, sedan and wagon. Engines that were available were: 1.8 115 or 125 HP, 2.0 136 HP and 2.2 with 147 HP or 160 HP with 5 and 6 speed transmission and 4 and 5 speed automatic. The car was only sold in US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and some other markets. At start it was made in Germany, and later the whole production was moved to US. Total production was around 100K examples. Also, entirely new badge was designed for Isuzu passenger cars lineup to distinguish them from commercial lineup.
Hudson Commodore/Hornet (1966-68): After a period of good sales of the AMC Ambassador, American Motors decided to enter the midrange market with a revival of the Hudson brand. The brand had two models - the smaller Commodore, based on the Rambler Rebel, and the bigger AMC-Ambassador-based Hornet. Both were pretty similar to the cheaper counterparts, but had unique fascias (somewhat similar to the '66 and '68 Oldsmobiles) and dashboards. These cars also had unique variants of the American Motors V8 engine - a 355 ci and 397 ci one. Unfortunately, the sales weren't that strong, so the '69 Commodore was cancelled, only leaving the Hornet in the Hudson lineup.
DeLorean DMC-24 (1983 - 1992) American midsize RWD front engined luxury car. It would have similar style as DMC-12, but with 4 doors. Its body would remind on Aston Martin Lagonda, but DeLorean's would be smaller, shorter and with softer edges. The car appeared after success of DMC-12, to more upscale part of market. The car was initially meant to have gullwing doors, but ultimately received suicide ones. Like DMC-12, it was built from stainless steel. Simply the designers thought that it would be too radical for sedan to have that type of doors. Engines were 2.8 PRV V6 with 140 HP, which was reserved for entry level model. Few weeks after the introduction of DMC-24, new engine was introduced, Ford's 2.3 I4 Turbo with 205 HP and 235 HP. Decision to put Ford engine in DMC-24 was pain in the neck for GM, where John DeLorean worked before. In 1985, another engine was added also Ford's, 4.9 V8 with 265 HP available, after tuning. That engine is mostly introduced to get closer to typical American taste. Transmission options were same as in DMC-12. The car had many luxury features, like: all power windows, power mirrors, leather seats, aircon, power steering, airbags (from 1986), etc. Its main idea was to offer futuristic car and alternative to many European and American rivals. High manufacturing costs led that car had high price. For 9 years, around 12K examples were built. 24 in name indicated the price, 24K dollars at that time.
I would say the 4.9 or 5.8 V8 would be a better fit for the DMC-24, as the 4.2 was more of a fuel economy-optimized engine.
Ford Mustang sedan (1964-1973): A last-minute addition to the 1964 Mustang range was a four-door sedan, which at its launch the cheapest four-door hardtop sedan available in the United States. The sedan was available with the same engines and options as the coupe and convertble, and while it did not sell as well as the coupe, it still managed to be sold in nearly 200 thousand units in just the first year. The Mustang was sold as a more youthful and sporty alternative to more formal American sedans of its era, and included a variety of performance options, including the Boss 429, Mach 1 and Shelby GT350 trims. In fact, it managed to hasten the progress of import sports sedans in the US by offering a homegrown sports sedan. The Mustang sedan's body was completely redesigned twice - for the 1969 model year, when it gained a fastback roofline similar to the 1970 Torino one, and for the 1971 model year, when a 1972 Torino-like roofline was introduced. In the end over 1.4 million first-generation Ford Mustang sedans were sold.
BMW 1-Series (1977 - 1982) German sporty compact hatch. It would look similar as VW Golf Mk1, with similar body line. Front would be similar as E21, and rear would look similar to E12. Interior would be typical BMW-esque. The main idea behind this car was to offer a sporty and hot hatch, in time when they were booming. The car was produced practically unchanged all years, and only smaller elements like mirror, bumpers, grille and some other interior bits were changed in 1979. The car was RWD, and it's based on 3-Series E21. Engines were: 1.5 75 HP, 1.6 90 HP, 1.8 100 HP and also stronger Turbo version with 125 HP and 2.0 110 HP engine. Transmission were: 5 speed manual and 3 speed automatic. Version were: 115 116 116i (model with fuel injection, available from 1979) 118 118i (model with injection, from 1980) 118t (1977 - 1979) 118ti (turbo with injection, 1979 - 1983) 120 120i (with injection, from 1979) The car sales started pretty strong, but started falling down from 1978. In 1982 the car was discounted as it became outdated and also because new management of BMW thought that this model was uneeded, and that entry versions of new E30 3 Series should fill the gap. Total production reached 320K.
Skoda Citigo (2004-2011): The Citigo was introduced to broaden VAG's appeal in the low-price sector and offer a car in the new Dacia Logan's price range. The car was sold in two body styles - 3-door and 5-door hatchback. It was available with three different engines (1.2 and 1.4 MPI and 1.4 TDI), and while the base equipment was rather sparse, you could option the Citigo up to a pretty nice level. The car was facelifted once, for the 2008 model year. Over the course of its production it was sold in over 375,000 units.
Peugeot BB1 (2011-2019): It was introduced in an attempt to compete with the Smart Fortwo, but offering the higher practicality of a four-seater car, and to make a premium alternative to other quadricycle cars. While it was not as small as the concept, the BB1's 286 cm length made it the shortest production four-seater car. The BB1 was available in 4 different versions - 5 HP (light quadricycle), 17 HP (heavy quadricycle) and 67 HP electric, as well as 69 HP 1.0. All BB1s had a rear engine, rear-wheel-drive combination. The electric drivetrain was based on the iON one, while the petrol one came from the 107. While the BB1 was not a massive sales success, it still managed to sell in over 250,000 units, prompting PSA to introduce a new all-electric generation in 2019.
Peugeot 208CC (2012-2019): It was a convertible version of the 1st gen 208. Just like the predecessors, it was a 2+2 hardtop convertible, though the rear seats were rather unusable. The 208CC was available with all the engines and transmissions the normal 208 came with, including the GTI model. It was the only hardtop convertible 208, as the 2nd generation model was a softtop convertible.
