From the Detroit News:

General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. have made cool, smartly equipped little cars such as GM’s Opel Tigra and the Ford Ka for Europeans for years, but Detroit executives were reluctant to offer them at home.

Sophisticated small cars may be ideal for Europeans living in old cities with narrow streets, the thinking went, but Americans associate luxury with spaciousness.

Now that’s starting to change. At the Geneva auto show this week, GM and Ford will display two stylish small cars that are aimed at European audiences but are likely to find their way into U.S. showrooms, too.

With the continuous rise in gas prices and changing fuel economy regulations, the Big Three automakers are starting to bring smaller cars designed and produced by their European divisions to these shores.