Cars in Scotland

Pictures of Cars

The vast majority of the cars in Scotland are econoboxes of types we never see in the U.S. The U.S. and Canada have very similar model lines, but in Scotland I recognized very few cars. Manufacturers I haven't seen for years include Citroën, Puegot, Renault, and Vauxhall - all of which are common in Scotland. Even some of the cars I expect to recognize occasionally look different, the Ford Escort being a fine example. Similar, but not the same. Even the vans and trucks are smaller. Our host's Saab 900(?), which in the U.S. would probably be called a small car - mid-sized at best, is quite large here. We've seen a couple "Smart" cars, an incredibly tiny two-seater (sitting upright, not sports-car type) that's a joint venture between Mercedes and Swatch (yes, the watch people). It has a 600 cc engine and will do 100 kph(?).

Apparently the U.S. and British car lines are getting more divergent with time. I would suspect the main reason for this would be because gas is 70p a litre here - about four times what it is in the U.S....

About the only thing that seems to stay the same is German cars - we've seen several BMW 3-series (although contrary to what I just said, you can get it in a wagon here - that's not available in the U.S.), VW Golfs and new Beetles (and an old one).

And of course the double deckers, which I loved to ride.

Ford is apparently the best selling car here and has been for a while. The only models I recognize are the Escort and the Focus, but the Escort doesn't quite look the same ... The "Ka" and the "Puma" are the most common on the street. Both are tiny. The Ka is a subcompact with a big wheelbase. The Puma is very sporty looking. Apparently both are based on the old Ford Fiesta. VW sells the Golf, and the smaller Polo. No American marques other than Ford, although Vauxhall, which is very common here, is wholly owned by GM. Peugot, Renault, and Citroën are all common here and non-existent in the U.S. I've seen them all in the past in Canada, although I think they're gone now.

You can still see some of the old British marques around. I saw several TVRs (they look great) and a couple MGs. Evidently MG has been sold a couple times and have dropped from 45% of their market to 5% or so. Saw a Lotus Elite, one I saw in Canada years ago. And an Elise, small and new. Even saw a very pretty Aston Martin.

Pictures of Cars