Will Detroit Ever Make Small Cars Again?

Following the pandemic, the rising cost of living has led Canadians to focus intensely on budget-conscious, more practical ways to spend their hard-earned money. This applies to many aspects of life — homes, clothes, vacations — but also cars.

According to AutoTrader data, affordability is back in style.

“As vehicle prices remain elevated and economic uncertainty persists, Canadian car shoppers are prioritizing practicality over prestige,” says Baris Akyurek, Vice President of Intelligence and Insights at AutoTrader. “Interest in luxury models is softening while mainstream brands are seeing an increase in sales both for new and used vehicles, reflecting a shift toward more affordable, everyday vehicles.”

A decade ago, Canadian new car buyers could walk into a showroom and find a new vehicle for under $10,000. But for anyone shopping since 2016, the baseline for “affordable” has more than doubled. Prices for our list of the 10 most affordable 2026 models range from $24,049 ($21,999 Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price plus $2,050 freight) for the base model of the Hyundai Venue to nearly $30,000 for the Volkswagen Jetta.

Notably absent from this list are small cars from Detroit’s traditional Big Three automakers, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly the Chrysler Corporation). The $26,999 Chevrolet Trax subcompact SUV was the only model on our top 10 list from an American automaker.

It’s no surprise that, as Detroit’s automakers focus on higher-profit trucks and SUVs, the average price of a new vehicle made in North America was almost $70,000, compared to around $45,000 for Asian-sourced vehicles and just over $78,000 for European imports. So we had to ask: Will, or can, Detroit’s Big Three ever make small, affordable cars again?

Detroit Built Small Cars in the Past

The "bigger-is-better" mantra has always guided the North American auto industry. This was very obvious in the post-Second World War economic boom that saw cars grow increasingly in size, peaking with the late-1960s and early-1970s land yachts, and living on through today’s market dominance of full-size trucks and SUVs.

There have been a few instances where this growth has been stunted.

A major U.S. recession in 1958 led to a significant decline in North American car sales, spurring the rise in popularity of small, fuel-efficient, and affordable European imports, specifically the Volkswagen Beetle. Detroit responded with smaller, more affordable cars, such as the Chevrolet Corvair, Ford Falcon, and Plymouth Valiant. Then a second wave of even smaller cars, such as the Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega, and AMC Gremlin, debuted in the early 1970s to counter not only the 1973 oil crisis, but also intense competition from Japanese imports from Toyota and Datsun.

As the American economy rebounded in the 1990s, Detroit automakers spent the next few decades abandoning the small-car market. The last small North American-made Ford car was the 2019 Ford Fiesta. The final subcompact car produced by Chevrolet in the United States was the Chevrolet Sonic in 2020. And the last small, compact Stellantis car manufactured in America was the 2016 Dodge Dart.

The Chances of a Future Small Car From Detroit Seem Slim

Today, there’s still a conflict between consumers who need truly inexpensive, small vehicles and buyers who can still afford pricier large models. North American consumers, at least those who can still afford them, strongly prefer larger vehicles. The argument is that the prevalence of larger vehicles on the road makes drivers feel unsafe in smaller, lighter cars, creating a feedback loop that encourages more purchasing of larger vehicles.

It’s hard to see how Detroit’s current business model can ever return to selling small, $20,000 cars again, when its best-selling models are large in size, price, and profit. The math is simple: Bigger vehicles mean bigger profit margins for automakers.

In Canada, MSRPs for 2025-2026 base model full-size pickups generally start at around $48,000 to $50,000, but average transaction prices are significantly higher due to popular trim levels. As of early 2026, the Ford F-150 starts at around $48,200 to $52,000, while the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 starts at around $48,500 to $50,233. The Ram 1500 has a higher starting price, with 2026 models starting at around $66,290 for popular configurations.

American automakers still claim that small cars have become too expensive to build domestically due to union wages, often leading to their import from lower-wage countries. That’s why the affordable Chevrolet Trax is built in South Korea.

The Path to Smaller American Cars May Be Electric and Global

The pile of evidence against seeing a truly small and affordable car from Ford, GM, or Stellantis is fairly tall. A repeat of the 1970s strategy of producing bare-bones, low-quality small cars is unlikely. Modern consumer expectations, safety standards, and technological integration mean that even "affordable" new cars today are vastly different from the Vegas and Pintos of the past.

However, a return to smaller vehicles is possible amid shifting economic pressures, potential regulatory changes, and demand for affordable options.

One approach to kick-start a return to Detroit-made small cars would be to leverage platforms from the automakers’ global operations. These are often designed for foreign markets where smaller vehicles are more popular. A move toward "multi-energy” platforms would allow a single, small chassis to accommodate gas, hybrid, or electric powertrains, better adapting to fluctuating consumer demand.

One promising example is Ford’s "Skunkworks" Strategy. The automaker is focusing on a new Universal EV Platform for 2027, designed to produce smaller, affordable vehicles that can compete with low-cost imports. Another example is GM. It has officially retired the Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan to retool its plant for the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt EV, which is expected to be an entry-level electric model in 2026.

If Not Detroit, where Will Future Small Cars Come From?

Unless the economy enters a severe downturn, shopping for a new car with a $10,000 sticker price is a relic of the past. Even if a small car from Detroit were launched today, after engineering for North American standards, it would likely cost at least $20,000, the price point where many small cars have already failed due to lack of sales.

In the near term, it’s highly unlikely that buyers will turn to Detroit for their next small car. The future of small cars will likely come from Asian countries such as South Korea and China.

If a Detroit-made small car is an unlikely prospect, we suggest that if you currently own a late-model Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Sonic, or Dodge Dart, you may want to keep it as a collector car.