V.I.S.I.T. – Vauxhall Tigra 1.8

Jay Ramey

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tigra 1

That’s right gentlemen, that’s a Vauxhall Tigra 1.8 cabrio on Connecticut plates. In Connecticut. Just how is this possible? My money’s not on show and display, but rather, given the car’s “value” and country of origin, a non-resident registration. Foreign nationals can import a car into the US and keep it here for up to one year. This is only like the fourth of fifth example that I’ve seen of this type of importation, and it often appears in the form of owners bringing their own cars or campers to tour the US for several weeks or months. But since I’ve seen this Tigra around Connecticut a few times, it appears to be likely owned by someone who keeps a home in the state.

It’s not all that uncommon to hear a British accent in Connecticut. And by that I don’t mean the British accent that one picks up after a semester in Ireland, a 4-hour layover in Melbourne, a Downton Abbey marathon, or after watching several Guy Ritchie flicks. Or by marrying Guy Ritchie, for that matter. For instance, a cashier at my local supermarket is from the UK, and thanks to years of watching Top Gear I was able to correctly identify her accent as not being from Scotland or the midlands. I still have no clue what part of the UK she’s from, but it’s definitely not the Scotland or the Midlands.

tigra 2

The first-gen Tigra A that came out in 1994 essentially looked like a Toyota Paseo that had shrunk in the dryer, but it was a nifty little coupe that later competed with the hatches that Pew-joe produced for the European market. That first generation Tigra was actually sold as the Chevrolet Tigra in Mexico, and was a car which we Americans were summarily denied, because we were meant to make do with such products as the Cavalier and the Geo Metro. Yes, those were definitely just “products.”

tigra 3

The second-gen Tigra had the Peugeot 206 CC squarely in its sights when it came out in 2004, and was built in France by Heuliez. Some automotive journalists at the time felt that the Peugeot pulled this niche off more convincingly, but the Tigra had a nice selection of spunky engines and sold quite well under Opel, Vauxhall, and Holden badges. I honestly think it would have done all right in the states badged as a Chevy, though it would have arguably done even better badged as an Opel. Yes yes, I know, subcompacts = bad over here, and there was arguably nothing on the market in the US that it would have gone up against.

tigra 4

You know what, I’m actually completely on board with the concept of bringing something like this over to the US. I’m not really tempted to pull my hair out and scream “He could have totally brought over a TVR!!!” Different people have different priorities, and sometimes a car that you keep at home and are familiar with is what makes the most sense.  Is this cheaper than, uhh, buying an USDM LHD car that you can just keep in the states year round without the need to ship it home every 11 months? Possibly, but only just barely.  A long-term rental could be expensive, and who wants to be bored by having an LHD car in an LHD country? Especially if you’ve got a cheeky little modern hardtop convertible that will essentially be the only one on the whole continent. Now that’s exclusivity you just can’t buy over here. (Unless you import a BMW Z1. Then you arguably can buy that kind of exclusivity).

What small car made in the last 10 years would you bring over to the US for one year if you could?

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45 responses to “V.I.S.I.T. – Vauxhall Tigra 1.8”

  1. P161911 Avatar
    P161911

    The foreign resident thing might explain why I saw a Alfa Romeo with Georgia Plates here in town.

    Reply
    1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      Which Alfa was it?

      Reply
      1. P161911 Avatar
        P161911

        I think it was a silver 147 in 2011. I thought it might have been something Chrysler was testing to bring over here, but looked it up and realized the 147 was discontinued in 2010.

        Reply
    2. Maxichamp Avatar
      Maxichamp

      I saw a UAZ with diplomatic plates in DC. It was awesome.

      Reply
  2. Devin Avatar
    Devin

    If I were to bring a recent tiny vehicle over the sea, it would have to be an Opel Adam. I'm just smitten with the little things, I'd probably be irrational and buy one of the things if they were sold at the local GM store.
    <img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/09/2013-opel-adam-paris.jpg&quot; width="500">
    It's like a puppy with a motor!

    Reply
    1. Vavon Avatar
      Vavon

      I actually had a look at one this week! The first time I went into an Opel dealership since I was a kid…
      I really like the look of that car, the interiour is nicely done and it's spacious in the front, in the rear not so much.
      It has an absolutely ridiculous amount of customization possibilities: wheels, roof, dashboard, grille, mirrors.
      And all the colours have wacky names like: I'll Be Black, Saturday White Fever, Purple Fiction, Papa don't Peach…
      <img src="http://up.autotitre.com/4ff96bedd0.jpg&quot; width="670/">

      Reply
      1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
        Jay_Ramey

        So like the Tigra which imitated the Pug 206 CC, the Adam is getting on the 500C bandwagon.
        Opel's not too subtle these days, are they?
        (those wheels rock though)

        Reply
        1. Vavon Avatar
          Vavon

          True, but in my opinion it's better to immitate a good thing than to invent something silly…
          And at least the Adam is not retro, which I like, I would hate a retro version of a 205 for example!
          EDIT: Blatant lie, I would rock a retro version of the 205!

          Reply
          1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
            Jay_Ramey

            Yeah, that's what I was about to say: who could possibly hate a retro version of a 205? : )

  3. $kaycog Avatar
    $kaycog

    Quirky little car. I really, really love the color! Really.

    Reply
  4. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    <img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5259/5526204281_1c4ec71bd9.jpg&quot; width="500">
    I would put a trailer hitch on it, too.

    Reply
    1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      I'm kinda surprised we didn't get these as electric cars, cause there were a few Chinese domestic market cars that were converted to electric power by a couple companies and were road legal in the states.

      Reply
  5. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
    mr. mzs zsm msz esq

    <img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2FLovGHoN3w/SuWuSdmZtUI/AAAAAAAABvE/ew-NsjPyops/s500/DSC02421.JPG"&gt; It's not all that small, but I think the copen is too old. When I was a kid my mom was friends with a Polish lady who was married to a British guy who worked at the embassy. They had a house in England as well and he got to bring in cars. He had a Rover 820 or 825 or something numbered like that for a while. He was great, kind of an odd guy for either country. Most memorable thing about him to me is how he took his wife dancing a lot. Oh and the boat, when he took out his big motor boat he dressed the part with a jacket and cap.

    Reply
    1. Vavon Avatar
      Vavon

      Toyota Maxx Zio???

      Reply
      1. Devin Avatar
        Devin

        Mark X ZiO. I think Toyota's 75th anniversary crazy flash thing has an explanation for the name.
        I like the regular Mark X, it's a RWD sports sedan Toyota will probably never sell here.
        <img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QcmhqM_Wpk4/UIKz0uF_piI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/CyKxNnC7q-k/s1600/TOYOTA+MARK+X+2.5+AUTOMATIC.jpg"&gt;
        It's interesting that Toyota Japan never really abandoned the RWD market, though some models were more successful than others.
        <img src="http://i.drom.ru/~autovl/catalog_photos/toyota/verossa/toyota_verossa_9195.jpg"&gt;
        I wonder if it looks nearly as strange in person…

        Reply
        1. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
          mr. mzs zsm msz esq

          Though the Mark X sedan and wagons were pretty much different cars with the wagon being a FWD or AWD based on FWD platform. I just really liked how small it was, still pretty low, the largely no nonsense interior, and that it seated seven comfortably. It also looked about as good as any new car could to my eyes.

          Reply
  6. Stu Avatar
    Stu

    Id bring you guys a renault clio sport 182 trophy. Near 200 bhp is something just touching a tonne. Its own special sachs remote resovoir shock absorbers. All in all a bit special.

    Reply
  7. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
    Peter Tanshanomi

    <img src="http://www.tanshanomi.com/temp/tigrithmetic.png"&gt;

    Reply
  8. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
    FuzzyPlushroom

    Alfa 159 Sportwagon.
    <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Alfa_Romeo_159_SW_front_20080620.jpg/800px-Alfa_Romeo_159_SW_front_20080620.jpg&quot; width=600>
    It is too small. It's six and a half inches shorter than my Volvo. Nyaaah.
    If you still disagree, I'd have the new Fiesta ST… three-door. Just to make all the tuner kids try to figure out what they're seeing. (Then, if I was truly smitten, I'd buy a five-door Fiesta for its title and VIN plates and, well, you know.)

    Reply
  9. Vavon Avatar
    Vavon

    I would bring a 208 GTI, if it s really fun to drive that is… Waiting impatiently!
    <img src="http://m1.autonews.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/peugeot-208-gti-4-660×362.jpg"&gt;
    By the way that Tigra had the most ridiculous boot lid button ever.
    You had to press it continuously untill the lid was completely open…

    Reply
    1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      ::sigh:: The closest thing to the 208 that we can have right now is a 205.
      This is all because some people (not gonna name names) imported too many S-classes in the 80s.

      Reply
      1. Vavon Avatar
        Vavon

        Always look on the bright side Jay, you can finally have one of the greatest hot-hatch ever!
        <img src="http://a403.idata.over-blog.com/5/06/85/79/essai/PEUGEOT-205-gti-1l9-2770.jpg&quot; width="670/">
        Snatch one up now, before they start costing silly money!!!

        Reply
      2. bhtooefr Avatar
        bhtooefr

        More accurately, because MBUSA had a discriminatory pricing structure and didn't sell us all of the configs of the model, and wanted to preserve that pricing structure.
        Really, MBUSA is a shitty company – ruining the importation laws for private-owned cars, buying Chrysler to raid its bank accounts and then hand the emptied husk of a company (that couldn't fund product development, even) off onto Cerberus, and then onto the US government…

        Reply
        1. Vairship Avatar
          Vairship

          Of course Cerberus were greedy enough and so full of their own 'talent' that they thought they could just flip a car company. Turns out they weren't that smart after all…

          Reply
  10. mazder3 Avatar
    mazder3

    I really do want a Toyota Blade Master G. It looks like stink and it goes like stink!
    <img src="http://www.drivearabia.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/bladev61.jpg"&gt;

    Reply
    1. Vavon Avatar
      Vavon

      We have that here in Europe, but over here it's called the Toyota Auris.

      Reply
      1. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar
        Rust-MyEnemy

        I literally could not belive the Blade when I saw it in Tokyo. Especially the thought of it having a 3.5 litre V6.

        Reply
        1. Vavon Avatar
          Vavon

          Really, a 3.5 V6??? Colour me impressed, I thought it was just a regular GTi with a daft name…
          EDIT: A bit less impressed after reading what Autocar had to say about it…
          The Master-G proves pretty entertaining, as you might expect thanks to its big-engined formula and 276bhp and 254lb ft. This 3456 cc V6 unit (lifted from the Lexus IS350) delivers the kind of instant power, zest and tractability the regular 2.4-litre Blade (another Japan-only product) and Auris can only dream of. The Master-G is fast but not exciting, with dull steering, and traction control that can’t be turned off.

          Reply
          1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
            Jay_Ramey

            Naturally, since it has a large displacement engine, it was kept out of North America. We have, uhh, laws against big engines.

          2. Dean Bigglesworth Avatar
            Dean Bigglesworth

            I kind of still want one, though. It's dreary in every imaginable and unimaginable way, but it has a (relatively) humongous engine. It'd be one hell of a sleeper around here.

      2. duurtlang_ Avatar
        duurtlang_

        It is very similar to the Auris. The Auris, the clearest sign you don't care about cars. I saw one today, being driven obnoxiously. It was a hybrid. I remember thinking it being a total non-car. I don't know how well that translates to English (or French) though.

        Reply
    2. pizzahoon Avatar
      pizzahoon

      Holy crap dude! That's a crazy amount of power for what is considered in Europe a mediocre at best geriatrics-hauler! Now I can't stop thinking about swapping one in a run of the mill Auris, that would be a hell of a sleeper

      Reply
  11. mallthus Avatar
    mallthus

    Citroen DS3 Racing
    <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Citroen-DS3-Racing.JPG/800px-Citroen-DS3-Racing.JPG&quot; width=600>

    Reply
  12. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    Been playing a lot of O.G. Forza lately (because I'm cheap and have yet to upgrade to a current gen system). The Tigra is, at least from the back, strangely reminiscent of the VX220, a car I'd mostly forgotten about, even owning the 1:18 model (yes, I know, family styling).
    That said, GM had a hard enough time hawking the Cavalier convertible (something vaguely North American-sized), that I can't see the Tigra succeeding until the past couple years, when sub-compacts finally didn't mean you were broke.

    Reply
  13. rtfact32 Avatar
    rtfact32

    This car has been in the US a lot longer than a year – I saw it at least five years ago on I-95 in Rhode Island, and did a triple take (a Vauxhall? An Opel…I could maybe see, but an LHD Vauxhall? Why!?) I've always wondered the back-story to it.

    Reply
    1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      Are you the one who submitted it to Jalop at that time?
      I took this in 2011, but first saw it 14 months prior in 2010. It does indeed appear to have, ahem, spent quite a bit of time in the US, but it's possible it gets shipped back and forth. I've seen people do far, far more expensive and pointless things.

      Reply
      1. rtfact32 Avatar
        rtfact32

        Yes, that was me that submitted it to Jalop! Thanks for reminding me exactly where it was posted. It was a very crappy cell-phone picture…I'd say that my picture was taken in '08 or '09…I remember the woman driving it looked exceedingly terrified at being on the highway, going well below the 65 mph speed limit.
        http://www.peopleswheels.com/2013/03/12/2895/

        Reply
        1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
          Jay_Ramey

          I first saw it driving thru downtown Mystic CT in 2010, I passed it in traffic quite slowly and saw the lion on the hood emblem of some small blue car, I was like "did I just hallucinate that"? Funny thing is I had a DSLR in my hands at the time cause I was looking for something else, but the whole Vauxhall thing didn't register till like 5 seconds later, and it was too late for a photo.

          Reply
          1. rtfact32 Avatar
            rtfact32

            I was riding shotgun at the time and saw it from behind, and thought, funny, that looks Euro, must be some Opel or otherwise. We passed it and I saw the lion and the driver on the wrong side of the road, and thought the same thing – "Did I just really see that?" I've since upgraded to an iPhone, so at least my photos come out good enough for web-quality. Are you NE based?

          2. Jay_Ramey Avatar
            Jay_Ramey

            Yes, southeastern CT.

      2. Vairship Avatar
        Vairship

        Would you really have to ship it back, or does it simply have to leave the US for a while? It seems like driving it to Canada and back would make a lot more sense.

        Reply
        1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
          Jay_Ramey

          I'm sure there's something preventing this in the statute….. otherwise we would all be driving weird weird things.

          Reply
  14. LTDScott Avatar
    LTDScott

    I am sad that there are no Bunny references here.

    Reply
  15. singlesnet Avatar
    singlesnet

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    Reply
  16. Bernadine Avatar
    Bernadine

    Hello, just wanted to say, I loved this article.
    It was helpful. Keep on posting!

    Reply