5 Small Cars Headed for American Highways

DETROIT (TheStreet) - The Ford (F) Fiesta subcompact takes its overseas success stateside this month, and may bring some of its foreign friends with it.

The first Ford Fiestas and their 29 mpg city and 40 mpg highway mileage ratings arrived at dealerships last week, looking for a share of a U.S. market that's embraced the Mini and, to a lesser extent, smaller models by Honda(HMC) and Mazda. The Fiesta is the first subcompact for Ford has sold in the U.S. since its Festiva and Aspire models rolled to a halt here in 1997. Though 12 million Fiestas have been sold worldwide since 1976, most of those sales were made in Europe and none have rolled off a lot in America since 1980, when the line was replaced by the Escort.

The small-car market isn't what it used to be, however, as even the popular Mini's sales have stagnated -- up only 0.1% this year as sales of the Mini Cooper convertible bolster slumping hardtop and Clubman models. It's a far worse picture for Mini's tiny European competitor Smart, whose sales have been up month-over-month this year but declined 64% in 2010 compared to the same period in 2009 as high starting prices and relatively low gas mileage keep customers away. Even well-received subcompacts like the feature-laden Honda Fit, which saw sales this year drop more than 19% from 2009, are under pressure as consumers crave crossovers and more spacious mid-sized vehicles.

The more than 8,000 Fiesta pre-orders Ford touted in February may spare the subcompact a similar fate, but stronger sales this year could open the door to other auto emigres eyeing the U.S. market. Here are just five of the small cars that could make it big in the U.S. in the near future: