Cars You Can't Buy Here

Much to the chagrin of rich guys and hopeful onlookers in L.A. and Miami, the folks in Washington, D.C. just nixed plans for the Pagani Huayra to go on sale in the U.S. in 2012. Seems the $1.4 million, 230 mph supercar is missing one important part - a smart airbag with a sensor for the passenger seat. The very low volume Italian automaker filed for an exemption, citing the $5.7 million cost of developing the technology, but was denied. With the most stringent safety and emissions standards in the world, the federal government keeps plenty of cars out of our reach. Here are a few you might otherwise be interested in. (Pagani)

On the other end of the spectrum, the $2,200 Tata Nano is billed as the cheapest car in the world. The four-door is built in India, where the word 'car' has a slightly lower standard than it does here. With a 35 hp two-cylinder motor and a top speed of 65 mph, it's little more than four-seat scooter with a roof. Plans are afoot to redesign it for the U.S., but by the time the emissions and safety equipment are up to snuff the price will also be up to $8,000 or more. (Tata Motors)

Just in time for Christmas, on December 22, 2011 Ford's compact Ranger pickup truck reaches the end of the road...in the U.S. The automaker has released an all-new vehicle that carries the name, but will be built and sold nearly everywhere around the globe except here and Canada. The reason is quite simple: we like big trucks. Ford says its latest F-150 is only 10 percent bigger than the new Ranger and gets such good fuel economy that it doesn't think there's much of a market here for the little guy in the northernmost two nations of North America, so it's even more fuel efficient four-cylinder diesel engines are forbidden fruit. (Ford)

GM's latest mid-size sedan is the $10,000 Baojin 630. Sounds like a steal, right? So why haven't you ever heard of it? Well, the division that makes it only exists in China. Considering GM builds and sells more cars there than here these days, and the market is just getting bigger and bigger, there's really not much incentive to bring it here. Too bad, it would look pretty good parked in front of a Walmart with a trunk full of Made in China bargains. (GM)

Shockingly, you actually can buy this one here, but you can't drive it, at least not on the street. The KTM X-Bow is a stripped down performance car designed for race tracks, but legal on public roads in some countries in Europe where they aren't as uptight about these things, as long as you've got your head and taillights in the right place. (KTM)