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Prior to the late 1960s, American small car offerings were scarce. Early small car designs, like those from the Crosley Corporation, faltered against the rise of larger, more profitable vehicles from the big three automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Small imports, such as the Volkswagen Beetle, began to capture market share, urging American manufacturers to create their own small models. By 1970, models like the American Motors Gremlin and the Chevrolet Vega emerged to compete.