Automotive WI - Big Three's Pre-War Small Car projects were viable

One of the many notable things the Big Three's pre-war Small Car projects had in common were along with their lack of seriousness in entering production, featuring engine layouts that in retrospect were not viable for car production.

From the Chrysler Star Car and GM Martia prototypes to whatever small car projects Ford* was working on up to the Soybean car during WW2, what if such cars featured more viable engine layouts whether inline-4, Flat-4, V4 or even 3/4-cylinder two-stroke?

*- Interested to know what other small car projects Ford in the US was said to be working on at the time.
 
It may not have been glamorous but the Model T in the model A were both by the standards of the day and still would be considered compact. The Model T did almost everything that you're asking for.
 
the 'biggest' problem with small cars, is that they require nearly the same amount of raw materials, tooling and labor costs as a big car.

The problem is, people think that a small car should sell for less than a big car, so the profit margins are not as good. Business is there for profit, and bigger cars is easier to get more of it, because of nearly pure profit Options that can be added to larger cars without customer backlash

Yeah, you can make it up on volume, like Henry did with the Model T, but eventually you have to retool for new models, and take account for changing tastes.
 
The idea is the Big Three produce viable versions of their pre-war small car prototypes prior to WW2, only for the cars to be either replaced by new or updated models in the post-war period.
 
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