At the LA Auto Show, Toyota unveiled its new Yaris subcompact to the U.S. market for the first time. (It’s been available in Canada and other parts of the world for years.) Later this month, the new Honda Fit subcompact goes on sale here as well. Finally, Nissan’s releasing their Versa by year’s end. And GM will bring the new AVeo for sale around the same time.

I have mixed feelings about all these small cars. On the one hand, I see the practicality: small for our crowded streets and highways; great for gas mileage. And they make a lot of sense here in SoCal and other parts of the nation where the vast majority of drivers, on average, are driving either solo or one passenger at most. I, for example, can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had more than one passenger in my car.

What’s my issue with these compacts? Timing. Despite what the press has stated, Americans have not given up on their SUVs. The plethora of new models, from the Buick Enclave to the new GMC Yukon, show that Americans love big and powerful.

Americans have also gotten bigger as well with over sixty percent considered clinically obese. Yeah, I’ve sat in the Yaris and Fit and, yes, I fit. But I’m more height than waist: I can imagine folks who have lots of both trying to get into these things.

So why the sudden increase in small cars? Do Toyota, who’s leading the charge, really think that ’small is beautiful’? I don’t believe so. I think what’s really happening is marketshare. Toyota wants to makes sure it’s available in every segment, from the subcompact to the largest truck (did you see the size of the upcoming Tundra?) for the discerning buyer. This is not new: GM does it with all its various brands (e.g., Chevrolet for the masses, Pontiac for those who like sport-looking, GMC for true work trucks, etc.) Toyota’s building on the success of its reputation as reliable transportation and its hybrid Prius.

I think it’s a sound strategy. But it has cracks, namely American psyche as I outlined above. Another is the ready availability of used vehicles in the U.S., many of which offer compacts or small vehicles that undercut a new Yaris or Fit. The Mazda3, considered by many as the premium compact car without the rep, can be had used for less than $15,000 or considerably less than a brand new Fit. And the 3’s engine’s provide considerably more power with only a slight loss in fuel economy. I don’t see most Americans easily taken in by even Toyota’s rep.

I could be wrong. The Japanese automakers caught Detroit off guard with their quality cars back in the Seventies and Eighties and, later, with their hybrids. Is Toyota and the rest reading their tea leaves right again? Or this time did they get a bad batch?