Archive for the ‘minicar’ Category

Readers of a certain age will recall a time when America's roadways were clogged with Gremlins, Rabbits, and other fuel-efficient minicars. That historical moment was caused by spiking fuel prices in the 1970s (remember when Jimmy Carter told everyone to put on a snappy cardigan?), which rear-ended a recession in the early 1980s. If you've been paying attention, you might've noticed that today's financial and automotive landscapes are looking awfully familiar....

And so, just as they did 30 years ago, every automaker worth its salt is now looking to cash in on the American compact and subcompact markets. BMW has its MINI (not to mention its...

Nissan today revealed a preview sketch of its new global minicar that’s set to go on sale in March of 2010. The car will first be launched in Thailand and Nissan eventually plans to sell it in more than 150 countries, one of which may be the U.S.

Diminishing sales both in the U.S. and abroad is forcing Nissan to rethink its current lineup. Unlike its major rivals Toyota and Honda, Nissan doesn’t have an image of being a ‘green company’ but it’s hoping to change all that with the release of new models such as the all-electric LEAF and this new minicar.

No details have been released apart from these sketches but...

Back in June, you might recall that Audi announced plans to roll its new A1 citycar into dealerships by early 2010. The automaker said that the A1 would debut as a three-door model, but that a five-door sportback version would soon follow. At the time, the A1 was slated only for European release.

However, there's a lot of auto news flowing from Germany right now, and among the items crossing our desk is a bit from German magazine Handelsblatt, which reports that Audi's head of sales, Peter Schwarzbauer, does, in fact, want to bring the A1 to America. In the article, Schwarzbauer refers to the "second generation" of the A1 when discussing...