Archive for the ‘subcompact’ 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...

Is it 1973 all over again? Volkswagen is amping up for a fuel-economy battle with Honda and Ford, right here in America, with a new hatchback. Only this time, some of the names have changed, and so have the rules. Come 2011 or so, it's the VW Polo readying for a fight with the Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta. The fuel economy sea-changes and financial crises? Those things are reassuringly chillingly familiar.

Now, the Polo you see here--the one we drove in Germany recently--isn't the car you'll see in the U.S. in about two years' time. This Polo's a mid-lifecycle freshening of the current car, with the added spin of a three-door hatchback joining...

If you've looked at the Versa and lamented that it's actually a bit bigger and thirstier than what you'd hoped for, you're apparently not alone.

Nissan thinks that there's a reasonably strong market for an even smaller model, so the automaker's high-mpg replacement for its Micra minicar will be sold in the U.S.—beginning as soon as 2011. That's according to Automotive News, citing company officials in Japan. Nissan has sold the MINI Cooper–sized Micra minicompact in other markets for decades. While Nissan has before sold U.S. cars smaller than the Versa (20 years ago, its own Sentra hatchback was smaller than the current Versa), this new...