| It's been a while since the sub-compact car market | | | | new Honda Fit for example, |
| has garnered such attention in | | | | gets an estimated 33 miles per gallon in the city, 38 |
| North America. Our friends in Europe have always | | | | mpg on the highway.But these are no one-show |
| known the virtues of small cars. | | | | ponies. Beyond fuel efficiency they offer respectable |
| But here in North America, SUV's have dominated | | | | performance. The Toyota Yaris has 106 horsepower |
| parking lots at the local Pier 1 for | | | | which may not sound like |
| more than a decade. However as current gas prices | | | | much, but tipping the scales at only 2315 lbs, it has a |
| inch forward and with future | | | | power-to-weight ratio close |
| prices looking uncertain (and by uncertain I mean | | | | to that of the 220 horsepower Hummer H3. And |
| they're certainly going to be | | | | these cars can carry just about |
| higher than today) more people are buying small, | | | | anything. With the rear seats up, the Honda Fit can |
| fuel-efficient cars. We've seen a | | | | swallow 21.3 cubic feet of gear. |
| lot of activity in the segment recently. Toyota has | | | | A Ford Crown Victoria by comparison can hold 20.6 |
| introduced the Yaris, Hyundai has | | | | cubic feet worth of cargo in the |
| significantly revised the Accent, Kia has updated the | | | | trunk.The domestics haven't invested much in this |
| Rio, Honda has just introduced | | | | class recently, if ever. The Chevrolet |
| the Fit, and Nissan will introduce the Versa in May of | | | | Aveo is essentially a re-badged Daewoo and doesn't |
| this year. And let's not forget | | | | offer the level of refinement as |
| Scion with the xA and xB.Having a car in the | | | | the others. The Ford Focus is larger and more |
| sub-compact market makes sense for a variety of | | | | expensive, as is the new for '06 |
| reasons. First, | | | | Dodge Caliber. But with the uncertainty of gas prices |
| it introduces new, young buyers to the brand. If their | | | | and growing competition in |
| experience is good they'll stick | | | | the segment, GM, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler would be |
| with the brand as they grow up and move to a larger | | | | wise to offer competitive |
| vehicle. Toyota, Honda, | | | | offering in this segment and introduce first time buyers |
| Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Volkswagen, Mazda and others | | | | to their respective brands. |
| all got their start in the sub- | | | | For most manufacturers, having competitive |
| compact car market. Secondly, it provides a safety | | | | sub-compact cars has grown the |
| net during economic downturns. | | | | business and created brand loyalty, something the |
| If gas prices rise unexpectedly, the knee-jerk reaction | | | | folks in Detroit have been trying |
| is to get a small, more fuel- | | | | to do for a while now. |
| efficient vehicle. And these cars are fuel-efficient. The | | | | |