By now I imagine most people have seen a Smart fortwo car. I know that I have seen several, both on the road and in parking lots and driveways. Not that they are taking over the world, by my estimation, but they are certainly visible.
And just about all the major manufacturers are looking to get into the compact/subcompact market. Of course BMW owns Mini. Nissan has already released the Versa and is preparing a box version called the Cube, similar to the Scion xB. Scion, for its part, has the aforementioned xB and the new xD, while parent Toyota is displaying the iQ, an even smaller car which I wouldn't be surprised to see marketed as a Scion if it comes to the US. Honda has the Fit. Ford and Chevy are both working on subcompacts to be sold in the US. Volkswagen is working on a new subcompact called the Up!, which will be smaller than the Rabbit and will be rear-engine, but it may not make it to the US. Even Audi is working on a subcompact called the A1 for Europe.
But I was wondering what others thought of the potential for the small car market in the US. I know that I had the pleasure this weekend of renting a Volkswagen Rabbit and thoroughly enjoyed driving it. It was comfortable, had plenty of power, and got at least 30 mpg by my estimation. But even that won't cut it with a government mandated 35 mpg manufacturer fleet average.
Of course the Rabbit also looks like a behemoth next to a fortwo, and I don't know that I want to go too much smaller than a Rabbit. And I want a backseat for my daughter, so the fortwo is out on that account as well.
So, how small would you, the reader, be willing to go? Leave a comment and let folks know!
JAy.
0 comments:
Post a Comment