Perfect Fit Test-driving the cheapest cars we could find. By Seth Stevenson I miss the Yugo. It was no automotive masterpiece, but you have to give it this much: It was a new car for under $4,000. People spend that kind of money on TV sets these days. Adjusted for inflation, the infamous '86 Yugo hatchback—named the "GV," for "Great Value"—would still cost less than $7,500 today. And it would indeed be a great value! You simply can't find a new car for that price anymore. Just a single car in the 2007 model year lists for less than $10,000 (the Chevy Aveo, the Yugo of the new millennium), and even it comes in at an eye-popping $9,995. It turns out most bottom-of-the-line cars these days will run you more like $12,000 to $17,000. This is disappointingly luxe for a car cheapskate like me. (I drive a '96 Saturn with 103,000 miles on it.) But here's the good news: There are some nifty little cars to be found in that price range. The whole economy category has been jump-started by today's crushing gasoline costs (which are spurring demand for smaller, cheaper cars), and Japan's big players have rushed to design brand-new models (the Honda Fit, the Toyota Yaris, and the Nissan Versa). Full Article
Very interesting article. A friend of mine is looking at trading in his 15-year old Acclaim for an econo-box (to use his words). I think I'll pass this on to him. Thanks, Rancid!
My preferences in cars are European (biggest gripe about the Prius: too big), so with that in mind .. I LOVE the Fit, and so does my wife. We would have a fight over manual vs automatic, I am unhappy about it's pollution ratings, and I really don't want to go back to MPG in the 40's let alone 30's, but otherwise it is one spiffy car. I'm hopeful the next gen will be my dream car. I would buy a PHEV Fit yesterday. I sat in the Yaris, and didn't feel like even taking a test drive. Cheap.
The Yugo GV was, by the time it was introduced to the American market, an obsolescent automobile (based, if I recall correctly, on the Fiat 144); I can't believe this writer would actually claim that it was a good car, for this market...at any price! That certainly wasn't the tone of the majority of reviews when the car was introduced. Not to mention, today's cars are much environmentally friendly, get significantly better gas mileage with better drivability, and are *lots safer* than the Yugo GV. I don't think there's really any direct comparison. Besides, I'd definitely pay 5-7k more for a car that won't kill me in an accident, and actually starts up reliably in the morning.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rancid13 @ Oct 24 2006, 02:19 PM) [snapback]337513[/snapback]</div> My best friend's dad had a good joke about the Yugo in 1987: "Either Yugo or I go but we can't both go." Cracked me up since it was so small.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Angelus @ Oct 26 2006, 11:05 AM) [snapback]338712[/snapback]</div> lol :lol:
