You are here: Forums Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

8676 messages,  Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 1:07 PM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

What is this discussion about? Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, smart fortwo, MINI Cooper

#8088 of 8676 Re: oh for PETE'S SAKE!! [boaz47] by nippononly Sep 29, 2008 (12:02 pm)
Replying to: boaz47 (Sep 29, 2008 11:52 am) Don't forget though that the CVT still has not reached weight parity with the manual. Just as one example I pulled up the Versa here at Edmunds: the curb weight is 2718 for the 6-speed manual, 2758 for the CVT, so the manual still has the edge.   And when I began all this talk I was referring to the Yaris 5-door, which will be at Toyota dealers soon, and is not a CVT but rather an antiquated 4-speed auto. Still, it is a small step forward, as it becomes the new champ of fuel economy among 5-doors available in the US. One day soon Toyota will feel the pressure from Honda and will begin putting 5-speed autos in all its cars (and dare I hope for a 6-speed manual or two as well? Their press release earlier this year indicated they had a pretty dandy new lightweight, compact 6-speed ready for use in the '09s) Replies to this message: lilengineerboy (Sep 29, 2008 7:54 pm)
#8089 of 8676 Re: oh for PETE'S SAKE!! [nippononly] by lilengineerboy Sep 29, 2008 (7:54 pm)
Replying to: nippononly (Sep 29, 2008 12:02 pm) One day soon Toyota will feel the pressure from Honda and will begin putting 5-speed autos in all its cars (and dare I hope for a 6-speed manual or two as well? Their press release earlier this year indicated they had a pretty dandy new lightweight, compact 6-speed ready for use in the '09s)   Don't hold your breath. Cars peaked in the 90s. The 1998 BMW E36 M3/4 (a sub-compact, in theory) was the peak of automotive revolution and we have been forced into evolutionary steps since then. Very sad.
#8090 of 8676 Nissan Versa 1.6L by thegraduate Nov 05, 2008 (9:01 am)
For 2009, Nissan is offering a new base model Versa Sedan. It starts at $9,990 ($10,990 with A/C). The engine offering is a 1.6L 4-cylinder with 107 horsepower. It is not available with the CVT, only a 4-speed Automatic or 5-Speed manual, not the 6-speed manual offered in other 1.8L Versa models.
#8091 of 8676 word is by nippononly Nov 05, 2008 (9:11 am)
that in a year or two Toyota will go head to head with Versa with a 1.3L Yaris designed to sell around $11K - A/C will remain a standard feature however. I think that's a good idea - most people want it, and a car without A/C is SO hard to resell, it's a disadvantage to the owner.   C&D is saying this month that Toyota is firming up plans to plunk that 1.3 into its iQ (recently introduced for global markets) and bring it to the U.S. in 2010! They plan to sell it as a premium competitor to the likes of Mini and ForTwo, which is a refreshing change coming from Toyota.   100 hp, 1900 pounds, 9 standard airbags including rear-hatch curtain for back seat passengers. And yes, it does have a back seat, 1 position for an adult (behind the front passenger, whose seat is further forward than the driver to achieve this) and one child seat behind the driver. This thing is cute as heck, and I hope they go ahead with these plans, and give it some handling to go with its very spry power-to-weight ratio.   Oh, and they expect it to make 40 mpg combined on the EPA test. That would beat the current gas champ, the ForTwo, which comes in at 38 mpg combined.
#8092 of 8676 Hate to get plowed over by a by iluvmysephia1 Nov 05, 2008 (11:26 am)
Mack truck in a Toyota iQ, though, nippononly. It is a cute body design and a smart idea to import here, IMO. Should go over very well here. Replies to this message: qbrozen (Nov 05, 2008 11:29 am)
#8093 of 8676 Re: Hate to get plowed over by a [iluvmysephia1] by qbrozen Nov 05, 2008 (11:29 am)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Nov 05, 2008 11:26 am) You mean you'd LIKE to get plowed over by a Mack truck in a Camry?   ;P
#8094 of 8676 Rob... by iluvmysephia1 Nov 05, 2008 (11:37 am)
you have a lot of posts on Edmunds, my friend! Wow! And I thought I had a lot of posts with 3702!   No, I don't generally like Camry's, or getting run over by a Mack truck while driving Camry's, but, I rented a 2005 Camry once(new car basically)and it was a quiet ride and a nice car, I must admit. I don't like their styling much, however. Replies to this message: qbrozen (Nov 05, 2008 11:47 am)
#8095 of 8676 Re: Rob... [iluvmysephia1] by qbrozen Nov 05, 2008 (11:47 am)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Nov 05, 2008 11:37 am) Yeah ... I need a more interesting job so I don't need to escape to Edmunds so much.
#8096 of 8676 I know what you mean... by iluvmysephia1 Nov 05, 2008 (11:55 am)
I'm taking advantage of a slow day to chat on here a bit during mid-day.
#8097 of 8676 hmmm by nippononly Nov 05, 2008 (12:15 pm)
was cruising around Edmunds Auto Observer in a slow half hour this morning and discovered the latest sales report. Everything is down down down, right? Not so!   The Honda Fit set a new October sales record with 6,478 sold, a 28.1 percent increase in the second month of availability for the redesigned 2009 model. For the year, Fit sales are up a whopping 51.4 percent.....But only the Fit and TL were on the plus side for the month.......Accord sales were down 38.4 percent in October, pushing calendar-year-to-date sales into negative territory -- off .3 percent   And although the Yaris subcompact dropped 13.3 percent in October, year-to-date sales are outstripping 2007 by a still-heady 25.9 percent, one of the better performances in any market segment   Corolla is up just like Civic, but Camry is down for the month and down for the year, more so than the Accord.   Mini sales buoyed the group with sales up 56.4 percent in the month; for the year, Mini is up 30.2 percent   And of course Smart had already exceeded its 12-month sales goal after only ten months, as of 10-31-08.   Midsize car sales falling, large car sales TANKING, subcompact sales SKYROCKETING. I guess it's not just the presidential election that's going right in the U.S. Replies to this message: ateixeira (Nov 05, 2008 12:57 pm) nippononly (Nov 05, 2008 1:00 pm) ateixeira (Nov 05, 2008 1:02 pm) and 9 more... boaz47 (Nov 05, 2008 1:04 pm) ateixeira (Nov 05, 2008 1:06 pm)

You are here: Forums Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?