Here they are, how many of these have you driven? In the late 1970s my coworker Jerry had a Gremlin, got hit in it by another car downtown. He came-to hanging upside down from his seatbelt, his wooden leg thrown clear across the street. He called out to an old man nearby, "Would you please bring me my leg?" The man couldn't speak, much less bring the leg...

One of these is the ancestor of the Cooper Mini you can buy today.

Note also the two pictures of a blue car, the BMW Isetta. A tinier road car you cannot find. It's chain-driven, noisy, slow, unreliable and fuel efficient. The one door is the entire front of the car!

I love cars that look like they were designed by Hanna-Barbera.

The brand new Tata Nano, built in India, costs $2500. Note: the bearings wear out fast above 43 MPH. Otherwise, very intriguing...I'd buy one and get the bearings replaced with better ones. What's wrong with our country!? You can't have these in the USA, doesn't burn enough gas, too lightweight...

It has been pointed out that now there are cars this cheap, millions more will be on the road, and global ozone damage will accelerate. I hadn't thought of that... Damn! But the CEO of Tata Motors had an answer to that, he said in effect, "Nah! Don't worry!" Great reasoning there, Mr. Tata....

in Jalopnik:

in New York Times:

The Fit is my choice for the next car I'll own. It gets fabulous gas mileage, has reconfigurable storage, and costs about 15-16k new.

I'm tempted by the teensy Smart car, which gets even better mileage (at the cost of accelerating like a tree snail) but German cars are notoriously poor for reliability. That includes Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen/Audi, yes it does! There may be a couple of models among them that rise to "average" reliability, but look at Consumer Reports' annual Automobile issue: big black marks on nearly every German car. Go ahead, pay double for a less reliable car, at least everyone will know you have money to burn...

The Cooper Mini, formerly British but now made by BMW, is average for reliability but look... it requires premium fuel which is 10 cents a gallon more expensive than regular. The car costs 19-25k too.

Of course, there's the ultra-light Lotus Elise, which gets good mileage and has phenomenal cornering, plus terrifying acceleration. It has Japanese reliability due to its' Toyota engine. If I could afford it, I'd get it without a doubt. However it costs over 40k, requires premium, and has no trunk space whatsoever.

Nope, the Fit will be it for me, and I'll be able to afford my 80 minutes of daily commuting to work, even when gas goes above $3 or $4 a gallon. You commuters driving big trucks and SUVs, which will you keep, your vehicle or your job? I predict you'll be offering me some gas money to carpool to work in my car!

Check out my pal Bob's webpage, the Metal Rectangle, wherein he expounds on things car-related. ...or it could be about jazz music, airplanes, humour, bicycle racing or cooking...

I'm pretty sure he likes Mythbusters as much as I do, it's really nutty!

I want one! Lookit the little car!

Here are some photos of my new  Xb. It's built on top of a Yaris chassis. A coworker calls it "Your Model T". I don't get it...

The Countessa and I just bought a navy blue Scion Xb. She says it's the ugliest vehicle on the road and it rides rough, but she likes everything else about it. You can get in and out of it with complete ease: no need to drop into your seat or climb up. You just open the door and sit, like in a chair at home! There's plenty of room for passengers, including head and knee room. You can shuttle your elders around, along with their walkers, wheelchairs, or oxygen. It gets great gas mileage: 30 city/34 highway. It's made by Toyota, so will be reliable and long-lasting. It's cheap: about $16,000 to $17,500. It has a dynamite stereo: 160 watts and fabulous stereo imaging, due in part to the cube-shaped interior space.

I think it's not the ugliest vehicle. That would be the Pontiac Aztec. I've been wanting one of these Xbs for at least 2 years, despite the fact it rides with all the cushiness of a grocery cart in an old parking lot. In the last few nights before we got it, I'd wake up about 2am and be too excited to easily go back to sleep.

If we could afford it, I'd get it with orange alloy wheels to make a vibrant contrast with the navy blue. I'd add the interior neon lights under the dash: expensive and of no usefulness at all, but cool-looking...

Countessa says, "STOP!" (Teehee....)