Autoblog

Click above for more high-res shots of the 2007 Chevrolet Aveo

Every year, cars get just a bit more expensive. There was a time, which doesn't seem too long ago, that ten grand and a signature was all you needed to walk out of a dealership as the owner of a brand new car. Today, not so much. In fact, according to J.D. Power and Associates, $15,000 gets you just two-thirds of the choices you had just two years ago. Holding up the bottom of the list is the Chevrolet Aveo, which, along with the base-model Cobalt, makes GM the only American player in the cheap-car sweepstakes. The 2009 Aveo, however, has a higher base price than before thanks to the elimination of the lowest price value model. The Koreans in the form of Hyundai and Kia offer three choices, and the remaining five slots are ably filled by Japanese manufacturers.

While there may be a few more vehicles that have base prices below the $15,000 mark, J.D. Power's numbers actually reflect transaction prices rather than MSRPs. Some vehicles, like the Honda Fit, are able to maintain some driving enjoyment to go along with their low prices, and these cars often command higher prices because of the demand for them.


[Source: JD Power via Winding Road]

click above image to see gallery and info of 10 bargains at Barrett-Jackson

Although the million dollar muscle cars are what steal all of the headlines, the Barrett-Jackson auction has so much more to offer. You don't need to be stocking your own personal museum or have a race team or Fortune 500 company with your name on it, either. For those people who roll into Scottsdale early in the week, there are actually bargains to be had. Normal folks like us. Now the cars might not be the rarest of the rare, but they are basically the same shapes and sizes as those six-and-seven-figure dream rides. They might require a bit more elbow grease to get ready for prime time, but there are some fun cars that fly in below the Speed radar every day at B-J. Take the jump for a sampling of some of the fun cars that went for reasonable prices early on. You can get live results and lot listings at the Barrett-Jackson website. Check out our gallery of 10 bargains at Barrett-Jackson to see if you can afford anything that's crossed the auction block so far.

[Source: Barrett-Jackson]

They miss the Yugo, godblessum. Those wacky guys at Slate long for the days when a new car could be had for less than the price of a modern television set. Surveying the bargain basement offerings of the automotive world, they found that only the Chevy Aveo can be had for under 10 grand, let alone the four thousand bucks a Yugo stickered for 20 years ago. Even at an adjusted-for-inflation price of $7500, the Yugo GV earns its initials and indeed represents a Great Value. Well, you get what you pay for. Anyway, Slate rounded up a field of econoboxes for a brief comparison test to see what you can realistically expect at the bottom end of the scale.

Slate's Seth Stevenson, an admitted cheapskate who drives a '96 Saturn with 103,000 miles on it, laments the fact that the lowest rung of the car market actually spans $12,000 to $17,000 nowadays. But what exactly do you get for that much cash? More than some might guess in a few cases. Mainly in response to escalating gas prices, several automakers have brought thrifty new models out to make the bargain hunters happy. Slate tried out the Saturn Ion, the Kia Rio, the Nissan Versa, the Scion xA, the Toyota Yaris, and the Honda Fit. When he went in to rent a Chevy Aveo, the counter agent told him, "You do not want to drive that car." So he skipped it. We don't want to spoil the rankings, but after trying cars that were too boring, too jerky, and even too flashy, he finally found one that was a perfect fit. Click through for the car-by-car reviews.

Thanks for helping us fill our slate, smj!

[Source: Slate]