Autoblog

The Dacia Logan is the Go Go Gadget economy car of Eastern Europe. First there was the Logan, then there was the Logan race car, then there was the Logan pickup, and next up is the Dacia 4x4. It has the mien of a scrappy little guy who'll take on anyone and anything. If it could talk, it would say "Yeah?! Who wants some?!" in Romanian.

The pictured car, though, is merely a mule. The finished product is expected to look much more... finished. Even so, it'll be a tiny little thing riding sky high on little wheels, but we don't doubt it will look pretty cool (Lada Niva, anyone?). Although if you were thinking about getting a Dacia off-roader for your jaunts around the Transylvanian hinterlands, the spy shooter cautions "It's not going be the safest and best looking SUV out there, but it will sure be the cheapest."

[Source: Winding Road]

What a difference a day makes, or a few years at least. While many automakers were rushing to add premium models to their lineups just a few years ago, today the buzzword is affordability. Perhaps a ripple effect of high gas prices, or the green movement, or even the emerging third-world automotive markets, everybody seems to be thinking cheap. In response, BusinessWeek has compiled a list of super affordable vehicles that will be available over the next couple of years. The common factor here is that all will have an MSRP of less than $10,000. Some as low as $3,000!

Don't expect supercars or luxury rides at these bargain basement prices, but you might actually get more than you realize for your money. These are reasonable alternatives to eight-year-old Civics and Corollas, rather than the equivalent of modern-day Yugos. And the list isn't filled with just microcars, either. Sure, there are small cars aplenty, but the list includes sedans, SUVs and even a minivan.

BusinessWeek credits Renault with launching this new wave of cheap cars with its Logan sedan back in 2004. That initial sedan has proven popular and spawned a range of six different models. The cheap-car list includes names like GM, Hyundai, Chery, Dacia, Suzuki, Geely, Fiat and Tata. But new entries from Nissan, Fiat, VW, and Toyota are in the works, showing the increasing importance of this segment. Renault-Nissan has even announced it is planning to build a car for under $3,000, perhaps as low as $2,500 according to Chief Executive, Carlos Ghosn. He made the announcement at a plant-opening ceremony on April 4.

A brief description of each car follows the jump, but click the Read link to see a slideshow of the world's cheapest cars at BusinessWeek.

[Source: BusinessWeek]