Autoblog

The Ford Ka is one of our "forbidden fruit" favorites here at Autoblog, so Fabio's Ka had a lot going for it before we even started reading the description. What we learned upon reading, however, was more than enough to catapult it out of Flickr and onto Autoblog as today's RR of the Day.

A self-described "Ford kind of guy" in Brazil, Fabio acquired the Ka in 2005 and is its second owner. As you can see, it's a very well-kept example. Even better, it's the mechanical equivalent of the Euro-market SportKa -- meaning it's got the 95-horsepower 1.6L underhood. He reports that it's very fun to drive, and that he's wound it out to 124 mph on the highway without it feeling the least bit hairy. It probably looked good doing it as well, thanks to its understated factory body kit and Ford Puma-style wheels

That's not the best thing about it, though. Open Fabio's rear hatch, and you find a surprise in the cargo area: a 63-liter CNG (compressed natural gas) tank. The system is safe, legal, and government-certified, and to hear Fabio tell it, it's basically a necessity. CNG, you see, costs three times less than gasoline in Brazil, and the small sacrifices the system calls for -- loss of the Ka's luggage space, drop in peak power to 86 horses, and an additional 154 lbs added to the car's weight -- are offset by the money he saves on fuel. Not only is the CNG system less expensive to run, but it's also very green, leaving no reduced CO2 emissions in its wake.

Besides, if he needs added punch, he can flip a switch and get back into gasoline mode, making this one very flexible daily driver, indeed. We love it, Fabio, and truthfully, we're more than a little jealous.

If you'd like to see your own ride featured here, simply upload photos of your ride into our Flickr group. We select one image to highlight each week day, and on the weekend let you vote for the RR of the Week. Detailed instructions can be found after the jump.