Autoblog

Ford's European-developed Verve will go on sale in the States sometime in 2010, aimed to capture some of the burgeoning small car market. Making money on small cars is always the sticking point when talk turns to subcompacts, and Ford's eyeing Mexico as the production location for the Verve. The Detroit Free Press has spoken with insiders who concur that while it'd be tough to build the Verve in the United States, Cuautitlan, Mexico makes more sense.

US automakers have been building cars in Mexico for years. The wages are lower, OEM suppliers are following the car companies across the border, and the government is happy to deal. Mexico is also ideally positioned to send cars north to the US and Canada, or move vehicles down to South American markets. Brazil has also been mentioned as a potential production location, but that doesn't seem as practical as Mexico, according to the Freep's moles. One thing is for sure, when the Verve arrives, there'll finally be some stylish Ford cars to buy here in the U.S.

[Source: Freep]

Hyundai's rolled out a new city car, the i10, which they feel is so good that it will double Hyundai's sales in that segment. Manufacturer propaganda always ladles on the glowing prose, but after reading through the specs, we were nodding in approval, too. A quick glance at the pictures had us thinking "modern day Excel," but that's not the case. Comprehensively equipped, the i30 comes standard with air conditioning, power windows, six-speaker stereo, and four airbags. The 1.1 liter four cylinder, providing about 60 horsepower, returns fuel economy in the 50 miles per gallon (US, 60 mpg Imperial) range, and low emissions.

Styling, well, it's in the very small car idiom, and it's not breaking any new ground. Tall and short, the i10 is not ugly, and in these days of $90-plus per barrel oil prices, small is ever more beautiful. The i10 will be exported from India, which will be the sole manufacturing base for the car. With the tight supply of Honda Fits, we could use another A-class ride for low dollars on these shores, maybe if we ask real nice?

[Source: Hyundai]

Automotive News has a quick blurb about a new model set to debut from the folks at Toyota during this year's Frankfurt Motor Show. According to AN, Toyota's 3000mm-long microcar will be known as the Endo and will slot in below the Aygo, the smallest vehicle in the automaker's European lineup.

Styling of the SMART-competitor will be similar to the concept that debuted at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, sharing the same name. The seating arrangement of the Endo will be somewhat unconventional, with a 3+1 setup that will seat three adults, along with a smaller, foldable throne behind the driver's seat that can fit a youngin.

Automotive News' inside source says that sales may begin in the summer of 2008, although we wouldn't expect such a vehicle to find its way across the Atlantic – unless SMART starts doing a booming business.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

AutoblogGreen has reason to be happy, having found evidence that Toyota's recent purchase of a 5.9% stake in Isuzu will bear fruit in 2010 when the Japanese juggernaut marries its Synergy hybrid drive system with a diesel engine. Presumably such a hook up was made possible, or at least hastened, by the expertise in diesels that Isuzu brings to the table. Toyota knows its way around an oil burner too, but its Hino commercial truck division usually deals with diesels meant for trucks and buses.

Heck, even we have to admit that we're excited for such a combo, as diesel engines excel in efficiency when cruising at highway speeds, much more so than a gasoline engine, which to this point has always been the electric motor's dance partner in modern hybrids. JapanToday is reporting that a Toyota subcompact with this diesel hybrid drivetrain will be available as soon as 2010. Assuming we're not all driving EVs by then, such a car should easily grab the mpg crown in the U.S.

[Source: AutoblogGreen, JapanToday]

We couldn't figure out why John was sending us pictures of a toy car from the Paris Motor Show until he filled us in that this is actually the very cute, very small Suzuki Splash concept. The little jellybean in Lagoon Blue is what Suzuki dubs a "clinic model," or the first step towards a new production vehicle.

The marketing guys at Suzuki say that it's a car for everything and anybody for every kind of trip, but we've heard that one before -- we peg this more as a driving machine for the young and cash-strapped, as well as senior citizens looking for something small and fun.

The exterior, Suzuki says, is inspired by the youthful quality one might find in a splash of water. LED lights abound, and the lines are fun and cartoonish. Check out the floating-look chrome A-pillar and the wraparound tail lights. The side mirrors incorporate cameras that feed into the center console display on the inside.

The interior is no small shakes either. The car is tall and the roof is glass, making it seem huge considering its small size. The floating look is evident in the instrument panel as well, where the gauges sit, bubble-like. Blue leather trim finishes off the look.

John snapped some great shots of the concept -- follow the jump and have a look.

DaimlerChrysler has been looking for a partner to produce subcompact cars, like the Dodge Hornet concept the company unveiled in Geneva last year, and according to Chrysler Group CEO Tom LaSorda, a Chinese company may be the lucky recipient of the business. Speaking at an Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit on Monday, LaSorda said that the company is finishing up its research, and when asked if the partner would be Chinese, LaSorda said that Chinese automakers have not been ruled out.

D.C., which currently has no infrastructure in place to build and sell subcompacts, has said that it wants to make Dodge an international player -- a classification that all but requires the company to produce subcompacts. Earlier this year, LaSorda met with China's Chery Automobile Co. to discuss the topic further and if the partnership is given a green light, it will be the first such alliance of its kind.

[Source: Reuters]

The new 2007 Hyundai Elantra is the seventh new product from Hyundai in the last two years. The all-new midsize (that’s a new EPA classification thanks to 112.1 cubic feet of interior volume) gets Hyundai’s now traditional battery of safety equipment including six airbags, ABS brakes and front-seat active head restraints. The new lines echo the company’s recent design philosophy of restrained expression. While some might call that boring, others will see the new Elantra as more mature in appearance than its predecessors. The bigger dimensions allow for an interior that’s larger than the inner sanctums of the Civic, Corolla and even the Acura TL. It's clear that Hyundai is aiming the Elantra directly at both Japanese small sedans and will likely undercut them in price by a large margin.

We’ll have to wait until later in the day to bring you more specifics on the Elantra’s hardware, so in the meantime you can feast on more pics and Hyundai's pre-show press release after the jump.

[Source: Hyundai]

Is Mitsubishi Motors being a tease? American subcompact and microcar fans may soon go postal when they discover that the automaker has quietly brought over two of its i-Cars to the U.S. where they are running about in currently wet Los Angeles, California.

"We will drive it to get customers' comments," states Hiroshi Harunari, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. "We will study things like which size engine is suitable for the U.S." Currently, the i-Car uses a 660cc turbocharged engine which, while not exactly peppy, puts up around 40 mpg.

Mitsubishi is also testing the i-Car in the U.K.

[Source: Automotive News]

The Auto Channel has an extensive article on the Honda Fit, which recently went on sale in the U.S. It delves a little deeper into the five-door subcompact: a summary of its main features; in-depth discussions on the vehicle's exterior, engine and transmissions; an overview of the chassis; a look at the interior with its "Magic Seat"; safety features; and, finally, an overview of all available accessories.

Of even more interest are three videos showing the Fit on the road, a tour of its interior, and the car gettin' dizzy on a turntable.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

Both Consumer Guide and Edmunds have published new reviews of the Honda Fit, which went on sale this weekend.

The Consumer Guide report found the tested Sport’s version to be comfortable for the vehicle’s class. Steering was surprisingly agile, though there was some body lean. The 109 horsepower engine definitely required planning on the driver’s part when making a lane change. Driver seating, interestingly enough, is actually higher than the bigger Civic model.

The Edmund review found a surprising amount of room inside despite the exterior’s diminutive dimensions. Part of this is due to the vehicle's fuel tank placement. Their staffers really liked the reclining rear-seat headrests. As for driving, testers liked the manual shifter, though the automatic version seemed to have more ‘zip’ than its self-shift sibling. Testers also found the Fit to be balanced and stable on the road and track (similar to the Consumer Guide report). Their biggest complaint was the 10.8 gallon fuel tank, though the Fit did average 32 miles per gallon.

Full details can be found here (Consumer Guide) and here (Edmunds). Additional Autoblog coverage can also be found here and here.

[Sources: Consumer Guide and Edmunds]