Would you buy a 2009 Geo Metro?

Question

The Geo and later Chevy Metro were discontinued in early 2000's and were one of, if not the best, high fuel economy cars sold in the US. No cars sold in the US since have gotten the 40mpg+ that the Metro got, except for exspensive hybrids. My quest is:

If you could go to a dealership and purchase a small, light car with enough power to keep up with traffic which got 40-50 mpg., for about $12-13,000 would you buy one?

Another Question:

Do you know of any US car company planning to produce such a car?

Answer 1

Honda Fit

Answer 2

Ford is coming out with a Fiesta due out in 2010 alongside a new Euro spec Focus.

I would be ok in Focus, but the B-cars might be small. As long as there are Suburbans, Toyota Sequoias, and Toyota Land Cruisers on the road that will run over a Fiesta, Yaris, Fit without feeling, I'm going to stick with something a little bit bigger.

Answer 3

All of them if gas prices stay at the current level or increase! GM  is developing a 1.4 turbo engine for a new small car, but I'm not sure of its timeline. Probably model yr 2010.

Answer 4

I'd like to see a new car built like this, and with the newer technology they have now, I don't see why no company is!  But... I guess we have to take into consideration new safety standards that have been put into place, as well.  A 1990 Metro isn't the safest car available, but then again it gets CLOSE to what a motorcycle gets MPG-wise and is definitely safer than one, as well as cheaper!

Answer 5

Unfortunately, the Metro was one of the most unsafe cars on the market. When the Gov't upped its safety standards in the early 2000's, Chevy decided that it wasn't worth to produce the Metro anymore....especially since the US was in love with their SUV's.

Because of all of the added weight of the safety equipment on the newer cars, the best you are going to get for $12,000 is a Chevy Aveo.  As you know, this gets no where close to 40 mpg and is basically a Daewoo.

I still think that manufacturers have technology they are not using to produce gas-powered engines (non-hybrid) with higher mileage capabilities.  We will, however, probably never see them as manufacturers move toward producing fuel-cell and electric vehicles.