Just when gas prices reached around $4.50 per gallon in the summer of 2008 – months before the economy crashed and burned – people were scrambling to sell their SUVs and V8s that took two credit card swipes at the pumps to fill. The same people took huge losses on trade-in values too when they swapped them in for things like the VW Jetta, Mini, Smart, Ford Focus, and especially the Honda Civic, which became the best-selling car in the US for a few months that year.
Fuel prices have precipitously fallen since then and are still mostly in the low-to-mid $3 range. But a wave of small cars automakers, hurried into production when they thought gas prices were going to keep escalating, have arrived.
Ford launched the Fiesta over the summer after a year of social media fanfare and teasing customers with the European version of the car.
Granted, Ford watered the now-Mexican-built Fiesta hatchback and introduced an ungainly looking four-door to the mix, but reviews have been fairly positive. What’s more, the company packed it with toys like a dual-clutch transmission (like the one VW has been putting in their cars) and the SYNC voice-control-Bluetooth software.
Chevy is doing something similar with the Civic-Corolla slayer Cruze. No longer is the General going cheap with small cars. Most versions come with a six-speed automatic and turbo 4-cylinder that gets around 40 MPG. Critics are raving about the interior quality, some, like The New York Times’ James Cobb, say it could be best-in-class. And remember, that class includes the former interior beauty queen Jetta. 
