10 Cars to Beat High Gas Prices

[Woochifer]

I rented a Ford Focus and I was very impressed with the ride, comfort, and how quiet it was on the highway. Build quality was very good except for a flimsy turn signal. The Hyundai Elantra has excellent build quality and the interior in the top of the line version looks like a much more expensive car. The Cruz is unrefined and can't compete with the Focus and Elantra in build quality. And from what I have read about the Cruz is that is does not get close to it's claimed MPG. It is a good looking economy car though.

The Focus was on my short list, but my two finalists came down to the Golf TDI and Mazda3 Skyactiv. The Focus and Mazda3 are very similar because they're built on the same platform, but I thought the Mazda had a better drivetrain, so I went with that even though the Focus has better styling and a slightly better interior.

The Cruze has done very well in the U.S. market, and had outsold the Focus most of last year. I haven't driven one yet, but my impressions are that it's larger and softer than the Focus. And this is more in line with traditional American car buyer tastes. Speaking of which ...

The VW Jetta was really cheap inside and the styling was boring. There are better options at its price point. The 2013 Ford Fusion is the one to watch. I saw one at the auto show and it was a show stopper. Ford really has out done themselves with the looks of the car. If it rides as good as it looks, they will sell a million of them.

I saw the Jetta and Passat at the L.A. Auto Show, and I was shocked at how frumpy and downscale those cars now look. But, going cheaper, softer, and bigger seems to be a formula that works well in the U.S. market. Fortunately, VW left the Golf alone, as it retains much of its Teutonic appeal.

As VW becomes more like an American car company (actually, they're trying to become the new GM), Ford has been slowly unifying its global platforms. The Focus is the best example of what's possible when they stop dumbing down their cars for the U.S. market. And it might yet pay off for them, as the Focus has recently been outselling the Cruze and challenging the Civic for the sales lead in the compact class.

The Fusion is a stunning design and you're right that this car will sell in the hundreds of thousands. By far their most ambitious midsize car design since the original Taurus.



There is also Ford's Evos sports car concept based around the same design language that's rumored to become the new Mustang. Rather than the retro elements of the current model, this is a radical rethinking of the pony car concept.

[E-Stat]

The Fusion is a stunning design...

Yeah. Aston-Martin came up with it years ago with the DB9.