2009 MINI John Cooper Works
Ignoring what we consider to be overblown fears by car collectors and others, Congress seems to be moving slowly toward adopting some form of "Cash for Clunkers" bill this session.
It will address two goals: Boosting demand for new cars (hopefully helping GM and Chrysler, now both wards of the US government) and cutting gasoline consumption by replacing older, less efficient vehicles with higher-mileage new cars.
Higher-mileage new cars. Ugh. Dull, boring, grey, icky econoboxes, right?
Not necessarily. Among the cars on the eligible list are many that leave us shuddering (2009 Dodge Caliber, we're calling your name). But a handful would actually let your dollars derive some downright delightful driving.
How about, for example, any of the three 2009 Mini John Cooper Works models (coupe, Clubman, and convertible)? Or the 2009 Pontiac Solstice convertible? (Buy soon, before Pontiac is history....)
Even among more conventional subcompacts, the 2009 Honda Fit and 2009 Mazda3 stand out for their handling, performance, and general smart design. And possibly once of the nicest cars on both lists of eligible vehicles is the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta, in manual or automatic forms. The Israel list shows the Jetta with combined mileage of 45-plus miles per gallon, so that plan's clearly limited to the diesel Jetta TDI--what else could it be?
The Sutton Plan only gives credits for vehicles built in North America, so it has fewer options. Those include some big (dull) cars like the 2009 Ford Taurus and the 2009 Toyota Avalon, along with a few large people-haulers: the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse, the 2009 Chrysler Town & Country, and the 2009 Toyota Venza.
You can download the complete lists of eligible vehicles courtesy of The New York Times:
2009 Pontiac Solstice
[SOURCE: The New York Times]
