Minicars

It was always a big question whether Americans would buy very, very small cars. When the Smart ForTwo launched in 2008, right into the teeth of gas prices that soared to $4 a gallon, it looked as if the answer might be yes. But now it seems the longer-term answer is, "No, not really." Sales of the...

The 2013 Chevrolet Spark misses being the shortest car ever sold as a Chevy in the U.S. by just an inch or two. But the five-door hatchback is by far the most modern minicar Chevrolet has ever offered. And it represents a daring foray into very small cars by a brand better known for its Impala...

The retro-styled Honda N One, which goes on sale in Japan this month, is super-cute—nodding to the original 1967 Honda N360—and looks perfect for space-confined urban duty. It's possible at first glance, from a distance, to liken the N One to the Mini Cooper or Fiat 500 and see it...

How small can a vehicle get, and at a certain point is it better considered (and regulated as) a motorcycle…or some other kind of vehicle class altogether? Although these are questions that we should likely consider in the U.S., they’re issues that Japan is evaluating right now. And...

If you subscribe to the theory that Honda keeps all its really cool products in its home market of Japan, the announcement that the N-ONE retro-styled minicar has hit the market probably won’t do much to convince you otherwise. The N-ONE joins the N BOX and N BOX + models in Honda’s...

There was a time, not so long ago, when most Americans would laugh at the idea of buying a car just a bit longer than 12 feet. But now one minicar--the 2013 Chevrolet Spark--has sold so well in its first two months on the U.S. market that Chevrolet has had to increase imports. Currently made at a...

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Smart took that advice to heart; its 2013 Smart ED3 is the third generation of its all-electric version of the two-seat ForTwo minicar. And it's the first one that's really a viable car under normal driving conditions. It's also the least expensive...

When a major automaker introduces a new electric car, you'd expect a major event with plenty of hoopla. But at last week's Paris Auto Show, the Toyota iQ EV--a battery electric conversion of the minicar it sells in the States as the Scion iQ--was pretty much ignored by Toyota executives. Instead...

Yeah, we drove the pink one. The 2013 Chevrolet Spark, the first Chevrolet minicar in many, many years, comes in a remarkable array of pastel colors, including one called Techno Pink. One of two Sparks we tested yesterday came in that very distinctive shade; the other was Salsa (lime green). Other...

We liked the 2012 Mitsubishi i electric minicar we drove last week rather more than we expected. Its main handicap, even in city usage, is its low electric range. We didn't test the car to its limits, and indeed the range indicator may be slightly pessimistic (much safer than being optimistic...

It may only be small, but Chevrolet is packing its 2013 Spark with plenty of equipment in an effort to target urban millennial buyers. Already sold in 100 countries worldwide, U.S. customers will be able to buy the Spark later this year. GM has tailored several of the car's specifications to the...

In U.S. trim, the 2012 Scion iQ is capable of delivering fuel economy as high as 36 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway. Those numbers are based on the iQ’s 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine, which is the only option for U.S. buyers. European buyers can opt for a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder...

We've been closely following the progress of Gordon Murray's T25 and T27 minicars for some time now, and like many green vehicles of recent years, they've often seemed so near and yet so far away. However, unlike some of the more recent startups, Gordon Murray has been keeping his cards close to...

Small cars are fun to drive--or at least they should be. But there may be a law of diminishing returns in adapting the very smallest cars from Asia and Europe to the U.S. market. We don't much like the driving experience in the Smart ForTwo, so we had high hopes for the 2012 Scion iQ minicar--the...

You may have just read our take on the Volkswagen Up, an excellent minicar that unfortunately won't be coming to U.S. shores. What you may not have realized is that it has two siblings, sold under different branches of the Volkswagen-Audi (VAG) empire, SEAT and Skoda, known as the Mii and Citigo...

Although a very small niche group might see minicars like the Scion iQ and Smart Fortwo as a fashion statement, or as a way to reap special parking or commuting benefits, for most Americans—and even a lot of green-car shoppers—it's quite frankly a little hard to see the point in getting...

When we drove the Renault Twizy on the island of Ibiza last month, we asked whether Renault would actually sell any. A vehicle that's virtually ideal for a sun-drenched island may not work so well in a rainy country like the U.K, or the colder climates of Eastern Europe. We did find it very much...

We luv us some cheerful infographics, as we often say. Today's specimen comes courtesy of Chevrolet, which is preparing to launch the smallest Chevy it's ever sold, the 2013 Spark minicar. The infographic compares the Chevy Spark to a full-size 1973 U.S. sedan (using data for unspecified "popularly...

The Smart ForTwo minicar has had a rough ride in the U.S. of late. After debuting to stupendous sales in 2008, as gas prices soared, its sales have plummeted to just a few thousand a year. But the little Franco-German two-seater is being lightly refreshed for 2013, under new distribution through...

Amidst the unveilings and concept cars of the New York Auto Show, carmakers also make other announcements. From General Motors, we learned today that the 2013 Chevrolet Spark minicar will carry a base price of $12,995 including destination. All Sparks are fitted with a 1.2-liter four-cylinder...