The 30 Cheapest New Cars For 2008-2009 [And By "Cheapest" We Mean "Nothing We Usually Mean"]

We know we bitch and moan about a lot of the entry level sedans currently on the market - they’re always too small or too slow or too ugly. If you were to hazard a guess based simply on what we write, you’d assume we make beer runs in late model German luxury sedans, but we don’t. Our fervent ride lust is dampened considerably after we balance the checkbook, and when it comes right down to it, all we really need is a good, reliable car to get us from Point A to Point B. We assume that most car buyers are currently in the same boat, so we decided to temporarily abandon our unadulterated hate for penny racers like the Toyota Yaris and Nissan Versa and assemble an objective, unbiased list of the least expensive, best new car bets for 2008-2009.

1. 2009 Hyundai Accent [$11,745 - $14, 595]

2. 2009 Chevy Aveo [$12,120 - $14, 255]


3. 2008 smart fortwo [$12,235 - $17,235]

4. 2009 Toyota Yaris [$13,625 - $14,425]

5. 2009 Nissan Versa [$13,685 - $14,685]

6. 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer [$14,865]

7. 2008 Toyota Corolla [$15,065 - $17,075]

8. 2008 Chevy Cobalt [$15,070 - $15,780]

9. 2009 Mazda MAZDA3 [$15,160 - $19,945]

10. 2008 Scion xD [$15,170 - $15,970]

11. 2008 Honda Civic [$15,480 - $19,380]

12. 2008 Dodge Caliber [$15,545 - $19,890]

13. 2009 Ford Focus [$15,690 - $18,665]

14. 2008 Scion tC [$15,920 - $18,420]

15. 2009 Scion xB [$16,370 - $17,320]

16. 2008 Saturn Astra [$16,495 - $18,995]

17. 2009 Suzuki SX4 [$16,499 - $17,599]

18. 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit [$16,540 - $19,640]

19. 2009 Toyota Matrix [$16,850 - $18,920]

20. 2009 Pontiac G5 [$16,935]

21. 2008 Subaru Impreza [$17,640 - $19,640]

22. 2009 Chrysler PT Cruiser [$17,920]

23. 2009 Volkswagen Jetta [$17,990 - $19,649]

24. 2008 Volkswagen New Beetle [$18,125 - $19,200]

25. 2008 MINI Cooper [$18,700]

26. 2009 Ford Fusion [$18,860 - $20,000]

27. 2009 Mazda MAZDA5 [$18,665 - $19,775]

28. 2009 Toyota Camry [$19,805]

29. 2008 Mazda MAZDA6 [$19,810]

30. 2008 Nissan Altima [$19,315]

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White House Weighing "Orderly" Bankruptcy Of Automakers [Carpocalypse Now]

The Carpocalypse continues with the White House now looking at what they're terming as an "orderly" bankruptcy of two of the not-so-Big Three. We guess that's better than a "disorderly" bankruptcy. [NYT]

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The 2010 Fuel-Efficient Jeep Grand Cherokee: We Need A Stiff Drink

Pushing us ever closer to the brink of buying the biggest environmental nightmare we can get our rebellious little hands on, Chrysler LLC has announced their current development of a lighter, smaller, greener Jeep Grand Cherokee for 2010 [our anguish is too great to describe right now]. The hybrid Grand Cherokee will feature a new uni-body frame, designed in part by Mercedes-Benz, and a new, more fuel-efficient V6 engine currently being developed under the code name “Phoenix.” Although the 2010 Hybrid Jeep Grand Cherokee will be Jeep’s first hybrid model, Jeep has also announced that several, as-yet unreleased vehicles will follow suit.

Jeep Trailhawk Concept

Jeep Renegade Concept

As a testament to their new commitment to the same environment that they were previously known for four-wheeling over, Jeep has also announced that their new hybrid models will be manufactured in their re-outfitted Jefferson plant in Northern Detroit. To prepare for the green maelstrom, Jeep has begun the process of giving the Jefferson plant an environmental overhaul - to the tune of $1.8 billion dollars. Currently, the plant is responsible for the production of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep Commander [Aw Jeep c'mon - please, please, PLEASE do not release a Hybrid Commander, just let the thing die with some dignity] but after it completes its 285,000 square foot expansion, an upgraded assembly line and redesigned body shop will be ready to begin producing Jeep’s new hybrid models. In keeping with Jeep’s new Devotion to Green, the plant will also include several “green initiatives”, including:

• Energy-efficient fluorescent lighting fixtures
• Cleaner air-filtration systems
• Waste-reducing decanting technology
• Quieter electro-servo weld guns
• Replacing unused parking-asphalt areas with grass to reduce heat generation
• Utilizing reusable paint clips that hold doors in place during the paint process and reusing parts racks, resulting in a reduced raw material consumption
• Trailer cubing and rack density improvements to reduce fuel consumption and transportation costs

So how serious is Jeep about their new-found faith? Serious enough to prompt Chrysler LLC to sell its Tritec engine manufacturing plant in Brazil, and put the proceeds towards the Jefferson reconstruction. Normally, we would be lamenting the fact that Jeep has apparently drunk [drank?] the “herbal” kool-aid, but we’re temporarily abandoning our seal-clubbing idealogy to applaud Jeep for refusing to allow an American cornerstone to be phased out. To Jeep personally: Although we feel a little betrayed right now, the anger and hurt will eventually subside and we just want you to know that, no matter what, we’re ultimately behind you all the way.

[Source: Automotive News]

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Two more out the door: Meyer and Murtagh leave Chrysler

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Chrysler, LLC.

A little over a year ago, Chrysler was poaching and hiring folks with big brains to be a part of its executive turnaround team. Now a few of those hires, along with the old guard, are walking out the front door. Deborah Meyer came over from Toyota, where she had been VP of marketing for Lexus, and she took over the chief marketing officer spot at the Chrysler, LLC. At the time we wrote, "She must have been aware of the situation when she accepted the offer, however, so perhaps she sees hope in Chrysler's new beginning." Apparently, hope ran out, and Meyer has vacated her post effective immediately.

Phil Murtaugh ran General Motors' gangbuster operations in China, left the company, and then was picked up by Chrysler a few months later. He fulfilled the same role at Chrysler, yet with the Chery/Dodge Hornet as the most public example, he couldn't engineer the same success. He has called "Time!" at Chrysler, and leaves at the end of this month. Meyer and Murtaugh's departures this month follow those of Chrysler's global purchasing head and its global service and parts head. Thanks for the tip, Derek!

[Source: Auto News, Sub Req.]

Two more out the door: Meyer and Murtagh leave Chrysler originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grading The Not-So-Big Three's "Bailout" Plans [Carpocalypse Now]

We spent the night reading the the not-so-Big Three's business plans presented yesterday to Congress and after we graded them below, we've one huge question. Given the Carpocalypse, what's with the overwhelmingly optimistic sales projections for the next three years?

The biggest factor into how well a cash loan will work with the automakers will be the number of total auto sales in the United States. If an automaker makes the right projections they should be able to figure out how much money they'll need to get them through this downturn. So how did they each do in their projections? Let's take a look and grade them. Here are the sale projections from the three automakers:

Ford

U.S. Total Vehicle Sales Projections (Slightly Improved Rate / Current Rate / Worse Rate)
2009: 12.5 / 11.0 / 10.5 million units
2010: 14.5 / 12.5 / 11.0 million units
2011: 15.5 / 14.0 / 12.0 million units
Analysis: Yesterday on CNBC, we said we were unimpressed with Ford's submitted business plan because we were concerned the results were overly optimistic after a quick skim and seeing only the "slightly improved" projection, thinking that there was no way the U.S. market would hit those numbers. Our first and snap response was "they'll need to dip into the line of credit they're asking for." Then we had a chance to read through the rest of the automaker's massive filing. We saw they'd not only created a "slightly improved" projection, but also a "current rate" and "carpocalypse now rate" projection. In those sub-sections, Ford frankly admits the automaker will not only need $9 billion in loans, they'll need up to $13 billion. While we still think the 2010 numbers are overly optimistic, we salute them for being honest and after seeing Chrysler's gameplans, we're of the opinion they really may be the U.S. automaker in the best position.
Grade: B+

GM

U.S. Total Vehicle Sales Projections (Slightly Improved Rate / Current Rates / Worse Rate)
2009: 12.0 / 12.0 / 10.5 million units
2010: 14.0 / 13.5 / 11.5 million units
2011: 15.5 / 14.5 / 12.0 million units
2012: 16.2 / 15.0 / 12.8 million units
Analysis: GM goes the extra step of providing a magic fun world of 2012 with a peaches and cream annual sales projection of over 16 million. Apparently in 2012, we're going to party like it's 2006. But whatever, the big number discrepancy between GM and the other two (well, Ford really), is their projection for 2010. 13.5 million units is a lot of vehicles to be selling without a serious boost in hiring in this country, something not expected until mid-2010 at the latest. Also, we're not sure GM's taking into consideration the increased longevity of their own products. With increased quality comes increased time owners will keep their vehicles. We think Ford's numbers for 2010 are much more reasonable and frankly, we're concerned about the numbers of people at the RenCen who may be wearing rose-colored glasses.
Grade: C-

Chrysler

U.S. Total Vehicle Sales Projections
2009: "lower than normal"
2010: Inc.
2011: Inc.
Analysis: If this were a real homework assignment, we'd award Chrysler with an incomplete and send them straight to detention. Hopefully there, they'd come up with something that resembles real work rather than something they scrawled in their notebook in the back of the bus on the way to school. UPDATE: A better analogy from the comments below — "It's like...an open book test...writing an essay where each automaker's allowed to bring whatever books they wanted with them into the test. Chrysler brought crayons and a coloring book."
Grade: Inc.

Photo Credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images News

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Six Degrees of Automotive Separation – Nissan and Chrysler

Okay, last week’s Hemmings Six Degrees of Automotive Separation Challenge kinda fell flat on its face. Maybe too open-ended? And in reviewing past challenges, we quickly realized that we haven’t yet made a Japanese car manufacturer one of the endpoints of a challenge.

So to make up for last week, a typical challenge. And to make up for the last five months, a challenge involving a Japanese company. Let’s pick Nissan. And let’s also pick its third-place counterpart in the U.S., Chrysler. I know you can connect these two in six degrees or less. But how obscure can you make the connections?

The rules, as always, are simple: A connection consists of one company owning another, merging with another or sharing another’s parts. Explain your connections, and if you need examples, check out our previous Hemmings Six Degrees of Automotive Separation Challenges.

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