Alfa Romeo 4C concept

The Alfa Romeo 4C concept was first introduced at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2011. The 4C is a small rear wheel drive sports car. It's very light weight  at 1,874 lbs. It has a carbon fiber tub and aluminum on very thing else. It has a 1.75 liter turbocharged straight 4 gas engine with over 200 hp positioned right behind the seats.  Because the car is so light it can go from 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds and has a top speed of 155 mph. The 4C right now has a 6 speed dual clutch transmission. It also has a feature where you can change the behavior of the car. It will cost about from $49,600 and $56,700. One more cool thing about this car is that it will be available by 2013 and it is the first Alfa Romeo re-introduced back into the sense 1995.

Nissan Juke

The Nissan Juke is a fast, sporty mini-crossover that was first brought to the public in 2010 at the Geneva Motor Show. It was designed in the UK and was refined in Japan. The Juke is made in the UK, even though Nissan is a Japanese company. The turn signals are oddly placed up on the hood while the headlights represent those put on rally cars in the 1960-70's. Underneath all of that are the fog lights which are positioned under the bumper. One more interesting design feature is the option to add racing stripes to the car. Popular Science liked the car for its advanced technology while Top Gear liked it for its amazing performance. The Juke has a cargo space of 10.5 with the seats up and 35.9 cu. ft.with the seats down, which is a fair amount for a car that can go 0-60 mph in 6.4 seconds with a 1.6 liter 188 hp 4 cylinder gas engine. The Juke comes in FWD and AWD with 27/32 MPG and a base price of $19,570.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10

The Mitsubishi Lancer was first introduced in 1992 and has been a high-performance four-wheel drive street-legal car for ten different models. Models 1-9 where almost all the same except for small body upgrades or interior changes. In 2007, the new Evo 10 was introduced and brought even more body changes then the previous year. The Evo 10 features a newly redesigned 2.0 liter turbocharged all-aluminum inline 4 that produces at least 276 hp and a top speed of about 140 mph with 0-60 mph in about 3.8 seconds. This is great for a car that gets 17/23 mpg. There are two options for the transmission: standard 5-speed manual transmission and the MR option of a 6-speed dual clutch transmission. All the Lancers where able to go from the street to the dirt with no modifications at all which made these cars  great rally cars and they have been rally racing since 1992. The Evo 10 starts at $34,095, which is a very reasonable price for a car that can handle as well as a Lotus and still be a daily driver.

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Evo 10

Mini Cooper

In 1959, the Mini Cooper was first made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC). It was a revolutionary design with front wheel drive and a space-saving floor plane which allowed 88% of the floor for passengers and luggage. It was thought to be the British version of the VW bug. The mini was made by BMC from 1959-1990 when Mini was taken over by BMW.  BMW started with just a hardtop hatchback in 2001. In 2005, they released a convertible version of the hardtop. In 2008, they released the Clubmen which is a 4-door version of the  hardtop/convertible. In 2009, Mini released the Mini E which is an electric version of the hardtop and they just released the Coupe. The base model Cooper is powered by a 1.6 liter 4-cylinder 120 hp engine, but there is also a Cooper S with a 180 hp engine which can get the car up to 141 mph with a 0-60 mph time of 6.6 seconds and a 1/4 mile time just above 14 seconds. The hardtop Cooper gets 37/29 mpg and the Cooper S gets 35/27 mpg. The base price for the hardtop Cooper is $20,200 while the base price of the Cooper S is $23,800.

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Cooper

Honda CR-Z Hatchback vs. Ford Fiesta Hatchback

The CR-Z and the Fiesta might a little like comparing apples and oranges but I wanted to do some cars that we could buy and not dream about. First the CR-Z.

The CR-Z is a neat car in the fact that it is a hybrid and also a sports car. It was first brought out into the public on October 23, 2007 at the Tokyo Motor Show. The CR-Z has only two seats and 25 cu. ft. at 160 in. long. Weighing in at about 2700 lb, it gets 35/39 mpg with a gas in-line 4 and a 13 hp electric motor that puts out 100 volts. The CR-Z comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission but a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is available. The CR-Z also has disc brakes all around. The CR-Z also has standard curtain airbags, so does the Fiesta. The CR-Z starts at $19,545.

The Ford Fiesta is a great every day car for a family of four. Since the Fiesta is the same length as the CR-Z but has four seats instead of two, there is only 13 cu. ft. of cargo space. The Fiesta has 29/38 mpg with a curb weight at about 2450 lb. It has an in-line four that puts out 120 hp. The Fiesta also comes standard with a 5-speed manual transmission, but a 6-speed automatic transmission is available. The Fiesta has drum brakes in the back and disc brakes in the front. The base price for the Fiesta is $15,500.

Over all if you want a cheap fuel efficient car you could get either one of these cars, but it all depends on if you want a sportier hybrid or five person every day car.

Please leave any request or comments.