The small car comeback

Could this be the decade when small cars make a comeback? There’s growing reason to be optimistic.

The primary reason Americans avoid compacts and subcompacts is the perception that they’re unsafe (or at least much more dangerous than large SUVs and pickups). But Michelle White, an economist at the University of California, says that in single-car accidents, people are more likely to be killed or seriously injured if they are in an SUV or light truck. Why? Increased rollover risk.

Further, as quoted in the New York Times, she notes that "for each fatality that light-truck drivers avoid for themselves and their passengers, they cause four fatalities involving car occupants, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists." If a million drivers switch to SUVs, an additional 34 to 93 people will die each year.

That’s pretty serious, but it’s consistent with safety data released in the last few years. Are people realizing that owning a big SUV might not benefit society? I do think that message is slowly creeping into the public consciousness. Movie stars and rockers are driving the Toyota Prius, even if rappers still favor the Lincoln Navigator and Hummer limos.

And after years of neglect, automakers are finally getting serious about producing medium-sized sedans and small cars. For less than $20,000, you can buy such interesting and sporty entries as the Dodge Neon SRT-4, the Honda Civic Si, the Mini Cooper S and the Chevrolet Cobalt.

Well, you can’t actually buy that last one, but it is coming in late 2004 to replace the aging Cavalier. Other soon-to-appear contenders resulting from the mix-and-match of corporate mergers include the Saab 9-2X, based on a Subaru chassis (anathema to Saab diehards), the Volvo S40 (Mazda-based) and the Audi A3 (Volkswagen Golf-derived). Also upcoming is a mini SUV from DaimlerChrysler’s Smart series (not previously available in the U.S.).

The secret of small car ownership (lost in our current SUV "Dark Ages") is that in addition to being economical, they’re fun to drive. The only SUV I’ve enjoyed recently was the Honda CR-V, and that’s because it’s a Civic under the skin. The Civic Si is greatly entertaining, as is the Subaru WRX and the SVT Focus.

Most of the best small cars now come from Japan, though that could change if Detroit rises from its torpor. The popular wisdom is that Japanese cars "have no soul," but I find that even mid-level, bread-and-butter sedans like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry can be seductive.

I recommend the Accord to nearly everyone, and this week I’m actually driving one. The Accord and Camry battle it out at the top of the U.S. sales charts, and there’s a reason for that: Both are ultra-competent and as reliable as Old Faithful.

The only thing I don’t like in my test vehicle is the global positioning system, but then I never like those. New for 2004 in these $14,000 to $25,000 cars is standard satellite radio in EX models with leather interiors.

Car sales overall (and small cars in particular) have been in decline for a decade, and it will take some really smart marketing to get people out of light trucks, which now capture half the market. But it’s not hype to say that cars are more fun and more economical than trucks. And the amazing truth, based on a growing body of research, is that they’re in many ways safer as well.