Word: hatchback
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...wanted something small, cheap and fuel efficient--the last thing most carmakers want to sell, since the big profits are in gas-guzzling SUVs and sedans with large engines. Test-driving drab cars like the Nissan Sentra left her underwhelmed. Then she spotted the Mazda3, a sporty four-cylinder hatchback launched in 2003. You might think of hatchbacks as wheezy econoboxes from the 1970s. But Dekat, 22, a loan processor from Dallas, liked the Mazda's svelte style and pep; she pictured herself blasting U2 out the windows and impressing her friends. "I fell in love with it at first...
...power from a gasoline engine and an electric motor to deliver 60 m.p.g. on city roads, represents the realization of that objective. Since its debut last year, the car has been the toast of the automotive world. Despite its pedestrian list price of about $20,000, the snub-nosed hatchback is a badge of celebrity chic: Cameron Diaz and Harrison Ford took Priuses to last year's Oscars...
...rarely die. They just become car plants. At least that's what has happened at Qin Chuan in the northern city of Xi'an. The aging state-owned enterprise, which a decade ago made 130-mm artillery shells, now houses assembly lines that stamp out a boxy four-door hatchback called the Flyer. It built just 17,000 vehicles last year; many of the underpowered and unattractive cars were bought by local taxi companies on the order of provincial officials looking for a captive market. But even that didn't dismay factory managers trying to cash in on China...
...cars is the Malibu Maxx, a cross between a sedan and an SUV. It was designed in part by Saab, as are the Cobalt and the new Pontiac G6 sedan. The Maxx offers excellent ride and handling, rear seats that recline and slide back for added legroom, and a hatchback that opens to a generous-size trunk. Rear-seat passengers even get their own skylight, with adjustable sunshades for each passenger. "The old Malibu was a very average car," says Consumer Reports' David Champion. "We're very impressed with the new model," he adds, noting its improved handling and classier...
...noisy 108-h.p. engine won't win many races, although it's peppy enough in city traffic. Since Scion's launch on the West Coast in June in a phased U.S. rollout, Toyota has sold more than 4,000 xBs (and more than 2,300 of the hatchback xA), exceeding the carmaker's initial expectations and suggesting that this pug's legs may be longer than they look. --By Daren Fonda