The Little Car That Could.

As you drive along the nations Interstates and main roads at rush hour, it is always interesting to see who is driving what as they go to and from work.

The days of commuting alone in a huge SUV are looking so last year. Then there are the sports cars whose 0 to 60 times are less than the time it took you to read this sentence. Of course, the average speed at rush hour is about 15 MPH and the constant changing of the heavy-duty manual gear box have given your legs a version of carpal tunnel syndrome. There are the spartan econoboxes that are increasingly being driven by smug middle management types, who look like they are doing their thing for the environment - and want you to know it. There are the luxury imports that have all the amenities, including the stiff sport suspension, ideal for the off ramps.

What is missing from this picture? What is the holy grail of the driving commuter? Well we can start by saying that everyone likes a quiet interior. A decent sound system with Bluetooth? Certainly! Room for four without the folks in the back having to chew their knees would be nice. An economical four cylinder engine that is responsive at the same time is a must have. A decent top speed with quiet refinement, please. A trunk that fit the groceries or the bags of the missus, the kids and I for a weekend. Oh, and it must be fairly compact for those small parking spaces at work. It does not have to have a top speed over 95 MPH because if you ever go faster than that you won't need a car for quite some time, where you will be going. However, 0 to 60 in about 6 seconds would make this a great ride for darting around in traffic.

To make the American consumer to purchase a car like this, it would have to have some cachet, a certain badge snobbery, so we are talking Lexus, Infinity, Cadillac or Lincoln - at least. The point is this. There are millions of people in this country who drive sedans that go way faster than they will ever need, cost way more than they can really afford and consume too much gas for their budgets. These cars can come with suspensions that would be great at Le Mans but are pretty hard for Le Butt, and will never be put to good use. They come with many systems that look cool (like voice activated anything) that most of us will never use regularly.

So the bottom line is this: if someone fairly prestigious would come up with a semi-luxurious vehicle that was easy on the eye, ear and wallet, was economical and had a dash of class, they might have a winner.

There are some promising signs in this direction. Both Ford and GM are allowing four cylinder versions of their mainstream sedans (I am thinking Fusion and Malibu here) to be equipped up to the eyeballs with features previously available only on the six cylinder versions of these cars. But what we really need to have the manufacturers look toward Europe, where many of the attributes I have listed have been a given for years,and see what we can do to bring style and utility back to the daily commute.