Productopia | Economy Cars

In these cold and dreary days, some products you're better off without. Honeywell portable electric heaters were recalled because they pose a burn hazard, while Big Lots recalled some 44,000 floor lamps because they pose a shock hazard. And BMW recalled several makes and models of its Mini because the circuit board can malfunction and overheat, causing a vehicle fire.

Electric cars are "in" right now. And why not? Gas is over four bucks a gallon, so anything that promises a less painful experience at the pump is attracting attention. These include increasingly gas-stingy economy cars and hybrids, as well as cars that partially or completely eschew gas pumps for electrical outlets. Smart USA arranged for ConsumerSearch to play with one of the latter for the day: a 2011 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive. There are currently 250 of them in the U.S. (1,500 worldwide) as part of Smart's ongoing electric-vehicle testing program. We drove around for a few hours to get a feel for Smart's newest (and greenest) offering. 

When the lights go up on the 2011 New York Auto Show in a couple of weeks, there should be no shortage of important debuts aimed at the mainstream economy car buyer. For instance, it's just been announced that the all-new 2012 Subaru Impreza will be on hand. Honda has already confirmed that it'll pull the wraps off the 2012 Honda Civic family, and the rumormill suggests that the equally-new 2012 Nissan Versa will also be premiered. Absent detailed info, which is still being kept under wraps for the time being, we can still discuss what we do know about these new rides.

Reviewers mostly liked the 2010 Scion tC (and its largely identical predecessors), calling it a stylish, comfortable value. Scion's coupe-shaped hatchback also took its fair share of reviewer criticism, however. Fuel economy wasn't particularly noteworthy, it wasn't as fun to drive as some rivals, and important safety tech (specifically,  traction and stability control) was unavailable. The 2011 Scion tC is a brand-new car, arriving in showrooms on October 1, 2010. Does it keep the good stuff while addressing prior complaints? I recently took it for a spin and got the lowdown on the changes.