Comparison Tests
Amidst all the doom and gloom facing the automobile industry, right now is ironically an opportune time for car enthusiasts. Power, performance, and features continue to improve, while stiff competition and a bearish market are keeping prices relatively low. How low? Take the new Chevy Cobalt SS, kitted up with a new 260-horsepower turbo engine. Its base price of $24,095 works out to $93 per horsepower. By comparison, a Corvette works out to $115 per horsepower. The Cobalt SS has the same dollar-to-power ratio as the Mustang GT. There are better horsepower bargains around, but their numbers are few.
Plus, for right around $25,000—with two exceptions—this group of seven hopped-up economy cars offers more than just simple speed. All the cars in this group come with four- or five-passenger versatility and at least some degree of four-cylinder fuel frugality inherited from their economy-car roots. The point is you can get a whole lot of car without having to pay a whole lot of money.
We drove this fresh crop of sports cars south to Kentucky, where gas prices were not as high as Michigan’s (thanks, global economic crisis!), dogs are more common sights on the roads than other cars, and you can get whatever you want at a restaurant as long as it’s deep-fried. The cars proved adept at avoiding the canines, but our staffers suffered several head-on collisions with fried pickles.
