#CompactCars

The compact car category continues to grow and is increasingly becoming the most important and highest volume segment in America. For years Chrysler hasn’t had a competitive offering, something it is looking to change with the all-new Dodge Dart.

With a new flagship supercar planned in the NSX Concept, Acura also unveiled a new entry-level model at the Detroit Auto Show this week. Called the ILX, it’s based on the new Honda Civic platform, but significantly modified. It also gets some distinct bodywork and three unique engine choices, including a hybrid option – the first time ever for an Acura.

Replacing the now almost invisible Caliber, the 2013 Dart is the car Dodge hopes will reinvigorate its presence in the compact segment. At the 2012 North American International Auto Show, Dodge Brand CEO Reid Bigland unveiled the highly anticipated Dart to a captive audience.

The battle axes are sharpened and starting to swing in Germany between the three largest luxury car makers, as Audi admits for the first time that they plan to sell their compact Q3 SUV in America.

Oh how compact cars have changed…   Chrysler, or Fiat as it were, is taking a march through the elephant graveyard and bringing new life to some old bones.

To make room for expanding model research and development on the home front, Toyota Motor Corp has appointed its European division to lead global product planning for small cars.

Chevrolet is planning a more performance-oriented version of the Cruze compact sedan AutoGuide has learned. Sources inside the company have let slip that GM does intend to offer a more sporting version of its best-selling model, though as past reports have indicated, it won’t be badged as an SS.

In the midst of launching its iQ mini-car and in preparation of the massive spike in exposure the brand will get from the FR-S sports car, Scion VP Jack Hollis is already looking into the distant future. “We are currently working on several different concepts,” he says sitting in the back seat of a highly customized xB at the SEMA Show.

The Kia Rio used to have the ignominious honor of being a “penalty box”, a car you didn’t want to spend time in unless absolutely necessary. But with the upswing in quality from Kia, and shared underpinnings from the promising new Hyundai Accent, the all-new Rio, shown for the first time at the Geneva Auto Show, might just be a solid little car for entry level buyers.

Suzuki may not have much of a profile in the United States, but their Swift compact hatchback has been a hit with both critics and consumers in other markets, and the Geneva Auto Show will be the platform for Suzuki to launch a thinly veiled “concept” version of the new Swift.

Hyundai is looking to capture 5 percent of the U.S. car market in 2011, amid projections that show greater overall sales for new vehicles in the coming year.

In the history of automotive transmissions, the CVT undoubtedly ranks near the bottom of the pile, as one of the car world’s poorly thought out inventions.

Are company cars destined to be a relic of the past? Probably not, but companies are begging to adopt a new kind of corporate vehicle, one that can be paid for by the hour and operated by Hertz or Zipcar, two of the biggest names in auto-sharing programs.

Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby announced a pilot project that will see 1,000 plug-in hybrid models based on the C30 hatchback. The vehicles will be offered in unspecified European and Chinese locations, as well as California.

In a move that would be unthinkable to most North American consumers, Honda will stop selling its ubiquitous Civic in Japan due to non-existant demand for the iconic compact.