@Occasionally6: That's the same thought I have.
It was interesting when people were harping on the Cruze in another thread by comparing it to the Chevette.
Cars like the Cruze and Focus are nearly twice as heavy as the Chevette and Escort that they are spiritual successors to. But they're also gigantic barges in comparison.
Even the Fit/Rio class, which are, inflation-adjusted, in the same price range as the Chevette/Escort class, are bigger than the Chevette/Escort by far.
If you want something that's Chevette sized, you're looking at this:
Which provides similar space, more headroom, around the same weight, more technology, more safety and... isn't available in the US.
The Mirage will be, though.
I'll disagree, for the most part about automatics. They can be made to meet emissions testing much more easily due to the free pass the EPA gives them in terms of shift points, but in the real world, automatics still don't quite match manuals with good drivers, especially in traffic.
The point is moot in the USA, though, since EPA is the rules they have to play by... but as people start downsizing and down-speccing in a weaker economy with higher fuel prices, I think manuals will come back in vogue sooner or later.