Auto News 5

You may think that the Porsche 911 (now in its forty-sixth year) is long-lived. If you're into automotive esoterica, you'll know of India's Hindustan Ambassador, resplendent with the clumsy curves established in 1956 by Austin-Morris. But the Ambassador is a mere gawky adolescent compared with the doyen of currently available cars, the Morgan roadster, which came to market seventy-five years ago.

It seems that small car icons always come from Europe-the Volkswagen Beetle, the Fiat 500, the Mini Cooper. But looking at the Ford Start, one begins to wonder whether an American car company also could make a truly enduring small car. We think this coupe-and it is a coupe, not a hatchback-is supercool, which is not surprising given that the design team had a 1956 Porsche Speedster and a 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato in the studio while they worked on the Start. The concept is built on a shortened Fiesta platform and features a direct-injected, 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder, Ford's smallest powerplant yet to get the EcoBoost treatment. The tiny turbo is headed for production, but the Start isn't. That's too bad, because the Start definitely deserves a go.

Over the past thirteen years, the silver spoilered brat pictured here has confidently watched its owner acquire - and then rid himself of - a hot red Nissan, two Mazdas, a VR6-powered Volkswagen, three Mercedes-Benzes, five BMWs, and a pair of Porsches. From its heated garage spot, it has snickered at Ferraris outside braving the rain and Aston Martins fighting the cold. And it laughs so hard it pees - Mobil 1, on the floor - every time some expensive, exotic new car sits out overnight, suffering the indignity of being molested by the neighborhood cat.

Could internal politics endanger the Volkswagen Group's trio of mid-engine compact sports cars -- the Porsche 356, the Audi R5, and the VW BlueSport? VW launched the mid-engine BlueSport concept at the 2009 Detroit auto show. The car was a runner, the engineers had done much more than their routine homework, and, in principle, marketing had given it a thumbs-up. Almost eighteen months later, however, the two-seater is still on hold.