| By Bijukumar.r |
| Posted Date:2008-07-23 |
America's Cheapest Cars |
| With oil hitting $147 a barrel last week and gas prices averaging $4.10 nationwide, all of a sudden cheap, small, simple cars are much more appealing.
It's something General Motors has noticed, as evidenced by the company's announcement this week of major cuts to its truck division as part of a multibillion-dollar restructuring. Similarly, Toyota is halting truck production for three months at its U.S. plants.
More from Forbes.com:
• In Pictures: Most Expensive Cars to Repair
• In Pictures: America's Most Stolen Vehicles
• In Pictures: Hardest-to-Get Cars
While the backbone of the cheap-car market has been, traditionally, first-time car buyers, current gas prices are boosting the market for cars $15,000 and under by 17%, according to auto analysts. From the commuter to the family to the cash-strapped and every type of driver in between, small cars are increasingly popular.
While the low prices do reflect a lack of luxury when compared to sedans or SUVs, there's no shortage of options when it comes to cheap cars. Enough, in fact, for buyers to be picky, and wind up with a quality ride with enough bells and whistles to suit their individual needs.
"There is nothing bare-bones about the Fit," says Ed Kim, director of industry analysis at AutoPacific Inc., an automotive marketing and product-consulting company, referring to Honda's $13,950 car, ranked at No. 11 on our list. The Fit is a small car, built with the same production quality as the higher-end $21,160 Honda Accord. It comes standard with an adjustable steering column and four-speaker audio system with speed-sensitive volume control that automatically becomes louder when driving at faster speeds and softer at lower speeds. The car gets 30 mpg for the automatic transmission, and is equipped with multiple airbags in the front, rear and side.
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| By bijukumar |
| Posted Date:2008-07-21 |
Obama expected to meet with commanders of Iraq war |
| BAGHDAD - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's visit to Iraq for talks with commanders of a war he long opposed follows the prime minister's apparent endorsement of his troop withdrawal plan and a shift by the White House away from refusing to discuss that option.
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Obama has called for withdrawing U.S. troops at the rate of one or two brigades a month, ending combat operations within 16 months of becoming president. He favors leaving behind a residual force to protect U.S. personnel, train Iraqi security forces and counter attacks by al-Qaida.
The Illinois senator, challenged at every turn on the Iraq issue by Republicans, including presidential rival Sen. John McCain, was expected to arrive in the country amid the controversy over comments by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that were supportive of Obama's 16-month timetable.
The Iraqi leader's aides have said his remarks, published in a German magazine, were misunderstood and that he was not taking sides in the U.S. election. Earlier this month, however, al-Maliki said negotiations between his government and the United States on an agreement spelling out a continued role for U.S. forces in Iraq must include some kind of timetable for withdrawing troops from his country.
Last week, the White House said President Bush and al-Maliki had agreed to set a "general time horizon" for bringing home more U.S. troops, a dramatic shift from what had been the administration's steadfast refusal to talk about any kind of deadline.
Obama was visiting as part of a congressional delegation that includes Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Jack Reed, D-R.I. — all longtime critics of U.S. involvement in Iraq — after stops in Afghanistan and Kuwait. The delegation met Sunday in Kuwait City with Kuwait's emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, and other senior officials, the Kuwait News Agency reported.
In Iraq, Obama was expected to meet with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander, and al-Maliki. His aides provided few details, however, citing security concerns.
The trip will be Obama's second to Iraq, but conditions are quite different from when he visited in January 2006. Obama's first tour was treated as a footnote, while the country was caught in a growing Sunni insurgency and was moving toward a flood of sectarian violence. But the bloodshed has declined significantly since Bush sent thousands more troops last year to help quell the rising violence
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| By bij |
| Posted Date:2008-07-20 |
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| By vinu |
| Posted Date:2008-07-20 |
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| By bijuam |
| Posted Date:2008-07-19 |
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