When the Yugo first came out in 1986, the Eastern European import cost just $3,990 -- and proved that you get what you pay for. But for all their joke status, over 100,000 of the tiny cars were sold in the U.S. before the company importing them folded. Alas, as of yesterday, the final Yugo rolled off the assembly line in Serbia.From the beginning, U.S. auto magazines said the Yugo barely qualified as a car, thanks in part to its dreadful safety scores in government crash tests. A number of customers reported that the gear-shift came detached while they were driving, and when sales started falling in the U.S. a few years later, some dealers used the car as a free throw-in if a customer bought an Oldsmobile or Cadillac.
"Yugo was never a BMW or a Cadillac, but I think most Americans did not know how to appreciate it," said Serbian Momcilo Spajic, who owns one of the cars. "This is driving in its most natural form. You feel every bump, squeak and jolt, and one can enjoy the sweet smell of gasoline and exhaust fumes. No car can replace it."
We're not sure any car will purposely attempt to replace it, but we've collected the cheapest of the cheap compacts in the gallery below ...
Cheap Cars Around The World
A joint venture with Toyota the Citroen C1 is a popular city car, and the priciest on our list. It has a low carbon footprint and is perfect for bombing around Paris.
Price: $15,000
wintonsworld.com
As of January 2008, the only car legal in America that you could park inside somebody else's mini van. The Smart ForTwo is as popular as the mini dog in Paris Hilton's purse. Just don't take it on the highway.
Price: $12,000
about.com
An affordable sedan with room for 5, the Chevy Aveo gets you 34 MPG on the highway and was made originally by Daewoo. It certainly looks better than the mail truck you've been considering. And it's street legal, unlike many of the cars to come.
Price: $11,000
chevrolet.com
The 5-person Hyundai Getz hatchback has become popular in India, although a hybrid version is available in South Korea and there are plans for an electric version in New Zealand.
Price: $9400
zcars.com.au
The Fiat Palio travels the globe before it hits the road, made in Brazil and sold in India. Models that stay in Brazil are multifuel, so you could probably fill them up with local rum. The Weekend, shown above, is wagon. The standard Palio is a hatchback.
Price: $9200
Fiat-india.com
Hyundai i10
Hyundai is India's third largest car company and hopes the i10 will steal some of the glory of the Tata Nano.
Price: $9100
wikimedia.org
It started out as the first car from India but the Tata Indica has been exported to Europe as well. Like most of the subcompacts in this list, the Indica is a hatchback with a manual transmission. Tata completely eclipsed the success of the Indica with the Nano.
Price: $8500
namastecitytour.com
Just like the country where it was made, the Yugo no longer exists. It was introduced to the United States in the 80's for a mind-blowing $2K, which would cost about $6800 now, far less than anything new you could get Stateside. On the minus side, the 1985 GV was rated as one of Time Magazine's Worst Cars of All Time.
chartertn.net
The Renault Logan is Renault's love child with Romanian firm Dacia and can be had for cheap. Romanian labor unions have recently shut down production because of low wages, so this one might start costing as much as the French equivalent.
Price $6100
renault-dacia-logan.com
Based on an 80's Daihatsu, the ChineseGeely HQ gets a solid 36 MGP and goes the blistering speed of 52 MPH. Unlike the other subcompacts it has a little extra room for cargo, so it stands as China's equivalent to the SUV.
Price: $5800
vicky.in
