Supermini to cost £110k

• The price of a supermini in 2058?
• Price worked out from 1958 Austin
• And £27 for a pint of milk


Recession, redundancy, financial collapse... if you think times are tough now, insurance giant Norwich Union has another dose of bad news for us when we reach retirement – the equivalent of a Ford Fiesta will cost £110,000.

The company has looked at prices of goods in the 1950s, compared them with current prices and estimated what they could cost in 40 years time.

In 1958 an Austin A55 cost £685, a Ford Fiesta costs from £8695 today, so if the same percentage increase was applied now, in 40 years time an equivalent car would cost £110,369.

The average house would cost a cool £12.2 million, while essentials such as a loaf of bread would cost £27 and a pint of milk would set you back just over a fiver.

Mazda MAZDA6 Performance

The front-wheel-drive 2009 Mazda Mazda6 s Grand Touring is propelled by a 3.7-liter V6 that churns out 272 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic with manual shift control is mandatory with the V6. Our test car hustled from zero to 60 mph in an extraordinarily swift 6.4 seconds, dispensing with the quarter-mile in 14.6 seconds at 96.5 mph. The V6 isn't as smooth as the best engines in this segment, but what it lacks in refinement, it makes up for in brawn.

BLOG METRO ELITE MORTGAGE News Metro Elite Mortgage INC : Test Drive: 2008 BMW 1 Series 135i Convertible


Our test car's six-speed manual gearbox was typical BMW, with a light, progressive clutch coupled to a shifter with a positive, cushioned feel. In any case, the turbo six boasts such a broad power spread that it feels like it could get by just fine with three gears instead of six. Passing on the freeway was a breeze even in top gear, though dipping down a cog or two produces a thrilling rush that made addicts of us all.

The EPA puts the 135i convertible's fuel mileage estimates at 17 mpg city/26 highway and 20 mpg combined. We averaged 17.2 mpg, a testament to our "dipping down a cog or two" tendencies.

Let loose on a twisty road, the 135i ragtop handles very well for a relatively heavy vehicle saddled with a convertible's inherently less rigid architecture. Those extra pounds were evidently put in structure-stiffening places, as the car feels solid when pushed hard in the corners or driven over rough pavement. There's plenty of grip to be had, and body lean is minimal when you're cutting a crisp line through your favorite turns.


General Motors News
GM vehicle delays a desperate move, analysts warnRead More Discuss (0)E-Mail General Motors has apparently decided to delay introductions and redesigns for almost all of its upcoming models — a “last resort” strategy to get the company’s cash flow under control. “It’s a very dangerous thing to delay product programs because it makes it very difficult to avoid sales declines in the future,” analyst John Casesa of Casesa Shapiro Group told Automotive News. “[It] underscores how dire the liquidity situation has become.”

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