As breaking into the middle class becomes harder, car companies are finding new ways to attract an expanding base of less-affluent consumers. They're offering more small car models with better features than ever before.
When it comes to cars, there are brands for rich people — Mercedes, Audi, BMW — and there are cars for people of more modest means — Chevys, Fords, Toyotas. But just as many people at the bottom of the income ladder buy Jeeps as people at the top.
At a time when U.S. sales are soaring, Europe saw a drop of almost seven percent in the first half of this year. There is one bright spot: U.K. car sales are up.
The gyroscope-balanced C-1 two-wheeler, made by San Francisco startup Lit Motors, is purposefully small and designed to change the rules of the road in cites.
Ford Motor Company is calling it quits in Australia, after a nearly 90-year run. The U.S. automaker says it will shut down its two factories down under and halt production in 2016.
