The used car market is responding very favorably to vehicles of ages past that have been able to eke the most miles from a single gallon of gas. The poster-child for the movement seems to be the oft-maligned Geo Metro, which is sometimes changing hands today for a similar dollar amount as it sold for when new in the early '90s. We're not so sure you could pry so many of our own hard-darned dollars from our sweaty palms for a vehicle that old, and Car and Driver is positive that they wouldn't spend it either. In fact, the auto-scribes at the mag have written a three-page article explaining exactly why it isn't a good idea to buy a used Metro to save on your gas bill.

To back up their opinions, past road tests of the Metro were checked and found seriously deficient. For instance, the '92 Metro took 220 feet to stop from 70 mph and 13.1 seconds to reach sixty. Along with that, C&D got just 39 mpg from it in testing. Oh, and ABS brakes and airbags are absent as well. What's more, the Metro's tailpipe emissions are quite a bit worse than the economy cars of today. So, while the Metro will surely return high fuel mileage numbers when driven with a bit of sense, safety, performance and emissions all conform to standards that we set a long time ago. In other words, you could do better with that 7K by purchasing a car just a few years old.

[Source: Car and Driver]

It's not uncommon for owners of the late, lamented Geo Metro XFI, which USA Today refers to as "nerdy," to report fuel mileage rivaling and sometimes beating hybrids such as the Toyota Prius. The lightweight structure and very small engines - just three-cylinders and 49 horsepower for the Metro - allow these little runabouts to post great mileage figures. With gas prices at an all-time high, the efficiency of vehicles like the Metro, Ford Fiesta and Apsire and Hyundai Excel is raising their prices to levels sometimes above what they cost new. Don't believe us? Check out this recent eBay auction for a low mileage Metro and see for yourself.

So, should you be running out and purchasing a used fuel-sipper of your very own? Maybe, but consider that these vehicles would not be able to meet the safety regulations required by law today and the fact that they would likely not pass current emissions requirements. Additionally, the fuel savings of these vehicles makes for pretty poor performance. At AutoblogGreen, we're apt to overlook some of these deficiencies in the name of efficiency, but we also recognize that older vehicles such as these can present problems to their future owners. Our advice, therefore, would be to look hard in order to find a good deal if you're really interested in the ultimate in fuel savings, and remember not to discount the first-generation Toyota Prius in your search.

[Source: eBay Motors, U.S. News]

Last year, General Motors trotted out a few new microcar concepts, and the Chevy Beat appears to be the winning design in many peoples eyes. We'd love to see the car make it into production ourselves, considering that there is a distinct lack of mini-mobiles currently fighting for your hard-earned dollar, with the exception of the Smart. But, as The Detroit News points out, the idea behind the Beat is far from new, as the old Geo Metro clearly shows. The writer claims that the Metro can get a combined 40 miles per gallon or so and can reach highway speeds when required. We agree, and a used Metro can be found for just a few thousand bucks. The difference, as we see it, is that the Metro has very little inherent style, while cars like the Beat and Smart models have loads. Buyers are often enticed by the style of the vehicle first and enamored with the economy afterwards.

[Source: Detroit News]