• USA Today, Thursday, December 14, 2006 12:31 PM

Ian Beavis, Kia's U.S. marketing chief, says his dealers are screaming for the company to increase production of its smallest model, the Rio. "People are coming around to the idea that gas is going to be a factor for all time."

Kia is not alone. Pushed by Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Nissan Versa--small, front-wheel-drive, fuel-efficient subcompacts introduced this year--the low-price end of the small-car market is up 42.2% through November, compared with a year ago, says industry-tracker Autodata.

That's despite the fact that discounts on the economy subcompacts are just 1.5% less than the full window-sticker price, according to Edmunds.com. Average discount for all vehicles is 12.5%, and the overall new vehicle market is down 2.5%.

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