{"id":61867,"date":"2013-06-13T10:51:27","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T14:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=61867"},"modified":"2013-06-13T10:51:27","modified_gmt":"2013-06-13T14:51:27","slug":"ten-best-base-model-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2013\/06\/ten-best-base-model-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Best Base Model Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The base Honda Civic LX offers some big surprises for a "base" car, including a rearview camera.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New car prices have been rising fast in recent years.\u00a0 That\u2019s priced a lot of potential buyers out of the market while others have been forced to downgrade their aspirations.<\/p>\n

Not all that long ago, trying to find a nice new car, truck or crossover on a budget meant settling for some stripped-down econobox that offered little more than basic transportation.\u00a0 But these days, makers seem intent on upgrading their base models to keep customers happy \u2013 betting that will increase loyalty and return sales when owners can afford to trade in on something more lavish.<\/p>\n

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News You Can Use!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cJust because you might not be able to afford all of the bells and whistles in a car doesn\u2019t mean you have to sing the base-model blues,\u201d said Patrick Olsen, editor-in-chief of the website Cars.com. \u201cSome automakers are packing even their base models full of features making them more valuable to shoppers looking for a good deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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No econobox this: the 2013 Chevy Spark.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The site has come up with a list of 10 models that do a good job of upgrading what we think of as a \u201cbase car.\u201d They range in price and size from the little Chevy Spark, at just under $13,000, all the way up to the big Toyota Avalon and Volvo S60 models pushing above $30,000.<\/p>\n

What they all seem to have in common is that they provide more content, styling and\/or performance than you might expect of a vehicle in that segment for that price.\u00a0 At the low end of the scale, that includes such desirable essentials as air conditioning and power windows, something you might not expect in the subcompact segment. At the high end, you\u2019ll find such niceties as touch-screen displays and even rain-sensing wipers.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the Cars.com list of Top 10 Base Car Models:<\/p>\n