COULD YOUR CAR PARK HERE?

DETROIT - Robynne Raye has a twomile commute, a tiny garage and a tight budget, so when she was looking to buy the first new car she’s owned, she wanted the smallest she could find. After test-driving eight cars, the Seattle resident settled on a Honda Fit.

Raye is one of a growing number of buyers hopping into small cars. U.S. sales of subcompacts such as the Fit and compacts such as the Honda Civic reached a record 2.7 million in 2006, said George Pipas, Ford Motor Co.’s top sales analyst. Small-car sales are expected to set a record this year despite a weakening in the U.S. auto market.

“The things that have fueled the growth of these (small) cars are really not going away: Gas prices, the housing market, the fashion aspect of these cars,” said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for the Edmunds.com automotive Web site. “The segment is really hitting at the right time.”

The redesigned three-door Hyundai Accent, which starts at just above $10,000, is a popular seller at Phil Long Hyundai at Chapel Hills, said Phil Luce, general sales manager.

At 37 mpg highway, the Accent, along with another small car, the Hyundai Elantra, were named two of the top 12 greenest vehicles for 2007 by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.

“You can get the benefit of owning a green car without it being a hybrid. Both were completely redesigned for ’07, and people like the new features,” Luce said.

The Toyota Yaris was the best-selling subcompact in the first seven months of this year, while the Toyota Corolla was the most popular compact car, according to Autodata Corp.

Car shoppers like the level of comfort and safety features available in subcompacts and compacts, said Mark Myers, a sales and leasing consultant at Toyota and Scion of Colorado Springs.

“The current subcompacts are so much more substantial than they used to be,” he said. “People are surprised at just how solid these cars are.”

As a result, Myers said, Yaris sales are “booming.”

“We’re seeing a substantial increase in sales in the economy car segment,” he said, adding the reason isn’t hard to figure out: “Gas prices, pure and simple.”

The Yaris gets 34 mpg in the city and up to 46 mpg on the highway, Myers said, and starts at about $13,000.

The boom has left some automakers scrambling. Foreign automakers control 76 percent of the U.S. small-car market, Pipas said, a sobering statistic for Detroit because small cars help capture young buyers and keep them for life.

The Chevrolet Aveo is the only domestic subcompact in the U.S. market.

Ford, which sells subcompacts outside the United States, will unveil a concept car this month at the Frankfurt Motor Show that likely will be the basis for a global subcompact that will come to the U.S. market by 2010. General Motors Corp. plans to bring a redesigned Aveo hatchback to North America in June, spokeswoman Nancy Libby said.