2014 Nissan Versa priced at $12,780

The 2014 Nissan Versa with a five-speed manual transmission -- at dealerships today -- will set you back $12,780, including $790 for destination. Stepping down to a four-cog automatic will cost a grand more. For that price -- the lowest in America, by the way, more on that later -- buyers get a 1.6-liter DOHC four-cylinder engine, available air conditioning, six-way adjustable driver's seat, and a radio with an auxiliary input.

General Motors boss Dan Akerson gets into the Woodward Dream Cruise act

General Motors chairman Dan Akerson personally led a parade down metro Detroit's famed boulevard for car aficionados, Woodward Avenue, on Thursday as part of festivities for Chevrolet's 100th anniversary and in advance of the Woodward Dream Cruise. Taking the wheel of a cherry-red 1960 Corvette, Akerson helmed the procession of Chevy icons, which included 51 Volts. The group was augmented by Camaros, more Vettes and other classics.

BMW i3 tops Sunday Times best Electric Cars list

The BMW i3 EV tops Sunday Times best Electric Cars list Just as they did with the new Range Rover last year, the Sunday Times has declared the new BMW i3 EV the pick of the bunch of electric and hybrid cars on sale in the UK, despite the i3 not yet arriving on UK roads. But there seems a good chance that the Sunday Times have got it right this time too, just as they did with the new Range Rover. The Sunday Times praised BMW for biding its time with the launch of their first electric and range-extender car (the next, the BMW i8 supercar, will arrive in 2014) and said the i3′s big appeal lies not in its cutting edge electric motor or battery technology – because there isn’t any – but in its appeal as a car even without its EV powertrain.