I agree that the term "city car" means something particulary small, cheap and underpowered, like the Smart, Fiat Cinquecento and Daewoo Matiz, the kind of car I'd rather not own. Though most hatchbacks that aren't absolutely tiny, like the Fiat Punto and the Renault Clio (I've owned one of each) are perfectly acceptable and reliable cars even if they aren't anything to write home about. But then there's the hot hatchback, and the newest generation are faster than ever (although I'm not a big hot-hatch fan). I can understand why many Americans have disdain for small cars, most American cars are so generous in size and affordable (and gas is so cheap) and since there is no shortage of space in America they can't be bothered with small hatchbacks whereas if you have to live in British and European cities (which aren't built on a "grid system") the advantage of small cars is a lot more obvious. I'd love to have a Mercedes S-Class but I think the biggest downside would be trying to park it in cities. If I lived in America, I wouldn't bother driving a Geo Metro when there are so many big, comfortable American cruisers that would still be fairly cheap to run (though I wouldn't have an SUV).