Don't Forget Fun When Replacing 'Clunker'

"Cash for clunkers" may be mostly about saving money and getting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, but shouldn't it be about fun, too?

That was the thinking of the editors at Kelley Blue Book, who recently picked their "top 10 most fun clunker replacements."

"With this seemingly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to garner federal assistance in buying a new car, plenty of folks are maximizing their dollars and buying affordable, economical vehicles, but on the other hand, some new-car shoppers are looking for serious driving fun after years of riding around in their old clunker," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's Web site.

"While some great cars don't make the 'clunkers' cut for price or fuel economy reasons, several exciting, fun-to-drive models do," he added.

Kelley Blue Book notes that potential buyers have to be careful to balance fun with cost and fuel efficiency to find the best clunker replacement. For instance, while popular muscle cars like the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger meet the program's $45,000 price ceiling, they don't meet the required EPA combined fuel economy of 22 mpg.

However, with a late 11th addition to the list, Kelley Blue Book does allow that a 2010 Camaro can meet the fuel economy requirement if outfitted with the 304-horsepower V6 and six-speed automatic transmission.

On the other hand, lightweight performance cars like the BMW Z4, Lotus Elise and Porsche 911 are adequately fuel efficient, but cost too much to qualify for the government credit.

Instead, Kelley Blue Book suggests the following choices, in alphabetical order:

• 2009 Audi TT
• 2009 BMW 128i
• 2009 BMW 335d
• 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
• 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata
• 2010 Mazda3
• 2009 MINI Cooper
• 2009 Pontiac Solstice
• 2009 Volkswagen GTI
• 2009 Volvo C30