In this economically down time, buying a lack-luster, slug-of-a-vehicle to save money may be disappointing. But saving money does not mean you have to sacrifice performance. I asked Jody Victor  to tell us about some rides that are both sporty and relatively cost-effective.

Jody Victor: As they say, don't let the turkey times get you down. If you need to cut corners and keep within a budget, but still want a new sportier vehicle, it can be done. Here are a bunch of fast, frugal machines to keep in mind when looking for that budget master.

Chevrolet Cobalt SS - It's easy to look past the Cobalt's vanilla styling - and harder to overlook its dime store interior. But look beyond the plain cover for the goods inside; a hard-charging, slick-steering sedan with 260 turbocharged horsepower, at a base price of just $24,095.

Volkswagen GTI - There are faster cars than the VW for less than $30,000, but none that deliver this much German refinement, road feel and pure driving thrills. Sharing its brilliant 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with VWs and Audis that cost $40,000 and more, this original hatch also offers a practical choice of 2-door and 4-door body styles.

MazdaSpeed3 - Mash the gas and hold on tight: Mazda's turbo terror explodes to 60 mph in just 5.5 seconds, quicker than many sports cars, and tops out at an improbable 155 mph. Compared to the basic Mazda3 hatch, this 263-horsepower version is a noisy, high-strung bease. It's also a ridiculous bargain at barely 23 grand to start.

MINI Cooper - Compared to other pint-sized players, the BMW-designed MINI is no bargain, with prices that zoom past #30,000 for convertibles or well-stuffed turbocharged versions. But go easy on the pricey options and the MIMI's smiles-per-dollar quotient shoots through the roof. This little charmer is still one of the best machines around for slicing urban traffic or carving up the nearest canyon.

Subaru WRX - Just one year after redesigning its 4-door rally monkey, Subaru has lavishly upgraded it with 41 more horsepower (for a total of 265) and a dramatically sportier suspension - while adding virtually nothing to the base price, $25,660.

Nissan 370Z - Starting at $30,665, the 370Z's reputation as a poor man's Porsche is safe, thanks to an enlarged 3.7-liter V6 with 332 horsepower to nearly match the 345 horses of the latest 911. It all makes the Z one of the fastest routes to affordable fun.

Thanks, Jody! We'll take a look at these fun cars.

Joe Victor

Safety Technology has experienced a quantum leap in the last few years, with advances spurred by the government in an effort to lessen loss of life and injury, as well as automakers seeking a competitive edge. I asked Jody Victor to continue his tips on safety features.

Jody Victor: In recent surveys of consumers, more than two-thirds of respondents ranked safety as the most important technology to have in their automobiles, and seven out of 10 were willing to pay extra for safety features. Here's part II of what's available.

Tire-Pressure Monitor - Starting in the 2008 model year, the Feds will require all new vehicles to include tire-pressure-monitoring systems, which use sensors to provide information on tire inflation to a display in the instrument panel. Vehicles ranging from sports cars to SUVs already allow drivers to check tire pressure on the fly, and some show pressure in individual tires.

Rollover Protection - Manufacturers first offered airbag systems that inflate from the headliner or ceiling in top-heavy SUVs to protect occupants in case of the window surface in the first two rows of seats in Ford, Mercury and Lincoln SUVs, and the system is also available on the Volvo and Land Rover SUVs, as well as on the Ford Freestyle, Five Hundred, Mercury Montego and the Volvo C70 convertible.

Head-Up Display - Looking away from the road for even a few seconds can be dangerous. By projecting vital information from the speedometer, tach or vavigation system on the windsheild, a head-up display (HUD) allows drivers to keep their eyes straight ahead.

Bluetooth Hands-Free Phone System - While head-up displays let you keep your eyes on the road, Bluetooth lets you keep your hands on the wheel when using a mobile phone. The technology establishes a wireless connection with a compatible phone so that calls can be made and received using buttons on the steering wheel and voice commands.

Voice Activation - Using voice activation, you can change a radio station or adjust the volume on the audio system, raise and lower the temperature of the climate control, even enter destinations into a nav system - all without lifting a hand off of the wheel.

Navigation Systems - GPS navigation systems take the guesswork out of getting where you're going - and are much safer than reading a map behind the wheel. The issue turn-by-turn guidance and will reroute you if you miss a turn. These are available separately and the prices are really getting affordable.

Adaptive Cruise Control - Adaptive Cruise Control automatically keeps a safe distance between you and the car ahead so that the driver doesn't constantly have to adjust the speed. A radar sensor monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front of you, and most systems allow selecting a gap with which you're most comfortable.

Rearview Camera - Rear-vision cameras first appeared on usper-sized SUVs to help drivers see behind the vehicles. But they are now available on luxury and sports cars as well as minivans and crossovers. Some also include visual aids that allow aligning a vehicle with an intended parking spot.

Obstacle Sensors - As with rear-vision cameras, obstacle sensors can help make you aware of objects you wouldn't normally see. The systems detect objects in close proximity to the behicle and issue audible and/or visual warnings.

Emergency Response - OnStar and similar telematics services are known for "concierge" features such as unlocking doors and providing directions. But in the case of and accident they can pinpoint your location and detect if an airbag has deployed so that emergency personnel can respond accordingly.

Heartbeat Monitor - The key fob remote for the 2007 Volvo S80 will not only tell you if someone has broken into the vehicle while you were away, but a heartbeat sensor will alert you if someone is hiding inside.

Thanks Jody! We'll be looking for all these safety features in our future vehicles.

Joe Victor

With the amazing technologies we now have, vehicles that can park themselves, car radios that can hold enough music for a cross-country trip and climate controls that can measure occupants' body temps, it is still safety technology that is in the most demand. I asked Jody Victor to give us some insight into vehicle safety features.

Jody Victor: As you get ready to replace your vehicle, you may want to familiarize yourself with available safety features. All cars and all features are not alike nor do they have the same availability. Here's what's out there!

Pre-Collision Systems - This technology uses various methods to sense and prepare for a collision. When a sensor signals an impending crash, the system takes preemtive action such as pre-tensioning the seat belts, preloading the brakes and even aligning airbags to better protect occupants.

Electronic Stability Control - To help drivers maintain control, ESC compares steering and braking imputs with the car's lateral acceleration, rotation and individual wheel speeds. If a difference in the driver's intended path and that of the car is detected, brakes can be automatically applied and the throttle can be dialed back until the vehicle is back on track.

Brake Assist - This technology resulted from a study that determined that most drivers do not push the brake pedal hard enough in emergency situations. So when sensors detect "panic" braking, Brake Assist applies maximum brake boost and therefore decreases stopping distance.

Dynamic Head Restraints - Few people adjust their car's headrests properly to prevent whiplash, so some vehicles now come with active head restraints that move into more effective positions when a car is rear-ended. Volvo's Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS) and Saab's Active Head Restraint )SAHR) go a step further by getting the seats to help in mitigating whiplash injuries.

Dual-Stage Airbags - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stipulated that all passenger cars and light trucks produced after September 2006 must include passenger-side front airbags that are sutomatically enabled or disabled depending on whether a front passenger is detected (typically by seat sensors), and some now deploy in stages depending on the severity of a crash or the weight of the front-seat passenger.

Side and Supplemental Airbags - Side airbags can greatly reduce injuries, since occupants are often more vulnerable than in front- or rear-end crashes, where there's more of a "crumple" zone to protect them. Side airbags are not mandated by the NHTSA, however, and auto manufacturers can decide where and how to deploy them, and whether they're a standard or optional feature. Some luxury cars also include supplemental airbags, such as with BMW's Active Knee Protection and Head Protection systems.

Blind Spot Warning Indication - The Volvo S80's Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) uses a camera on each side-view mirror to scan adriver's no-see zone and indicators in the corners of the front windows alret the driver to the presence of vehicles. The Side Assist in the Ausi Q7 and Side Blind Zone Alert in the 2008 Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS and STS work in much the same fashion, except the indicators are located on the side-view mirrors, and GM's system use radar instead of cameras.

Lane Departure Warning System - Infiniti's Lane Departure Warning (LDW) System uses a camera in the rearview mirror to detect when the vehicle gets close to the lane marker and sounds an audible warning. GM will also offer the technology on the 2008 Cadillac DTS and STS, and Buick Lucerne.

Night-Vision Camera System - Hitting an animal or pedestrian while driving after dark is an accident night-vision cameras can help prevent. BMW's night-vision system senses thermal energy and Mercedes' projects infrared light in front of the vehicle, and both show night-vision images on a screen in the dash.

Adaptive Headlights - This technology directs light from the headlights in the direction that the steering wheel is turned, to help illuminate where the driver intends the car to go. A feature currently found only on higher-end cars, adaptive headlights will likely trickle down to more affordable vehicles.

Thanks, Jody! We'll be considering these safety feature in our future purchases.

Joe Victor

Even neat people can live in squalor when it comes to the family car. Carpets get loaded with ingrained mud, sand and debris. Upholstery can gather multiple stains from food, children and the warehouse grit of shopping trips and general travel. I asked Jody Victor  to give us some tips on keeping our old and new cars looking great!

Jody Victor: Taking care of any car can be easy if you don't let it go too long. It is way better to use a little elbow grease once or twice a month than to wait and have a monster job on your hands.

With that in mind, you can buy special car-interior cleaners, but for plastic surfaces you can use any hard-surface cleaner such as Zoom and for vinyl and leather areas in your car use a Vinyl & Leather Cleaner. Once you have wiped, swiped and vacuumed the inside of the car, you may still have to deal with upholstery stains.

You can try using any carpet-upholstery cleaning spray or spot remover  on the seats. On carpeted foor mats you can use the same products or for really tough stains, take them to a carpet-cleaning service or your local car care expert.

Ridding a car of odors can be another challenge. The first step is to get all the interior fabrics clean with pet-spot cleaner or another odor-fighting cleaning product. Don' forget to wipe down the headliner, the cloth covering inside the roof. Some commercial deodorizers claim they eliminate rather than merely mask odors from mold, smoke and other causes. Large auto-parts stores carry such products.

You can also try cleaning odors from the climate-system ducts by spritzing odor eliminator into the system's air intake. That's usually located beneath the hood cowl, near where the windshield wipers park. Then run the air conditioner for at least 10 minutes.

Cleaning the outside of the engine and other under-hood components can be aknuckle-scraping, tedious chore. But it's good to have a sparkling clean engine bay if you are about to sell the car, and your mechanic will appreciate it in any case. Consider this a nicety rather than a necessity.

Thanks, Jody! We'll be using these tips soon!

Joe Victor

With so many of us keeping cars longer, taking care of our vehicles will become a priority. There are some things you can do yourself and others that are best left to the experts. I asked Jody Victor  to give us some more tips on keeping older cars (as well as newer ones) in top shape.

Jody Victor: Even if you don't plan to keep your present vehicle for a long time, you can use these tips. The better your car looks when you trade it in or sell it yourself, the more you are likely to get for it.

Dent Removal - Minor dents and dings in body panels can be very unsightly, but getting them fixed at a body shop can be costly. One viable alternative is so-called paintless dent removal. This type of servie, which is sometimes franchised under names such as Dent Doctor and DentPro, uses special tools to massage out small dents from the inside. You can usually find a dent fixer by talking to a local mechanic or body shop, or checking the Yellow Pages. Figure on paying about $50 to make a golf-ball-sized dent disappear.

Fixing Window Glass - It's very common for a windshield to pick up "star" or "bull's-eye" damage from a flying stone. Sometimes those chips are merely cosmetic annoyances, but in other cases, if left unaddressed, such damage may grow worse. As with paintless dent repair, there is a cottage industry in auto-glass repair.

A glass repairer uses a suction-cup device, tiny drills and special sealers to fill and fix a damaged area. This can shrink the blemish from pea size to pinhead size and stop the damage from spreading. Again, figure $50 to treat a small glass ding. Of course, if the damage is more than minor, this sort of repair won't work and you'll need a new windshield or side window.

Thanks, Jody! More good tips to keep in mind!

Joe Victor