Small cars more appealing than ever — with one exception — in new consumer survey

If there's further proof needed that Americans will buy well-designed smaller cars if given a chance, it arrived today in a new survey of 74,000 owners from J.D. Power, which found that today's small cars are just as desirable as the larger rides favored by buyers four years ago. That's good news for cars like the Chevy Sonic -- but there's a downside for a brand of small Japanese cars that used to be a favorite.