YES! Roadster to be Introduced in U.S.

Washington DC May 6, 2008; The AIADA newsletter reported that if nothing else, obscure German sports-car manufacturer YES! has subliminal messaging going for it. The company's quirky name could compel Americans to consider buying one of its $77,995 convertibles scheduled to hit showrooms in June.

The small two-seater is appealing enough on its own, though, and could be a sign of things to come from larger automakers. "It could be the future of sports cars in the U.S. in terms of Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards," Erich Merkle, vice president of forecasting at IRN, an automotive research firm, tells Forbes.

Basically, the 1,960-pound YES! Roadster is as fast as Ferraris and Lamborghinis but more than twice as fuel efficient: It does 0-60 miles per hour in 4.8 seconds and averages an estimated 25 mpg in combined city and highway driving.

The dark-horse YES! Roadster seems like a long shot for success in North America, but established automakers will imitate its formula for efficient speed. "Look at the Corvette ZR1. In 10 or 15 years, will they be able to have 600 horsepower?" Merkle says. "We'll see smaller displacement engines and lighter-weight bodies."