Affordable subcompacts, such as the Fit and Hyundai Accent, are the cars attracting the most buyers these days. The reason is obvious: They best fulfill the needs of people who want the lowest possible cost of ownership (i.e., reasonable monthly payments, fuel bills that are easy to swallow and maintenance costs that won’t break the bank). Gold-standard cars — trusted models such as Honda’s Civic and Accord, and Toyota’s Corolla and Camry — did see single-digit sales drops in 2008. Yet that counts as a victory in this market, especially when their competitors’ sales are sinking like the Dow Jones in comparison.