In tough times, Nissan Motor Co. is hoping less is more.

On Friday, the Japanese carmaker said it would begin selling a cut-rate version of its Versa sedan in the United States for $9,990 -- more than $1,000 less than the cheapest new car currently sold in America.

The frills-free Versa -- which Nissan says will be available starting Nov. 18 and is made in Mexico -- will come without power windows or air conditioning.

The new Versa, which costs $3,000 less than current Versa models, could serve as a bellwether for the kinds of car choices consumers make in a tough economy: Will drivers elect the feature-laden, but relatively expensive subcompacts that many carmakers are now betting on, or will they pick the most affordable car they can?

"Automakers seem to be trying to do two things: bring in vehicles in the lowest price range, while also trying to deliver cars with some level of nobility and class and extras," said Alexander Edwards, president of the automotive division at marketing consultancy Strategic Vision. "The question is how many people are going to choose a vehicle that doesn't have air conditioning?"

Nissan argues that the credit crisis -- which has gutted consumer confidence, dried up lending and driven down industry sales 13 percent so far this year -- is shifting attention to low-priced vehicles. The cheapest car now sold in the United States is the $11,070 Hyundai Accent, so the stripped down Versa may seem like a blue light special to cost-conscious buyers.

Al Castignetti, head of U.S. sales for Nissan, said the stripped-down Versa is designed to compete with the second-hand market. "Our thinking was to be able to offer a vehicle that offers a used-car price with the reliability of a new car," said Castignetti. The car will have a 1.6-liter engine, rather than the 1.8-liter engine on current Versa offerings, and will get 34 miles per gallon on the highway, compared to 33 mpg for the current model.

That's a completely different direction than the one taken by automakers like Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. Both plan to bring to the United States fuel-efficient small cars stuffed with options like leather seats and navigation systems, in hopes of making them profit centers as consumers move away from high-margin sport utility vehicles.

GM was the last automaker to offer a sub-$10,000 car in the United States, selling its entry-level Aveo for $9,995 two years ago, according to Kelley Blue Book. But it has since discontinued that version of the car and raised the sticker price to $12,625. In September, GM said it would replace its low-priced Cobalt compact with the Cruze, a fancier product that will likely sell for much more.

In the rest of the world, carmakers are mostly taking the low (price) road. In India, where local carmaker Tata is planning a $2,500 car, Ford offers a sedan that sells for the equivalent of $9,000, its least expensive car in the country. In Japan, Nissan sells a micro-compact called the Pino that practically fits in the Versa's trunk for close to $8,000. And GM is preparing to sell a subcompact called the Beat that could come in well below $10,000. But the company has no plans to bring it to the United States.

"The real small cars will remain a niche market in the U.S.," said Jesse Toprak, sales analyst at Edmunds.com.

For Nissan, the sixth-largest carmaker by U.S. sales, the Versa has been a relative bright spot in a relatively lackluster year. Through September, the model's sales are up over 13 percent, compared to the first nine months of 2007, while Nissan's overall U.S. sales are down 3.4 percent. In September, Nissan's sales fell 37 percent compared to a year earlier.