Larry Printz from the Virginian-Pilot newspaper wrote an article entitled “With these eight cars, it’s hard to beat the value” that appeared in my newspaper today. It is a good overall viewpoint of eight new vehicles from small cars to SUVs that cost between $9990 and $25,000 before options, taxes, and rebates.  Here’s the list:

Small Sedan: Nissan Versa 1.6 This is actually the lowest price car in the U.S.  The base price is $9990. The EPA rating is 26 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway.  It has a 107-horsepower and 1.6-liter engine.

Family Sedan: Ford Fusion The base price is $19,035 with EPA rating of 20/29 (city/highway.)  According to Consumer Reports, this car has excellent reliability. 

Coupe: Chevrolet Cobalt The base price is $15,660 with EPA rating of 22/30 (city/highway.)  It has a turbo 2-liter 4-cylinder engine from GM’s Saab division, and they “stuffed it into a Cobalt.” 

Convertible: Mini Cooper The base price is $22,600 with EPA rating of 23/32 (city/highway.) 

SUV:  Jeep Wrangler  The base price is $20,460 with EPA rating of 15/20 (city/highway.)  This was the first SUV, and its still considered one of the best. 

Pickup Truck: Toyota Tacoma. The base price is $15,170 with EPA of 20/26.  This has a 4-cylinder engine.  Only problem with this vehicle is the price. Right now, full-sized pickup trucks have very “attractive prices.”

Minivan: Mazda5 The base price is $17,995 with EPA of 22/28.  There is room for six people and stuff as well.

Luxury Sedan: Hyundai Azera The base price is $24,970 and EPA of 18/26.  This isn’t your typical luxury vehicle, but it offers those amenities and “hallmarks” of one.

So, here’s your list. Do with it what you please. 

www.paultan.org

The new 2009 Volkswagen CC is called a “near” luxury car that will compete with the Lexus ES, Cadillac CTS, Acura TL, and others as well.  The CC, according to VW, stands for “comfort coupe” even though there are four doors.  The only car that even remotely appears to be similar to the CC is the Mercedes-Benz CLS, which also refers to itself as a four door coupe has a base price of about $70,000. 

In the past, VW has been known for having more expensive cars than there direct competitors.  Well, this is not the case with the VW CC.  The starting base price is $27,480, which is lower than the Passat, and most other near-luxury sedans. 

Here’s the specs of the CC.  It has a 2-liter four-cyclinder, turbocharged, 200 horsepower engine.  The miles per gallon are 19 in the city, and 29 mpg on the highway.  For $1100, you can order the six-speed automatic transmission with a manual-shift mode, which VW expects to be the biggest seller.  Frank A. Aukofer of the Scripps Howard News Service test drove this car and really liked it.  A diesel model is currently not available in the CC, but could be in the future is there becomes a demand for it.     

The Green Car of the Year Award goes to……….the Volkswagon Jetta TDI clean diesel vehicle.  According to Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journalsays that this Jetta “raises the bar significantly in environmental performance.”  This car is fuel efficient with 31 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway.  The Jetta offers the fuel economy of a gasoline-electric hybrid but it is more affordable starting at $21,990 for the sedan and $23,590 for the station wagon. 

Diesels have been the vehicle of choice for the fuel efficiency and reduced emissions in Europe for a long time.  Half of all new car sales are diesels, but in the United States only less than 1 percent of new car sales are diesels.  This Jetta meets the emissions standards in all 50 states without expensive and complicated emissions technology. 

The Jetta TDI beat out the BMW 335d diesel, Ford Fusion hybrid, Saturn two-mode hybrid, and the Smart ForTwo city car for the award of Green Car of the Year.  Last year, the Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid SUV won this award.  Congrats to the Volkswagon Jetta TDI!

According to an article on MSNBC.com, Volvo and Ford Motor Co. have 16 vehicles in the 2009 model year that are ranked as some of the safest cars. This information is based on a list compiled from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).  Honda came in second with 13 vehicles ranking on the safest list.  Honda had a vehicle ranked in every category, from SUV, to sedan, etc.  Overall, 72 vehicles were listed as safe vehicles, more than double the amount from 2008 and triple the amount from the 2007 model years.  Adrian Lund, the IIHS president, says that “the sheer number of this year’s winners indicates that automakers have made huge strides to improve crash protection.  The selected vehicles from this list were the best at protecting people in front, side, and rear crash tests.  Chrysler was the only company that did not receive any awards for safety. It is because several of their vehicles need to improve their head restraints. If this had happened, they would have received 5 awards.  If you go to this article on MSNBC.com, you will be able to see exactly which models won the awards. 

www.carsworld.northglow.com

At the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, the Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85 (shown above) was previewed. This is a two-seat sports car limited edition of the road version of the GT2 Lemans car.   

In addition to the Spyker, the LA auto show had the 2009 Nissan Cube which attracted a lot of attention. This car is a hit in Japan.  The Cube’s design was inspired by the iPod, and is supposed to look like one.  This is the first time this car will be sold in the United States. 

www.nytimes.com

Another exciting concept vehicle that was introduced was the Honda FC Sport (shown above) fuel-cell vehicle.  In the Honda FC Sport, the driver is positioned in the center of the vehicle.  A fuel cell stack is behind the rear seats, an electric motor sits just ahead of the rear axle, and a battery pack sits low in the center of the vehicle.  You can see the two fuel storage tanks in the rear windows.  It’s a bizarre looking car, but attracting some attention nevertheless. 

Also making its debut at the auto show was the 2010 Ford Mustang.  So, even though it was said that there was a black cloud over the opening of this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, if you went there seemed to be a lot to see.           

A few things happened for the Honda Motor Company this past week…some good and some not so good.  Honda dedicated its first Indiana car assembly plant this past Monday.  That’s really good news. The more cars made in America, the better off for our economy. Then the bad news hit when Honda announced that it would be cutting its North American production by an additional 18,000 vehicles.  These cuts by Honda aer on top of others that were announced earlier this year and this brings the automaker’s total cuts since August to 50,000 units.  Ed Miller, the spokesman for Honda, said that 12,000 of the cuts will be made at a plant in Alabama and 6,000 cuts will be made in Ohio. 

So, unfortunately with the good of Honda’s new assembly plant, there was some bad, but let’s just focus on the positive!

I know that the football season is coming to an end, but the good news is after you read this blog, you can go right out and get the best vehicle for your tailgating parties next season!  So, here are the best vehicles for those tailgating parties and several are fuel-efficient as well, according to forbesautos.com.

Cadillac Escalade Hybrid                                                             

Ford Escape Hybrid                                                                    

Volkswagen  Jetta TDI                                                              

Scion xB

Mini Cooper Clubman

Ford Flex - the third row seats tip back so you can sit facing rearward, and tailgate away!  You can also opt to buy a refrigerator that can hold 7 12-ounce cans or 4 half-liter bottles.

Chyrsler Town & Country - you can get the model that has the second row seats that swivel and a table that can be set up in the middle of the second and third row…..”mobile picnic area.”

Dodge Journey - this crossover vehicle has power outlets for portable electronic devices or appliances, and this is more environmental than having to bring a generator as well.  This vehicle also has, under the rear seats, a removable, water-tight storage bin that can be used as a drink cooler.

Honda Element - a removable rear floor panel can be used as a picnic table, and the front and back seats fold flat to make a bed….just in case someone gets very tired at the tailgate party!

Dodge Ram - this vehicle has compartments built into the sides of the cargo bed that can be used as coolers.

Honda Ridgeline - this truck has a large compartment under the cargo bed.

So, here are the best tailgating vehicles, according to forbesautos, now you just need to decide which one suits your tailgating needs, and buy it for the rest of this season or next year for sure!

At the start of the Los Angeles Auto Show, Fordwill be unveiling a vehicle that will be getting a little buzz….the new Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids.  These are the first American company to build a true hybrid car.  The Fusion and Milan should get about 38 mpg in the city, which is about 5 mpg better than the Toyota Camry hybrid.  Ford has about 200 pending patents on these new hybrids that it developed. People have been saying that Ford just borrowed or revamped systems from Toyota, but it’s not true.  ”It’s true red, white, and blue American ingenuity” according to Scott Burgess of detnews.com. 

So, hopefully people will be interested in the Fusion and Milan and check them out. There is a problem though. Due to ”production constraints,” there will only be 25,000 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids built yearly.  This could end up being very frustrated to customers that have an interest in buying these cars. Hopefully if they become popular, Ford will be able to find a way to build more of these hybrids. Either way, having two true hybrids built by an American company is very exciting news….   

Hyundai is introducing a new luxury vehicle, the Genesis, that will be targeted to “confident conformists” according to an article called “Hyundai Tries for Spot in Slumping Luxury Market” by Tom Krisher of the Associated Press.  Hyundai knows that this is a tough time to introduce a new car, but they are trying to compete with BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes.  According to Hyundai, the price of the V6 Genesis is $32,250 for the base, and the V8 is $37,250, which is about $10,000 less than the others.  The problem is that the Hyundai just doesn’t have the same prestige that their competitors have, which will probably hurt them. When push comes to shove, people will probably go with the more prestigious automakers and pay the higher price.     

www.carpages.co.uk

The new Volvo XC60 is considered by Volvo to be “the safest Volvo ever built.”  An article entitled “Volvo banks sales on safety” by Richard Williamson of the Scripps Howard News Service talks about how Volvo’s future may be riding on the Volvo XC60.  The prices have yet to be set for this new vehicle, but it looks like it will be retailing around $38,000. 

The Volvo XC60 will be considered a small premium utility. There are 10 models in this class to currently choose from such as the Land Rover LR2, Infiniti EX35, Cadillac SRX, Cadillac BRX, BMW X3, and the Acura RDX.

The Volvo XC60 says that it has a safety advantage due to its new City Safety system designed to help the driver avoid or minimize the most common types of fender benders.  If the car is about to hit a vehicle in front and the driver does not apply the brakes, the car automatically applies the brakes. 

This car has a good deal of room in it. It seats five with its luggage capacity at 16.9 cubic feet.  The rear seat of the XC60 is a three-piece 40/20/40 split/fold unit. Each part folds down to have a flat luggage platform.  Also, there is a new “laminated glass panorama roof that adds light and openness” to this vehicle.  The Volvo XC60 has a lot of standard features and a 3-liter, turbocharged, 281-horsepower 6-cylinder engine.  It also has 17-inch alloy wheels. 

The Volvo XC60 seems like it will be a safe, strong vehicle.  According to Williamson, if the “economy should rebound, look for a good reception for the XC60.”  We shall see.