About three weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the best cars according to Consumer Reports.  Well, I have some different top 2009 picks from Jeff Voth who writes for CarNews media.  It’s interesting how diverse opinions can be. I went back to the blog from a couple of weeks ago and in most categories even the alternatives are not the same as the what the Consumer Reports recommended.  I guess you can take each group’s opinion as you wish. I’ll just give you the information from Voth.

Top Compact Coupe/Sedan - Honda Civic Sedan - Alternatives: Ford Focus, Mazda3, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, and Nissan Altima Coupe

Top Midsize SUV - Ford Escape Hybrid - Alternatives: Jeep Patriot, Land Rover LR2, Dodge Journey AWD

Top Midsize Sedan - Hyundai Sonata - Alternatives: Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Ford Fusion

Top Luxury Sports Sedan - Infiniti G37 Sedan (Consumer Reports recommended as well) -

Alternatives: Acura TL, Audi A4, BMW 3-Series, Hyundai Genesis, Cadillac CTS

Top Affordable Convertible - Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder - Alternatives: Ford Mustang, Mazda MX-5, Pontiac Solstice

Some nice choices for you guys. I lean alittle more towards listening to the recommended choices of Consumer Reports, but it’s up to you. 

As much as you might not believe, there are still automakers that are making profits this day and age.  According to Forbes.com, there are actually 15 cars that American are still buying - meaning there are 15 models that are holding steady or up in sales over the last year.  That’s the good news, but the bad news is that of the 15, only two models are American cars.  Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche each have multiple models that are up in sales. The American cars are the Saturn Astra (sales up 30.3%) and the Mercury Sable (sales up 35.5%.) 

So, here are the top 5 cars that Americans are still buying:

1.  Audi A5/S5 Coupe - $40,700 sales increase 28.6%

2.  BMW M3 Convertible - $66,500 sales up 999.9% Feb. 2008 sales - 1 Feb. 2009 sales - 240 - this is rather interesting!

3.  Hyundai Accent - $9,970 sales up 30.0%

4.  Hyundai Elantra - $14,120 sales up 33.0%

5.  Kia Amanti - $26,045 sales up 639.1% Feb. 2008 sales - 184 Feb. 2009 sales - 1360 - This is an interesting stat as well! 

So, here is the list of the top five cars. Not one of these cars are ones that I would have said were top sellers, so I guess that shows what I know! 

www.topspeed.com

I know you have all been wondering about Barbie’s new car, so here it is!  Detnews.com had an article about Barbie’s newest vehicle. To no one’s surprise, it’s pink…like bubble gum pink!  VW created this special edition Beetle for the 50th anniversary of Barbie.  This car has white leather interior, hand-stitched floor mats, and pink-quilted leather-lined door pockets and arm rests.  It took more than five shades of pink mixed to get the PERFECT Barbie pink color!  There’s more if you can believe it….a motorized vanity in the trunk and there’s rhinestone accents throughout the car.  I’m sorry folks….the bad news is that this beautiful Beetle is not for sale. Sorry. 

Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press wrote an article about Fiat and their new fuel system called Multiair.  This new fuel system developed by Fiat was unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show last week.  The Multiair is said to be able to reduce fuel consumption by as much as 25%.  The Multiair will be available in all of Fiat’s current and future partners, hopefully including Chrysler, if that works out. 

The first Multiair engine will be in the Alfa Romeo MiTo sporty compact car that will be sold in Europe this year.  Alfa Romeo hopes to sell the MiTo in the United States sometime soon. 

Here’s how Fiat’s Multiair engine works.  The system uses “electronic controls and hydraulics to vary an egine’s valve timing over a wider range than the mechanical systems automakers use today” according to Phelan.  Many automakers have been turning to variable-valve timing in recent years to improve fuel economy.  The Multiair reduces an engine’s fuel consumption by 10%, but it has a lot of power, so automakers will be able to replace big engine with smaller ones that could lead to 25% less fuel consumption.  The exhaust emissions are also reduced by 40-60% according to Fiat.  The Multiair system can be used on both gasoline and diesel engines. 

It’s only a matter of time before more and more companies will be producing engines that reduce fuel consumption and are environmentally better.  It’s a must in the world today, and companies like Fiat know it.        

I found an article from The Associated Press about the Geneva Auto Show that is currently going on right now has a business called Rinspeedthat specializes in customizing cars.  What’s interesting is the story behind the Rinspeed company.   Frank M. Rinderknecht, the owner of Rinspeed, was 18 years old and just wanted a car that nobody else had, so he fixed one up himself.  Then, in 1975, he came to America, bought a sunroof, that was a novelty at the time in Switzerland, and installed it into his car. People thought he was nuts cutting a hole in the roof of his car!  Thirty-five years later, Rinspeed is making more outlandish concept cars as the years go on. 

In 2007, Rinspeed introduced the eXasis, which is a ”glass” car with a completely transparent body and floor.  In 2008, Rinspeed introduced the sQuba, which could swim under water.  Crazy cars!  This year at the Geneva Auto Show, they are showing off their newest concept called iChange.  To me, this is by far the most unique car that Rinspeed has created. This futuristic sports car adapts to the number of people that are on board.  Also, many of the features of the car can be controlled by using an Apple iPod, such as the moonroof, ignition, and the onboard entertainment system.  These concept cars are not cheap to make.  Rinspeed spent about 1 million euro ($1,265,000) to build the iChange.  Rinderknecht says that this is his advertising expense to show off Rinspeed’s designing skills.  I guess creating a new outlandish concept car each year is a beneficial way to advertise.  So, if you are looking to buy a car that no one else has, go no further than the Rinspeed.      

If many of you are like me, you have never heard of the Murray’s/O’Reilly’s Autorama that will be hitting Detroit this weekend.  It’s a auto show, but a different kind of one. The Autorama is a hot rod show.  The most popular auto show, the North American International Auto Show, was held in Detroit in January, but anyone that is involved with the Autorama is excited and ready for this auto show starting tomorrow. 

What’s different about this show that is expected to have about 100,000 attend, is that there will be cars that no one has ever seen before.  The cars are customized by the owners. Unique, crazy, bizarre, that’s what will be expected this weekend.  There will be fancy cars, and then there will be dumps that have been customized and supped up.  It should be fun, that’s for sure. You will definitely see cars that you will talk about afterwards.  There is a prize for the best vehicle to be shown for the first time at the Autorama.  The winner will get $10,000 and a new GM Performance Parts engine. 

There will be some ”famous” vehicles at the Autorama this weekend as well.  For instance, the Mach 5, which was the car in the movie “Speed Racer.”  Also, the 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, which played the role of KITT on the television show, Knight Rider, will also be there.   

So, if you are going to be in the Detroit area this weekend, go and check out the Autorama.  The admission is only $18 for adults and $5.00 for children.  It sounds like it will be worth the money for some good fun!

Well, U.S. News & World Report came out with an article telling what the worst vehicles in each category are.  This list of worst vehicles was compiled from U.S. News car rankings from different automobile press and then they weighed the rankings of the value of the cars.  The value was made up of how much the vehicle cost up front, how much the gas and maintenance will be, and the vehicle’s depreciation after 5 years.  So, here is the list of cars to be careful of and then some alternatives in each category as well.  If you want the full details of each “worst car,” check out the article.

Worst Cars for Money:

Compact Car - Pontiac G5 - A better alternative Honda Fit or Hyundai Elantra

Compact Crossover - Suzuki XL7 - A better alternative Mazda5 or Ford Escape Hybrid

Full-Size SUV -  Jeep Commander - A better alternative Chevrolet Tahoe or Mazda CX-9

Full-Size Pickup - Nissan Titan - A better alternative Ford F-150 or Chevrolet Silverado

Upscale Car - Volvo S60 - A better alternative Infiniti G37 or Lexus ES

Sports Car - Mitsubishi Eclipse - A better alternative Mazda MX-5 Miata or Nissan 370Z

So, take this information or leave it, but I think I’d be taking it and not buying one of these vehicles.

www.boxstr.com

The new 2010 Toyota Prius that hits the dealers in April will have the best gas mileage of any retail vehicle available in the U.S., according to Toyota Motor Corp.  The new Toyota Prius will get 49 miles per gallon on the highway and 50 mpg in the city.  The new Prius has a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine as well as an electric motor.  When the car is driving at slower speeds, the electric power is used to run the vehicle, and when the speeds are faster than the gasoline engine and electric motor are used to power the car.  On this new sedan, there are solar panels on the roof that power a system to cool the car’s interior when it is parked in the sun.

Toyota Prius’ main competition is the new Honda Insight.  It will a little smaller and less expensive than the Prius.  I think there are enough hybrid customers out there these days for both hybrids, but my pick would be the new Toyota Prius.

Nissan has decided to not attend many of the auto shows in the next year to try to save money.  The Detroit Auto Show is the biggest auto show that Nissan has opted out of for next year.  They did not attend the Chicago Auto Show last month and will not be going to the Los Angeles show in November. 

The chairs of the Detroit Auto Show are not overly concerned that other automakers will follow suit and start dropping out of their show. The Geneva Motor Show starts this week and Doug Fox, the co-chair of the Detroit Auto Show will be there to meet with other automakers this week to discuss auto show plans, as well as other things.  Fox says that if others are planning on not attending the Detroit show next year, it will come out this week. Though he is pretty confident that this will not be the case. 

The only show that Nissan plans on attending is the New York City Auto Show  in April.  Hopefully, more automakers will not follow Nissan’s lead and start backing out of auto shows. That’s revenue for a great deal of people. We can’t afford more economic problems.