An annual survey was done by Consumer Reports shows that the Asian automakers (Japanese and Korean) are the top for reliability in vehicles. They took 8 out of the top 10 spots. That’s pretty impressive.  An interesting fact is that several Ford models are consistently scoring higher than Honda and Toyota.  The Consumer Reports stated that “Ford is now making some vehicles that have world-class reliability due to the fact that the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan have been at the top of their class for a couple of years now.  That means that the Fusion and Milan are considered more reliable than the Accord and Camry, which are known for trust and reliability. 

Good news for Ford…..not such good news for Chrysler.  Chrysler had only one model that was recommended by Consumer Reports for their reliability and they came in last out of the 33 brands that are sold in the U.S. Not so good, Chrysler.  For GM, 21 of 48 models scored average or better for reliability. Not so good for GM either. 

The survey also found that higher-priced cars are not necessarily more reliable and that less-expensive small cars and midsize family sedans were the most reliable.  Also, the Honda Insight hybrid was found in the survey to be the most reliable vehicle and the Volkswagen Touareg was the least reliable. 

The number 1 brand for reliability….drum roll please…..Scion by Toyota.  This is the second year in a row for them to get this honor as the top brand!  Good for them, but somewhat surprising for me. I guess because the Scions don’t appeal to me, I would never consider even looking into them and checking out the details of these vehicles. Maybe I’m dumb and I should be!

The sad reality in the auto industry these days is that people aren’t brand loyal anymore, according to Bill Vlasic of the New York Times News Service.  Back in the 1980s, dealers didn’t have to do much at all to get customers to trade in their Ford for a Ford or their Toyota for a Toyota.  About 4 out of every 5 Americans were repeat buyers in the 1980s.  And furthermore, the “allegiance often continued through generations of families.”  Well, not anymore. Partly because the consumers have become more fickle in their tastes and also because of everything that has gone on in Detroit, there is no brand loyalty anymore.  Sad but true.  Only about 20%  of consumers this year have stayed with the same brand when they purchased new vehicles, according to a study done by the Oregon-based firm CNW Marketing Research. 

Just five years ago, Chevrolet and Ford were the top 2 brands in the U.S. market each with more than 16% of the market share.  Chrysler had 3 brands, Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep, in the top 10.  Not anymore.  Toyota sits atop these days with 14% of the market share.  Then Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, and Nissan.  Chrysler is no longer in the top 10 and has been replaced by Hyundai and Kia.

The reality is that people trust many brands and improvements in the vehicles have made people willing to give up their brands to try something new and exciting for now…until the next vehicle comes out with new technology and exciting features to try out.  Oh well, maybe someday we will be more loyal again. In the meantime on the flip side, it keep the automotive companies thinking and trying to be more innovative in their new models.  Right?

So I was looking at some different websites looking for a topic to write about and I came across topspeed.com, which had a category called Strange Cars.  I thought I’d give you some information on a few of the strangest cars in my opinion.

http://www.topspeed.com

This is the NMG2 made by Myers Motors.  So, this strange car has three wheels and three headlights, in case you missed it.  It is an all-electric vehicle, so props to them for that, with top speed of 75 mph and a 60-mile range.  The NMG2 runs on lithium-ion batteries and Myers Motors is hinting that possibly there will be a new model coming out that will have a 100-mile range.  This car will be available to buy at the end of 2010 and cost alittle under $30,000.  Not bad, but still quite strange looking.

   www.metro.co.uk

The Ferrari Citroen hybrid is a bizarre looking car for sure, but the dynamics behind it are even crazier.  This car is a Citroen 2CV that was put on top of a Ferrari F355.  What a waste of a Ferrari!  It has a V8 engine, but still. Ugly!

www.topspeed.com

Alright, you would think that this is a joke and doesn’t belong in my strange cars blog, but I had to include it. You can’t get much stranger than this? 

I just read this interesting and different automotive article that I thought I would share with you guys.  Did you know that what you drive may let us know what kind of person you are?  I’m not sure that I totally buy this story, but it’s fun nonetheless!  So, forbesautos.com wrote an article what it means if you own a certain car. I thought I’d give you a brief synopsis of each car.  This information was found from a survey done by the San Diego-based market research company called Strategic Vision during a New Vehicle Experience Survey.  So, here’s some info. See if it fits you and what you drive.

Bentley- wealth - bank accounts of at least $5 million in investable assets. Yes, Bentley screams wealth but in a softer way than its competitors, they say.

Buick - old folks - 2/3 of the owners are over 55 and have an average household income of $75,000. The richer, older folks.

Chevrolet - Chevy owners have reputation of being behind in times.  13% of Chevy owners have never used the web, and 35% have a college education or higher.       

Ford- same as Chevy.  12% have never used internet and 45% have a college education or higher.  Ford introduced the Ford Sync to try to draw in younger owners.

Honda- usually pragmatic and well educated - 70% having college education or higher.  Honda owners are more tech-savvy with only 3% not using the internet. Honda owners buy for trust and dependability they find in car.

Lexus - wealthy and well educated with highest rating of 71% college education or higher.  Most Lexus owners are settled down.

Mini Cooper - sophisticated and wealthy with average income around $125,000.  Owners of Mini Cooper fall into four categories - “brand enthusiasts, design aficionados, social butterflies, and gas misers.” 

Scion - median age is 37, lots of first-time buyers. 

Toyota-  family brand. 1 in 4 Toyotas belong to someone with children under 18.  Median age is 55, 70% are married.  60% have college educations. 

Rolls-Royce - extreme wealth that share a “passion for life” according to a Rolls-Royce spokesperson.  Base price of these cars are $435,000…chunk change.

So, there you have it. Is it right???

So, I wrote a couple of weeks ago about how silver is still the favorite car color out there. Well, I found some more information about car colors that make this topic even more interesting (at least I think so!)  So, these are the top markets for the specific car colors according to USA Today and Ford. 

Black: New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Miami; Detroit - No Surprise to me.

Blue: Philadelphia; Washington; Boston; Seattle; Detroit - Still not surprised.

Brown: Boston; Minneapolis; Phoenix; Chicago; Pittsburgh - Holy Cow! I didn’t know anyone liked brown and especially big cities!!

Gold: Orlando; Miami; Pittsburgh; Denver; Washington

Gray:New York; Boston; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Pittsburgh - I found gray to be such a blah, ugly color.

Green: Boston; Seattle; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Washington - I rarely see a green vehicle in my neighborhood, but these big cities must see them alot.  Interesting.

Red: Cincinnati; Minneapolis; Detroit; Kansas City; Pittsburgh

Silver: San Francisco; Phoenix; Los Angeles; Charlotte; Washington

White:Phoenix; Memphis; Los Angeles; Denver; Dallas - Sunny cities! Not surprising.

So, there you have it. Car colors to matter depending on where you live. Interesting bit of information to share at work tomorrow!

So, Mike Hanley and Joe Wiesenfelder of cars.com have come up with what they call the “Worst Cars of the 2000s.”  Of course this is just their opinions, but I think I agree with them on most of the worst cars.  How you become the worst car could be because it was “poorly executed, ill-conceived, or downright dreadful to look at.” 

10.  Pontiac Aztek - ugly is all I have to say

9.  Daewoo - didn’t matter which model, the crash tests stunk, the cars were ugly, and the makes of them had a lot to be determined as well.

8.  Isuzu VehiCROSS - It was an expensive 2-door SUV, that was ugly, not a lot of interior room, and not a good drive either.

7.  Jaguar X-Type - it was poorly made, too small, not very sporty sedan that Ford (who bought Jaguar) tried to cut corners to make a cheaper car and it didn’t work out for them. 

6.  Pontiac Sunfire - bad crash test ratings, not a good engine were just a couple of its problems.

5.  Cadillac Catera - came out of the gate poorly and wasn’t able to recover even with upgrades and many discounts.

4.  Toyota Echo - Hanley and Wiesenfelder feel that the Echo was ahead of its time. When it was made in 2000-2005, high seating position and center-mounted instrument panels were new and not received well by customers, though people love them today. Oh well for Toyota.

3.  Jeep Compass - The brand Jeep is known for its good off-roading and the Compass does not fit into this category. Not a worthwhile Jeep vehicle.

2.  Chrysler Sebring - This car is still around today and still selling, but the guys think that this car has never had a chance to be competitive against midsize sedans, because it has uncomfortable front seats, poor interior quality and the style doesn’t have much to offer either.

AND the worst car of the 2000s is………

1.  Smart ForTwo - there isn’t a lot of passenger room, it has a tendency to roll over as a SUV does, and it has a manual transmission.  Not so good.

So, I agree with these guys on the top 10 worst vehicles of the 2000s.  Sad to say, but quite true, though I probably could have gone on and on with other vehicles that could have topped the list as the worst.  For every good, quality vehicle that has been sold in the 2000s, there have been at least 2 that have sunk.  Part of the auto industry.

There is a guy named Ron Amadon that writes an article called Financially Fit-A Guide to Saving Smart and Living Well.  A recent article he wrote was the 5 best low-cost, high mileage cars out there in his opinion. Amadon says that he constantly hears the question: “What car would you buy that is well made, gets good gas mileage, and doesn’t cost much?”  So here is Amadon’s top 5 cars with these criteria. 

1.  Volkswagen Jetta Diesel - base price $23,169 and gas mileage between 30 and 41 mpg.

2.  Toyota Prius- the Prius has been updated substantially for 2010, especially on the inside that in my opinion desperately needed it.  The gas mileage is fantastic - 51 mpg in the city and 48on the highway.  The Prius starts at $21,000.

3.  Ford Escape Hybrid - Base price is $20,515 but you definitely will probably spend close to $30,000 at least once you get a few options.  The gas mileage is 31 mpg on the highway and 34 in the city.

4.  Kia Soul - The Soul is cheap!  The base price is just under $14,000. The gas mileage is 24 city and 30 on the highway.  It was named the top-safety pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and there is a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty.  Sounds pretty good to me. 

Rounding out the top 5:

5.  Honda Insight- The Insight gets 40 mpg in the city and 43 on the highway.  Amadon tested the top-of-the-line EX with a navigation system and is was only $23,770!  Base price is $19,800.  A sister/brother of the Insight is the Honda Fit, which starts at $14,900.

I am a big fan of the bigger cars. I don’t know if I will EVER be interested in these smaller vehicles.  I know that the gas mileage and price are good, but I can’t really get past the look. I just don’t like the look.  Maybe they will grow on me, who knows.

So, silver is still the world’s favorite car color for the 9th straight year.  White is second, black third, and red a distant fourth. 25% of all US vehicles are silver, 35% in Europe, and 34% in Asia-Pacific region.  Geez, this really surprises me. I would have thought that black would be number 1.  I guess what do I knows?

Car sales fell sharply in September after a nice summer for sales and Cash for Clunkers. Sales fell 41% from August. Yikes!  GM and Chrysler were the biggest losers. 

Chevrolet will be announcing a new rear-drive police car on Monday that may resemble the Pontiac G8.

It’s been a sad week for Saturn.  They announced this week that due to the following out with Penske, who was to buy Saturn from GM, the Saturn brand will be done with the last models coming out in 2011.  It’s really too bad. You hate to see a automaker go down like this, but it’s definitely been on the chopping block for awhile.  They have worked very hard to try to market themselves for others to buy, but it just couldn’t happen. Saturn is known for its’ terrific customer service, but mediocre cars.  My neighbors own 2 Saturns and LOVE them.  They think that the service is fabulous and their cars have well over 100,000 miles on them and no major problems.  Saturn is also known for no haggling salespeople.  There isn’t a lot of negotiating and offers, the price they give you is the price you get. That can be good and bad. Good if the price is right for you, but not so good if you are looking for better and know they can probably do that for you.  I guess there is always 2 sides.  I’m just sad to see Saturn and its 350 dealerships and approximately 13,000 employees be out of work.  Who knows, I guess a lot can happen between now and 2011, but it sure doesn’t look good for Saturn.   

Crossovers are the fastest growing segment of the auto industry.  Do you have one?  It seems that everyone is getting one these days. I do not have one, but I think I’m a minority.  So, if you are in the minority like me, here is the dirt on the crossovers.  They are built like a car (unlike SUVs that are built on truck frames,) use less gas than an SUV, and have more storage space than a traditional sedan.  So there you have it. Everyone loves them (so I hear!)  I have several friends with crossovers, and they really do seem to love them.  They are stylish too, and people want room in their vehicles as well as style. The crossover offers you both.  The price tag is nice too. The crossovers start around $20,000 compared to $30,000 for SUVs.  So, go and check out the crossovers.  They’re sales are doing well, such as the Ford Escape whose sales rose more than 49% in August from last year. So, here are the top-selling crossovers out there for you to choose from right now.

1.  Honda CR-V - $21,245-$27,245 

2.  Ford Escape - $20,550-$27,055  

3.  Toyota RAV4 - $21,500-$27,810

4.  Chevrolet Equinox - $22,440-$29,795

5.  Subaru Forester - $20,295-$28,495

If you want to see the other top 10 best sellers, go to autos.aol.com.  Go and check out the crossovers. Don’t be a minority like me!