U.S. News and World Report Ranks 2008 Car Models

New Car Hits

GM shows the greatest improvement from the 2007 to 2008 car rankings with several new or redesigned vehicles ranking near the top of their classes. The redesigned Chevy Malibu, all-new Buick Enclave, and redesigned Cadillac CTS (winner of Motor Trend Car of the Year) fare well in the rankings.


Experts laud the Malibu (ranked #6 out of 25 midsize cars) for its driving dynamics, exterior styling and affordability. The new CTS (ranked #4 out of 14 upscale cars) is praised as an American car that can finally compete with the BMW and Lexus nameplates. Finally, experts generally agree that Buick hit a home-run with its all-new Enclave (ranked #3 out of 23 midsize SUVs) based on classy styling and a superb ride. Joining the highly ranked Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and Chevy Silverado 1500, these new entrants help GM to achieve a good overall showing in the 2008 rankings.


The all-new Infiniti G37 and Mazda CX-9 also debut high in the rankings, as do the newly remodeled Honda Accord, BMW 5-Series, and Chrysler's minivan siblings the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan.


New Car Misses

Some new cars miss the mark. In the same class as the Accord, the all-new Dodge Avenger places last out of 25 cars. The all-new Nissan Rogue is also a less-than-stellar performer, placing in the bottom half of the compact SUV rankings. Surprisingly, the newly redesigned Toyota Highlander is a merely decent performer among midsize SUVs. The 2007 Highlander was ranked #1 in its class.

A complete listing of all the car, truck and SUV rankings and meta-reviews are available at http://www.RankingsAndReviews.com . As of December 13, 2007, the #1 ranked automobiles in the most popular categories are:

Economy Cars: Honda Fit
Midsize Cars: Honda Accord
Upscale Small Cars: Volkswagen GTI
Upscale Midsize Cars: BMW 3-Series
Luxury Cars: BMW 5-Series
Compact SUVs: Honda CR-V
Midsize SUVs: Honda Pilot
Large SUVs: Chevrolet Tahoe
Luxury Midsize SUVs: Lexus RX 350
Full Size Pickups: Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Affordable Sports Cars: Mazda MX-5, Honda S2000, Mazda Speed3 (tied)


My personal new cars for 2008 are the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and Buick Enclave and the Mazda CX-9, yours????


Jody DeVere
President
www.askpatty.com
www.carblabber.com

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