Mandy: The Best American Cars of 2009

Consumer Reports leaves little to the imagination when in the April issue, the editors state emphatically, “The best vehicles are built by Honda, Subaru, and Toyota.” Yet, if you are feeling patriotic, you want to single-handedly save an entire domestic industry, you’re not worried about future service from a company that may no longer exist, or you want to do your part to try to save thousands of American jobs, you may ignore this and buy an American car. For you, CNN has parsed Consumer Reports’ ratings to find the highest ranked domestic vehicles.

Family sedan: Chevrolet Malibu at $21,605, 30/22 mpg
Small car: Ford Focus at $15,520, 35/24 mpg
Upscale sedan: Lincoln MKZ at $32,695, 28/18 mpg
Luxury sedan: Cadillac DTS at $46,280, 23/15 mpg
Small SUV: Ford Escape Hybrid at $29,645, 31/34 mpg
Mid-size SUV: Ford Taurus X at $28,270, 24/17 mpg
Pick-up: Chevrolet Avalanche at $35,460, 20/14 mpg
Green car: Ford Escape Hybrid at $29,645, 31/34 mpg

Consumer Reports admits, as they have been for the past few years, that the quality of American cars is increasing and that the fact that a car is produced by a Japanese company doesn’t automatically guarantee reliability.

The testers at Consumer Reports do not receive cars directly from factories as other publishers do. Rather than reviewing a superbly tuned and tested vehicle, designed specifically for those who write reviews at other publications, Consumer Reports publishers buy cars from dealers just like a typical consumer would. They visit the dealerships and buy the car directly without mentioning their association with Consumer Union. This ensures they’re seeing the same product the typical auto consumer would see.

Who makes the best cars?, Consumer Reports, April 2009.
Best American cars, CNN Money, March 9, 2009.

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