Who Is On Top? U.S.News & World Report Releases 2008 Car Rankings

I'm sorry to say the Honda Accord is the ugliest car on the road if you look at it from behind and it's sitting in the lane over :(

And where's the Pontiac Solstice or the Saturn Sky?

I was going to say....the 5 series isn't the first car that comes to mind for that category.

I'm sure they are, but when I think of a "luxury car", BMW is definitely not the first thing that comes to mind. I was thinking Mercedes S Class.

If I were to shell out for a 5 series, it'd be the 550i all the way. There's something about paying $50k+ for a 6 cylinder(unless it's a "true" sportscar), that just doesn't sit right with me.

sry but the r-class and 7 series wins the most ugliest cars around.

the mazdaspeed mx is something i'd yearn for.

Wow, that's a really good list. Hard for anyone to disagree with it.

Agreed, good list indeed.

What 90% of the people on this site dont get is that a car like the Lexus RX, while not a drivers car, gives the majority buyer in this segment exactly what they want. That's what makes it a 'winner'.

So deboost all you want.

C'mon EL34, the Accord is just like your wife... she maybe be ugly but it's the goodness of what inside that counts...LMAO!!!

I think you mean "life mate"...

Accord's rear is little ugly but rest of the car is very good.Very stylish

JUGNU

That's a very good list. The Accord looks extremely upscale. I think it has to do with the side surfacing, but I'm not sure. It just has something that the others don't.

The only cars I would change? Honda Pilot and Lexus RX350. Both are long in the tooth, and competition has caught up with and/or surpassed both of them. My picks? Toyota Highlander and BMW X5.

As usual, everyone discusses their favorites without questioning the methodology used in the analysis. Just because US News weights certain factors higher than others doesn't mean you or i have to follow suit.

The biggest flaw in just reading the above summary is that it fails to indicate that whenever US News didn't have a particular bit of data, it simply calculates a score and glosses over the fact that, for example, the #5 Affordable Small Car (Mazda 3) scores only an 8.2 because US News gathered no reliability data for that model. This pushes it below the Scion tC, which is an obomination of justice.


For those who care to read the whole story, here is the US New methodology according to their http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com site:

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How We Rank Cars:

Please note: On 11/27 we updated our ratings to correct inaccurate reliability scores that appeared for some cars shortly after Thanksgiving.

Our car rankings are based on hard data and analysis.

We combine two types of information: published reviews from respected automotive critics and hard data from a variety of independent sources. We do not rely on a single source of data or on our own tests or preferences.

We essentially "review the reviewers" to come up with a consensus score representing what professional critics think of a car. We then add information of particular interest to consumers, such as safety and reliability data, that isn't part of the critics' reviews.

We combine those scores in a formula that is based on what consumers say matters to them most in a car (what's important to you, not what's important to us). The result is an overall score for each car, which allows us to make head-to-head comparisons of cars, ranking them against each other.

In some instances, the overall score is higher or lower than the component scores we display. This is because in our calculation of the overall score, we also take into account each author's level of recommendation or overall impression about the car. Occasionally, a car really is more (or less) than the sum of its parts.

* REVIEW OF REVIEWS. First, our researchers use proprietary software to locate the most credible car reviews available--often several dozen or more. Our analysts then carefully read the reviews and, using consistent guidelines, translate each author's written opinions into numerical scores for different aspects of the car, such as performance, handling, and styling.
* CONSUMER DATA. To complement the reviews, we pull in data such as crash-test ratings from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and other freely available but hard-to-digest data.
* WEIGHTED SCORES. Both sets of scores are then combined and weighted based on several factors, including the results of a national consumer survey asking which qualities buyers most value in a car. The result

.... continued:

* WEIGHTED SCORES. Both sets of scores are then combined and weighted based on several factors, including the results of a national consumer survey asking which qualities buyers most value in a car. The result is an overall 0-to-10 score for the car.
* HEAD-TO-HEAD RANKING. Once the car has an overall score, we rank it against other cars in its class.
* CATEGORY SCORES. We also score each car on specific attributes: performance, exterior, interior, safety, and reliability.
* REGULAR UPDATES. Because products are continually updated and reviews keep coming in, we periodically update our scores and rankings to make them the most current measures available.
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In short, US News normalizes and averages other publications' reviews and multiplies by their own corrective factors. So theoretically styling shouldn't be a big influencer on scoring.

Go to the website to see all the scores and runner-ups. You will see that the "winners" highlighted above on this site aren't the only good choices.

Chevrolet, Honda, Lexus, Mazda and Volkswagen.