American Top Picks 2008

Mar 5, 2008 12:00 PM

It’s time again for the annual American Top Picks list. While we don’t consider country of origin as a factor in our Ratings for our primary Top Picks list, the piles of mail (snail and e-mail) we get leave us no doubt that many people factor “buying American” into their decision. So, for those folks, this list looks at what domestic-branded cars are the best choices out there.

It would be a relatively simple matter to compile this list if Top Picks were merely the highest-scoring car in each group. But to be a Top Pick, a car has to have performed well in our testing, be relatively trouble-free to own, and safe, too. Here are the other criteria to determining a Top Pick:

We need to have reliability data for the car, and that data must show at least average or better reliability.

Stability control must be readily available.

If crash tested, the results have to be decent.

These criteria wind up knocking some very good cars—particularly some recent GM products—out of contention from our American Top Picks list. To illustrate, here’s the list of the top-rated domestic-branded car in each class next to the one that meets all of the criteria:

Category

Top-scoring American car

American Top Pick

Small sedan	None recommended	None
Family sedan	Chevrolet Malibu LTZ V6	Ford Taurus
Upscale sedan	Cadillac CTS	Buick Lucerne CXS
Luxury sedan	Cadillac STS	Cadillac STS
Small SUV	Saturn Vue XR	None
Midsized SUV	Saturn Outlook XR GMC Acadia SLT2 Ford Taurus X	Saturn Outlook XR GMC Acadia SLT2 Ford Taurus X
Minivan	Chrysler Town and Country	None
Pickup truck	Chevrolet Avalanche	Chevrolet Silverado
Fun to drive	Chevrolet Corvette Z06	None
Green car	None tested	None

Let’s look at each class in detail, except luxury sedan, which doesn’t need further explanation:

Small sedan: Not many choices here. Although the Ford Focus has scored quite well in the past (it was a Top Pick as late as 2005), we haven’t tested the freshened 2008 model. The underwhelming Chevrolet Cobalt scores too low to be recommended.

Family sedan: The new Malibu is a very impressive car, but we don’t have reliability data on this redesign. (Data on other vehicles on its Epsilon platform ranges from below-average to above-average reliability.) The fun-to-drive Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan lacks ESC, so it’s out of the running—hence the Taurus.

Upscale sedan: The CTS is a very impressive car, but we don’t have reliability data yet for this version. The Lincoln MKZ lacks ESC. That takes us to the Buick Lucerne CXS V8.

Small SUV: The Saturn Vue XR isn’t a stand-out, but it does score the highest of any tested small domestic-branded SUV. However, we don’t have reliability data on the new Vue. Beyond that, no small domestic SUV—Chevrolet Equinox/Pontiac Torrent, Jeep Compass/Patriot, Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner—scores high enough to be recommended.

Midsized SUV: There isn’t a lack of good recommended vehicles in this category; it’s a matter of picking, literally, which one fits. The Outlook/Acadia straddle the midsized and large category. The Taurus X is also accommodating inside.

Minivan: There’s only really one game in the domestic town: the Chrysler Town and Country/Dodge Caravan. (The outdated Chevrolet Uplander goes away next year.) While the Chrysler minivans used to score near the top of their class, this redesign is mediocre. We don’t have reliability data for the redesign.

Pickup truck: The Avalanche outscores all pickups in our Ratings, including the Toyota Tundra. But it hasn’t been reliable. Unlike the Tundra, first year reliability of the Silverado has been average, so it made our Top Picks list.

Fun to drive: The Corvette Z06 is an awesome car, but Corvette reliability is well-below average. The CTS could also qualify here, but again, no reliability data. Going down the list, the Mustang GT lacks ESC; we don’t have reliability data on the Dodge Viper; and the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky have subpar reliability. The Dodge Charger R/T V8 is reliable and fast, but its overly light steering feel keeps it from being truly fun to drive.

Green car: Not many domestics qualify here. We haven’t tested the latest Ford Escape Hybrid, but since it lacks ESC, it wouldn’t qualify for the list anyhow. We also haven’t tested latecomers to the hybrid market like the Saturn Aura Greenline, the redesigned Saturn Vue Greenline, or the Chevrolet Malibu hybrid. GM’s “light-hybrid” system does improve mileage, but it’s not on par with full-hybrid systems found on the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid. Next year brings full-hybrid versions of the Vue and Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan.

To sum up:

Some recent GM models are extremely impressive, and they would make fine choices—if reliability works out.

Ford needs to get ESC on their mainstream family cars. (We’re told 2009 should bring increased ESC availability.)

Chrysler and Ford really aren’t competitive in the upscale and luxury sedan segments—especially against a resurgent Cadillac.

The domestics are lagging behind in the small sedan and minivan segments, fields where they used to be more competitive.

While the domestics are starting to roll out more hybrid sedans and SUVs, they still lack a high-mileage small “green” car.

See our true list of overall Top Picks for 2008. See the Top Picks videos.

—Tom Mutchler