Quality, safety, and value are the top factors for new-car buyers and are certainly not lost on moms looking to buy the right family car. Hitting all these attributes in a vehicle that is also kid friendly can be a challenge, but our experts have found 25 of the best, least-expensive mom-friendly cars that are appealing to moms with children of varying ages.

The Consumer Reports Annual Autos Issue is a great resource for researching the best cars. Flip through the magazine or tour the website, and it is clear there are many great choices. However, just as there are many good cars available, there are also many that fail miserably. These vehicles fall way below our threshold to be recommended. Take a look at our disappointing dozen—the cars Consumer Reports has recently tested with the lowest test scores.

Buying a new car on a budget can be a challenge, and you should prepare for some compromises. The trick is getting the right balance of value and quality for your money, without accepting one or more significant sacrifices that you may later regret. The good news: Our recent tests show there are several great cars available for under $18,000.

While car brand reputation can be a strong influence on purchase decisions, such perceptions can be misleading. The reality is, every brand offers models that perform across a spectrum, with some are clearly better than others.

At our test track, we found an easy recipe for cooking up a homemade supercar without resorting to tuner-shop tweaks that could break the bank or void the warranty.

As the year winds to a close, it is natural to look back and recall the high points. But, it is also useful to remember the lows, including those cars that disappointed. Here, we commemorate the worst models in our ratings.

Japanese brands dominate the latest Consumer Reports' Car Reliability Survey, claiming the top seven spots in new-car reliability. At the other end of the spectrum, Ford now ranks second from the bottom, followed closely by Lincoln.

Scion has made a small addition to its product range with the iQ, a tiny two-door model sold as a Toyota elsewhere in the world as an urban runabout. The iQ's road-test score ranks the 120-inch hatchback as the second-lowest scoring car in our ratings.

Nearly identical to the Subaru BRZ sport coupe, the rear-drive Scion FR-S offers the same sporty handling and energetic acceleration. The suspension has slightly different tuning, giving it an ever-so-slightly more compliant ride. But other than that—and a different nose job and trim—the two cars are just about interchangeable.

Waking up to an automotive-related Father's Day gift this year would certainly be an improvement over last year (an ER visit with our eldest child!), and it would definitely be better than breakfast in bed or a garish tie. But choosing just one dream gift has proven difficult.

Consumer Reports takes its car testing very seriously. After all, we are the only media organization that buys all the cars that it tests, running each through a multi-week evaluation that yields an extremely detailed report for our subscribers. But we can't help having a little bit of fun. Which is exactly what we did with a borrowed 2013 Scion FR-S Toyota lent us for a few days. In fairness, it was more than a little.

Scion today announced pricing on its upcoming, rear-drive FR-S sports coupe. The car will sell for $24,930 with a six-speed manual transmission and $26,030 with a six-speed automatic, factoring destination charges. That makes the FR-S less expensive than its mechanical twin, the Subaru BRZ.

With the introduction of the iQ, Scion is offering fashion-conscious microcar buyers an alternative to the oh-so-three-years-ago Smart ForTwo.

Each year, the Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue featuring the latest ratings, rankings and expert insights garners significant attention. The focus invariable turns to Top Picks and the automaker report cards. Both special reports given a quick snapshot of how makes and models compare, informing car buyers, as well as auto industry trivia enthusiasts. While everyone loves a winner, what about those brands that just never made the Top Pick cut?

Our Annual Autos Issue presents a dizzying array of facts and figures, all aimed at helping car shoppers choose the right model for their needs and budget. While we rate the automakers and present numerous best and worst lists, we haven’t offered a simple guide to the best and worst models by brand. Until now.