Daily Consumer Tips

JD Power And Associates Most Dependable cars For 2010

JD Power and Associates has released the Initial Quality Surveys for cars for 2010. The surveys are conducted by polling new car owners for quality problems during the first three months of car ownership. The brands with the least or zero quality problems are listed below:

2010 Top Cars according to the JD Power And Associates Initial Quality Surveys are:

Compact Car
1.Toyota Prius
2.Toyota Corolla
3.Pontiac Vibe

Compact Multi Activity Vehicle
1.Honda CR-V
2.Subaru Forester
3.Hyundai Tucson

Compact Premium Sporty Car
1.BMW Z4
2.Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class
3.Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class

Compact Sporty Car
1.Mazda MX-5 Miata
2.Saturn Sky
3.Pontiace Solstice Convertible

Entry Premium Vehicle
1.Lincoln MKZ
2.Acura TSX
3.Cadillac CTS

Large Car
1.Montego
2.Buick Lucerne
3.Ford Five Hundred

Large Multi Activity Vehicle
1.Toyota Sequoia
2.GMC Yukon
3.Ford Expedition

Large Pickup
1.Toyota Tundra
2.Ford F-150
3.Chevrolet Silverado

Large Premium Car
1.Cadillac DTS
2.Lexus LS 460
3.Lincoln Town Car

Large Premium Multi Activity Vehicle
1.Lincoln Mark LT
2..Lincoln Navigator
3.Cadillac Escalade EXT

Midsize Car
1.Buick LaCrosse
2.Mercury Milan
3.Honda Accord
       

Midsize Multi Activity Vehicle
1.Toyota Highlander
2.Toyota 4Runner
3.Ford Freestyle

Midsize Pickup
1.Honda Ridgeline
2.Dodge Dakota
3.Ford Ranger

Midsize Premium Car
1.Audi A6/S6
2.Lexus ES 350
3.Cadillac STS

Midsize Premium Multi Activity Vehicle
1.Lexus GX 470
2.Lexus RX
3.Infiniti FX-Series

Midsize Sporty
1.Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2.Toyota Solara
3.Ford Mustang

Minivan
1.Ford Freestar
2.Toyota Sienna
3.Buick Terraza (tie)
3.Chrysler Town & Country (tie)

Premium Sporty
1.Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
2.Porsche 911
3.BMW 6 Series

Sub Compact Car
1.Honda Fit
2.Toyota Yaris

3.Hyundai Accent

JD Power And Associates 2009 Initial Quality Survey Results

JD Power and Associates has released the Initial Quality Surveys for cars for 2009. The surveys are conducted by polling new car owners for quality problems during the first three months of car ownership. The brands with the least or zero quality problems are listed below:

Subcompact car:

1.Toyota Yaris
2.Hyundai Accent, Honda Fit

Compact car:

1.Hyundai Elantra sedan
2.Toyota Prius, Honda Civic

Compact sporty car:

1.Scion tC
2.Volkswagen GTI

Compact premium sporty car:

1.Nissan Z
2.Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class

Entry premium car:

1.Lexus IS
2.Cadillac CTS, Infiniti G-Series

Midsize car:

1.Nissan Altima
2.Pontiac G6, Chevrolet Malibu

Midsize sporty car:

1.Ford Mustang
2.None

Midsize premium car:

1.Lexus GS
2.Acura RL, Lexus ES

Large car:

1.Mercury Sable
2.Toyota Avalon, Chevrolet Impala

Large premium car:

1.Lexus LS
2.Mercedes Benz S-Class

Compact activity vehicle:

1.Chrysler PT Cruiser Wagon, Honda CR-V (tie)
2.Mitsubishi Outlander

Midsize activity vehicle:

1.Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Ford Edge, Toyota 4Runner (tie)
2.Runners-up: none

Midsize premium activity vehicle:

1.Lexus GX
2.Lexus RX, Cadillac SRX

Large activity vehicle:

1.GMC Yukon
2.Chevrolet Tahoe

Large premium activity vehicle:

1.Lexus LX
2.Cadillac Escalade, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

Midsize pickup:

1.Honda Ridgeline
2.Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger

Large pickup:

1.Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra (tie)
2.Chevrolet Avalanche

Van:

1.Toyota Sienna
2.Honda Odyssey

The Most and Least Expensive Cars to Insure

With the recession upon us and many Americans out of work, anything that can help consumers cut car ownership costs is a godsend. Forbes Magazine has researched and come up with a list of the most and least expensive cars to insure. If you are in the market to buy a car, the following are 10 of the most expensive cars to insure:

1 Most Expensive: Nissan GT-R
2 Most Expensive: Dodge Viper
3 Most Expensive: BMW M6
4 Most Expensive: Ford Shelby GT500
5 Most Expensive: Mercedes-Benz G-Class
6 Most Expensive: Audi S8
7 Most Expensive: BMW M5
8 Most Expensive: Hummer H2
9 Most Expensive: Lexus ISF
10 Most Expensive: Porsche 911

The following are the 10 least expensive cars to insure:

1 Least Expensive: Hyundai Santa Fe
2 Least Expensive: Kia Sportage
3 Least Expensive: Hyundai Entourage
4 Least Expensive: Kia Sedona
5 Least Expensive: Kia Rio5
6 Least Expensive: Honda Odyssey
7 Least Expensive: Smart for two
8 Least Expensive: Saturn Vue
9 Least Expensive: Mazda Tribute
10 Least Expensive: Chrysler Town & Country

Here's $4,500 From Uncle Sam

Are you Ready to turn in your old clunker for a new car? Uncle Sam wants to help. Under a bill approved by the House today, consumers will be able to turn in their gas guzzling cars for vouchers worth up to $4,500 towards the purchase of a new fuel-efficient vehicle. The House bill was approved 298-119. According to AP, supporters including President Obama have long pushed for this measure in order to stimulate the auto business and also to reduce fuel-inefficient cars on our roads. This program also includes vouchers for leased cars. If you are the owner of a gas guzzler and you are ready to buy a more economical vehicle, check out this program with your dealership.

Electric Cars are Here

The state of California is getting the first mass produced electric vehicle in the USA next year. According to the NYTimes, the $45,000 car will be available through the internet. A California start-up, Miles EV in conjunction with a Chinese company is producing the electric car named the Coda. Another Chinese company, BYD is also mass producing another electric car to compete with the Coda but at a much cheaper price of $16,000. At this price, BYD will compete with the Chevy Volt which is also expected to cost $16,000. In related auto news, the BMW Mini E all electric car has hit a bump with the shortage of special high voltage charging cables. USAToday is reporting that the charging cables won’t be available till mid next month. Meanwhile, they can only be recharged through a standard 110 volt wall socket chord that takes 23 hours.