German Car Forum

American magazine U.S. News & World Report has released their 2008 rankings of the best cars and trucks in 11 different classes. Honda alone has five cars that won awards, and three more are Japanese made. There are three German cars, and two American vehicles on the list.

And the winners are...

• Best Economy Car: Honda Fit
• Best Midsize Car: Honda Accord
• Best Upscale Small Car: Volkswagen GTI
• Best Upscale Midsize Car: BMW 3-Series
• Best Luxury Car: BMW 5-Series
• Best Compact SUV: Honda CR-V
• Best Midsize SUV: Honda Pilot
• Best Large SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe
• Best Luxury Midsize SUV: Lexus RX 350
• Best Full Size Pickup: Chevrolet Silverado 1500
• Best Affordable Sports Car: Honda S2000, Mazda MX-5, Mazda Speed3 (three-way tie)

Lists similar to this one are always open for debate; many seem to be created simply to spark arguments. Still, a list like this, assembled by a more respectable news source, seems a tad more reliable than an award from from J.D. Power and Associates. However, as this list is for 2008 it does seema bit romantic that the S2000 should make the grade in what is likely its last production year.

U.S. News & World Report does not use their own editorial board to determine best cars in class, but rather an aggregate model taking into account the opinions of many automotive experts. These experts thoughts on different vehicles, their safety, and reliability are all considered, and used to rank the vehicles.

A better list than Forbes' list, but still.

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