Road Tales

»» Best buys
Thirty-six vehicles and 14 companion models received Best Buy ratings from Consumers Digest out of 240 total 2009 models. In the “small cars” category, the following were named: Honda Civic, Honda Fit, Mazda3, Nissan Versa and Toyota Corolla. “Family car” buys were Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Taurus, Honda Accord, Mercury Sable, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry/Camry Solara. The four “luxury cars” were Acura RL, Cadillac CTS, Hyundai Genesis and Lincoln MKS. The six “sporty cars” named were BMW 3-Series, Chevrolet Corvette, Infiniti G37 coupe, MINI Cooper/Cooper Clubman, Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. “Value, as we see it, is based on purchase price and ownership costs relative to quality, performance and subjective factors like comfort and design,” said Randy Weber, CD’s publisher.

»» Safety pays
It pays to be safe in your car. More accurately, car owners will pay to be safe, with a few exceptions. Forbes.com named its 15 safest cars recently, and they’re not cheap. They are: Mercedes-Benz M Class ($47,750 manufacturer’s suggested retail price), Audi Q7 ($43,500), Acura MDX ($40,790), Volvo XC90 ($37,000), Acura RDX ($33,695), Subaru Tribeca ($29,995), Honda Pilot ($27,595), Ford Taurus X ($27,575), Volkswagen Tiguan ($23,200), Saturn Vue ($22,075), Mitsubishi Outlander ($20,230), Subaru Forester ($19,995), Acura RL ($46,280), Acura TSX ($28,960) and Honda Odyssey ($26,255).

»» Tucker fetches a million
If you want a Tucker, you might have to cough up a million bucks or more. A restored, low-mileage Tucker sedan, built in October 1948, fetched $1,017,500 at RM’s Sports & Classics of Monterey sale in August. It was a record price for a Tucker, which was popularized by the 1998 movie by Francis Ford Coppola starring Jeff Bridges. Only 51 Tuckers were built in the late 1940s by Preston Tucker before the Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of mail fraud. Tucker was ultimately acquitted, but not before his dream died. Readers can savor Tucker photos on the Tucker Automobile Club of America’s Web site at www.tuckerclub.org.

»» Dirtiest cars are built by…
It’s Chrysler, hands down. Chrysler vehicles occupy half of Forbes.com’s list of dirtiest cars in America, based on vehicle air pollution from tailpipe emissions. The six Chrysler-made vehicles occupying half the list are the Jeep Commander, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, Chrysler Aspen and pickups such as the Dodge Ram 1500 and Dodge Dakota. That said, what’s dirty by American standards is still pretty clean in other countries, pointed out the Web site’s editors. What’s more, “plenty of Chrysler and other automakers’ vehicles more than exceed the minimum EPA standards,” they added.

»» Automotive Excellence
Ten vehicles received Popular Mechanics Automotive Excellence Awards, which recognize what the magazine’s editors consider the best in automotive design, execution and technology for 2009 model year vehicles in 10 specific categories. Winners are: Dodge Challenge (design), Honda Fit (value), VS Jetta TDI (fuel efficiency), Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (performance), Ford Flex (versatility), BMW 135i (fun to drive), Hummer H3T Alpha (off-road ability), Cadillac Escalade with platinum HID headlights (technical innovation), Jaguar XF (luxury) and Ford F-150 (workhorse).