Top Picks: American style

Much has been made recently in the media about all of our 2006 Top Picks being from Japanese brands. Keep in mind, though, that there are numerous American-branded cars that do well in CR’s tests and are recommended. To this end, Christopher Jensen, automotive reporter for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, asked us to develop a list of Top Picks from American brands. It’s an interesting exercise that points out some telling trends in the domestic business.

By our definition, Top Picks must be recommended models--even when creating unofficial lists. So, let’s review the ground rules: For CR to recommend any model, it must have average or better reliability; and if tested, provide good overall crash protection, based on our composite of insurance-industry and government crash tests.  Pickups and SUVs also must not have tipped up onto two wheels in the government’s rollover test or, if not tested, must have available electronic stability control (ESC).

The list below features the highest-rated, American-branded vehicles in their category that received a Consumer Reports recommendation. (Our vehicle overviews and road tests are accessible by ConsumerReports.org subscribers.)

•    Sedan, less than $20,000: Ford Focus
•    Sedan, $20,000-$30,000: Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego
•    Sedan, $30,000-$40,000: Cadillac CTS
•    Luxury sedan: Cadillac STS
•    Fun-to-drive: Cadillac CTS-V
•    SUV, less than $30,000: Jeep Liberty
•    SUV, more than-$30,000: Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL
•    Pickup truck: Chevrolet Avalanche
•    Green car: (None qualify)
•    Minivan: (None qualify)

Several trends can be observed:
•  Cadillac builds several very competitive models. All of the above Cadillacs are very enjoyable to drive. (The dynamically-enjoyable SRX SUV would have made the list if it had better reliability.)

•  Of the domestic manufacturers, Ford has the strongest position in the heart of the sedan market. Even though the Focus’ design is six years old, it was just edged out by the redesigned 2006 Honda Civic as our top-rated small car. We still think the Focus is more enjoyable to drive, with an excellent balance of nimble handling and a comfortable ride, but the Civic is more refined, fuel efficient, and has better crash protection. The Five Hundred is an extremely accommodating, if highly understated, car. The Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan did very well in our tests, but since they are new designs, we can not predict reliability yet. The Fusion/Milan’s decidedly lackluster IIHS crash test results give pause, as well. Likewise, the Ford Freestyle--with impressive interior packaging that offers good room for seven passengers--would have made this list, but our tested AWD model has below average first-year reliability.

•  While several domestic SUVs outscore the Jeep Liberty, they all have some limiting factor that excludes them from this list. For example, the Ford Escape does well in our tests and has been reliable, but it tipped-up onto two wheels in the NHTSA dynamic rollover test. The lower-scoring Saturn Vue and Chevrolet Equinox/Pontiac Torrent also tip up. The Equinox has also been unreliable in our subscriber survey.

•  The Escape, Vue and Equinox tip-ups would likely have been averted if the companies installed electronic stability control (ESC) on these SUVs. These products’ lack of ESC is glaringly apparent given many manufacturers (including Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki, and Toyota) make it standard on their small, inexpensive SUVs. (The Liberty also added standard ESC for 2006.)

•  The Escape’s lack of ESC also means that the Escape Hybrid isn’t recommended, so it doesn’t qualify here for the Green Car category. Too bad, since the Escape Hybrid gets a best-in-segment 26 mpg overall. The most fuel-efficient recommended American-branded car is the front-wheel drive Pontiac Vibe (a near-twin to the Toyota Matrix),  with 27 mpg overall in our tests.

•  Chrysler basically invented the minivan category in the U.S. market. However, no domestic minivan even qualifies for recommendation; all were either too unreliable or scored too low in our tests.

--Mike Quincy & Tom Mutchler