No Subject

[Shannon Shirk <SSHIRK@WordPerfect.com>]

This was in the Salt Lake Tribune, Wednesday. Audi won in a couple of
Categories--Lowest cost with Preventive Maintenance, and Best
Warranty. Audi was also the most expensive in Repair cost.

FYI,
Shannon

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
By The Associated Press

   Some of the best and worst cars of 1995, according to "The Car
Book": 
   
   OVERALL RATING: (scale of 1-10 based on crash safety, fuel
economy, repair 
costs, warranties, insurance costs and complaint history) 
   
   Ford Windstar, Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager in the minivan
category (all 
10); Saab 9000, Volvo 850 and Ford Taurus wagon in the intermediary
category 
(10); Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer in the subcompact category (8);
Toyota 
Corolla and BMW in the compact category (5); and for large cars, the
Cadillac 
DeVille, Mercury Cougar and Chrysler LHS-New Yorker (all 10). 
   
   COMPLAINTS: (based on ratio of number of complaints filed with the
government 
to the number of such cars available) 
   
   Best: Subaru Impreza, Mazda Miata 
   Worst: Acura NSX, Eagle Vision, Dodge Intrepid, Cadillac Fleetwood
   
   CRASH TEST: (lowest numbers based on government crash tests;
larger cars 
received generally more favorable ratings overall) 
   
   Large: Ford Thunderbird, Mercury Cougar 
   Intermediates: Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, Ford Taurus wagon,
Mercury 
Sable wagon. 
   Minivans: Ford Windstar 
   Compact: Honda Prelude, Ford Probe, Mazda MX-6 
   Subcompact: Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer 
   
   FUEL ECONOMY: 
   
   The "misers" are the Honda Civic hatchback (47, 56 mpg), the Geo
Metro (44, 
51), the Suzuki Swift (44, 49) and the Honda Civic (42, 46). The Ford
Aspire is 9th, 
at 36, 42. 
   The "guzzlers" are the Lamborghini DB132-Diablo (9, 14), Rolls Royce
Silver 
Spirit III Limousine (10, 14) and the Bentley Limousine (10, 14), followed
by the 
Rolls Royce Silver Spirit III-Spur III-Dawn, the Rolls Royce Corniche S and
the 
Ferrari 355 Berlinetta-GTS. 
   
   PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE: 
   
   Lowest costs (if buyer follows maintenance schedule recommended in
the car's 
manual): Audi 90, $0; Audi A6-S6, $0; Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Scoupe,
Sonata 
$343; Volkswagen Golf-Jetta $378, Volkswagen Passat $388; Chevrolet
Lumina 
Minivan $475; Oldsmobile Silhouette $475; Pontiac TransSport $475. 
   
   Highest costs: Acura Legend $1,295; Infiniti G20 $1,139; Honda
Prelude $1,139; 
Mercedes E-class $1,113; BMW 3 series $1,079; Volvo 850 and 900
series $1,060; 
Acura Integra $1,056; Mitsubishi Diamante $1,030; Mitsubishi Mirage
$1,008. 
   
   REPAIR COSTS: (based on nine items likely to need replacing during the
first 
100,000 miles, including starter, fuel pump and alternator.) 
   
   Lowest: Saturn SC $1,483; Saturn SL, SW $1,547; Hyundai Scoupe
$1,562; 
Chevrolet Astro $1,606; GMC Safari $1,606; Eagle Vision $1,617; Dodge
Intrepid 
$1,631. 
   Highest: Audi A6-S6 $3,822; Ford Probe $3,804; Lexus SC 300-400
$3,654; 
Mercedes-Benz E-Class $3,680. 
   
   WARRANTIES: (based on the four categories of basic warranty,
powertrain 
warranty, corrosion warranty and roadside assistance) 
   
   Best: Audi, Infiniti, Volvo and Lexus. 
   Worst: Suzuki, Honda, Ford and Mercury. 
   
   RESALE VALUE: (based on National Automobile Dealers Association
statistics) 
   
   Best: Mazda Miata retained 82 percent of value of its 1990 sticker price
of 
$13,800. Also rating high are the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Honda Prelude and
Acura 
Integra. 
   Worst: The Eagle Premier retained only 30 percent of its 1990 sticker
value of 
$15,350. Also rating low were the Lincoln Continental, Ford LTD-Crown
Victoria and 
Pontiac LeMans. 
   
   THEFT LIKELIHOOD: (based on statistics from the Highway Loss Data
Institute, a 
nonprofit organization) 
   
   Highest: BMW 3-series convertible, Acura Legend, BMW 3-series. 
   Lowest: Subaru Loyale wagon, Ford Escort wagon, Saturn SL, Buick
Park 
Avenue.