| The Hot Picks For 2009 In The Market Of Cars |
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As far as US car markets go, the latest hot picks are as always determined by your current point of view. What you as a consumer look forward to currently is the most important factor that goes into picking out the latest hot cars in the market. Want me to be more specific? Okay, let's get to brass tacks then. Here we go.
If safety is your prime consideration, you happen to be the savvy car driver who places at least as much premium on his own life as you do on the total cost of car ownership. Here is where the IIHS comes in in a big way. Well, what's that you would say, wouldn't you? IIHS actually stands for Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. I am sure most of you are aware of this important US watchdog non-profit organization based in Ruckersville, Virginia. As you know, car accidents put considerable number of US citizens out of their misery each year on this planet. What IIHS does is to conduct impact safety tests on cars and other vehicles and then rate them based on their on-highway safety performance. It factors in environmental, vehicular, and human inputs to rate the safety of cars. Now according to the results of the research they have published, about 72 of the latest car models available in the US currently fit the crash safety billing. The top picks include the Ford Fusion, the Mercury Sable, the Lincoln MKS, and the Volvo S80. The Honda Accord sedan and the Honda Fit follow a close second. Also receiving the same rating are Acura's TL, RL, and the TSX. Chrysler falls woefully short of receiving car safety ratings this year with none of its car models even in the fray as also rans. Many cars have been hampered by insufficient head restraints or inadequate side impact protection because of which IIHS could not include them among their top safety picks. The small size of specific car models and consequently their weights have been mainly responsible for the inadequacy. I am sure that you also place important weightage to car performance. On that score of course, you will mostly find Japanese made and even European cars pipping Detroit made ones to the post. Of course, Ford and General Motors have important and improved top models lined up in the near future, but currently at least Japanese cars are high on performance. Among luxury cars, the Infiniti G 37 receives top billing with BMW models running a close second. Among family cars, the best performing car is the Toyota Prius. It has received an overall rating of 8.5 on the 10-point scale, largely based on its reliability, safety, and performance, in that order. It has in its rear view mirror the Mercury Milan and the Pontiac G6, which are also good picks. Among sporty compact hatchbacks, Volkswagen's GTI is the car to beat. Related Articles
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