Hopefully we don't have any tree huggers here on the forum. But if they are on here, please note the following cars are good for the environment without a Hybrid nameplate attached to the rear....

Honda Fit, Mazda MX-5, Mazda Mazdaspeed3, Volkswagen, Chevy Malibu (in 4 Cyl) and Chevy Corvette (It has a V8 that uses activate cylinder deactivation both on HWY and City)

I believe the list complied on C&D is nicely choosen and offers a broad choice for the consumer.

I agree with the cars they chose for the list.

I want to test drive the new Malibu. I'm not a tree hugger so I'd opt for the V6. I do alot of highway driving so I would need the extra power for getting on the freeway...

-Jeff

Where is the Honda Civic? Its always on a 10 best list. Not sure how the Honda Fit beats it out...

@SMR:

The new civic is far from a best drive with recalls, lack of performance, and stiff competition i don't think it should be making many lists at all.

I can live with that list. No real surprises there. The next two years will be very interesting.

I agree with that list nothing there that is a completely bad car. For those of you who think the prius is so good for the enviroment batteries arent exactly good for the enviroment and the prius is full of them.

How in the world can you consider a mazdaspeed 3 good for the environment? No car is good for the environment. Not even the almighty Prius. Good for the soul, sure. Maybe even not so hard on the wallet. But certainly not good for the environment.

Make mine red.

How in the world can you consider a mazdaspeed 3 good for the environment? No car is good for the environment. Not even the almighty Prius. Good for the soul, sure. Maybe even not so hard on the wallet. But certainly not good for the environment.

Make mine red.

As a former C6 owner I do not believe the Chevy Corvette has the "displacement on demand" feature. But regardless, in 6th gear at 65 MPH it gets remarkable mileage even without it considering its a 6.3 liter engine.

Edmunds, Consumer reports and C&D love the Corvette and rightfully so. Its a performance, low weight bargain of comfort and convenience. Good job GM. And it still will take the new M3 :) Ha ha I'm sure that will draw some comments :)

@SMR:
Yes, the fit is quite a better car than the civic actually. It's in fact, much better than its great reviews give it credit. That's why it was the most sold car in japan for years and the 2009 fit won car of the year in Japan for good reason. If you have the chance, drive one and you'll understand.

@Gary:
The civic still wins many comparisons, it won C&D's frugalympics comparison and is still regarded as one of the best cars you can buy. Although I do think the fit is a better car all around.

No, the list is all wrong.

A "Best List" is supposed to include cars that raise the benchmark within their own class, not merely get close to the leader. With that said, the Malibu and CTS do not belong on the list. They do not raise the standard, they don't even match the Accord and German sedans.

Another questionable is the GTi. Don't they go for about $26k+? Certainly above Civic/Mazda3/etc. price levels. So what does it compete with in terms of price? An Acura TSX, EVO RS, ?

Although I wasn't very impressed with the new CTS I would say the Malibu is most certainly a remarkable achievement for General Motors. Especially in these trying times for GM. From what I understand Chevy dealers intend to have a new Accord on the showroom floor side by side with the Malibu and specifically demonstrate why the New Malibu is a superior car and value. I'd say that's raising the benchmark.

Is there a "German" sedan that's in the same class of the Malibu that bases at 19K?

Chaser, of course there is. used...

Hey Noya...

Have you driven the Malibu? Have you read the reviews? Some of the reviews have the Malibu besting the Camry and Accord both.

Congrats to GM for a fine showing.
As a loyal Honda/Toyota driver I am hoping that the Malibu's long term reliability, quality, is all they are hoping for. I will drive a used Malibu 3 years from now and see how it feels. By then the Accord will be ready for replacement.
If it still seems solid and tight, who knows, I might just consider it.
Regardless, its a fine showing and competition is good. Right now Honda and Toyota could use a little domestic competition so they tighten things up again.

How the Mailbu and CTS make it, without even being compared to the competition, is pretty weak.
Can they PLACE in a comparison before we make them class leaders?
Are they saying the Malibu is as good as the Accord?
Are they saying the CTS is better than the G35?
The Mazda3 should join the MadzaSpeed. The comparison it lost to the Rabbit was a joke. The Mazda3 is clearly a better car.
How the GTI and MazdaSpeed both make it, as they compete with each other, also makes little sense.
Another seriously flawed article by C&D.

DrFill

The Fit is what the Civic used to be. That's why it's replaced the Civic, imo.

Tellingly, the Civic is now what the Accord used to be, but hasn't displaced it. Ah well.

Oh how Ford has fallen off the 10 best wagon in the past decade. But then again how many times can you put the Focus up for 10 best, with no big changes since it's 2000 debute.

"kw:

The Fit is what the Civic used to be. That's why it's replaced the Civic, imo.

Tellingly, the Civic is now what the Accord used to be, but hasn't displaced it. Ah well."

Definitely. I have an old 1992 Mazda Protege and it is tiny compared to its modern counterparts! It has a curb weight of 2350lbs, by the way... even lighter than the modern MINI Cooper. The old days..

The nice thing about this list is most people can afford almost anyone of these vehicles except maybe the Porshe. I bet Toyota maybe a little concerned not one of their vehicles made the list. I'm actually a little surprised the Malibu made the list when in my opinion the Ford Fusion is a better car.

Chaser:
Is there a "German" sedan that's in the same class of the Malibu that bases at 19K?

Is english your second language? I wrote:

"With that said, the Malibu and CTS do not belong on the list. They do not raise the standard, they don't even match the Accord and German sedans."

See how it corresponds? How Malibu matches up with Accord and CTS with German sedans...Idiot.

From what I understand Chevy dealers intend to have a new Accord on the showroom floor side by side with the Malibu - Chaser

Everyone here has read that headline....has anyone been to a Chevy dealer and witnessed this in person, with similarly equiped models? I know I haven't.
BUT, I know I have read that the new Accord EX's interior is almost to Acura TL levels, and of course we all know interior design and finish is GM's strong suite....

Hey Noya...Have you driven the Malibu? Have you read the reviews? Some of the reviews have the Malibu besting the Camry and Accord both. - WS

I have, in fact read reviews. And I recall last years Motor Trend COTY arward going to the Camry, over the Saturn Aura XRS (which is a rebadged Malibu or vise versa).

And of course comes the issue of honesty. These magazines don't make it on yours and my $2 eBay subscriptions, they stay afloat with advertising dollars, just like commercials for radio and television and banners and "click here" adverts for websites. Who ever takes out the most ads usually gets what they want written about them...it's all politics. And if they don't someone gets canned:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9847

But then again how many times can you put the Focus up for 10 best, with no big changes since it's 2000 debute.

The Focus should never have been on a 10 best of anything, maybe a 10 worst list. The resale alone is enough to keep it on rental and fleet lots. I remember this chick I was banging wanted to get a new Scion and had a Focus that she bought BRAND new with like $2k down and 5% (dumbest financial move you can make is buying a brand new car; it's practically suicide if the new car is a domestic). Drumroll please....ends up she had got duped into the "extra" extened warranty and owed something like $18k for a one year old Focus that was worth $11k tops. Guys, if your have a: girlfriend, friend sister, mother...any female that's looking for a car, don't let them shop alone.

For the most part I agree with the list. I think the Malibu is a superb effort by GM ( hopefully, the GM's reliability record will continue to improve). The Fit is a nice choice for a small car market. It does show that B car market can be appealing and have nice handling dynamics (better than the economy car crap model's during the 80's).
DRfill worte:
The Mazda3 should join the MadzaSpeed. The comparison it lost to the Rabbit was a joke. The Mazda3 is clearly a better car.
How the GTI and MazdaSpeed both make it, as they compete with each other, also makes little sense.
-------------------------------------------------

Agreed, the Mazda3 platform is a superior platform IMO and would rather buy Mazda than VW for its reliability record alone.

The VW is actually a good car, but all of you are right for its reliability record. I have a friend in New York that would probably just like to stick me in the engine bay of her Jetta, just so she won't have to call me every time it breaks. For that reason alone just about any car in its class is a better buy.

@Noya:

The Civic SI fully loaded comes close to if not over $26k so the MazdaSpeed fits in there very well. Unfortunately all the cars in that class are over priced though. That's why we got a V6 Sonata over the Civic SI for my wife.

GM has been making increasingly better cars for years. With the new Malibu, it also looks really good too. Reliablility should be much better than average if GM's recent track record holds.

Chrysler is the company still in the pits on reliability. None of their products are very UNreliable. Almost any Hyundai is a better car than any Chrysler these days as far as build quality goes.

I only wish GM made a 5 door version of the Malibu, and had a stiffer sport suspension option.

I almost bought a Honda Fit, but I decided I wanted something with a bit more performance, so I have the Mazda 3i, which has about 150 horses on tap. I'd be willing to pay $500 extra for the Fit if it had rear disk brakes. The disks on all four wheels make a huge difference in braking performance on my Mazda 3.

The Civic SI fully loaded comes close to if not over $26k

I don't know where you live or how much markup the dealers are tacking on, but the MSRP for a Civic Si is only about $23k with Nav. Even in the NW where Jap cars have insane resale values (no rust issues perhaps the cause?) a Civic Si can be had by a savvy shopper for only a few hundred over invoice.

The trick is to email all the dealers internet sales departments (through autotrader) within a 75 mile or so radius with the make/model/trim level you want. You usually get the best, no hassel, in writing quotes within a few hours as they know customers who email don't want to waste their day BS'ing over over floor mats with a closer. Then simply take the best quote (usually a few hundred over invoice) and CALL the dealers with the next best quotes and see if they'll beat the price. I've even seen some of the larger dealers go LESS than INVOICE to steal the sale from another lot. Do this at the end of the month (regardless of people saying end of month shopping doesn't matter) and you're guaranteed a GREAT DEAL.

Kudos on the Sonota though, my best friends GF has a V6 model, very nice car for the money.

This is just a subjective comparison. Let's get the whole world vote for the best car..then you will see the difference...

Anyway, non of the car there interest me at this moment...I m still pedal to work...

Where is the new Subaru Impreza WRX STi? Are you kidding me?

This list is for the over 50 crowd and the under 30 sensible city "starbucks" group.

Meanwhile some nice cars go unnoticed.

Only a few of these cars gets me fired up and I all I can say it looks like GM chest beating as the American press freaks about Toyota overtaking GM for number 1. Hey they helped put Toyota there now that it is happening they start bashing Toyota and trumpeting GM. Wow, what a turn around. Guess what, too late!

Hmm, 3.3 German cars, 3.3 American cars, and 3.3 Japanese cars. The Mazda3, you see, is a decontented Ford Focus Mk2. So you have to give Japanese engineers some credit because they had to do they job of finding ways to remove content from the Ford Focus to lower its price. However, the Ford Focus is an American car largely designed by engineers in Germany.

By the way, many of you don't know this, but the Ford Focus Mk2 shares all it's suspension and most of its structure with the Mk1, it's just the interior, exterior, sound insulation, etc were taken up scale.

Anyway, I'd say it's really more like 3.5 German cars, 3.4 American cars, and 3.1 Japanese cars (badge engineering and decontenting doesn't impress me much), but I'll be diplomatic and call everyone even.

Hmm, 3.3 German cars, 3.3 American cars, and 3.3 Japanese cars. The Mazda3, you see, is a decontented Ford Focus Mk2. So you have to give Japanese engineers some credit because they had to do they job of finding ways to remove content from the Ford Focus to lower its price. However, the Ford Focus is an American car largely designed by engineers in Germany.

By the way, many of you don't know this, but the Ford Focus Mk2 shares all it's suspension and most of its structure with the Mk1, it's just the interior, exterior, sound insulation, etc were taken up scale.

Anyway, I'd say it's really more like 3.5 German cars, 3.4 American cars, and 3.1 Japanese cars (badge engineering and decontenting doesn't impress me much), but I'll be diplomatic and call everyone even.

now, I don't have many complaints about the list, only that the CTS and Malibu (malibu expecially) are questionable. But i just want to know - Car and Driver, open your ears wide - why there are EIGHT cars that were on both the 2007 and 2008 lists? talk about bias?

The editors at C&D having been declining in judgment since the intro of the millenium. Csaba Csere shouldn't be judging anything of this lists caliber, he's used to more upmarket vehicles. C&D is severely biased, towards both manufacturers and market. As a subscription owner to that magazine, Motor Trend, and Autoweek(perhaps the best), you can really see the reviewers personal tastes show through. I personally don't care what a group of idiots choose as their 10 best cars, and neither should most of you. My subscriptions were gifts, by the way.

Yesterday I went to Ikea and picked up a king-sized bed, and brought it home. The car I used... is my Honda Fit. We first tried to use my friend's Tahoe, but we had to leave the tailgate open and tie everything in. Of course... in the Fit, no one could ride along! Anyway, I'm a big guy, and I chose the Fit over the Civic because both in the drive seat and the in the back seat, I felt way more cramped in the Civic.

"Chaser:
As a former C6 owner I do not believe the Chevy Corvette has the "displacement on demand" feature. But regardless, in 6th gear at 65 MPH it gets remarkable mileage even without it considering its a 6.3 liter engine."

I'm not sure about DoD either, but as a former C6 owner, I would have thought you'd know the correct displacement of the engine. If it was the LS2 version, then it's 6.0L, if it was the newer LS3 version, then it's 6.2L.

I can attest to the the fuel economy of the LS2 though, mated to the M6 in my GTO; gets around 25-26 mpg on the highway cruising at 70mph. I'd suspect the C6 gets slightly better...

@ Noya

The Ford Focus when it first came out was worth a 10 best pick. All the Car Editiors from Motor Trend and Car and Driver raved about it and these guys have been in the business for a very long time. They just don't throw a 10 best award to just any car.

And as for don't let a chick buy a car by herself. My advise is to find a chick that has an IQ higher then 80. :)

I've been a subscriber to C&D mag for 3yrs and I'm canceling the remainder. They're reviews are so bias. I don't read any article that includes a BMW. Why? Because BMW always win. In the latest issue of 10Best, you'll see a comparison between a 328i, CTS, G37, C300. Just from what I know of the specs(hp, tq, track test, price), I'm thinking the G37 will win. But when I flip to the final page. The BMW wins, and they always find some justification to say why. The G37 engine was too noisey. If the BMW was noisey, they'd probably say, "can't get enough of the engine melody." Even though its underpowered, performs worse, etc. If it was a 335i, I might reconsider, but a 328i! And they wouldn't want to use a 335i because the price would be way to far out.

Good Bye C&D! I can live with MT and R&T.

Well it's nice with a big powerful engine.
But there is one value I want more than anything in my car, and thats COMFORT!
There is no more comfortable car in the world than the Citroen C6.
Sadly I'm to poor to afford one, but I get along fine with it's forerunner the XM.

Yes I know Citroen is not sold in the US, you poor people.

The C6 is also the most stylish car I have ever seen, not beutiful maybe but oh soo cool.

Theres a clip of Clarksson's test of it on youtube. Google it.

(No, I do not work for Citroen)