U.S. News Announces 2012 Best Cars For The Money Awards
DETROIT (WWJ) - Are you in the market for a new vehicle but want to know which cars are going to get you the most for your money?
U.S. News announced the 2012 Best Cars for the Money Awards, which can help everyday car buyers navigate a confusing automotive market by identifying vehicles that offer the biggest bang for the buck and that best incorporate the features today's car buyers want.
The awards cover 23 automotive categories, including cars, trucks, SUVs and minivans. Each category has a single winner.
The diversity of the award winners illustrates that no single car company has a "lock" on value. Overall, domestic brands edged out imports 13 to 10 with award-winning vehicles.
Ford took home the most awards. Five of its models were selected as winners: Ford Taurus, Ford Fusion, Ford Fiesta, Ford Edge and Ford Fusion Hybrid.
For 2012, three brands emerged as winners for the first time: Subaru for its Outback, Audi for its Q5, and Jeep for its Wrangler.
Fourteen of the winners were introduced or significantly redesigned in the past three years, showing that newer models can offer good value while also providing the latest features that consumers want.
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2012 BEST CARS FOR THE MONEY AWARDS |
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CATEGORY |
WINNER |
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Affordable Compact SUVs - 2 row |
2012 Chevrolet Equinox |
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Affordable Compact SUVs - 3 row |
2012 Toyota RAV4 |
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Affordable Large Cars |
2012 Ford Taurus |
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Affordable Large SUVs |
2012 Chevrolet Suburban |
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Affordable Midsize Cars |
2012 Ford Fusion |
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Affordable Midsize SUVs - 2 row |
2012 Ford Edge |
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Affordable Midsize SUVs - 3 row |
2012 Mazda CX-9 |
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Affordable Small Cars - Compact |
2012 Chevrolet Cruze |
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Affordable Small Cars - Subcompact |
2012 Ford Fiesta |
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Affordable Sports Cars |
2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata |
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Compact Pickup Trucks |
2012 Toyota Tacoma |
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Full Size Pickup Trucks |
2012 Ram 1500 |
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Hatchbacks |
2012 Ford Fiesta |
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Hybrid Cars |
2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid |
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Hybrid SUVs |
2012 Lexus RX Hybrid |
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Luxury Compact SUVs |
2012 Audi Q5 |
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Luxury Large SUVs |
2012 Cadillac Escalade |
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Luxury Midsize SUVs |
2012 Lexus RX 350 |
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Minivans |
2012 Mazda Mazda5 |
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Off-Road SUVs |
2012 Jeep Wrangler |
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Upscale Midsize Cars |
2012 Buick Regal |
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Upscale Small Cars |
2012 Volkswagen GTI |
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Wagons |
2012 Subaru Outback |
The awards methodology combines quality and value data into a composite score. Within each of 23 categories, the vehicle with the highest score is named the Best Car for the Money in that category.
Quality is measured by the overall score a vehicle receives in the U.S. News car rankings. Value is measured by a combination of a vehicle's five-year total cost of ownership and the average price paid for the vehicle at the time the awards are published, as calculated by TrueCar.com. Find more information at www.usnews.com/cars.
