Why is it only American cars?

Wait.. its because consumer reports are bogus [censored] propaganda.

Guarenteed they would never make an "Import Worst Cars of 2006" Cause there is no such thing as a bad import, they are amazing in every way and american cars are crap that no one buys

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6816862 Dated Feb 05 though.

The worst cars on the market.

â�?�¢ Kia Rio
â�?�¢ Mitsubishi Lancer
â�?�¢ Nissan Sentra
â�?�¢ Ford Ranger
â�?�¢ Mazda B-Series
â�?�¢ Ford Explorer Sport Trac
LEAST RELIABLE
â�?�¢ Lincoln Navigator
LOWEST RESIDUAL VALUE
â�?�¢ Dodge Neon
â�?�¢ Lincoln LS V-6
â�?�¢ Chrysler Sebring sedan

Source: Forbes.com

Yay, more media bias against the American auto industry. Instead of writing something actually useful like the worst cars, regardless of where they're from, we further needlessly denegrate American automobiles by writing an entire article about how bad they are.

Instead of looking at a variety of sources of information as any real journalist should to write an article they stick with one -- Consumer Reports.

To determine mileage they use EPA numbers while burning ethanol. Ethanol results in significantly lower mileage (and the cost is lower so the cost/mile is roughly the same) and, perhaps more importantly, significantly less pollution.

The author claims to use EPA numbers for everything, but then decides on his own to adjust them lower based on their MPG they get on ethanol which of course is lower. Blatant manipulation of the numbers to exaggerate the point.

The fact that there are actually worst cars out there is certain. But the author makes attempt to make that clear, he only wants to paint certain American cars as being unsafe, gas-guzzling, wastes of money.

He explicitly states that these cars "exemplify how far US automakers hae to go to compete in the global market." Do what? It's a ranking of American cars. There is no comparison of foreign makes or models here. It doesn't 'exemplify' anything. These cars could be the best on the planet outside of America, they just happen to be the worst available here. If I made a list of the "Worst Japanese Cars" and only looked at Japanese cars, could I say that my list exemplified why Japanese cars suck more than American ones?

That's not to say that some of them aren't bad cars, but this article is specifically designed, and even explicitly stated as such, to paint as many of them with that brush as possible, regardless of the fact that many of these cars may not be anywhere near the top of an actual ranking of all cars.

When are we going to see an article on how the tiny-engined Toyota Corolla (non-California version) is one of the single worst-polluting cars sold in the United States and far and away the worst-polluting small car?

Or an article on how, of the various market segments, 14 of them, American automobiles are only the most-polluting in 2 categories, and one of those categories, Large Trucks, is because there's no foreign competition in the market. Any takers on that article?

Nope. Didn't think so.

Those might be the worst American cars in terms of cost to own for 3 to 5 years, but there are some good, solid vehicles on that list. Reliability, or rather lack thereof, was obviously not their primary target for the list.

The full size sedans are a very limited market but those models dominate that market. Used car prices on those sedans is low because the owners like the reliablity of a newer car, and are accustomed to purchasing a new vehicle every 4 years or so. The resale market is then flooded with those cars that don't appeal to a wide audience, so used car prices are very low. One of the reasons I love the Grand Marquis, you can get a LOT of pre-owned, RWD, V-8 car for relatively low dollars. Prices are rediculously low - especially here in Florida, but they're good cars.

Originally posted by sigma:

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Instead of looking at a variety of sources of information as any real journalist should to write an article they stick with one -- Consumer Reports.

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I actually like the reliability ratings as a guide. Consumer Reports has its place.

The Irony of that list is that some of those cars - like the Grand Marquis/Crown Victoria are CR picks for among the best in their 'large car' class for reliability.