Worst Cars

• Cadillac Escalade
• Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
• Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
• Dodge Nitro SLT
• Chrysler Town & Country
• Mercedes-Benz S550
• Chevrolet Aveo
• Chevrolet Colorado
• Nissan Titan
• Jeep Liberty
• Smart FourTwo

http://www.forbes.com/2011/04/13/mercedes-gm-chrysler-nissan-business-autos-worst-cars.html

The above is the list of the worst cars on the road reported by Forbes in April. Surprisingly, Mercedes S550 is one of them. It is not because of the reliability or performance, but the high cost and low fuel efficiency. Today, the gasoline costs too much and low fuel efficiency is really a big concern.

One of my friends has been working as an automotive technician for years. He said the highest quality is neither Mercedes nor BMW, it is Lexus. Lexus needs the least maintenance and the parts can run for years in good conditions.

There are more and more Mercedes and BMW running on the road here, especially since the last decades. It is not because of their reliability, but their marketing strategies. Cars are necessities rather than luxuries in North America. Car dealers always have promotions, not only on purchasing, but also leasing. It does not cost very much to lease a "luxury car" here. Of course, leasing means the car is not really your property, but leasing for just two to three years is more than enough. Then you can lease a new car by returning the old car back to the dealer. In other words, you have a new car for every two to three years, although you have to pay a certain amount every month and the car does not belong to you. Nowadays, there are more and more functions in a car and all of them are controlled by dozens of microprocessors. Computers are so fragile and sensitive, that means the risk of malfunction is much higher. Most cars do not have many big problem in the first two to three years, even if there are, the cars are still under warranty. The owners do not have to pay much to get the problem fixed. However, the quality of the parts are not as good and durable as in the old days. For some luxury cars, the parts are expensive and many of them are only supplied to dealers, not to any other garages. If a car is just leased for two three years, the owners do not notice about it. Therefore, for luxury cars, in the owner's point of view, it is probably better to lease than purchase. However, if you want to "own" a car for a longer period of time, from my friend's experience, Lexus might be a very good choice.