Car and Driver magazine annually nominates a list of what it considers the Ten Best cars and Five Best trucks.
All production vehicles for sale in that calendar year are considered with these restrictions:
The vehicle must be on sale by January
It must be priced below 2.5 times the average car price for that year
The manufacturer must provide an example for testing
Only substantially changed vehicles and the past year's 10 best winners are nominated
The magazine sometimes selects a specific trim and other times a whole family of vehicles.
Top Ten Marques
From 1983 through 2008, the following marques were represented on the list the most times, including both the car and truck lists (except for the 2008 trucks).
Rank Marque Number of wins
1 Honda
2 Toyota
3 BMW
4 Mazda
5 Chevrolet
6 Acura
7 Porsche
7 Nissan
7 Audi
10 Chrysler
Top Manufacturers
Further breaking down the marques into their controlling manufacturers amplifies Honda's dominance of the contest over the last 25 years.
Note that this number is skewed by the multiple products picked over the years. For example, the Chrysler minivans were picked three times, totalling 8 "points" for Chrysler from three wins. The Diamond-Star cars were a similar problem, double-dipping "points" for both Mitsubishi, Plymouth, and Eagle. These situations were not "fixed"; rather, they are left as-is, skewing the totals.
Note also that changing ownership can affect the count. Chrysler and Dodge products from 1999 through 2007 were counted for Daimler-Benz/DaimlerChrysler/Daimler AG, as that company had wholly acquired Chrysler in that period. Similarly, Saab's post-2000 products, had they won a place on the list, would be counted for General Motors. Despite strong corporate ties through this period, Mazda remains separate from Ford, Subaru from General Motors and Toyota, Nissan from Renault, and Mitsubishi from Chrysler.
Top Ten Models
From 1983 through 2008, the following individual models were represented on the list the most times. In 2007, Honda's Odyssey and Pilot trucks appeared in the top ten, a first for any truck.
Rank Model Number of wins
1 Honda Accord
2 BMW 3-Series
3 Chevrolet Corvette
4 Honda Prelude
4 Mazda Miata
6 Porsche Boxster
7 Acura Integra and RSX
8 Nissan 300ZX
8 Ford Taurus
10 BMW 5-Series
10 Honda Civic
10 Honda Odyssey
10 Honda Pilot
All production vehicles for sale in that calendar year are considered with these restrictions:
The vehicle must be on sale by January
It must be priced below 2.5 times the average car price for that year
The manufacturer must provide an example for testing
Only substantially changed vehicles and the past year's 10 best winners are nominated
The magazine sometimes selects a specific trim and other times a whole family of vehicles.
Top Ten Marques
From 1983 through 2008, the following marques were represented on the list the most times, including both the car and truck lists (except for the 2008 trucks).
Rank Marque Number of wins
1 Honda
2 Toyota
3 BMW
4 Mazda
5 Chevrolet
6 Acura
7 Porsche
7 Nissan
7 Audi
10 Chrysler
Top Manufacturers
Further breaking down the marques into their controlling manufacturers amplifies Honda's dominance of the contest over the last 25 years.
Note that this number is skewed by the multiple products picked over the years. For example, the Chrysler minivans were picked three times, totalling 8 "points" for Chrysler from three wins. The Diamond-Star cars were a similar problem, double-dipping "points" for both Mitsubishi, Plymouth, and Eagle. These situations were not "fixed"; rather, they are left as-is, skewing the totals.
Note also that changing ownership can affect the count. Chrysler and Dodge products from 1999 through 2007 were counted for Daimler-Benz/DaimlerChrysler/Daimler AG, as that company had wholly acquired Chrysler in that period. Similarly, Saab's post-2000 products, had they won a place on the list, would be counted for General Motors. Despite strong corporate ties through this period, Mazda remains separate from Ford, Subaru from General Motors and Toyota, Nissan from Renault, and Mitsubishi from Chrysler.
Top Ten Models
From 1983 through 2008, the following individual models were represented on the list the most times. In 2007, Honda's Odyssey and Pilot trucks appeared in the top ten, a first for any truck.
Rank Model Number of wins
1 Honda Accord
2 BMW 3-Series
3 Chevrolet Corvette
4 Honda Prelude
4 Mazda Miata
6 Porsche Boxster
7 Acura Integra and RSX
8 Nissan 300ZX
8 Ford Taurus
10 BMW 5-Series
10 Honda Civic
10 Honda Odyssey
10 Honda Pilot
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