Drew Berner
Just when it seemed American carmakers were shrugging off their reputations for building mediocre vehicles and starting on the road to financial recovery, along comes some bad news courtesy of Forbes' list of the worst cars on the road.According to the list, U.S. auto manufacturers still have a long way to go to catch up with their Japanese competitors - an opinion reflected in Ford's recent plummetin J.D. Power's rankings. Surprisingly, though, while American companies account for seven of the 10 worst vehicles, not a single Ford landed on the list.
Forbes analyzed data from six studies conducted by Consumer Reports, which detailed various aspects of performance, reliability and value. Despite Toyota's recall woes over the past year, it managed to pass scrutiny. In fact, the only Japanese vehicle to appear on the list is Nissan's mammoth Titan pickup truck.
Luxury cars, and particularly gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs, are at a natural disadvantage in these studies due to the high cost of ownership and less-than-admirable fuel economy. But these vehicles fared poorly in reliability, safety and value studies as well - to qualify for the list, a vehicle had to be among the worst in at least three of the six categories analyzed.
The worst cars on the road:
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
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