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Consumer Reports names 10 Best and Worst vehicles for resale values

Below are the 10 models that are rated best and worst by Consumer Reports in depreciation. They are calculated based on the difference between the MSRP of a 2004 model when new and its current retail value. The average depreciation for all models is about 45 percent over the first three years. All of the top 10, however, are much better than average, while all of the bottom 10 are much worse than average. Prices are Manufacturer Suggested Retail Prices, rounded to the nearest $500.

Top 10

1. Toyota Prius Ongoing demand for this thrifty gas/electric hybrid and excellent reliability give the Prius the best depreciation rating among all currently sold models. In addition, many owners are hanging onto them, so good luck trying to find a used Prius. $22,000.

2. Mini Cooper This trendy, fun-to-drive retro-hatch/convertible has generated a cult following reminiscent of Volkswagen's Beetle. While the reliability of early models was below average, it has improved to average in recent years, according to CR's Annual Car Reliability Survey. $17,500 to $25,500.

3. Scion xB This boxy wagon has love-it-or-hate-it styling, but it provides a spacious interior, stingy fuel consumption, good reliability, and a low price. Scion is Toyota's youth-oriented brand. $14,000 to $15,000.

4. BMW M3 The limited-edition, tuner-developed M3 is the perennially popular high-performance model in BMW's 3-Series line. A fanatical following and legendary performance mean that used M3s command premium prices. About $49,000 to $56,500.

5. Lexus RX Among the top SUVs in Consumer Reports Ratings, the RX is plush, quiet, and comfortable while providing better-than-average reliability and good crash-test results. The RX400h hybrid is among the most fuel-efficient SUVs we've tested. $36,000 to $46,000.

6. BMW 6-Series Available as a coupe or convertible, the 6-Series is based on the 5-Series platform. But its more limited production helps keep its resale value high. $72,000 to $79,000.

7. Lexus GX A different SUV from the Lexus RX, the GX is a traditional truck-based, off-road-ready vehicle. It has above-average reliability, a well-appointed interior, and good frontal offset crash-test results. But resale values might not continue to hold up as well for the GX as demand softens for body-on-frame, V8-powered SUVs. $46,500.

8. Acura TSX Providing a nice balance of sportiness and comfort, the well-rounded TSX provides above-average reliability, good crash-test results, and a long list of standard safety equipment. $28,000 to $30,000.

9. Scion xA The small xA hatchback looks much different from the larger xB but shares its low price, good reliability, and excellent 30-mpg fuel economy. $13,000 to $13,500.

10. Honda Civic & Civic Hybrid A longtime Consumer Reports recommended model, the Civic offers outstanding reliability, good fuel economy, and good crash-test results. While the Hybrid version returned an excellent 36 mpg overall in our tests, even regular Civics do well in our fuel-economy tests, with 29 mpg for the automatic. $14,500 to $24,500.

Hmm.. how many of those are American cars?

Bottom 10

1. Ford Freestar The unrefined Freestar is among the lowest rated minivans tested by Consumer Reports and has had below-average reliability of late. Resale values of the Freestar are likely to speed up their slide following Ford's recent announcement to discontinue production. $19,500 to $29,500.

2. Ford Crown Victoria This large sedan is an example of how fleet sales can lower resale values. As a perennial favorite of rental companies, police departments, and cabbies, the Crown Victoria can't hold its value in spite of good crash-test results and decent reliability. $24,500 to $27,500.

3. Buick Rainier With just 690 units sold in August '06 compared with 12,901 of its Chevrolet TrailBlazer sibling, the Rainier SUV gets the double whammy of costing more money and depreciating faster. $31,500 to $33,500.

4. Lincoln Town Car A recent Consumer Reports study found the venerable Town Car (last redesigned for 1998) to have the most generous incentives of any vehicle on the market. An old design with heavy discounts is not a good combination for resale. $42,000 to $50,500.

5. Dodge Caravan / Grand Caravan These minivans are rated midpack in Consumer Reports testing, below newer and better models. The heavily discounted, aging Caravan remains a strong seller in the category, probably contributing to an oversupply. $18,500 to $27,500.

6. Mercury Grand Marquis The Grand Marquis is a twin of the Ford Crown Victoria, sharing its dated, 20th-century design. Like the Ford, it has had average reliability and good crash-test results, but it's at the bottom of Consumer Reports' large-sedan test ratings. $25,000 to $29,500.

7. GMC Envoy Like the Buick Rainier, the Envoy is a twin of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer. Both the Envoy and TrailBlazer are among the lowest-performing midsized SUVs in Consumer Reports' test Ratings in addition to unimpressive crash test results and poor reliability. $26,500 to $37,000.

8. Ford Explorer The high-volume Ford Explorer has a history of poor depreciation that is expected to continue, despite a freshening for 2006. The midlife update did reduce noise levels from both powertrains, as well as improve interior fit and finish. $26,500-$36,000.

9. Buick Rendezvous Derived from GM's minivans, this SUV has had average reliability but mediocre performance in our tests. It will be discontinued by the end of 2006. $25,000 to $28,500.

10. Chrysler Town & Country This minivan is a twin of the Dodge Grand Caravan, and shares the Dodge's below-average reliability and midpack Ratings in Consumer Reports tests. $21,500 to $36,000.

Now, how many of those are foreign cars?

CHICAGO: Christmas is OK, but no religion!

A public Christmas festival is no place for the Christmas story, the city says. Officials have asked organizers of a downtown Christmas festival, the German Christkindlmarket, to reconsider using a movie studio as a sponsor because it is worried ads for its film "The Nativity Story" might offend non-Christians.

Read the whole thing.

Doyle earns a D from the Cato Institute

Cato Institute Releases Governors Report Card

Fiscal policy report card measures performance in cutting spending and taxes
Governor Bob Taft of Ohio receives a D on the Cato Institute's eighth biennial fiscal policy report card released today. He earns low marks for his final term for advancing one of the worst fiscal agendas of all the governors, including his supposed tax reform package, which would actually increase taxes by an estimated $2.3 billion. According to the study, Ohio taxpayers can rest easy knowing that Taft's governorship and the "fiscal damage" he's inflicted on them are coming to an end.

Republican Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri earns the grade of A, the highest score of the 46 governors reviewed, for cutting his state's budget and restraining Medicaid spending. The next two highest scoring governors are Republicans Rick Perry of Texas and Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee and John Lynch of New Hampshire, both of whom received grades of B, are the highest scoring Democratic governors.

Nine governors, however, receive an F: Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana; Michael Easley of North Carolina; Christine Gregoire of Washington; Kenny Guinn of Nevada; Mike Huckabee of Arkansas; Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware; Janet Napolitano of Arizona; Bob Riley of Alabama; and Brian Schweitzer of Montana.

Of the 25 governors running for reelection this year, 12 earn a grade of D or lower: John Baldacci of Maine; Rod Blagojevich of Illinois; Jim Douglas of Vermont; Jim Doyle of Wisconsin; Robert Ehrlich of Maryland; Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming; Ted Kulongoski of Oregon; Linda Lingle of Hawaii; Janet Napolitano of Arizona; Bob Riley of Alabama; Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who topped the 2004 governors report card with an A, drops to a D this year due to an overall increase in his state's budget. Governors Jeb Bush of Florida, Bill Owens of Colorado, George Pataki of New York and Bill Richardson of New Mexico also earn lower grades despite receiving accolades in previous years.

The "Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2006," by Cato director of budget studies Stephen Slivinski, emphasizes the importance of tax cuts and provides evidence showing that "states that reduce taxes improve their prospects for economic growth."

The latest report card grades 46 governors on 23 objective measures, awarding the highest grades to those who have reined in spending and cut taxes. Governors from four states (Alaska, Idaho, New Jersey and Virginia) were excluded from the study either because they assumed office too recently or for technical reasons.

Other key findings of the report include:
Constitutional spending restraints and tax cuts are arguably the best solution for bloated budgets during boom years and for out-of-control deficits during lean years.

Flat taxes create fewer economic disincentive effects and make state revenue less volatile. Medicaid must be reformed to avoid rising healthcare costs from consuming state budgets.

"The lesson of the last 20 years is that governors can't tax and spend their way to prosperity; they should stop trying," writes Slivinski. The complete report contains detailed state-by-state data.

For the “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors: 2006”

Click here to see the Cato scorecard.

Oh, and hasta la vista, Doyle!

Doyle earns a D from the Cato Institute

Cato Institute Releases Governors Report Card

Fiscal policy report card measures performance in cutting spending and taxes
Governor Bob Taft of Ohio receives a D on the Cato Institute's eighth biennial fiscal policy report card released today. He earns low marks for his final term for advancing one of the worst fiscal agendas of all the governors, including his supposed tax reform package, which would actually increase taxes by an estimated $2.3 billion. According to the study, Ohio taxpayers can rest easy knowing that Taft's governorship and the "fiscal damage" he's inflicted on them are coming to an end.

Republican Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri earns the grade of A, the highest score of the 46 governors reviewed, for cutting his state's budget and restraining Medicaid spending. The next two highest scoring governors are Republicans Rick Perry of Texas and Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee and John Lynch of New Hampshire, both of whom received grades of B, are the highest scoring Democratic governors.

Nine governors, however, receive an F: Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana; Michael Easley of North Carolina; Christine Gregoire of Washington; Kenny Guinn of Nevada; Mike Huckabee of Arkansas; Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware; Janet Napolitano of Arizona; Bob Riley of Alabama; and Brian Schweitzer of Montana.

Of the 25 governors running for reelection this year, 12 earn a grade of D or lower: John Baldacci of Maine; Rod Blagojevich of Illinois; Jim Douglas of Vermont; Jim Doyle of Wisconsin; Robert Ehrlich of Maryland; Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming; Ted Kulongoski of Oregon; Linda Lingle of Hawaii; Janet Napolitano of Arizona; Bob Riley of Alabama; Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who topped the 2004 governors report card with an A, drops to a D this year due to an overall increase in his state's budget. Governors Jeb Bush of Florida, Bill Owens of Colorado, George Pataki of New York and Bill Richardson of New Mexico also earn lower grades despite receiving accolades in previous years.

The "Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2006," by Cato director of budget studies Stephen Slivinski, emphasizes the importance of tax cuts and provides evidence showing that "states that reduce taxes improve their prospects for economic growth."

The latest report card grades 46 governors on 23 objective measures, awarding the highest grades to those who have reined in spending and cut taxes. Governors from four states (Alaska, Idaho, New Jersey and Virginia) were excluded from the study either because they assumed office too recently or for technical reasons.

Other key findings of the report include:
Constitutional spending restraints and tax cuts are arguably the best solution for bloated budgets during boom years and for out-of-control deficits during lean years.

Flat taxes create fewer economic disincentive effects and make state revenue less volatile. Medicaid must be reformed to avoid rising healthcare costs from consuming state budgets.

"The lesson of the last 20 years is that governors can't tax and spend their way to prosperity; they should stop trying," writes Slivinski. The complete report contains detailed state-by-state data.

For the “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors: 2006”

Click here to see the Cato scorecard.

Oh, and hasta la vista, Doyle!

that's crazy!

A crazy mental health counselor in Tokyo broke the world's record for reciting PI to 100,000 decimal places. It took him 16 hours just to recite the digits. But imagine how much of his life has been wasted memorizing it!

But he can't remember whattheir faces looked like?

A German plastic surgeon who was cheated out of payment by several women has given pictures of their enlarged breasts to police, in the hope the photos will help trace them.

"The women registered under fake names," Michael Koenig, a surgeon in Cologne, told Bild newspaper. "After the operations, which lasted about an hour, they just ran away."

"Tanja" went out for "fresh air" after 8,000-euro ($10,000) surgery to enlarge her breasts. "She never came back and never paid," Koenig said. He now plans to demand payment in advance.

Bild published a five-column picture of Tanja's naked breasts. "It's probably the most unusual wanted poster police ever had," the newspaper wrote.

bad joke du jour

I was meeting a friend in a bar, and as I went in I noticed two pretty girls looking at me. "Nine," I heard one whisper as I passed.

Feeling pleased with myself, I swaggered over to my buddy and told him a girl had just rated me a nine out of ten.

"I don't want to ruin it for you," he said, "but when I walked in, they were speaking German."

Donovan Riley - Future felon running for WI Senate

If there is one thing Donovan Riley understands about politics, it's the importance of getting votes. He's currently facing incumbent Jeff Pale in Wisconsin's Democrat primary election for Wisconsin State Senator, and is hoping to shine up his record of public service.

Unfortunately, he might be facing a criminal record, instead. Records show that on November 7, 2000 he voted in the Presidential election in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, where his ex-wife had purchased a second home. He had registered to vote in Wisconsin the day before. He then drove back to Chicago and voted again.

His excuse is simple enough. "I made a mistake," Riley claims. Apparently he can't remember voting in one state, then driving 2 hours and voting again in another state. Or maybe his mistake was thinking that he wouldn't get caught so easily in a felony situation. Maybe he should switch his defense to "All the Democrats are doing it. What's the big deal?"

On this day in 1953

Soviets test "Layer-Cake" bomb

Less than one year after the United States tested its first hydrogen bomb, the Soviets detonate a 400-kiloton device in Kazakhstan. The explosive power was 30 times that of the U.S. atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and the mushroom cloud produced by it stretched five miles into the sky. Known as the "Layer Cake," the bomb was fueled by layers of uranium and lithium deuteride, a hydrogen isotope. The Soviet bomb was smaller and more portable than the American hydrogen bomb, so its development once again upped the ante in the dangerous nuclear arms race between the Cold War superpowers.

something you don't see every day

Imagine a kite three times the size of your house. Imagine a kite that requires a 'string' with a breaking strength of 20 tons or a dump truck to serve as anchor.

The world's biggest kite!

bad joke du jour

Mr. Bear and Mr. Rabbit didn't like each other very much. One day, while walking through the woods, and they came across a golden frog.
They were amazed when the frog talked to them. The golden frog admitted that he didn't often meet anyone, but, when he did, he always gave them six wishes. He told them that they could have 3 wishes each.

Mr. Bear immediately wished that all the other bears in the forest were females.

The frog granted his wish. Mr. Rabbit, after thinking for a while, wished for a crash helmet.

One appeared immediately, and he placed it on his head. Mr. Bear was amazed at Mr. Rabbit's wish, but carried on with his second wish.

He wished that all the bears in the neighboring forests were females as well, and the frog granted his wish.

Mr. Rabbit then wished for a motorcycle. It appeared before him, and he climbed on board and started revving the engine.

Mr. Bear could not believe it and complained that Mr. Rabbit had wasted two wishes that he could have had for himself.

Shaking his head, Mr. Bear made his final wish, that all the other bears in the world were females as well, leaving him as the only male bear in the world.

The frog replied that it had been done, and they both turned to Mr. Rabbit for his last wish.

Mr. Rabbit revved the engine, thought for a second, then said, "I wish that Mr. Bear was gay!" and rode off as fast as he could!

Fast For Peace

The ever so poignant Michelle Malkin joins the Hollywood elite in the Cindy Sheehan 24 Hour Fast and gains a few pounds.

one red paperclip

Kyle MacDonald traded one red paperclip for a house. Brilliant!

bad joke du jour

A big shot businessman had to spend a couple of days in the hospital. He was a major asshole to the nurses because he bossed them around just like he did his employees. None of the hospital staff wanted to have anything to do with him. The head nurse was the only one who could stand up to him. She came into his room and announced, "I have to take your temperature." After complaining for several minutes, he finally settled down, crossed his arms and opened his mouth.

"No, I'm sorry, the nurse stated, "but for this reading, I cannot use an oral thermometer." This started another round of complaining, but eventually he rolled over and bared his rear end. After feeling the nurse insert the thermometer, he heard her announce, "I have to get something. Now you stay JUST LIKE THAT until I get back."

She leaves the door to his room open on her way out. He curses under his breath as he hears people walking past his door laughing. After almost an hour, the man's doctor comes into the room. "What's going on here?" asked the doctor.

Angrily, the man answers, "What's the matter, Doc? Haven't you ever seen someone having their temperature taken?"

After a pause, the doctor confesses, "Well, no. I guess I haven't. Not with a carnation anyway."

Kelley Blue Book ripoff

Ever try to trade in a car to a dealer and find out that the value of your trade-in wasn't as high as you expected? Chances are, the dealer quoted a Kelley Blue Book number when he lowballed you.

I've suspected the KBB values were low for years now, and apparently so have others. If you'd like to see a true market value for your vehicle (and you'd be foolish not to know that before taking your car to a dealer), try looking up similar auctions on ebay, or check Edmunds pricing instead. And if a dealer shows you a Kelley Blue Book value when taking in your car, rest assured they think they're taking in a sucker.. hook, line and sinker.

Lucas With The Lid Off

One of the most creative music videos I've ever seen.Lucas With The Lid Off. The reason it's so clever is that the whole video was shot in one location in one take (altho it took 17 attempts to get it right). Because the same people appear in different 'scenes', they had to run around the camera and position themselves within a few seconds. Even though it made Lucas into a one-hit wonder, it has had a cult following ever since its debut .

Peace Activist beats up musician

IN a story reminiscent of Al Franken assaulting a protestor, a 'peace activist' doesn't get his way, and immediately resorts to violence. This time putting a 19 year old musician into a coma. As expected, the peace thug's parents rush to his side to support him, saying that the media isn't telling the whole story.

Personally, I don't think we need to know the 'whole story' when it involves some jerk cold-cocking another guy after the other guy tells him to leave his girlfriend alone. The fact that the guy is a 'peace activist' merely points out his hypocritical lifestyle.

bad joke du jour

A young man was strolling down a street in south London. As he passed a large building with a fence around it, he heard a group of people chanting "Thirteen, thirteen, thirteen" over and over again. Curious, he tried to see over the fence, but couldn't. Then he spotted a knot in the wood, and put his eye to the hole.

He just managed to spy some old people sitting in deckchairs chanting, before a finger came out of nowhere and poked him in the eye. As he staggered back, the old people started chanting, "Fourteen, fourteen, fourteen ..."