One of the first sure signs of 1994 is the appearance of the authoritative 14th annual edition of Jack Gillis' "The Car Book" - a guide that is so consumer friendly that it was once killed by the Reagan administration as "anti-industry."
Gillis produced the first "Car Book" in 1980 when he worked for the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency gathers statistics on the best and worst vehicles on the market.When the incoming Reagan administration put a stop to further publication of the guide Gillis left the government and continued to produce the book privately. Ironically, he is still using the same DOT data, which he now obtains through the Freedom of Information Act.
"The Car Book" rates vehicles on the basis of crash test results and such criteria as price, fuel economy, predicted repair costs, warranties, insurance, ease of parking and the number of consumer complaints.
For example, the Ford Crown Victoria received the highest number of complaints from American consumers while the Mazda RX7 remained unblemished, with no complaints registered.
The most fuel efficient cars are the GEO Metro XFi and the Honda Civic HB VX.
If you own a Mercedes Benz C- or E-class or a Dodge Stealth, you have good reason to worry about future maintenance headaches, according to Gillis. However, your worries are minimal if you own a Chevy Astro and any of the Saturn models.
Readers might be surprised to learn that a Ford Escort performed better in crash safety tests than a Honda Civic.
Minivans, pickups and sport utility vehicles are the fastest growing groups of vehicle types, yet they do not have to meet many of the safety standards applied to passenger cars, he said.
Following are Gillis' "best bets" for 1994.
-Subcompact: Hyunda Excel, Toyota Tercel, Mercury Tracer and Nissan Sentra.
-Compact: Nissan 240SX, Chevrolet Cavalier, Plymouth Sundance, Chevrolet Beretta and Nissan Altima.
-Intermediate: Ford Taurus Wagon, Plymouth Acclaim, Mercury Sable Wagon, Dodge Spirit, Eagle Vision, Chrysler Concorde and Dodge Intrepid.
-Large: Mercury Cougar and Chrysler LHS/New Yorker.
-Minivans: Pontiac TranSport, Oldsmobile Silhouette, Chevrolet Lumina Minivan, Nissan Quest, Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan and Plymouth Voyager/Grand Voyager.
The book also contains must-read chapters on showroom strategies, avoiding lemons, options to select and those to avoid, gas-saving devices that don't work, selecting the best child safety seat, the importance of maintenance, dealing with mechanics, understanding warranties and saving on insurance.