Conjure up a top-notch car or truck, and it could be anything from a sporty model to a practical sedan or an edgy crossover.
Automobile Magazine recognized this in naming 10 vehicles of various types for its 2009 All-Stars awards.
The automotive lifestyle magazine released its findings earlier this month. Award winners will be featured in the magazine’s February 2009 issue, available on newsstands Jan. 6.
“This year’s list is one of the broadest we have compiled,” said Jean Jennings, president and editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine.
The list includes the periodical’s 2008 Automobile of the Year, the Audi R8. One brand, Chevrolet, placed two cars on the roll, the Corvette ZR1 and the Malibu. They are joined by the BMW 3-series, Ford Flex, Honda Fit, Jaguar XF, Porsche 911, Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 and Volkswagen GTI.
The winners are picked by the magazine’s editors, “who convene to test, evaluate, and debate the performance, significance, and pure enthusiast appeal of the cars that make the biggest impact.
“These ten cars are the year’s fastest, most exhilarating, ingenious, awe-inspiring, accomplished and compelling cars available in the U.S.,” Jennings said.
Here’s more on each vehicle:
-- Chevrolet Malibu — It’s an all-star for the second straight year. Editors said, “The Malibu is the quiet American on this year’s list: a sedan with crisp handling, commutative steering, a properly tuned ride, and an overall feeling of quality.”
-- Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 — Editors said it’s hard to describe “the rush of the most powerful Corvette ever.” The sports car hits 60 miles per hour in first gear in 3.7 seconds and 91 mph in second.
-- Ford Flex — The crossover is refined, yet as practical as a minivan, according to magazine editors. With seven-passenger capacity and generous proportions, the Flex is a vehicle that defies conventional wisdom.
-- Jaguar XF — The vehicle is a beautiful, composed, powerful, and lush car, according to the panel. One magazine editor called it “the best Jaguar sedan I have ever driven.”
-- Audi R8 — The R8, magazine editors said, is the kind of iconic sports car that comes around once or twice a decade. “Dramatic inside and out, the R8 is wide, low, and purposeful.”
-- Porsche 911 — Born 44 years ago, the Porsche 911 sports car “has been a rare island of tranquility amid the automotive industry’s seas of turmoil,” the editors said. The fortified sixth-generation 911 is gutsier and quicker accelerating.
-- Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG — According to the editors, “The C63 AMG makes the leap to the all-stars list because it sacrifices the posh-performance DNA of Mercedes-Benz in its quest to be a better driver’s car.”
-- BMW 3-series — The 3-series and M3 were cited as “BMW’s masterpiece of all-things-to-all-people engineering.” The car, editors said, “remains more fun than anything that’s more practical and more practical than anything that’s more fun.”
-- Volkswagen GTI — It was the magazine’s 2007 Automobile of the Year, and a new version of the GTI is due in the U.S. in September. Yet the current GTI made the list for being out in front in the race to be the best sporty compact car.
-- Honda Fit – The compact, introduced 30 years after the Civic’s debut, “has come along to amaze a new generation.” Its extra polish elevates the small-car experience with hidden features, a sleeker exterior, a smoother gearbox, and a nicer cabin.
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