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Consumer Reports Cars Blog
- New GPS navigation devices and ratings
In our last push for the 2008 holiday season, the GPS team has posted the final Ratings update for the year. We added seven portable automotive navigators to the Ratings chart and product selector, with each having its own product page. Plus, we created the Consumer Reports Value Index™ to help shoppers to get the best GPS for their money. Our analysis is presented in two separate blogs, complete with an interactive graphic: Value Index for basic navigators and traffic-optional navigators and traffic-ready navigators. The latest Rated navigators include: Alpine PND-K3 – This new unit is a pleasant surprise, marking a significant improvement over past-tested Alpine units and boasting attractive graphics. Garmin Nuvi 265T– Part of the latest 2x5 generation, the Nuvi 265T features free real-time traffic and provides a lower-cost alternative to the widescreen Nuvi 265WT. (See our Nuvi 265WT First Look review.) Garmin Nuvi 765T – A premium, full-featured navigator with traffic services, the Nuvi 765T has reality view and lane guidance to help navigate through potentially confusing, major intersections. Insignia NS-CNV20 – A cellular-connected device, the Insignia NS-CNV20 uses Google Web-based search for points of interest (POI), rather than relying on an onboard database, and it provides real-time traffic information. Magellan Maestro 4350 – Much improved over the previously tested Magellan devices, the Maestro 4350 impresses with crisp graphics, attractive user interface, reality view, and lane guidance. Motorola Motonav TN20 & TN30 – Motorola has entered the market with this pair of decent basic navigators, distinguished by including Bluetooth connectivity at an entry-level price. Improved guidanceWith this update, we made slight scoring criteria changes that impact the overall scores and rankings. To better reflect the increasing state-of-the-art in this fast-moving product segment, we adjusted how we score Routing options, Info for driver, and Display. In the Routing Options category, multi-destination routing is now further assessed to rate the ability to optimize a route with multiple waypoints. The ability to enter coordinates was added to this category, as well. For Info for driver, reality view and lane guidance was evaluated, and exit guides were also added to scoring. In the Display category, we added a judgment on the graphic qualities of the units. Given that these features are becoming increasingly prevalent, the enhanced Ratings will help distinguish between models that not only have these useful elements, but separate the ones with better execution. Finding the best GPS navigator Whether you are looking for a portable navigator for your car or a handheld hiking GPS, we have current buying advice and the latest Ratings to help you make the best choice for your needs and budget. Get started by visiting our redesigned GPS special section. You’ll find detailed recommendations, and a slick, new product selector. This dynamic tool lets you sort and filter ratings by the features that matter most to you, and it even includes information on units in testing. —Jeff Bartlett For more information on portable automotive GPS navigation systems, see our Ratings and buying advice and... - Average gas prices—December 15, 2008
Gasoline and diesel prices continue to decrease from the week before, though at a slower rate. The Midwest saw a slight increase—possibly a sign of things to come. The national gasoline average is now more than a $1.34 below the price this time last year. Diesel fuel is now 89 cents below this time last year. National retail fuel price averages Price Change from last week Regular gasoline/gallon $1.66 ↓ .04 Diesel fuel/gallon $2.42 ↓ .09 Regional regular gasoline prices Price Change from last week East Coast $1.68 ↓ .08 -New England $1.71 ↓ .06 -Central Atlantic $1.75 ↓ .09 -Lower Atlantic $1.62 ↓ .07 Midwest $1.64 ↑ .04 Gulf Coast $1.56 ↓ .08 Rocky Mountain $1.56 ↓ .06 West Coast $1.75 ↓ .08 -California $1.74 ↓ .07 Source: Energy Information Administration, 12/15/08. Figures rounded to the nearest cent.For more information on saving fuel see our reports on how to get the best gas mileage and where to find the cheapest gas. - Best new car deals - American style
The Detroit 3 automakers find themselves in desperate straits. And while the pleas of their CEOs for emergency federal aid—and their travel modes—have made headlines, a spate of dramatic sales incentives designed to stimulate devastatingly sluggish automotive sales have gone largely unnoticed. Potential new vehicle buyers who are actively shopping in anticipation of a purchase within the next few weeks can choose from several heavily "incentivized" Consumer Reports-recommended GM and Ford vehicles (including related Saab and Volvo models) to meet their needs; there are no CR-recommended Chrysler-made cars. For example, combined dealer and customer incentives of $6,750, plus dealer holdback, bring the Consumer Reports Bottom Line Price (the effective price the dealer pays GM for the vehicle) for the 2008 Buick Lucerne CXS to $27,132. That’s a whopping 28% off the sticker price (MSRP plus destination charges) of $37,795! Once you allow for a reasonable dealer profit of, say, three percent, the vehicle price climbs to only $27,946: a savings well over $10,000 versus sticker. If a pickup truck better suits your needs, you can find savings of nearly 18% off sticker on a 2008 Ford F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCrew. Significant savings can also be found on other CR-recommended pickups such as the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the GMC Sierra 1500. Here’s a complete look at the current domestic best deals in cars, trucks, and SUVs. Brand name Model name Version name Expires MSRP Invoice price Customer rebate Dealer incentive Bottom Line Price Potential savings below MSRP Buick Lucerne 5XL CXL 1/5/2009 $35,770 $33,803 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 20%+ Buick Lucerne CXS 1/5/2009 $37,030 $34,993 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 25%+ Cadillac DTS Standard 1/5/2009 $45,400 $42,449 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 15%+ Cadillac DTS V8 1/5/2009 $43,175 $40,369 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 25%+ Chevrolet Avalanche 4WD Avalanche LT1 1/5/2009 $38,880 $35,575 Yes No Bottom Line Price 15%+ Chevrolet Avalanche 4WD Avalanche w/1LT 1/5/2009 $37,355 $34,180 Yes No Bottom Line Price 25%+ Chevrolet Malibu 1LT 1/5/2009 $21,185 $20,020 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 25%+ Chevrolet Malibu 1LT 1/5/2009 $22,505 $21,267 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 20%+ Chevrolet Malibu LTZ 1/5/2009 $27,095 $25,605 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 25%+ Chevrolet Malibu LTZ 1/5/2009 $26,880 $25,402 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 20%+ Chevrolet Silverado 1500 1LT 4x4 Crew Cab 1/5/2009 $32,720 $29,939 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 25%+ Chevrolet Silverado 1500 1LT 4x4 Crew Cab 1/5/2009 $33,495 $30,648 Yes No Bottom Line Price 20%+ Ford F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCrew 150-in 1/5/2009 $33,700 $30,446 No Yes Bottom Line Price 15%+ Ford Mustang GT Deluxe 1/5/2009 $26,240 $24,186 Yes No Bottom Line Price 20%+ Ford Mustang GT Deluxe 1/5/2009 $31,065 $28,529 Yes No Bottom Line Price 15%+ GMC Sierra 1500 4WD Crew Cab SLT SWB 1/5/2009 $40,575 37,126 Yes Yes Bottom Line Price 25%+ GMC Sierra 1500 4WD Crew Cab SLT SWB 1/5/2009 $41,055 $37,565 Yes No Bottom Line Price 15%+ Lincoln Navigator 4x4 L 1/5/2009 $54,645 $50,291 No Yes Bottom Line Price 10%+ Saab 9-3 2.0 T Sport Sedan 1/5/2009 $28,445... - Best GPS values: Traffic-ready navigators
Choosing the best GPS navigator for yourself, or for a holiday gift, can be a daunting task. New products, features, and even technologies emerge every few months. As a result, models come and go, and prices change continuously. With that in mind, we created this Consumer Reports Value Index™ to help shoppers to get the best GPS for their money. (In addition to this guide to traffic-ready navigators, we built a Value Index for basic navigators and traffic-optional navigators.) If traffic information is a key factor in your purchasing decision of a portable navigation device (PND), we feel your best investment is in a GPS device that can satisfy that need right out of the box. But as this interactive chart demonstrates, not all GPS navigators are created equal. To make this index, we combined our latest GPS ratings with approximate retail pricing, then analyzed the value proposition for the devices. Consider this a snapshot in time. More than just measuring the value in making the purchase, we focused this analysis on three-year ownership costs. The costs presented here reflect the expense for a traffic subscription, if required. This was no small task, as every company has its own plans, and those vary between product lines. Where there were options, we chose the subscription package that would lead to the lowest costs for three years. Our figures reflect three-month and one-year free deals offered to new owners, when applicable. By taking this approach, we are able to reveal the real-world cost for traffic services and compare GPS navigators on an equivalent basis. The interactive graphic below plots our overall Ratings score versus the three-year cost based on an approximate retail purchase price plus the cost of traffic subscription, with a tri-colored background showing the “value zones,” those regions that represent a high, medium, and low value. Products on the upper right side of the chart offer better values than those further