Photo credit: Paul Vlaar

Here’s a driving tip for you: if you’re ever lost while driving, make sure you’re driving a Ford.

According to a recent navigation system survey commissioned by JD Power and Associates, Ford managed to rank first and second with their Clarion navigation systems in their Lincoln MKS and Ford Flex respectively.

Likewise, the survey noted that Ford took five of the top ten slots: the Ford F-150 was at 4^th place, the Ford Escape was at 7^th while the Ford Edge followed at 8^th.  Meanwhile, non-Ford vehicles were ranked accordingly: the Acura TL was at 3^rd, the Porsche 911 was at 5^th, the Cadillac CTS was at 6^th, the Hyundai Genesis was at 9^th, and the Infiniti FX-series was at 10^th. continue reading…

Thinking of buying a car? If an award-giving body is right, the best cars to buy are Volkswagen and Ford. And Toyota? Sorry, but the road doesn’t lead there.

According to the recent 2009 Total Value Awards, Volkswagen and Ford topped their Total Value Index (TVI) among more than 48,000 buyers of 2009 models from September last year to March this year.

The TVI was made based on assumptions regarding expected reliability, fuel economy, price, etc. vis-à-vis ownership experience. In other words, the true value of the vehicle is equated as the worth of the vehicle’s attributes against its costs. continue reading…