US News & World Report, the publisher of the America's Best Colleges and Best Hospitals rankings, announced it has launched www.RankingsAndReviews.com.
With the launch, www.RankingsAndReviews.com unveiled its first comprehensive consumer category called Best Cars and Trucks, which creates a rankings system that distills automotive information into a single numerical score (between 1 and 10).
"This is a major step in our expansion of the critically acclaimed 'America's Best' series," explained Mortimer Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S.News & World Report.
"Offering consumers a free online destination, which provides independent, trusted information to support their significant investments and critical decisions, is entirely aligned with our broader journalistic commitment and information sharing mission," he continued.
The www.RankingsAndReviews.com Web site uses proprietary technology and U.S.News editors to analyze thousands of published car and truck reviews from hundreds of experts, government safety ratings and reliability statistics, officials described.
The auto ranking methodology relies on U.S.News & World Report's analytical system that the company already has in place to assess the nation's best hospitals and colleges.
"By essentially offering a 'review of reviews,' Best Cars & Trucks eliminates the confusing and cumbersome task of sorting through the substantial amount of auto information currently available online and allows consumers to easily make sense of the best, most usable information" highlighted Brian Kelly, editor of U.S.News & World Report.
"Our research shows a strong consumer need for comprehensive and reliable online purchasing guidance," added Kelly.
As of Oct. 5, the No. 1 ranked vehicles in the most popular categories include:
Affordable Small Cars: Honda Civic
Upscale Small Cars: Audi A3
Affordable Midsize Cars: Honda Accord, Toyota Camry (tied)
Upscale Midsize Cars: BMW 3-Series
Luxury Large Cars: BMW 5-Series
Affordable Sports Cars: Mazda MX-5 Miata
Affordable Compact SUVs: Honda CR-V
Affordable Midsize SUVs: Honda Pilot
Luxury Midsize SUVs: Lexus RX 350
Affordable Large SUVs: Chevrolet Tahoe
Luxury Large SUVs: Cadillac Escalade
The company also reported that foreign automakers ranked higher than domestics in most categories.
Among the top-ranked automobiles on RankingsAndReviews.com, import automakers took No. 1 in 17 of 23 categories, while domestics ranked No. 1 in only six categories.
With respect to Japanese manufacturers, Honda captured the most top rankings, while Toyota came in a strong second place.
For more information, visit www.rankingsandreviews.com.