Imports again dominate the list, but two American cars make the cut. December 3, 2003: 3:22 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Only two cars from U.S. automakers have made it to Car & Driver's top 10 vehicle list for 2004, the magazine said Wednesday.
The car enthusiast magazine returned the Chevrolet Corvette sports car and the Ford Focus economy car to the list to its top vehicles. The two were the only U.S. cars on last year's list as well. The rest of the vehicles are from European or Japanese automakers, even though three overseas automakers who made the list last year -- Porsche, Nissan and Subaru -- are off the list this time.
The Toyota Prius is one of the new additions to Car & Driver's Top 10 Cars list.
The cars that are new to the list in 2004 are the Acura TSX, , the Mazda RX8 and the Toyota Prius, all of which are newly introduced vehicles, plus the Audi S4 Quattro. The new version of the Honda S2000 roadster, an earlier version of which made the list three previous times but not last year, returns for 2004.
Besides the Corvette and Focus, the cars returning to the list include the Honda Accord, the Infiniti G35 and the BMW 3-Series/M3.
The Prius is a hybrid car that has both a gasoline engine and electric motor to boost both fuel efficiency and power while reducing emissions. It also has been honored as Motor Trend's 2004 car of the year. Toyota has reported strong demand, with a waiting list of buyers for the new model, which hit U.S. dealer showrooms in mid-October. November sales of 5,584 units were nearly triple the car's earlier version a year earlier.
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The Acura TSX is the newly introduced sedan that takes the place of the Acura RSX sports coupe on Car & Driver's top 10 list this year. Acura is the luxury unit of Honda Motor Co., giving Japan's No. 2 automaker three entries on the top 10 list.
The Mazda RX-8 sports car also takes the place of the Mazda6 sedan, which was introduced a year ago.
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The Nissan 350Z, Porsche Boxster and Subaru Impreza are the three other models that made last year's list but didn't make it this time around.
A 13-member panel selected the 10 cars from a list of 57 nominees.
"Stunning styling, terrific technology, and excellent value are the virtues we certainly appreciate," Car & Driver Editor-in-Chief Csaba Csere said. "We found them in abundance among the 57 cars nominated for our 2004 awards."
