05-23-06: This week two new “Top-Picks” lists were announced by major car evaluation organizations Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book. The top category picks in both instances pitted the Ford Mustang against a wide range of cars which makes its rise to the top levels that much more notable. Consumers voted and here are the results:

Kelley Blue Book announced its “Top Ten Great new Road Trip Cars”. The road test editors of Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com chose 10 current vehicles they thought would be well suited for road trips and then asked shoppers which of these vehicles they would most like to take on the road this summer. The results have been tallied and the chart below displays consumers' rankings:

This year's top spots are taken by five very different models -- Land Rover's functional SUV, the Range Rover Sport; Ford's performance-oriented Mustang Shelby Cobra GT500; Honda's fuel-efficient Civic Hybrid; Chevrolet's iconic sports car, the Corvette Z06; and Porsche's latest entry into the sports luxury market, the Cayman S.
"The differences among the consumers' favorites reflect varying opinions on what makes a great road trip vehicle," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. "To some, cargo space and passenger comfort matter most. To others, fuel economy is a key consideration, while still others seek the pure enjoyment of driving. But make no mistake, there are no losers on this list; we'd love to take a long drive in any one of them." While The new Mustang Shelby GT 500 didn’t get first place, it only a distant second place and furthermore is firmly planted in the top five!

On another wavelength Edmuds, the premier online resource for automotive information, today announced the winners of the fifth annual Edmunds.com Consumers' Most Wanted vehicle awards. "It's always interesting to tap into the minds of consumers," said Karl Brauer, editor in chief of Edmunds.com. "These annual awards provide insight into consumers' collective impressions while the Edmunds.com Forums and our social networking Web site CarSpace give glimpses into individual opinions every day of the year."

"The domestic automakers made some real traction this year among the consumers who voted," observed Brauer. "Domestic vehicles won twice as many awards as they did last year -- a good sign for Chrysler, Ford and GM."

Ford Mustang won the category of “Most Significant Vehicle of the Year: Coupe Under $25,000”. This says a lot as the field has some heady competition. For the second year in a row, the Mustang's winning combination of performance, affordability and aggressive yesteryear styling put it ahead of the competition, as it took 26 percent of the votes. Although very different in design and execution, the 2nd-place Mini Cooper earned 14 percent, finishing slightly ahead of the Pontiac G6 and Acura RSX, which earned 12 percent apiece.

Details on all award winners are listed at: http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/consumersmostwanted/2006/index.html