Automotive Leasing Guide's 2008 Residual Value Rankings

I always like to look at the Automotive Leasing Guide's residual ratings b/c it gives you the hierarchy to which models depreciate the least and which one's depreciate the most. It's an eye opener for some.

ALG is the leading source for automotive residual values and analytical data products, as well as consulting services for automotive manufacturers, finance companies, and fleet companies. If you are a consumer or lessee, we also offer tips and tools for vehicle leasing to help you calculate monthly payments, understand residual values, and gain knowledge about the automotive industry in general.

We’ve been the industry leader in residual values for over 40 years, and we know how to help you increase your profitability, reduce risk, and gain overall market intelligence. Please browse our website for more information, and contact us with any questions.

5 Stars (these vehicles hold their value the absolute best)
Acura
TL
TSX
Audi
A4
BMW
3 Series
6 Series
Chevrolet
Corvette
Ford
Mustang
Honda
Civic
CR-V
Infiniti
G35
Jeep
Wrangler
Land Rover
Range Rover Sport
Lexus
IS250/350
Mini
Cooper
Nissan
Altima
Pontiac
Solstice
Porsche
911 Carrera
Scion
XB
Subaru
Impreza
Toyota
Camry
Matrix
Rav4
Tacoma Pickup
Volkswagen
EOS
New Beetle
Rabbit

4 Stars (Still holds their value exceptionally well, above average)
Acura
MDX
BMW
5 Series
Z4
Cadillac
XLR
Chevrolet Trucks
Avalanche
C/K1500 Silverado Classic
C/K1500 Silverado Pickup
C/K2500 Silverado HD Pickup
C/K3500 Silverado Pickup
Dodge Trucks
Dakota Pickup
Ram 2500 Series Pickup
Ram 3500 Series Pickup
Ford Trucks
Expedition
F250 Super Duty Pickup
F350 Super Duty Pickup
GMC Trucks
C/K1500 Sierra Classic
C/K1500 Sierra Pickup
C/K2500 Sierra Hd Pickup
C/K3500 Sierra Pickup
Honda
Accord
Element
Odyssey
Ridgeline
S2000
Infiniti
FX
Lexus
GX470
RX350
SC430
Mazda
CX-7
Mazda3
MX-5
Mercedes Benz
E Class
GL Class
SLK Class
Nissan
Nissan Frontier
Maxima
Sentra
Pontiac
G6
Porsche
911 Carrera 4
911 Turbo
Cayman
Saab
9-3 Convertible
Scion
TC
Subaru
B9 Tribeca
Forester
Legacy
Outback
Toyota
4Runner
Corolla
Sienna
Volkswagen
GTI
Volvo
C70 Series

3 Stars (Average)
Acura
RDX
RL
Audi
A3
A6
Q7
BMW
X3 Series
X5 Series
Buick
Lucerne
Cadillac
CTS
Escalade
Chevrolet
Cobalt
Impala
Chevrolet Truck
Colorado Pickup
Express Cargo Van
Suburban
Tahoe
Chrysler
300 Series
Pacifica
Sebring
Dodge
Caliber
Charger
Dodge Trucks
Nitro
Ram 1500 Series Pickup
Ford
Five Hundred
Focus
Fusion
Ford Trucks
Edge
Explorer
F150 Series Pickup
Ranger Pickup
GMC Trucks
Acadia
Canyon Pickup
Savana Cargo Van
Yukon
Yukon XL
Honda
Fit
Pilot
Hummer
H3
Hyundai
Azera
Santa Fe
Tiburon
Infiniti
M35/45
QX56
Jaguar
XK Series
Jeep
Commander
Compass
Kia
Sorento
Sportage
Land Rover
LR3
Range Rover
Lexus
ES350
GS350/430
LS460
LX470
Lincoln
Mark LT
MKX
MKZ
Navigator
Mazda
Mazda5
Mazda6
RX-8
Mercedes Benz
C Class
Clk Class
Cls Class
M Class
R Class
SL Class
Mercury
Mariner
Milan
Montego
Mountaineer
Mitsubishi
Eclipse
Nissan
350Z
Armada
Murano
Pathfinder
Versa
Xterra
Pontiac
Vibe
Porsche
Boxster
Saab
9-3 Series
9-5 Series
Saturn
Aura
Ion
Outlook
Sky
Vue
Scion
XA
Suzuki
Grand Vitara
SX4
XL7
Toyota
Avalon
Camry Solara
FJ Cruiser
Highlander
Landcruiser
Sequoia
Yaris
Volkswagen
Jetta
Passat
Touareg
Volvo
S40 Series
S80 Series
V50
XC90

2 Stars (These depreciate quite quickly)
Audi
A8
BMW
7 Series
Buick
Lacrosse
Cadillac
DTS
SRX
STS
Chevrolet
Malibu
Monte Carlo
Uplander
Chevrolet Trucks
Equinox
Express Passenger Wagon
HHR
Trailblazer
Chrysler
Aspen
PT Cruiser
Town & Country
Dodge
Magnum
Ford
Freestyle
Ford Trucks
Econoline Van
Escape
GMC Trucks
Envoy
Savana Passenger Wagon
Hummer
H2
Hyundai
Elantra
Sonata
Tucson
Isuzu
I-370
Jaguar
S Type
X Type
XJ Series
Jeep
Grand Cherokee
Liberty
Kia
Optima
Sedona
Lincoln
Town Car
Mazda
Mazda Truck
Mercedes Benz
CL Class
G Class
S Class
Mitsubishi
Endeavor
Galant
Outlander
Raider
Nissan
Quest
Titan
Pontiac
G5
Grand Prix
Torrent
Saab
9-7X Series
Saturn
Relay
Volvo
S60 Series
V70 Series

2 Stars (Terrible, just....plain....terrible)
Buick
Rainier
Rendezvous
Terraza
Chevrolet
Aveo
Chevrolet Trucks
Uplander Cargo Van
Dodge
Caravan
Stratus
Dodge Trucks
Caravan Cargo Van
Durango
Ford
Crown Victoria
Freestar
Taurus
Ford Trucks
Econoline Wagon
Freestar Cargo Van
Hyundai
Accent
Entourage
Infiniti
Q45
Isuzu
Ascender
Kia
Amanti
Rio
Spectra
Mercury
Grand Marquis
Monterey
Suzuki
Aerio
Forenza
Reno

Source;
https://www.alg.com/DepreciationRatings

Automotive Blueprint Site

Stumbled across this the other day and I thought that some of you might enjoy this. It looks like the owner of the site has pretty much every car make listed too.

http://carblueprints.narod.ru/honda.htm

Big Brother comes to the Automotive World by 2012; Man Cancels Order on Nissan GT-R

This kind of accident-investigation scene, tapping into the car's EDR and downloading crash-related data to a laptop computer, will become far more prevalent as black boxes proliferate in 2012 and beyond.
Until a few weeks ago, Florida attorney Scott Weires was eagerly awaiting delivery of his new Nissan GT-R. But in late August, Weires canceled his order--not because he doesn't want the $82,000 Super Silver supercar he has lusted for since it was first unveiled as a concept seven years ago. Weires says he's uncomfortable with the fact that every GT-R has a recording device strapped to its chassis, an electronic black box that monitors how each owner drives his or her GT-R.

Similar so-called black boxes, or electronic data recorders (EDRs), are now standard equipment in a majority of passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the United States. Wired into airbag sensors, yaw and stability sensors, antilock brake and traction controllers, electronic throttle controls and engine monitors, EDRs soon will collect a bewildering amount of data in keeping with pending federal regulations aimed at standardizing information available from the devices. Those regulations, finalized earlier this year and set to go into effect Sept. 1, 2012 (on 2013-model-year vehicles), specify exactly how much and what types of information must be collected and saved electronically in the event of a crash or airbag deployment.

Though the U.S. Department of Trans-portation requirements don't mandate installation of EDRs on every car, truck and sport-utility vehicle in America, the rules do require compliance with the guidelines if the vehicle is fitted with an EDR by the manufacturer. In 2006, the National High-way Traffic Safety Administration reported that 64 percent of manufacturers were equipping vehicles with EDRs, a number the agency says hasn't radically changed. But an informal survey indicates that most automakers--with some notable exceptions--are embracing the devices. And that number seems to have grown in the four years since AutoWeek last investigated the state of automotive black boxes ("Under the Hood, with Big Brother," Nov. 8, 2004).

As a result, most of today's late-model vehicles are equipped with EDRs, ostensibly to help manufacturers engineer better safety equipment in vehicles by analyzing data collected in crashes. In reality, what started as a simple tool for safety engineers is now a key component that provides data to protect companies from safety-related lawsuits and to assist law-enforcement officials investigating car accidents.

While an EDR may seem onerous enough to those who love a spirited drive in a sports car, it was another kind of black box, a vehicle status data recorder (VSDR), that put Weires at odds with Nissan and his GT-R.

Unlike an EDR, which activates only when sensors indicate that a crash is imminent or has occurred, Nissan's VSDR runs constantly, collecting information such as wheel and engine speed. The device, thought to be a first in the automotive industry, stores more than a few days' but less than a week's worth of data on the vehicle's operation, Nissan says. The VSDR cannot be deactivated.

In technical information provided to buyers, Nissan says the VSDR does not record sounds or images but "always records and stores vehicle-operating data between periodic inspections, which can assist and be used for servicing, diagnosing and performing warranty repairs."

Nissan says the VSDR isn't intended to spy on unsuspecting GT-R drivers but is needed to help mechanics and engineers monitor the performance of various onboard systems in the highly advanced car.

It's that part about "warranty repairs" that has Weires worried. He says data collected by the VSDR could allow Nissan arbitrarily to invalidate all or part of the car's warranty. For instance, Nissan specifically warns owners that they could void warranty protection by running a car with its vehicle dynamic control (VDC), governing traction and stability, turned off. (In fairness to Nissan, the owner's manual does allow owners to defeat VDC when wheelspin is needed to rock a car that's stuck in snow or mud.)

"These warranty issues are a little unsettling," said Weires. "That was a huge part of my decision."

Nissan officials are quick to clarify that VSDR data would be used only as a secondary way to verify that a car had been abused or raced. And only the damaged part might not be covered by warranty; a record of hard use wouldn't invalidate the warranty for the entire car.

For the rest of the article, follow the link;
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080924/FREE/809189970/1506/rss01&rssfeed=rss01

Great Article; Why Do Cars Have Crumple Zones

Here is the picture of an old school accident where the car was made to survive an accident, not to protect their occupants.
Here is a modern car crash where the vehicle is made to protect the occupants and not to survive the accident. Anyway, here is the article;

'A lot of times when people see a modern car accident or push on a plastic bumper, they wonder why cars aren't built the way they used to be. Well, a lot of it has to do with human survivability. If you've ever had high school level physics you'll understand the following formula:F = ((m2 - m1) x (V1-V2)/(t2 - t1))Where the masses of the first and second vehicles are m1 and m2 and the start of the collision and end of the collision are t1 and t2, respectively. V1 and V2 are the relative speeds of the vehicles — V1 being starting speed and V2 normally being zero. "F" is what's important here, as it's what either turns the occupants into a gooey bag of skin or lets them walk away.

F, of course, is force. It is the result of one car hurtling into another. It's what acts on the human attached to the inside of the car by way of seatbelt. When cars crash into each other there are an incredible number of variables, not the least of which are angles, bumper heights, braking forces etc., but the ones that can be controlled are the ones which have the biggest impact in that equation.

When crashing, you want to minimize the amount of speed involved; slamming on the brakes is a great way to do that. Minimizing mass is going to be a tougher one, considering your car is pretty heavy to start out, and you both won't have a lot of time to jettison stuff while yelling "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit." But what about that time thing? What if you could stretch out the amount of time it takes from the start of the accident to the end? This is what crumple zones do.

The cars in the above gallery are designed to survive an accident, not to protect their occupants. In some of the scenarios, the car looks not too much worse for the wear, but the drivers likely suffered significant injuries that would have been avoided in a modern car. The cars that turned into mangled messes probably did the same to their drivers. No car can ever be completely safe; even though the new ones don't look tough, you're way better off in 'em.

Engineers design crash zones to fail along a predictable path using varying materials and construction techniques. As a result, predictable bending, breaking, and stretching occurs. These failure events act like a giant shock absorber sitting in front of your dash, "soaking up" force. If you play around with the above equation, you can see that stretching out the time, even by fractions of seconds, has a remarkable effect on the forces transmitted to the passengers. Of course, this is an extremely simplified look at why cars turn into play-doh during an accident these days. But at least it gives you a fighting chance of explaining why the next time your folks crank up the "back in my day" speech.'

Here is the link with other photo's of old school accidents;
http://jalopnik.com/395700/why-do-cars-have-crumple-zones