Each year, Consumer Reports recommends Top Picks for a variety of car and truck segments. Vehicles on the Top Picks list combine high scores from Consumer Reports’ tests with above average reliability, as reported by Consumer Reports readers. Consumer Reports also compiles a list each year of American made Top Picks for consumers who are concerned with spending their dollars on American products (remember that even though many foreign cars are manufactured in America, the design and engineering is usually done in the company’s home country, and designers and engineers make a lot more money than factory workers).

The list is dominated by Ford, mostly because the Blue Oval is the only of the Big Three that has had the money to develop quality new cars over the past few years. GM would have been better represented on the list, but poor reliability kept the Cadillac CTS and Corvette Z06 from being picked over the Lincoln MKZ and Ford Mustang.

Consumer Reports 2010 American Top Picks:

Small Car                         Ford Focus
Family Sedan                 Ford Fusion & Mercury Milan
Sporty Car                       Ford Mustang GT
Small SUV                       Ford Escape & Mercury Mariner
Family SUV                    Chevrolet Traverse
Sports Sedan                  Lincoln MKZ
Green Car                        Ford Fusion Hybrid
Pickup Truck                 Chevrolet Silverado

Consumer Reports could not recommend any minivans as Top Picks because while the Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan scored very well in tests, they scored so poorly in the reliability surveys that they could not be recommended.

The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid was the most recommended car on Consumer Reports Top Picks of 2010 list.