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These are the cars with the best and worst depreciation after 5 years

The average new vehicle sold in America loses nearly half of its initial value after five years of ownership. No surprise there; we all expect that shiny new car to start depreciating as soon as we drive it off the lot. But some vehicles lose value a lot faster than others. According to data provided by iSeeCars.com, trucks and truck-based sport utility vehicles generally hold their value better than other vehicle types, with the Jeep Wrangler — in both four-door Unlimited and standard two-door styles — and Toyota Tacoma sitting at the head of the pack. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited's average five-year depreciation of 30.9% equals a loss in value of $12,168. That makes Jeep's four-door off-roader the best overall pick for buyers looking to minimize depreciation. The Toyota Tacoma's 32.4% loss in initial value means it loses just $10,496. The smaller dollar amount — the least amount of money lost after five years — indicates that Tacoma buyers pay less than Wrangler Unlimited buyers, on average, when they initially buy the vehicle. The standard two-door Jeep Wrangler is third on the list, depreciating 32.8% after five years and losing $10,824. Click here for a full list of the top 10 vehicles with the least depreciation over five years. On the other side of the depreciation coin, luxury sedans tend to plummet in value at a much faster rate than other vehicle types. The BMW 7 Series leads the losers with a 72.6% drop in value after five years, which equals an alarming $73,686. BMW's slightly smaller 5 Series is next, depreciating 70.1%, or $47,038, over the same period. Number three on the biggest losers list is the Nissan Leaf, the only electric vehicle to appear in the bottom 10. The electric hatchback matches the 5 Series with a 70.1% drop in value, but since it's a much cheaper vehicle, that percentage equals a much smaller $23,470 loss. Click here for a full list of the top 10 vehicles with the most depreciation over five years.

2015 Mercedes-Benz CLS400 [w/video]

Rocky IV debuted in 1985 but it was a few years later that I first watched it, on video. I loved every second of that terrible movie. I loved Drago's super-high-tech demonstration of punching power. I loved Rocky training in a Russian barn, with ropes, and yokes, and wagons. But mostly I loved Brigitte Nielsen. My 10-year-old brain sweated her impossible combination of curves and sharp edges, demure eyes, and sculpted bone structure. The perfect woman, but evolved by the power of the dark-hearted Soviet Union (or Denmark, whatever, I was ten). Red Sonja has a lot in common with the latest version of the Mercedes-Benz CLS, as I see it. Mercedes created a new market niche with its first four-door coupe, a sedan so well-proportioned, flowing, and femininely curved that it could pull off its inaccurate moniker. The third evolution of the CLS you see here has Nielsened up the shape into something altogether more angular and edgy, but like 1985's Brigitte, retains an undeniable sex appeal. It's a more opinionated piece of auto design than was the original CLS. And also a car that bifurcates the space between luxury coupe and luxury sedan. Ludmilla Drago would undoubtedly understand. Driving Notes For the base engine of a 4,200-pound car, the CLS400's two-turbo V6 does better than just get out of its own way. The full 354 pound-feet of torque is available way down at 1,600 revs, and plateaus until 4,000, giving you a fat band in which to call up power. Acceleration is available in the form of a quiet, gracious, but not aggressive push at just about every speed. From inside the cabin, the engine and exhaust noises are pleasantly rumbling, though muted. But do yourself a favor and try not to listen to the CLS tick over while standing around the driveway. When the car first pulled up in mine, warm from some 40 miles of highway, it still sounded an awful lot like a 2.0T on a mid-March morning. Not to belabor the Brigitte metaphor, but I found as much Neilsenian dichotomy in the ride and handling as I did the exterior styling. Especially with Mercedes' 4Matic system spreading out the grip, I found the CLS to be sharp when pushed, and rather excellent in terms of making quick corrections while under a cornering load. And yet, you've got to push through an initially soft suspension response to reach that hard edge. The CLS will initially resist being tossed around a winding backroad, but press on and she'll do as you ask.

Audi and Mercedes both outsell BMW in January

There won't be any celebrations in Munich this month, as BMW was outsold by arch-nemeses Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The Bavarian company finished behind Audi in January, which took the top spot for the first time since June of last year, Bloomberg reports. Ingolstadt rode high on a 10-percent bump in sales, while Mercedes saw a larger 14 percent increase. BMW, meanwhile, only saw a modest 6.3-percent sales increase last month, thanks in large part to its struggles in China. The company's sales there increased at about half the rate of its chief competitors, with a 7.9-percent jump to Mercedes and Audi's roughly 15-percent increases. Perhaps more worrying for BMW, though, is that this could become something of a trend for the company. According to Bloomberg, issues with Chinese dealers who cancelled orders over sales targets and bonuses combined with what the publication calls aging models, could spell bad news for the German marque. "This looks like a pretty significant decline in growth compared to Mercedes and Audi," Bankhaus Metzler analyst Juergen Pieper told Bloomberg. "I think this will continue during the next few months." News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Matthias Schrader / AP Earnings/Financials Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz