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Ford, Toyota clean up in Best Car For The Money Awards

The U.S. News Best Cars for the Money Awards picks winners by looking at the average transaction price, five-year total cost of ownership, the regard a car has from the automotive press, reliability figures from J.D. Power and Associates and safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The result, according to the magazine, is "the best combination of critical acclaim and long-term value."
Ford nabbed six of the 21 categories that received awards this year, the Focus, Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, Taurus, Escape and Edge getting trophies. Toyota and its Lexus and Scion sub-brands took another five, the Tacoma and Tundra owning the two categories given to pickup trucks. The other ten awards were split between Honda with three, Buick with two, and one each for Subaru, BMW, Hyundai, Chevrolet and Mazda.
Follow the link to see all the winners and read about why they were chosen.

The 2019 BMW 3 Series looks pretty much like a 3 Series

Spy photographers captured the 2019 BMW 3 Series during testing in Munich, Germany. While the sedan is wearing heavy camouflage, it's apparent that BMW is going for a more sophisticated look. Up front, the new 3 Series takes styling cues from the latest BMW 7 Series with rounded headlights that flow into the car's oval kidney grilles. The rear of the prototype still has protruding round taillights that were spotted on a previous prototype. They likely won't be used in the final design. Our photographers also snagged some interior images, and the cabin appears similar to the current 3 Series. The center console retains the current model's layout, though the HVAC controls appear to have grown in size and have fewer buttons. As previously reported, the next-gen 3 Series is expected to have a longer wheelbase and be wider than the current model. Despite growing in size, lightweight materials will help the upcoming sedan cut weight. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 BMW 3 Series Spy Shots View 9 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos BMW Luxury Sedan interior design

A BMW i3 will cost you $100,000 in Brazil

Brazil is a long way from the US, and the price of the BMW i3 in that South American country is even further away from what Americans pay for the same electric vehicle. But that hasn't stopped a few wealthy Brazilians from taking the plunge. The BMW i3 REx – i.e., the one with the gas-powered range-extender – is the first mass-produced vehicle of its kind to be imported to Brazil (there are a few Nissan Leaf vehicles in fleet use), and those intrepid buyers are forking over about $100,000 to own the vehicle, according to Just-Auto. The country's first 100 i3's were recently received in Sao Paolo, and about 30 of them have been sold. That pricetag is a wee bit higher than in the US, where the i3 starts under $42,000. BMW did open a $261-million factory in Brazil this year, but the i3 continues to be produced exclusively in Germany. It's not just fancy new plug-in cars and World Cup tickets that cost a lot in Brazil. The Volkswagen Golf, which retails for less than $18,000 in the States, costs about $23,000 in Brazil and the Economist ran a series of articles last year explaining how currency changes have resulted in the dollar-to-Brazilian real exchange rate surging in recent years.