Consumer Reports Auto Picks '06

For the first time in nine years, all the top picks in Consumer Reports' annual vehicle guide were made by Japanese automakers. The selections were based on road and track tests, evaluations of comfort, convenience and fuel economy, crash protection ratings from the government and insurance industry and readers' reliability rankings. Consumer Reports said it tested more than 200 vehicles to come up with its picks.

Small Sedan (less than $20,000)

2006 Honda Civic.

Asian brands also fared best in the magazine's survey of vehicle reliability. Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand was first, while Honda was second and Toyota was third. Ford Motor Co.'s Mercury brand was the only domestic name to crack the top 10.

Family Sedan ($20,000-$30,000)

2006 Honda Accord.

Reliability rankings were based on a survey of Consumer Reports subscribers who were asked if they have had serious problems with their vehicles in the past 12 months. The survey questions readers about 17 different trouble spots. For this year's survey, readers rated their experience with 810,000 vehicles from the 1998 through 2005 model years.