Everybody Wants To Be THE AUTO CHANNEL: U.S.News & World Report Launches RankingsAndReviews Website

Imports Outrank Domestics, with Honda Cars Topping the List

WASHINGTON, DC – October 5, 2007 – U.S.News & World Report, the publisher of the America’s Best Colleges and Best Hospitals rankings, today announced the launch of a new internet site that empowers consumers to make the most informed buying decisions by providing rankings and meta-reviews of major consumer products.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Auto Channel has been empowering consumers since the dawn of the Internet with the world's most comprehensive automotive information resource, and it's always been completely free to use.

With its launch today, www.RankingsAndReviews.com unveils its first comprehensive consumer category – Best Cars and Trucks – the only free-of-charge website of its kind, creating a rankings system that distills all of the automotive information it collects into a single numerical score (between 1 and 10) and thereby enables consumers to make head-to-head comparisons of car models within their respective categories.

“This is a major step in our expansion of the critically acclaimed ‘America’s Best’ series,” said Mortimer B. Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S.News & World Report. “Offering consumers a free online destination, which provides independent, trusted information to support their significant investments and critical decisions, is entirely aligned with our broader journalistic commitment and information sharing mission.”

According to an independent poll conducted earlier this year by Zogby International of 1,004 adults nationwide, 78% with incomes above $50,000 reported that “before buying an expensive product like a car, TV or digital camera,” they currently “use the Internet to learn more about the available choices.” When specifically asked if they “were in the market to buy a new auto,” 75% said they would be “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to visit a site created by U.S.News & World Report that ranked and reviewed the nation’s best cars and trucks.

The website uses proprietary technology and U.S.News editors to analyze thousands of published car and truck reviews from hundreds of experts, government safety ratings, and reliability statistics. The rankings methodology relies on U.S.News & World Report’s highly successful, proven and trusted system currently used to assess the nation’s best hospitals and colleges.

The editors distill the collective wisdom of the nation’s auto press and experts on safety and reliability to write one comprehensive, easy-to-read meta-review for each vehicle. Given that the average consumer spends more than four hours on the Web researching their automotive purchase, U.S.News & World Report’s Best Cars and Trucks will provide consumers with better, more complete information in a fraction of the time.

“By essentially offering a ‘review of reviews,’ Best Cars & Trucks eliminates the confusing and cumbersome task of sorting through the substantial amount of auto information currently available online and allows consumers to easily make sense of the best, most usable information” said Brian Kelly, editor of U.S.News & World Report. “Our research shows a strong consumer need for comprehensive and reliable online purchasing guidance,” added Kelly.

RankingsAndReviews.com Reveals the Top Ranked Automobiles

According to U.S.News & World Report’s new website, as of October 5, 2007, the #1 ranked automobiles in the most popular categories are:

Affordable Small Cars: Honda Civic

Upscale Small Cars: Audi A3

Affordable Midsize Cars: Honda Accord, Toyota Camry (tied)

Upscale Midsize Cars: BMW 3-Series

Luxury Large Cars: BMW 5-Series

Affordable Sports Cars: Mazda MX-5 Miata

Affordable Compact SUVs: Honda CR-V

Affordable Midsize SUVs: Honda Pilot

Luxury Midsize SUVs: Lexus RX 350

Affordable Large SUVs: Chevrolet Tahoe

Luxury Large SUVs: Cadillac Escalade

A complete listing of all the car and truck rankings and meta-reviews are available at: www.RankingsAndReviews.com .

Foreign Manufacturers Outrank American Manufacturers:
In addition to its listings, RankingsAndReviews.com reveals that foreign automobile manufacturers ranked higher than American automobile manufacturers in most categories. Among the top-ranked automobiles on RankingsAndReviews.com, as of October 5, 2007, foreign automobile manufacturers ranked #1 in 17 of 23 categories, while American automobile manufacturers ranked #1 in only six of the categories. With respect to Japanese manufacturers, Honda captured the most top rankings, while Toyota came in a strong second place.

A complete listing of all of the car and truck rankings and reviews is available at the website. .