Would you buy any of the cars listed below? The original list is titled “The top 10 cars that Americans hate”. Hate is such a strong word. Do people really hate cars? So, to generate this list of the cars Americans dislike, Forbes looked at sales data for the 10 major vehicle segments. The vehicles with the lowest sales in their class made this list.

Kia Rio (Subcompact Car)
Why Americans Hate It: Acording to J.D. Power’s 2008 dependability study, it ranked miserably making it a risky quality purchase for some buyers.

Volkswagen Rabbit (Compact Car)
Why Americans Hate It: Americans are not fond of hatchbacks, which are widely popular in Europe. Figures!

Mazda Tribute (Compact Multi-activity Vehicle)
Why Americans Hate It: This SUV is an oddball in the Mazda mix, and most buyers don’t look to the brand for an SUV.

Saab 9-7X (Midsize Premium Multi-Activity Vehicle)
Why Americans Hate It: Saab’s quirky interior, like ignition starts located on the center console and not the dash, appeals to “a little different buyer with a little different personality.”

Saturn Sky (Compact Sporty Car)
Why Americans Hate It: This convertible top is cumbersome to maneuver in terms up getting it up and down and just doesn’t appeal to buyers who want a convertible.

Audi A3 (Entry Premium Vehicle)
Why Americans Hate It: Again… Americans are not fond of hatchbacks, which are widely popular in Europe.

Dodge Magnum (Large Car)
Why Americans Hate It: Americans lost their interest in wagons when the minivan came along (which later fell out of favor to SUVs). It’s an awkward looking wagon as well.

Mitsubishi Galant (Midsize Car)
Why Americans Hate It: The Galant suffers from a lack of brand recognition in the ultra-competitive midsize segment.

Jaguar XJ (Large Premium Car)
Why Americans Hate It: Buyers were willing to suffer through some quality issues when Jaguar was British-owned, but the brand lost luster when Ford bought, and then later sold, it to India-based Tata Motors last year. I completely understand.

Acura RL (Midsize Premium Car)
Why Americans Hate It: Acura’s bland, plain-vanilla exterior styling is a turnoff to buyers who don’t want to blend in in a crowded parking lot.

Some people believe that the color you choose for your car reflects something about your taste and personality.

Dark colors = aggressive personality

Bright colors =energetic and vibrant personality

Red cars =speed demon

For many years, silver has been the most popular new car color in North America. Perhaps because it looks modern and looks good on any type of vehicle. The next most popular colors are black, red, and gray. There are new color variations coming out every year. PPG Industries Inc., an automotive paint supply company, predicts that blue will be the next popular car color. Blue? Really? This better be some nice new blue color in the making. Hope its good.

In the midst of all the bad economic news, this has almost gone unnoticed. Gas prices dropped more this week than in any week since AAA began recording prices. Currently, the national average price is $3.12, according to AAA.

With the price of oil below $80 a barrel, this price could come down even more over the next few weeks, bringing $3 gas back into sight. Woo Hoo!

In fact, the price of oil is declining much faster than the price of gas. Experts say gas prices climb like a rocket and slowly float downward like a feather because the industry can bolster its profit margins when oil costs less. Compounding this phenomenon was the recent shutdown of refineries in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricanes Ike and Gustav struck, which squeezed gas supplies.

Gaywheels.com, a source of information specifically targeted to and about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) car-shoppers, rounded up their 2008 Q3 most researched cars and here’s there top ten (more like 14)…

1 VW Rabbit
2 VW Eos
3 Mazda MX-5 Miata and Audi A3 - tie
4 Mazda MAZDA3 and VW Jetta - tie
5 Toyota Yaris
6 Saab 9-3 and Dodge Caliber -tie
7 Volvo C30
8 smart fortwo
9 Toyota Matrix and MINI Cooper - tie
10 Maserati Grand Turismo

People readily see faces and traits in cars, and a new study suggests that they prefer cars to appear dominant, masculine and angry.

The finding rests on the propensity we have to actually see faces or human characteristics in everything from cars to clouds, a phenomenon called pareidolia. But now researchers hope to better understand what goes on in the brain when people see faces in objects versus humans faces, as well as help automakers design more appealing cars.

People overwhelmingly preferred cars that rated highest on “power” traits.” High “power” cars like the BMW 5 Series tended to be lower or wider, and have slit-like or angled headlights with a wider air intake. Take a closer look at the study.

The few consumers who are buying new cars are being forced into bigger down payments or all-cash deals in the latest sign of how the credit crisis is battering an already weak auto market.

The average down payment on financed car purchases has jumped nearly $1,000, about 20%, since July, and all-cash transactions are at their highest point in three years. Consumers are increasingly being frozen out of the credit market, as banks and other financial institutions continue to tighten their lending practices.

The finance companies of General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler have recently increased the interest rates they charge their dealers. Typically more than 90% of buyers finance their vehicles. But now, some dealers have been unable to get financing even for car buyers with exemplary credit scores.

In September, sales fell below 1 million vehicles for the first time in 15 years, but analysts fear the market could be even worse in October.

The number is being pulled down by a change in Americans’ driving habits.

Roll back the clock to 1961: The number of people killed in U.S. traffic accidents that year topped 36,200.

This year, gasoline climbed over $4 a gallon, and the traffic death toll appears headed to the lowest levels since Kennedy moved into the White House. Experts who have studied motor vehicle fatality trends said one reason for the dramatic decline is that people are reducing their nonessential driving first, which is often leisure driving at night or on weekends.

Teenage and elderly drivers (who also have higher accident rates) are more likely to feel the pinch of higher gas prices, and thus may be cutting back more than other drivers.

The word “lemon” probably will cross your lips long before the vehicle is actually a candidate for a manufacturer buyback

Strange rattles, a faulty interior light, a malfunctioning compact-disc player or a balky heater don’t add up to a lemon. If the brakes don’t work as they should, the car won’t start when the temperature dips, the accelerator pedal repeatedly sticks, the reverse gear malfunctions or the car has no power to reach highway speeds, you may have a case if the problem can’t be fixed.

What’s a Lemon?

• A persistent defect that substantially impairs a vehicle’s use, value or safety.

• A substantial defect cannot be fixed in four attempts or in two tries for a safety defect during the warranty period.

• The car has been in the shop for 30 days or more, and the dealer cannot fix it.

An estimated 100,000 cars, trucks and SUVs eventually are bought back by manufacturers every year, but the process isn’t quick or easy. Every state and the District of Columbia have lemon laws that establish standards for when vehicles should be repurchased or replaced by the manufacturer. (You’ll find a state-by-state list of lemon laws here.)

What To Do?   Experts advise you to send notice to the manufacturer by a certified, return-receipt letter. Make sure you document any problems and the attempts to get them fixed. Start taking notes as soon as you believe something is wrong, and hang on to the repair bills. Keep track of whom you talked to and the dates and times of those discussions. Put your complaints in writing and save copies of everything. How long could this take? Documenting the problems, going through repeated repairs and then engaging in negotiations or haggling through a lawyer could end up taking a year or more.

If you want a refund of your money, the manufacturer is not going to write you a check with just a phone call.  Some warn that an inexperienced consumer is not a good match against a big corporation or their seasoned lawyers. Rosemary Shahan, the president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety in Sacramento, Calif., says consumers do not necessarily need a lawyer if they have lemons. If a consumer decides legal help is necessary, there are “lemon lawyers” in every state who know the ins and outs of lemon laws.  Be sure to check out any lawyer you want to hire. 33 states require that manufacturers pay legal fees in successful cases. 15 states require arbitration, usually handled by the state attorney general’s office, before going to court. Be forewarned: If you get a settlement that you don’t like, you can’t appeal.

Where Do The Rotten Lemons Go?   Refurbished lemons go back on the market, often in a different state far from the location where the vehicle ran amok. Great!  An Experian Automotive study for The New York Times found that of 1,000 vehicles bought back as lemons in Florida, 555 were sold outside the state — and 80% of them had lost their buyback designation. Always Carfax what you might buy. Better safe than sorry.  

Men are just as vulnerable if they are more inclined to base their decisions on what the car means to them.

According to a survey, men are more motivated by emotion when it comes to buying a car while women watch their purse strings. Such things as the make and model of a car and the brand reputation are far more important for male purchasers than female ones.

Men were also nearly twice as likely than women to worry over what a car said about their personal image. The older the car, the higher the chance of it having some sort of history that would affect a person’s decision to buy it. It is important for women to protect themselves because they are more likely to buy older cars.

If fuel is warm when it’s delivered to a station, it’ll still be warm when it’s sold a few hours later.

Some people say it’s better to buy your gasoline first thing in the morning, rather than in the heat of the day. That’s because gasoline, like all liquids, expands when heated. The basic facts are correct, but the advice is not. Gasoline does expand and contract a little depending on its temperature. When gasoline rises from 60 to 75 degrees F, for instance, it increases in volume by 1% while the energy content remains the same.

Filling stations typically store their gasoline in underground tanks, where the temperature variation during the day is much less than in the air above. The result is that the temperature of the gasoline coming out of the fuel nozzle varies very little, if at all, during any 24-hour stretch at any particular station.

A 15-degree difference, for example, would result in a one-percent gain in volume. Or, just a few cents difference on the first gallons pumped — not enough to change your schedule or routine in chasing costs, especially if it might increase your fuel consumption in the pursuit.