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Quick, guess which automakers produce the most affordable, long-lasting cars? If you said Honda and Toyota, you’re right.

Our list of the toughest cars on the road includes four winners from Honda ( HMC - news - people ) and two from Toyota ( TM - news - people )–a veritable coup for the Tokyo-based companies.

“They just keep reinforcing that perception,” says James Clark, the general manager of Automotive Lease Guide, a residual value data provider based in Santa Barbara, Calif. “It’s a purchase you’re never going to be questioned on–’Why did you buy a Honda?’ It’s very safe.”

Rounding out the “toughest” list, Subaru and Ford Motor ( F - news - people ) earned two slots each, thanks to strong results from Subaru’s rough ‘n tumble Forester and Impreza and Ford’s trusty Escape and Fusion. Hyundai, down just 7.9% in U.S. sales for the year to date, also grabbed a spot with its Santa Fe crossover.

Behind the Numbers
To determine this year’s toughest cars on the road, we evaluated all 2009 models based on reliability, safety and quality, along with maintenance requirements. We narrowed the list by considering only candidates that received a better than average reliability rating from Consumer Reports, a top safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a score of at least four out of five stars from J.D. Power and Associates’ quality survey, and a five-year maintenance cost of under $3,200, as estimated by Vincentric, an auto data firm in Bingham Farms, Mich.

Toughness–a combination of quality, durability and all-around staying power–is increasingly important to consumers anxious about credit problems and potential job loss, says Raffi Festekjian, senior manager of product research and analysis at J.D. Power and Associates. The average length of car ownership has increased from 5.5 years in 2006 to six years in 2009, according to J.D. Power data.

“What matters now to consumers is which car can I focus on that’s not going to give me a headache and which is going to cost quite a bit as far as repairs are concerned,” Festekjian says.

Honda’s $21,245 CR-V fits that requirement to a T. The plucky crossover received a perfect five out of five overall quality rating score from J.D. Power, with perfect scores in the individual mechanical, powertrain, body and interior, and features and accessories categories.

The CR-V sold 14,550 units last month, down 27.1% from May 2008. But it outsold all other Honda crossovers and SUVs. Toyota’s RAV-4 was down just 14.7%, and Ford’s Edge suffered a passable 22.5% decline, although they each sold more than 2,000 units less than the CR-V. The CR-V comes in two- and four-wheel drive LX, EX and EX-L versions that all get a combined 23 miles per gallon and offer standard features including remote entry, chrome trim, halogen headlights and MP3 compatibility.

Sturdy Standouts
While Honda makes a strong showing on our list, drivers should check out the durability merits of Subaru and Hyundai. Consumer Reports named Subaru the second-best automaker (behind Honda) of 2009; Subaru was the only automaker with 100% of its tested vehicles earning the “recommended” distinction. Hyundai showed the most improvement of any automaker in reliability ratings over last year; its Genesis sedan topped Consumer Reports’ “upscale-sedan” ratings.

The $21,695 Santa Fe is one example of Hyundai’s fortitude. It received a perfect five out of five overall quality rating from J.D. Power and has estimated five-year maintenance costs of around $3,000, much less than the $3,500 required to maintain a larger SUV like the Dodge Durango.

Subaru’s $17,495 Impreza, a favorite among videogame aficionados and street-racers, stands out for its 45% above-average reliability rating from Consumer Reports. It received perfect reliability scores on most of its components, including the engine, transmission, suspension, brakes and even audio system.

Focusing on Function, not Fantasy
Noticeably absent from our list? Large trucks and over-sized SUVs that talk a big game about being tough but rarely deliver. Most were left off because of poor reliability ratings and high maintenance costs. It just goes to show that towing capacity and a large truck bed do not a tough vehicle make.

Luxury rides like the $79,000 Land Rover Range Rover and $49,000 Lexus GX470 SUVs also failed to meet our “toughness” criteria. Upper echelon prices don’t necessarily translate into increased durability; no vehicle on our list costs more than $23,500.

Jake Fisher, the senior automotive engineer for Consumer Reports, says it’s partly because luxury autos often have the latest and greatest technology, which can sometimes pose a problem: It breaks.

“There are so many things that could go wrong,” he says. “Sometimes luxury brands are too fixated on being the first to market with something as opposed to honing in and getting it right.”

Source (article): FORBES

Source (picture): RIDELUST

Whether or not General Motors files for bankruptcy protection, the carmaker has made clear that its future plans do not include two brands — Saturn and Hummer — that once seemed to hold immense promise for the company.

GM has said it will decide this year whether to sell or discontinue both brands as part of the stringent cost-cutting measures aimed at trying to restore the ailing company’s financial stability. The overall effort also has created an uncertain future for two other GM divisions, Saab and Opel.

Even with such efforts, however, many believe the company will be forced to file for bankruptcy protection, perhaps as soon as Monday.

GM spokesman John M. McDonald said this week the automaker has identified parties interested in purchasing Saturn and Hummer, but he would not provide specifics on who might be interested or when any deals might be reached.

“Obviously our interest is to have these brands find a home outside of GM and to continue as a business that can grow and flourish,” McDonald said. “At the same time, I don’t think there’s any illusion: We need to restructure GM, and as we restructure GM there’s no room for those brands.”

The troubles facing the Saturn and Hummer brands are in many ways indicative of the underlying problems that have pushed GM to this point.

Different kind of car
When GM announced plans to launch the Saturn line in 1983, it promised to be different from typical U.S. brands in every way, from its nimble assembly line operation to its no-hassle showroom floor. A major focus was on customer service, including a pledge that buyers would not have to haggle on price.

The company’s early efforts paid off.

“They came out with one vehicle — average vehicle, average price, average quality,” but still found success against their Japanese competitors practically overnight, said Robert M. Wiseman, a professor at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business.

Still, after a strong start, things went downhill for Saturn, Wiseman said. He faults GM for not investing enough in Saturn’s next generation of vehicles, leaving the company without a strong enough product line to bring its initial customers back again.

As time went on, the Saturn brand also became more enmeshed in GM’s general operations, borrowing design elements from sibling brands and gradually mixing production facilities, experts say. The result has been cars that are too similar to other GM nameplates and do little to excite the customer, some industry analysts say.

“They lost their way a long time ago,” said George Magliano, IHS Global Insight’s director of automotive industry research for North America.

Still, Magliano said that more recently Saturn has seemed to find its footing again with promising new models such as the Aura and the Astra. But the improvements may have come too late.

Source(pictures): CARBODYDESIGN, ALIBABA