Motor Authority Best Car To Buy 2013

Motor Authority Best Car To Buy 2013

Every year, dozens of new cars light up their tires in our hands. Just one does it in our heads, weeks after we've turned the keys back in.

That's the car we call Motor Authority's Best Car To Buy, and it's time again to kick off the teasing and waiting before we name our 2013 winner on December 10.

The rules are simple: we pick our favorite new vehicle from the best new luxury and performance cars in the $50,000-and-over bracket. We nominate anything and everything that's given us a thrill over the past year, so long as it fits the category and the price, and so long as it's new or significantly improved for the new model year.

The nominee must be available for purchase by April 30, 2013, and must be made available for our editors to drive and review before December 1, 2012.

To be Motor Authority's Best Car To Buy, a car can't just turn in the best track numbers or be a one-trick pony car. It has to be the car we want to own, to drive every day, to tell all our friends about.

We draw on the entire year's worth of driving experience to get to that conclusion. As a team, our editors review more than 200 new vehicles every year, trekking from places like Morocco to Monterey to be part of first drives of just about every car on the eligibility list. We test-drive the same cars in our native environments, whether it's the Catskills, the Ozarks, the Appalachians, or the Cascades--or the urban climes of New York, Atlanta, Portland, or Little Rock.

From there, we hone down the list to the few cars that draw us back for more and more seat time with exotic looks, spot-on steering, thundering acceleration, or amazing grip. And then we narrow down the list to one--our Best Car To Buy 2013.

We'll be discussing the nominees over the next few weeks, on the way to naming a winner on Monday, December 10.

Our sister sites The Car Connection and Green Car Reports will each choose their Best Car To Buy 2013 as well, in the mainstream and green segments, respectively.

This year's nominees for Motor Authority's Best Car To Buy 2013 are:

2013 Audi RS5

2013 BMW M5

2013 BMW M6

2013 Cadillac ATS

2013 Cadillac XTS

2013 Chevrolet Camaro (ZL1 Convertible and SS 1LE)

2013 SRT Viper

2013 Fiat 500 Abarth

2013 Ford Focus ST

2013 Ford Shelby GT500

2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo

2013 Land Rover Range Rover

2013 Lexus GS 350 F Sport

2013 Mercedes-Benz GL Class

2013 Mercedes-Benz SL Class

2013 Porsche Boxster

2013 Scion FR-S

2013 Subaru BRZ