Influential magazine Consumer Reports has come out with its annual list of the ten best cars of 2007, and once again Japanese automakers have dominated the results. Every vehicle from Toyota and Honda earned at least a recommendation, with the two companies combined achieving seven places in the magazine’s top ten picks. In stark contrast, America’s automakers couldn’t even manage a single spot, a feat they haven’t accomplished since April of 2005.

Consumer Reports' David Champion conceded that the Americans weren’t up to scratch, admitting he “still thinks Detroit is trailing." In a strange move, the magazine excluded two categories where US carmakers usually excel, large SUVs and full-size pickups. Champion’s reason was that most of the models in these categories were new to 2007 such as Ford’s new Edge, which was disapproved because of a hard-to-open tailgate.

Credit was given to the big three for beating many European models as well as some Japanese cars, especially in the quality stakes. But Detroit’s automakers were still criticized for scoring low on the magazine’s overall test, which measures the cars with up to 50 different criteria. Chrysler was easily the worst of the big three, coming in second last, followed by GM and then Ford. It’s funny to see publications such as the Detroit Free Press continue to praise America’s automakers even though they rated badly. It’s time the local media started giving Detroit its wake up call.

Follow the jump to see which cars came out on top for each of the ten categories.

Fun to drive - Mazda MX-5 Miata

Small SUV - Toyota RAV4

Small sedan - Honda Civic

Family sedan - Honda Accord

Minivan - Toyota Sienna

Luxury sedan - Infiniti M35

Midsized SUV - Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Budget cars - Honda Fit

Green car - Toyota Prius

Upscale sedan - Infiniti G35