Off Duty, Automotive - Navy Times

Tops for 2010: Family-friendly (and family-priced) cruisermobiles

• 2010 Ford Taurus

Base MSRP: $25,170

In the 1980s, the Taurus was America’s best-selling family car. Then Toyota beat Ford at its own game with the Camry, which became (and remains) the best-selling car in the country. But the Taurus is back — and this time, it might recapture its former glory.

For starters, it’s a bigger car than the Camry, with more front-seat headroom and legroom and a substantially bigger trunk. The Taurus also comes standard with a powerful 3.5-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic — while the base Camry has a four-cylinder engine and manual transmission.

Beyond these perks, the Taurus can be ordered with all-wheel-drive for improved wet/winter weather grip — while the Camry/Avalon (and the Honda Accord) are front-wheel-drive only.

Another helpful feature: an external keypad SecuriCode entry system. If you lock yourself out of the car or lose your keys, you can still get in by entering your personal code.

• 2010 Buick LaCrosse

• Base MSRP: $27,085

If enough people give cars like the new LaCrosse sedan a shot, GM’s troubles will at least begin to get better. This is a nice, five-passenger cruise-mobile that’s priced about $800 below the next-closest thing to it size-wise and features-wise (the $27,845 Toyota Avalon). Comes standard with V-6.