(March 12, 2013) WASHINGTON — General Motors took home the most awards with six of its models across three of its brands as winners — Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Traverse, Chevrolet Cruze, Buick Verano, Buick Lacrosse and Cadillac Escalade — in the annual U.S. News & World Report "Best Cars for Families" ratings announced today.

Covering 19 categories, the awards highlight the vehicles that provide the best combination of quality, features and space that today's families need.

"We created the Best Cars for Families awards to make it easier for parents to find cars, SUVs and vans that will help make their lives easier," said Jamie Page Deaton, managing editor of U.S. News Best Cars. "With such a broad range of award winners, any family can find the best car for their lifestyle."

The Best Cars for Families awards combine quality, size and family-friendly features into a composite score. Within each of the 19 categories, the vehicle with the highest score is named the Best Car for Families in that category.

Quality is measured using a weighted average of scores from the U.S. News rankings at the time the awards are published. The rankings compare cars on the basis of safety, reliability and a consensus of automotive critics' opinions. Size is based on a vehicle's seating capacity and interior space. For family-friendly features, we factor in the availability of features deemed to be helpful to families by U.S. News editors.
  
The award winners are mixed between foreign and domestic automakers. Import brands took home nine awards while domestic brands took home ten.

This year is the first year that Chevrolet, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lincoln have won Best Car for Families Awards. 

The Honda CR-V, Honda Odyssey, Lexus RX-350 and Toyota Highlander Hybrid have won Best Car for Families awards for three years running.

2013 Best Cars for Families
	Chevrolet Cruze Compact Cars		Buick Verano Upscale Small Cars
	Toyota Prius Hatchbacks		Ford Fusion Midsize Cars
	Acura TL Upscale Midsize Cars		Buick LaCrosse Full-Size Cars
	Mercedes-Benz E-Class Luxury Full-Size Cars		Ford Fusion Hybrid Hybrid Cars
	Subaru Outback Wagons
Best SUVs and Minivans
	Honda CR-V Compact SUVs		Audi Q5 Luxury Compact SUVs
	Jeep Grand Cherokee 2-Row Midsize SUVs		Chevrolet Traverse 3-Row Midsize SUVs
	Lexus RX 350 Luxury 2-Row Midsize SUVs		Lincoln MKT Luxury 3-Row Midsize SUVs
	Chevrolet Suburban Full-Size SUVs		Cadillac Escalade Luxury Full-Size SUVs
	Toyota Highlander Hybrid Hybrid SUVs		Honda Odyssey Minivans