Indians give foreign trips a break as rupee plunges to new lows

NEW DELHI: Foreign travel bookings out of India for this winter have gone down considerably, with international holidays becoming expensive - thanks to the rupee plunging to new lows.

Delhi-based D.Paul's, which was clocking a growth of 70-80% growth year-onyear till October, said the business slowed down 20%. "Winter packages are nearly 17-18% more expensive compared to summer season," R Singh, director of D.Paul's said. Add to that rupee devaluation and other factors, like airport development fee, the total travel package cost increased 30-35%.

He said that even if a consumer has booked his holiday package in advance, he needs to pay the differential amount, based on the rupee-dollar exchange rate. A travel company usually puts such conditions in their agreements with outbound tourists.
Travel operators said that floods in Thailand, which is the most popular destination among Indians, also contributed to the slowdown. Indian families usually travel to short-haul destinations in south east Asia during the winter season, and Thailand contributes 20-30% of the overall travel footfalls going abroad. Other destinations like Australia and New Zealand are also popular during winter season.

"Even as some islands of Thailand are unaffected, consumers are being cautious. Singapore on its own is very expensive which leaves travellers with no option but to visit Malaysia, where prices have shot up due to high demand," a travel company executive who did not want to be named said. "If we were expecting to grow by 30% during the winter months, we have grown only by 10%," he added.

The winter season is the second largest holiday season for Indians after the summer months and the Diwali breaks when schools announce vacations. In addition, traditional wedding season leads to a large number of honeymooners opting for holidays around this time of the year.

But high prices for international holiday packages have put the Indian families at the backfoot as they are being more cautious booking at the last minute as well as looking for shorter trips this winter.

"In the past few weeks, bookings for airline tickets for leisure destinations are down by 7-8% from a year ago," said Ankur Bhatia, executive director Bird Group, a travel solutions company.

Tour operators are also noticing late bookings by Indian families. Travel companies usually sell nearly half of their inventories by October-end. This time around, bookings for Christmas and New Year packages are expected to happen as late as the first week of December. Some travellers are also postponing their holidays to the January-March quarter hoping for the market to stabilise.

Rajeev Duggal, managing director of Kuoni India, one of the biggest travel firms, said that companies are closely watching the situation with uncertainty in economic conditions as well as currency value fluctuations. "Growth for bookings has slowed down during the third quarter as consumers are opting for shorter breaks and are being cautious about international holidays.

Some are even postponing it to the fourth quarter," he said, adding, "that going by advance bookings, the January-March quarter could see higher growth in volumes than the October-December quarter".

Alberta tops Fraser Institute’s annual ranking as most economically free jurisdiction in North America

Alberta Premier Alison Redford. THE CANADIAN PRESS

It won't surprise anyone that the free enterprise-oriented Fraser Institute has dubbedAlberta the most economically-free jurisdiction in Canada. But would you be shocked to learn it tops the rankings for all of North America?

That's the finding of the Vancouver-based think tank's 2011 Economic Freedom annual report for this continent.

Alberta beat all Canadian provinces, as well as all 50 U.S. states on the institute's all-government index, which measures the impact of federal, provincial or state and municipal governments on economic freedom.

The index ranks jurisdictions based on the size of government, amount of taxation and level of labour-market freedom.

"The chicken is coming home to roost: Canada is staying on the course of economic freedom, while the United States has accelerated its spending and regulation," Fred McMahon, a Fraser Institutevice-president and co-author of the report, told the National Post. "It's been a long-term trend that's really beginning to bite now."

McMahon pointed out the rankings are based on 2009 data, which don't factor in even greater U.S. government stimulus spending, compared with Canada.

Alberta Finance Minister Ron Liepert said he was not surprised at his province's position. He said that while he was energy minister he met often with U.S. legislators who displayed what he called "Alberta envy" at the province's 10 per cent flat tax on personal income and zero sales tax.

"I remember a conversation with a fellow from Wyoming," said Liepert. "He had nothing but good things to say about the kind of climate we have here … In a general sense, they felt it was much easier to do business in Canada these days than it is in the U.S."

Canada also topped the United States in the institute's previously released ranking of economic freedom in the world, dropping to 10th place with a score of 7.6 out of 10 while Canada rose to sixth, scoring 7.81. Hong Kong was first, scoring 9.01 out of 10.

Interestingly, on the institute's subnational ratings, which takes out the federal component, Alberta drops to sixth, with South Dakota in first place. The institute said the difference is due to the much lower level of federal spending in Alberta.

The institute said in a news release the level of economic freedom translates directly into living standards.

"The connection between economic freedom and prosperity is clearly seen in the report's finding that the 12 Canadian and American jurisdictions with the highest levels of economic freedom had an average per-capita GDP of $54,435 (Cdn) in 2009, compared to the 12 lowest-ranked jurisdictions in North America, where average per-capita GDP in 2009 was $40,229," it said.

But before Canadians start popping the Champagne corks, the report suggests the rest of Canada doesn't measure up so well on the institute's yardstick.

Delaware finished second behind Alberta in the rankings, followed by Texas, Nevada and Colorado.

"The Canadian provinces, with the exception of Alberta, are all clustered at the bottom of theeconomic freedom ratings, along with Hawaii, Mississippi, New Mexico, and West Virginia," the institute's report summery said.

However, it said, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland improved significantly. Saskatchewan took the biggest jump, climbing to 32nd from 53rd and second overall among the provinces.

But McMahon pointed out it's not because of any major change in the prairie province but due to U.S. states tending downward.

Newfoundland and Labrador, at 37th overall, was the third-ranked province.

Canada's two biggest economies, Ontario and Quebec, finished near the bottom of the 60 Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions, finishing 49th and 58th respectively.

"The low economic freedom scores for Ontario and Quebec are quite troubling, given that they are Canada's two most populous provinces," McMahon said.

"If governments in these two provinces want to boost prosperity and improve the standard of living for their residents, they should look to the successful policies of provinces where economic freedom has increased."

British Columbia was 43rd, Manitoba 56th, New Brunswick, 57th, Nova Scotia 59th and Prince Edward Island 60th and last.

The complete report is available online here.

Immigration shifts west from Ontario

Canada's immigration patterns are changing, experts say, and western provinces are the beneficiary.

Only a decade ago, Ontario took in the lion's share of Canada's immigrants, with half going to Toronto and 60 per cent to Ontario as a whole. Last year, only 42 per cent of all immigrants went to Ontario, statistics show.

At the same time, immigration to Western Canada has surged, especially in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

One of the biggest reasons is a booming western economy, particularly in the farming and resource sectors, according to B.C.-based immigration expert Nick Noorani.

"Immigrants are going where they get jobs," Noorani told CBC News.

The change has also been fuelled by the provincial nominee program, which allows provinces to choose a certain number of immigrants each year, Noorani said. The program ensures those who come to Canada enter the workforce immediately, he said.

"What's happening is a lot of immigrants are coming in with prearranged employment," Noorani said, "and that's good because then you're reducing the unemployment or underemployment rate that immigrants seem to have."

The system is a far cry from previous decades, when the federal points system for skilled workers kept many aspiring newcomers waiting for years to immigrate and failed to meet the need for skilled tradespeople in the provinces.

The provincial system has resulted in economic payoffs for communities, Noorani said.

"From an economic perspective," he said, "let's remember every time you get people coming into a new community, business increases. So suddenly you'll have people putting up stores where they're going to have ethnic foods. Real estate has been bolstered tremendously by immigrants and their desire to own homes, more than Canadian-born."

Nevertheless, challenges remain, according to the University of Ottawa's Peter Showler.

Not all temporary foreign workers get the same level of support to become permanent residents, the former chairman of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada said, something that could leave too much power in the hands of employers.

"When you have very positive, future-looking employers, that works very well," he said. "If you have abusive employers, they can use that as a kind of threat or control to sometimes sustain improper labour practices."

As well, Showler said, the federal government needs to reduce wait times: The current immigration backlog has grown to more than a million people.

Oshawa couple wins $50-million Lotto Max jackpot

OSHAWA, Ont. - An Oshawa, Ont. couple has had a change of luck — the kind that can turn dreams into reality.

Linda Ingram says she freaked, screamed, and jumped up and down when she discovered that she and her husband, Don, had the winning ticket for Friday's $50-million Lotto Max jackpot.

Every week for the past several years Linda has purchased a lottery ticket from the same convenience store, and on Friday her strategy for getting rich finally paid off.

The Ingrams have been married for 30 years, and have spent the last 15 working as cooks at an Oshawa restaurant.

Friends say the two have been struggling to pay bills recently because of Don’s health problems.

Don Ingram told CTV News "It’s about time we got a chance to live a comfortable life," "And make everybody else happy too."

The two are still making plans, but say they intend to give some of their vast winnings to their two grown children. Linda, however, must first obtain photo ID so she can collect the $50-million.

Cong leader Dullet’s killing

 Riki Dullet

Main accused Sukhi arrested, says SSP
Sangrur, November 22

The Sangrur police today claimed to have arrested the main accused in the murder case of Congress leader Riki Dullet, who was allegedly shot dead on November 13. The police has identified five more persons involved in the case, who are yet to be arrested.

Sangrur SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar said the main accused in the case, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi, alleged to have shot at Dullet at the crime scene. “Sukhi was intercepted at a naka near the Ubbawal Road when he was traveling in a car,” Bhullar said.

The police is claimed to have recovered a gun and seven bullets from the accused.

Bhullar said the police had identified Amandeep Singh, Goldy Pehalwan, Attar Boxer, Hardeep Singh Gaggarpur and Kimmi as co-accused in the case. “They will be arrested soon as we are conducting raids,” he added.

Earlier, the police had registered an FIR against Sultan Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, DSP Sangrur Kuldeep Sharma, additional SHO Sangrur city Surinder Bhalla and a SAD worker Amanvir Singh Cherry, on the statement of Rajinder Kaur. All, except Sukhi and Sultan, are yet to be arrested.

SP Sangrur Paramjit Singh Guraya, who heads the Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the matter, said they had summoned Cherry and others accused of conspiracy, but they were not arrested as the investigation was still on.

Taj Mahal quite stable in plan and elevation: Govt

New Delhi/Agra, November 22

The Taj Mahal and its four minarets are “quite stable in plan as well as elevation”, the government today said, dispelling all apprehensions that the 358-year-old marvel in marble was on the verge of collapsing.

Culture Minister Kumari Selja told Parliament that doomsday reports and predictions about the symbol of eternal love were “without any proper scientific basis”. She said scientific studies conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) through premier agencies like the Survey of India in Dehradun, the Central Building Research Institute in Roorkee and the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad concluded that the monument, including the four minarets, was quite stable in plan as well as elevation.

The Culture Minister assured that the conservation work at the Taj Mahal was going on continuously depending upon the need of repairs and availability of resources and the monument was being regularly monitored through essential studies.

Based on inputs from some Agra-based campaigners, there were recently some media reports suggesting that India’s leading tourist attraction would collapse within five years unless urgent action was taken to shore up its foundations.

The activists said the Yamuna flowing next to the monument was being blighted by pollution, industry and deforestation. The Taj is built on mahogany posts sunk into wells fed by the river, which is crucial for its survival. But dropping water levels in the river were damaging the wood, making it brittle, they said.

Incidentally, all this was besides the cracks in parts of the tomb and tilting of its four minarets reported by the activists last year.

Agra MP Ramshankar Katheria was quoted as saying that: “If this persists, the minarets may also collapse since the wooden foundation-beneath the wells is rotting due to lack of water.” A well-known authority on the Taj, Professor Ram Nath, also maintained that the river was a constituent of its design and if it dies, the monument could not possibly survive.

Subsequent to the media report, the Supreme Court had also sought a response from the ASI and the Central ministries of environment and forests, culture and water resources. The apex court had also asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to give its views on the reported danger to the Taj.

Re hits all-time low of 52.73

New Delhi/Hyderabad, Nov 22
The rupee today slipped to an all-time low of Rs 52.73 to a dollar in the morning before recovering somewhat to close at Rs 52.30.
On the first day of August, Indian importers paid Rs 44 for every dollar. In September, they paid Rs 49 and now in November it breached the Rs 52 mark. The demand for dollars is weakening the rupee further and making imports, specially oil imports, costlier. The value of the rupee has fallen by over 16 per cent during the last four months, the fastest slide in history, said former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.
The depreciating rupee is also likely to hit Indian companies which resorted to External Commercial Borrowing ( ECB) lured by the lower rates of interest abroad compared to the rates prevailing in India. Indian companies are believed to have raised Rs 150,000 crores abroad this year and if the slide of the rupee continues or remains at the current level, they will find it costlier to repay the loans. The additional burden of repayment was estimated at Rs 27,000 crore today.
ECBs used to be available at about 5-7% interest rates, where as rupee denominated loans from Indian banks were available at 12-14% interest rates. Hence, several Indian corportates have chosen the ECB route for borrowing instead of Indian rupee loans, in anticipation saving about 5-7% of interest cost.
However, such Indian corporates are realisng now the side effects of non-rupee borrowing. In the case of non-rupee borrowing, the forex fluctuation can be very punishing, as it is happening now, says research by SMC Global.
In Hyderabad, the Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao expressed the hope that the rupee would recover once the European crisis gets resolved. Blaming ‘external and global factors’ for the slide, he said the RBI had not yet decided when to intervene in the forex market to arrest the slide of the local currency.
“Of course, the RBI can intervene but it will do so only when it is consistent with its policies.
Significantly, the RBI Governor voiced his concern at inflationary pressures and asserted that the government’s ‘food for work’ programme and proposed food subsidy would further increase fiscal deficit and add to inflationary pressures.
What has caused all round concern is the speed at which the rupee slipped during the past few weeks. Financial analysts said they expected the rupee to slide further and hit corporate profitability and the next quarterly results.

Rupee’s fall Oil import gets costlier The RBI says it will wait and watch Value down by over 16% during the last four months, the fastest slide in history The depreciating rupee will hit Indian companies.

Prison double-bunking used in segregation cells

Federal prisons in British Columbia and Manitoba are forcing some inmates to be double-bunked in segregation cells, a practice that was supposed to have been abolished for everything but extreme emergency situations a decade ago, CBC News has learned.

Documents obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act show at least two prisons have forced segregated inmates to share cells — Stony Mountain in Manitoba and Mission Institution in B.C. In a number of Ontario prisons, the mandatory assessments that are required before any inmate can be double-bunked are not always completed, the documents also show.

The Office of the Correctional Investigator, an ombudsman for federal offenders, says double-bunking in segregation is a violation of government policy, the Charter of Rights and international human rights standards. A 2001 Correctional Service of Canada directive explicitly prohibits the use of segregation cells for double-bunking unless emergency exemptions are warranted.

"Segregation is the most austere form of incarceration we have in Canada. You're locked in a very small cell for 23 out of 24 hours," correctional investigator Howard Sapers said. "These are very confined spaces. These cells are not designed to house more than one inmate. So if you're now going to house two inmates in one of these very small segregation cells, you're really bordering on inhumane custody."

Sapers also draws a connection between prison overcrowding, double-bunking of the general inmate population and increased violence. Over the last four years, assaults in prisons have risen 27 per cent and occasions when guards have had to use force have increased 28 per cent.

A year ago Jeremy Phillips, 33, was found dead in his cell at the medium-security Mountain Institution in B.C. Phillips, who was serving time for aggravated assault, had been sharing a cell with Michael McGray, a serial killer serving six concurrent life sentences. Phillips had begged to be re-located.

McGray is now awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge in Phillips' death.

Union concerned with overcrowding

The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers is also worried about the effects of overcrowding in prisons.

"It's like an elastic band. Things are stretched and every once and awhile they break. For our prisons that have a high percentage of double-bunking we certainly see that elastic is being stretched pretty thin right now," said Kevin Grabowsky, the union's regional president for the area that includes Stony Mountain.

John Hutton, executive director of the John Howard Society of Manitoba, says double-bunking in segregation is unsafe but admits prison management may not have much choice as inmate populations continue to grow.

"I think we should be concerned because the inmates and the staff that work in those institutions are put at risk when their conditions are overcrowded and they're being asked to do tasks that they don't have the capacity to do," Hutton said.

Sapers has described the practice of double-bunking in segregation as a measure of last resort, only to be used in emergency situations.

But in a letter dated Sept. 23, 2010, he called double-bunking "far from a 'temporary' situation."

He wrote: "The decision to grant Stony Mountain Institution a 12-month exemption to allow for double-bunking in segregation does not reflect an 'extraordinary' or 'temporary' situation."

In an interview, Sapers added, "Granting a 12-month exemption doesn't really sound like a reaction to an emergency, it sounds like a reaction to perhaps bad planning."

CBC News obtained statistics from the Office of the Correctional Investigator dated Sept. 11, 2011, showing a snapshot of double-bunking among the general population at Canada's 58 prisons.

Nationally, 13.46 per cent of inmates were doubled-bunked. About half the prisons had no double-bunking on that date, but others showed a high proportion of offenders double-bunked:

• Regional Reception Centre, Saint-Anne-des-Plaines, Que.: 47.52 per cent doubled-bunked.
• Frontenac Institution, Kingston, Ont.: 72.20 per cent.
• Millhaven Assessment Unit, Bath, Ont.: 65 per cent.
• Bowden Institution, Innisfail, Alta.: 50.89 per cent.
• Grande Cache Institution, Grand Cache, Alta.: 58.78 per cent.
• Mission Institution, Mission, B.C.: 24.90 per cent.

Ontario assessments info

Before two inmates are housed in the same cell they are supposed to be assessed to determine the compatibility or risk of double-bunking them. The OCI determined that placement assessments were not always done.

During a May 10, 2010, visit to Warkworth Institute in Campbellford, Ont., OCI senior investigator Christine Lessard identified a poor track record of assessment completion.

''I have reviewed 10 random double-bunking placement assessments from your facility. The results are very concerning," she wrote. "Out of the 10 reviewed, two assessments have been completed, four have been started but the finalized recommendation was not completed and four have not been completed at all.''

On Feb. 8, 2011, staff at Warkworth Institute filed a complaint under the Canadian Labour Code that double-bunking had the potential to put them in danger.

In her incident report, Lessard writes this was "due to double-bunking and inability to verify live breathing body. The issue was could officers see live breathing bodies in double-bunked cells."

Wind Mobile backer regrets Canadian launch

The billionaire financier behind the Wind Mobile cellular telephone company says he regrets getting involved in Canada in the first place.

That's one of several revelations made by Naguib Sawiris, the Egyptian founder of the Orascom media conglomerate, in an interview with the CBC's Amanda Lang.

Orascom provided much of the financing for Globalive's Wind Mobile service when the brand launched in 2009.

"It was a bad idea," he said in the interview, which aired on The Lang & O'Leary Exchange at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.

'Why aren't they everywhere if they're so good? The answer is simple, here they're protected.'—Naguib Sawiris on Canadian telecom incumbents

Globalive, headed by Canadian entrepreneur Anthony Lacavera, has a complex ownership structure under which the Canadian equity owners control the company, but Orascom put up more than 80 per cent of the funding.

That raised the ire of telecom incumbents Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. which complained to the CRTC that the company doesn't adhere to Canada's stringent foreign ownership rules.

After a lengthy process, Canadian officials eventually ruled that Wind was within the rules and was allowed to launch a cellular service in late 2009.

Canada is the only country in the world, besides China, that hasn't opened up to foreign direct investment for foreign capital, Sawiris said. "I don't know why Canada wants to be matched with China," he said. "There's only two countries [with] very ridiculous old laws, and nothing is happening."

"There's no real political will here to introduce competition into this closed market," he said.

Spectrum auction

Sawiris spent roughly $500 million in a wireless spectrum auction in 2008 to get the necessary space on airwaves to launch a cellular service. The federal government set aside a certain percentage of that spectrum specifically for new entrants, in the hopes of spurring competition.

Another spectrum auction of more powerful 700 MHz frequency auction is coming up, but based on his Canadian experiences thus far, Sawiris says Wind won't be bidding on any new spectrum.

"We would like to, but these are not fair rules," he said. "Our position is clear: if they don't set aside, we won't bid for it — why would we go in and just increase the price so the government makes more money and we get devastated," Sawiris said.

Sawiris said Canada's antiquated telecom rules are destined to hurt the economy's productivity and dampen innovation.

"You need to ask yourself, why isn't Rogers in the U.K., like Vodafone or France Telecom," he said.

"Why aren't they everywhere if they're so good? The answer is simple, here they're protected. They can be inefficient, their cost structure can be expensive."

'We are trying to help [consumers] and not because we are good guys — because we want to make money.'—Naguib Sawiris, Orascom founder

He says Wind helped bring down cellphone prices by an average of 30 per cent across the board. He says the three incumbents all have virtually identical ARPU numbers — an acronym meaning average revenue per user, or the amount of money they get from each customer. That's an indication of a market with no competition, he says.

"Why would an Egyptian like me be in 25 countries, and a big company [stay] here? Because they're pampered," he said. "How can you create innovation if you close up yourself like that? What's the argument? I don't see it."

Wind Mobile added 45,000 new customers last quarter, bringing its subscriber base to 317,000 in total. That's an impressive growth rate, but still a long way off the 9.1 million wireless customers Rogers has, or the 7.3 million at Bell or 7.1 million at Telus.

Sawiris says he isn't afraid of competing with the big boys — but Canadian competition rules make that impossible.

"We are trying to help [consumers] and not because we are good guys — because we want to make money," he said. "We want to come here and earn with hard work, but we are encountering nightmares," he said.

He says wireless prices remain higher than they should be on the retail level. "If they can reduce their prices 30 per cent, why didn't they do that before we came?" he asked.

"And how will they continue after we leave? If we leave, maybe prices will go up to where they were."

10 New-car Clunkers to Avoid

Optimism is a virtue, but there's no place for it in new-car shopping. When out on your test drives, steer clear of these 10 lemons.

With so many worthy new cars and trucks on the market, we had to look long and hard to quantify which just don't make the grade.

So what then separates the true clunkers from the merely mediocre models in dealers' showrooms? We started by finding common threads among quality and reliability ratings from Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates, balanced with the results of our own ongoing new-car test-drives. (Full disclosure: we put at least 75 vehicles through their paces under real-world and higher-performance conditions each year; cars are supplied by automakers for week-long periods, but we do not participate in manufacturer-subsidized preview junkets.)

[More from Yahoo Autos: 5 Used Cars to Avoid]

Of course we're certain that for each of the models cited on our list of new-car clunkers there are myriad satisfied customers who'll swear they've never had a problem with their trusted vehicular companions. That's fine by us. Some of the cars on our list can indeed be enticing if sold at deep discounts and with hefty cash rebates. Still, bargain hunters beware. There are far more worthy models out there from which to choose that perform better and will wind up being superior long-term values.

1. Jeep Liberty/Dodge Nitro

These mechanically equivalent midsize traditional truck-based SUVs deliver stalwart off-road performance when properly equipped, but just feel rough and awkward in normal driving situations. They're underpowered and come only with an antiquated four-speed automatic transmission. Their passenger cabins can be difficult to climb in and out of, with interior comfort lacking. The Liberty offers a unique sliding canvas roof as an option, which disgruntled consumers suggest is problematic. Each gets "below average" ratings from the J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality and Reliability surveys and from Automotive Lease Guide for residual value.

Consumer Reports lists them among the lowest-scoring new-cars overall, with Intellichoice.com giving them "poor" grades for their relatively high ownership costs. And while these models get "good" ratings for front-impact and roof-crush protection from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, they only get an "acceptable" rating for rear-impacts and a "marginal" score for side-impact protection.

2. Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon

Sales of small pickups like this duo from General Motors have fallen through the floor in recent years as buyers discovered they could obtain a full-size hauler with additional capabilities for not much more money. Fitted with either the standard four-cylinder engine or available five-cylinder powerplant, the Colorado and Canyon are best for recreational use only. The trucks' five-speed manual transmission is crude and the optional four-speed automatic is outdated. A V-8 is available, but it's sheer overkill here and specifying it further narrows the price gap between these models and the superior Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size models.

Both versions received "below average" ratings in the J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality and Reliability surveys and are projected to retain "below average" resale values according to Automotive Lease Guide. Crew-cab models, which were specifically tested by the Institute for Insurance Highway Safety, earned an "acceptable" rating for occupant protection in frontal collisions, a "marginal" score for roof strength and rear-end impacts and a "poor" ranking for protection in side-impact collisions.

3. Nissan Armada

This behemoth sport-utility vehicle feels every bit as large on the road as it looks and is an unruly handful in urban environments, with parallel parking being particularly challenging. The Armada is, for the most part, an automotive dinosaur, with most SUV buyers having long migrated to more tractable car-based crossover models.

Even among those with purposeful needs, like towing a boat or trailer, it falls short of the competition. The Armada receives "below average" scores in both the J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality and Reliability surveys and gets a "poor" rating for overall value from Intellichoice.com.

4. GMC Sierra/Chevrolet Silverado 2500

These heavy-duty pickups are built to tackle the toughest jobs, with a maximum towing capacity of 17,500 pounds when properly equipped, but they're hardly amenable as everyday drivers for those merely looking to assume a burly vehicular profile.

The Sierra and Silverado 2500s ranked at number four and five on Consumer Report's least-reliable vehicles list and get "below average" ratings for residual value from Automotive Lease Guide. The standard-duty 1500 models are better choices for truck buyers with more modest needs.

5. Dodge Caliber

This small crossover-like wagon lacks the levels of sophistication and performance found virtually everywhere else in the compact segment. It features dull styling with a cheap-feeling interior, numb handling and lackluster performance from its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Instead of a conventional automatic transmission it offers a gearless continuously variable transmission (CVT) that's whiny and unresponsive.

In addition to being a sub-par overall performer, the Caliber receives a "below average" Initial Quality rating from J.D. Power & Associates, a "below average" residual value projection from Automotive Lease Guide and is ranked as a "poor" value rating by Intellichoice.com. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates it just "acceptable" in rollover roof-crush protection, while its occupant protection in side-impact collisions is ranked as only "marginal."

6. Nissan Titan

Nissan's full-size pickup truck never caught on with U.S. buyers, who tend to be fiercely loyal to their favorite domestic brands. Its model line isn't as diverse as the competition, and it lags behind all of them in terms of performance. On the bright side, it's sold with hefty cash rebates.

The Titan gets "below average" ratings from J.D. Power & Associates for both Initial Quality and Reliability, and gets only a "marginal" rating for side-impact protection with "acceptable" rollover prevention from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It also receives the lowest available ranking for depreciation from Automotive Lease Guide and gets "poor" to ‘below average" value scores (depending on the version) from Intellichoice.com.

7. Smart ForTwo

Sales have dropped off considerably for this oddball tiny two-seat coupe and convertible since its 2008 introduction. It's built in Europe by Mercedes-Benz, but it's hardly a luxury car. Though it feels roomier on the inside than it looks from the outside, it's vastly underpowered, with a fussy automated manual transmission that shifts slowly and sloppily. It boasts good fuel economy at 33/41 mpg, but requires premium-grade gas, which robs an owner of any financial savings at the pump.

The Smart ForTwo posted less than stellar results in government crash tests, receiving only three stars for front-passenger protection and rollover resistance, and this was from the more lenient pre-2011 model-year program. The ForTwo scored among the worst of all vehicles in performance tests conducted by Consumer Reports and garnered the lowest rating for overall value among current small cars. It gets a rock bottom rating for residual value from Automotive Lease Guide.

8. Kia Sedona

The Sedona has been around in its current generation since model-year 2006, which makes it the "oldest" minivan offered in the U.S. While its V-6 engine delivers decent power and it comes with a generous warranty, the Sedona just can't compete with segment stalwarts like the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna in terms of performance and sophistication. What's more it offers only a minimum of family friendly features in a market segment that's defined by its gadgetry.

The Sedona gets "below average" rankings in J.D. Power & Associates surveys for Initial Quality and Reliability. It's rated as being "below average" in projected reliability from Consumer Reports and was cited by the magazine as being the worst value among minivans for 2011. It ranks "poor" in roof-crush protection by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and gets a "poor" value rating from Intellichoice.com.

9. Volvo XC90

This seven-passenger luxury crossover offers only a single available engine for 2012, a 3.2-liter inline-six that works hard to get this rather large and heavy vehicle up to speed. It handles rather clumsily, with little in the way of steering feedback. The third-row seat is difficult to access and is suited only for smaller children.

It's also costly and tends to be outclassed by many more-affordable competitors. It gets "below average" reliability marks from Consumer Reports and is rated "below average" in J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality and Reliability surveys. It can also be expected to suffer "below average" resale value according to Automotive Lease Guide.

10. Mercedes-Benz R-Class

The midsize R-Class is like a minivan with conventional swing-out doors, and is a costly one at that. One of the brand's lowest-volume models, it tends to get lost in a crowded field of crossover SUVs with its oddly elongated exterior styling, plain-vanilla interior look and sufficient-but-not-exhilarating performance.

Starting at $52,690 it costs almost $11,000 more than a fully loaded Honda Odyssey, which is a far better people mover. It gets a "below average" rating in the J.D. Power & Associates Reliability survey, and Automotive Lease Guide predicts it will deliver below average resale value. It also gets a poor value score from Intellichoice.com for its high ownership costs.