pet connection

DogCars.com lists top vehicle picks in nine categories for 2007, plus the ones to watch for 2008

DogCars.com, the car-buying resource for dog-lovers everywhere, has chosen the Honda Element as the DogCar of the Year for 2007. Created by “Good Morning America” veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and his writing partner, the syndicated columnist, book author and PetConnection.com blogger Gina Spadafori, DogCars.com also gave high honors to the Suzuki Forenza wagon as the Best DogCarsValue among 2007 models.

The DogCars.com team also noted four vehicles to watch for 2008: The all new Scion xB, Volvo XC70, Dodge Grand Caravan and Buick Enclave. In the closely watched Green category, DogCars.com marks the 2008 Ford Escape hybrid as worth a test drive for dog-lovers who want a cleaner ride.

Surveys show about half of all car-buyers consider the comfort of the family dog when buying a new car – and 65 percent take their pets on errands,” says Dr. Becker, the New York Times best-selling author and co-author with Spadafori of the new “BowWow: Curiously Compelling Facts, True Tales and Trivia Even Your Dog Won’t Know” (HCI).

“We’re glad to see car-makers address the comfort and safety of our dogs on the road because people don’t want to leave their pets — or should we say ‘four-legged family members’ – behind. More than a quarter even sometimes take pets to work,” he said.

The Web site, which also offers Dr. Becker’s pet travel safety tips, pet travel product reviews and reader comments, gave honors to top DogCars for 2007 in seven additional automotive categories, including luxury, mid-size and small SUVs, sporty, truck, minivan and compact. Reviews run on the DogCars.com site and are also featured as regular part of Dr. Becker and Spadafori’s pet-care feature for the Universal Press Syndicate, running in newspapers across the country.

DogCars.com gives the highest “paw ratings” to those vehicles that have:

• Seats that fold flat or are easily removable.
• Plenty of usable cargo space relative to the size of the vehicle.
• Wide, square backs, with as little rear slope as possible, to make the most of the cargo area.
• Door and window locks, so a dog can’t accidentally unlock a door or roll down a window.
• All-wheel or four-wheel drive and high ground clearance, because dog sports people find themselves off-road a great deal.

The Honda Element’s versatile cargo space, easy-clean flooring, crate-friendly rear design and optional all-wheel drive were cited as the key ingredients for the perfect dog car.

Top Dog Cars for 2007

Best Overall: Honda Element

Love or hate the look, no matter: The Element is as good a DogCar as could possibly be imagined. From its versatile interior to its anti-noseprint windows, everything about the Honda Element has dog-lovers howling with happiness. The easy-to-clean Element is a near-perfect DogCar with just the right canine chemistry.

Available in three trim lines: the rugged LX, refined EX and the sporty SC — all of which features an inline four cylinder engine that produces 166 horsepower. Easy on the fuel-sipping, too!

Best Overall Value: Suzuki Forenza

The Forenza (immediately nicknamed the “Fur-enza at DogCars.com) offers a comfortable, spacious interior, European styling and a posse of premium features, making it perfect for budget-conscious consumers. This Japanese automaker is turning heads (and has tails wagging) everywhere it rolls. In our test drive we put everything we could think of into it – including a cat tree and pair of bouncy retrievers – and still had room for groceries.

Great fuel economy and a low sticker price make the Forenza a must-consider for any dog-lover.

Best of the rest:

Best Luxury SUV: Land RoverRange Rover

Best Mid-Sized: SUV: Volkswagen Touareg and Volvo XC90 (Tie)

Best Small-Sized SUV: Mitsubishi Outlander

Best Sporty DogCar: Mazda Speed3

Best Pickup Truck: Ford F-150

Best Minivan: Dodge Grand Caravan

Best Hatchback: Honda Fit Sport

For short write-ups on all the winners and links to the complete DogCars.com reviews, click here.