This helps it land at No. 2 on the list, despite BMW's fairly comprehensive free scheduled-maintenance program for all models.

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The luxury cars were turned in at lease-end, replaced by previously owned economy models that brought their fuel, insurance and maintenance costs down.

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To determine this year's toughest cars on the road, we evaluated all 2009 models based on reliability, safety and quality, along with maintenance requirements.

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One day, the company's engineers hope, drive-by-wire could link to the fancy cruise-control, lane-maintenance and vehicle-separation systems that are already being used in some Mercedes models.

ECONOMIST: Drive by wire

The current prototype is an e-bike, though future models may not include pedal assist, since swapping out batteries could be a logistical nightmare for maintenance crews.

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