Santa Clarita's Real Estate Lender: January 2011

2011's Top New Cars

Want a quick peek at this year's hottest new cars? Here's some of the best 2011 has to offer.

Hybrid Vehicles
In a year full of surprises in the automotive world, Motor Trend declared the all-new Chevrolet Volt "Car of the Year." The highly anticipated hybrid starts at $40,280 and offers technologically advanced features and amenities with style, comfort and safety to spare. It operates in either full-electric or gas/electric modes so efficiently that conventional mileage ratings go out the window, though preliminary testing has generated a 70-plus MPG range. Other hot hybrids include the sporty new Lexus CT, 206-horsepower Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Prius wagon, due this summer.

Performance Cars
Hot Rods are back in a big way with the 425-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT8, 426-horsepower Chevrolet Camaro and 550-horsepower Ford Mustang GT500, quickening pulses and revving up sales. Impressive imports like Subaru's Impreza WRX/STI and Audi's A3 offer turbocharged, all-wheel-drive fun.

Family Vehicles
Ranging in price from $16,800 to $33,000, revised standouts to watch in this category include the larger, more eco-friendly Volkswagen Jetta; high-tech Ford Fusion; Chevrolet Cruze; Toyota Avalon; and Chrysler 200.

SUVs/Minivans
Ford has reinvented its venerable Explorer with fresh styling, front wheel drive and improved mileage. Making debuts are Mazda's compact M5 minivan and Nissan's highly anticipated redesign of the popular Quest.

Affordable Cars
Tucked into the $14,000-$20,000 range are four fairly well-appointed vehicles that offer terrific bang for the buck - the Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit Sport, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris. Chock full of amenities previously only found on more expensive models, these vehicles are leaders in a new generation of stylish and affordable subcompacts.

Fannie, Freddie & Ginnie:
Who Are They?

To compete against Fannie Mae's domination of the secondary market and further lower housing costs, Congress chartered the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) as a public corporation in 1970.

Freddie and Fannie have similar Congressional mandates, charters and regulatory structures. Both entities buy mortgages from lenders and package them into mortgage-backed securities that are sold to investors with a guarantee against default. This creates a secondary market, allowing mortgage lenders to use the freed-up funds to make more home loans.

The Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) was established by Congress in 1968. Unlike its GSE siblings, Ginnie does not purchase loans, but guarantees investors the timely payment of principal and interest on mortgage-backed securities containing federally insured loans - mainly FHA and VA loans.

In September 2008, the U.S. government rescued Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the brink of economic failure and placed them into conservatorship with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Some members of Congress have called for the gradual elimination of Fannie and Freddie to leave mortgage finance completely in the private sector. A Treasury Department report on the future of Fannie and Freddie will be delivered to Congress in the first half of February 2011.

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