Good grades and attendance paid off in horsepower for Southwest High School senior Alejandro (Jimmy) Rodriguez. His key was the winner Thursday evening, putting him in the driver's seat of a bright yellow Scion courtesy of North Park Toyota. It's a set of wheels that also made the grade on USAA's report card of top ten for teens.
The Scion tC was valedictorian in the USAA list, followed by the Nissan Cube, Honda Fit and two more Scions.
USAA Top Ten for Teens:
- Scion tC
- Nissan Cube
- Honda Fit
- Scion xD
- Scion xB
- Toyota Yaris
- Honda Civic
- Hyundai Elantra
- Honda CR-Z
- Kia Forte
The insurance giant surveyed parents about what most important when it comes to choosing a car for their teen.
Safety was a big concern.
"Absolutely, it has to be the safety features of the car because there's so many distractions for young drivers to be concerned with," said John Molina who's 15-year-old daughter is taking driver's ed.
Just as important was reliability.
"You want your kid when you send them to college or high school, you don't want that phone call, 'I'm stuck somewhere,'" said Lauren Fix, car expert and mom of teenagers.
The third factor is affordability, including the price of the car, the cost to keep it gassed up and insurance, which can be higher for teenaged drivers.
All cars on the list get at least 25 miles to the gallon.
"Let the kid pick the color," Fix said, "but you pick the vehicle that's the safest, most reliable and least impact on your insurance."