Do American cars perform as reliably as foreign brands in the eyes of consumers? This question has always been somewhat of a perplexing one, as I've met diehard American car buyers who swear by Chevys against Hondas and Toyotas. On the flip side, there are those who had a few bad experiences with reliability on U.S. car brands and switched to foreign makers, vowing never to return to an American car brand.

That second example is going to be hard for American carmakers to shed as an image, but they are trying even in the face of billion-dollar quarterly losses, labor issues all over the place, and intense pressure from foreign automakers in terms of style, quality and price. Who said the car and truck business was easy? Anyway, Ford Motor Company's (NYSE:F) new Fusion model earned high marks from both Consumer Reports testers and consumers who rated its reliability -- and that's a good sign for Ford. These results demonstrate that U.S. automakers may be making strides in initial quality. But, this is only a first step -- there is a long way to go yet. A LONG way.

As Doug McIntyre reported on earlier, Japanese automakers had 39 of the 47 vehicles with the best predicted reliability in the overall Consumer Reports study. American manufacturers had six vehicles -- including the Ford Fusion, the Milan and the Lincoln Zephyr -- all from Ford Motor Company. Maintaining that success for Ford, and the ability of General Motors Corporation (NYSE:GM) to get on board will be critical in the next three to four years if American carmakers want to build an image of quality and reliability in the face of those ratings from competitors like Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE:HMS) and Daimler-Chrysler (NYSE:DCX).

Is there any more important rule in real estate than, "location, location, location"? In case you've been living under a rock, that's the answer to the question, "What are the three most important factors in buying a home?" The basic idea is that it's not the Sub-Zero fridge, the spacious deck, or the fancy faucets that dictate whether a home will hold its value. What matters most is where it's located.

USA Today proves the point yet again today with new findings from a Coldwell Banker survey. The survey looked at similar houses -- all with four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a family room and a two car garage -- and compares how much they cost in 384 markets around the world.

The most affordable place in the U.S. is Minot, North Dakota, where a four-bedroom home lists for $132,000. The least? Beverly Hills, Calif, where the price tag is $1.8 million. Take the trends abroad and you can pay $1.8 million for that kind of house in Milan, Italy, or just $56,500 in Bogota, Columbia. The average sale price in the U.S. is $424,000 (you can parse all the data here).

What good does this information do you? Well, if you just paid $2 million for a split-level in Greenwich, Conn., and are worried you bought at the peak, this data may make you feel better. At least you bought in a premium location that will hopefully hold its value.

Better yet, if you are thinking of trading down, a handy tool at the Coldwell Banker site allows you to crunch this data and see how much a home comparable to your own would cost anywhere else in the country. For example, you can trade in that $2 million Greenwich home for a similar $278,000 house in Amarillo, Texas, should you one day decide to head to cattle country with plenty of free cash in hand.