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11-12-2006, 08:13 AM
Toyota Corolla – one of the most reliable. (http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_4638690)
Greg Bensinger – Bloomberg – Nov. 10, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_Corolla.jpgToyota Motor Corp., the biggest Japanese automaker in the U.S., accounted for almost half of the industry's "most reliable" vehicles and again dominated an annual survey by Consumer Reports magazine.
Toyota built 21 of the 47 autos with the highest rating for reliability, the magazine said in its new-car preview issue. Some cars and trucks made by U.S. automakers are as reliable as Japanese autos, the magazine said, yet Asian products remain the most dependable overall.
The results illustrate the challenges facing General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler as they try to win back customers in their home market. While this and other surveys show improvements in quality, Detroit's automakers still lag behind Toyota and Honda Motor Co., the No. 2 Japanese seller in the U.S.
"The Japanese carmakers really enjoy a better reputation for quality, and that's a real concern for most buyers today," said Erich Merkle, an analyst with IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "It's going to be very difficult for the domestics to overcome that, to improve their public image." GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler lost a combined 3.1 percentage points of U.S. market share through October, to 56.9 percent. Toyota and Honda gained 2.6 points to 24.3 percent.
Honda and its Acura luxury unit had 11 models on the list of the most reliable. GM and Ford each had three, and DaimlerChrysler, including Mercedes, had none. Toyota and its Lexus luxury brand also ranked first in six of 10 vehicle categories.
Reader Surveys Consumer Reports' findings were based on surveys of readers. The magazine uses that data along with vehicle tests to determine which models it recommends for purchase. The recommendations also incorporate safety data from U.S. government and insurance- industry crash tests.
Fuji Heavy Industry Ltd.'s Subaru had three vehicles on the most-reliable list. Two other Japanese companies, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., including Infiniti, had two each. Germany's Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. had one.
As for Toyota and Honda, "it's not an accident that they get rated this high," said Earl Hesterberg, chief executive officer of Group 1 Automotive, the fourth-biggest U.S. auto retailer, and a former executive with Ford, Nissan and Toyota.
"They've been building them right for 15 to 20 years." In last year's survey, Toyota accounted for 15 of 31 vehicles rated as "most reliable." Category Winners Among the 47 most-reliable this year were the Honda Fit small car, the Toyota Highlander hybrid mid-sized sport-utility vehicle, GM's Pontiac Vibe wagon and the Ford Fusion sedan, Consumer Reports said.
U.S. automakers had a combined 20 vehicles rated the least- reliable. European automakers - including GM's Saab and Ford's Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover brands - also had 20. Nissan alone had five and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz had eight.
Bennie Fowler, Ford's vice president of quality, said the inclusion of three new Ford sedans - the Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr - show the company is "making substantial improvements." He said Ford is working to improve the reliability of its trucks and SUVs, none of which made the list.
The absence of Chrysler vehicles from the most-reliable list is "definitely a concern," said spokesman Sam Locricchio. He said he expected the company's results to improve in future surveys.
Donna Boland, a Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman, said she thought the report was "out of sync" with buyers' experiences. "We've been seeing an upward trend in quality," she said. "There is something off with that survey." For GM, the survey's results "are not where we want them to be, but we do have a great improvement trend," said spokeswoman Janine Fruehan. The automaker had three of its minivans, including the Saturn Relay, ranked as least reliable.
U.S. automakers have been making progress in reliability and quality, said John Casesa, managing partner of Casesa Strategic Advisors in New York.
"The challenge is to convince consumers to buy them," he said.
The following table presents the three highest-rated vehicles and the three lowest-rated in each segment, where applicable, according to Consumer Reports' survey. Rankings are in order for each segment, with the highest rated at top.
The Best and Worst
According to Consumer Reports 2006 reliability survey, these vehicles scored the highest or the lowest.
Automobile type |Most reliable|Least reliable
Small cars:|Honda Fit|Chevrolet Cobalt
|Toyota Yaris|Nissan Sentra (2006)
|Honda Civic Hybrid|Volkswagen Jetta (5-cyl.)
|Toyota Corolla|Chevrolet Aveo
||
Family cars:|Honda Accord Hybrid|Volkswagen Passat (4-cyl.)
|Toyota Prius|
|Honda Accord (4-cyl.)|
|Ford Fusion|
|Mercury Milan|
||
Upscale/large cars:|Lexus ES350|Jaguar X-Type
|Lincoln Zephyr|Chrysler 300 (V-8)
|Hyundai Azera|Saab 9-3
|Acura TSX|
|Acura TL|
||
Luxury cars:|Lexus LS (2006)| Cadillac STS (V-8)
|Infiniti M*|Mercedes-Benz S-Class (2006)
||Mercedes-Benz CLS
||Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan
||BMW 7 Series
||Jaguar S-Type
||
Sports/sporty cars:|Lexus SC|Pontiac Solstice
|Toyota Camry Solara (4-cyl.)|Mercedes-Benz SL
|Subaru Impreza WRX|Mercedes-Benz SLK (V-6)
|Honda S2000|Chevrolet Corvette
|Mitsubishi Eclipse|Porsche 911, Carrera
|Mini Cooper Hatchback (2006)|Ford Mustang (V-6)
||
Wagons/minivans:|Pontiac Vibe|Buick Terraza
|Scion xB|Chevrolet Uplander
|Toyota Matrix|Saturn Relay
|Toyota Sienna|Nissan Quest
||
Small SUVs:|Toyota FJ Cruiser|Kia Sportage
|Honda Element|
|Honda CR-V (2006)|
|Toyota RAV4|
|Mitsubishi Outlander (2006)|
|Subaru Forester|
||
Midsized SUVs:|Toyota Highlander Hybrid|Mercedes-Benz M-Class
|Toyota 4Runner|Land Rover LR3 (V-8)
|Toyota Highlander|Mercedes-Benz R-Class
|Honda Pilot|Volkswagen Touareg
|Lexus RX400h (hybrid)|Jeep Grand Cherokee
|Acura MDX (2006)|Hummer H3
||BMW X5 (V-8, 2006)
||Volvo XC90 (6 and 8-cyl.)
||Ford Explorer
||Mercury Mountaineer (V-8 cyl.)
||
Large SUV’s:|Toyota Land Cruiser| Nissan Armada
|Lexus LX|Infiniti QX56
|Toyota Sequoia|Lincoln Navigator
|Chevrolet Tahoe|Hummer H2
|GMC Yukon|
||
Pickup trucks:|Subaru Baja|Nissan Titan
|Toyota Tundra|Ford F-250 (turbodiesel)
|Toyota Tacoma|Dodge Dakota (4WD)
|Nissan Frontier (V-6)|Cadillac Escalade EXT (2006)
Source: Consumer Reports.
Greg Bensinger – Bloomberg – Nov. 10, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_Corolla.jpgToyota Motor Corp., the biggest Japanese automaker in the U.S., accounted for almost half of the industry's "most reliable" vehicles and again dominated an annual survey by Consumer Reports magazine.
Toyota built 21 of the 47 autos with the highest rating for reliability, the magazine said in its new-car preview issue. Some cars and trucks made by U.S. automakers are as reliable as Japanese autos, the magazine said, yet Asian products remain the most dependable overall.
The results illustrate the challenges facing General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler as they try to win back customers in their home market. While this and other surveys show improvements in quality, Detroit's automakers still lag behind Toyota and Honda Motor Co., the No. 2 Japanese seller in the U.S.
"The Japanese carmakers really enjoy a better reputation for quality, and that's a real concern for most buyers today," said Erich Merkle, an analyst with IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "It's going to be very difficult for the domestics to overcome that, to improve their public image." GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler lost a combined 3.1 percentage points of U.S. market share through October, to 56.9 percent. Toyota and Honda gained 2.6 points to 24.3 percent.
Honda and its Acura luxury unit had 11 models on the list of the most reliable. GM and Ford each had three, and DaimlerChrysler, including Mercedes, had none. Toyota and its Lexus luxury brand also ranked first in six of 10 vehicle categories.
Reader Surveys Consumer Reports' findings were based on surveys of readers. The magazine uses that data along with vehicle tests to determine which models it recommends for purchase. The recommendations also incorporate safety data from U.S. government and insurance- industry crash tests.
Fuji Heavy Industry Ltd.'s Subaru had three vehicles on the most-reliable list. Two other Japanese companies, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., including Infiniti, had two each. Germany's Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. had one.
As for Toyota and Honda, "it's not an accident that they get rated this high," said Earl Hesterberg, chief executive officer of Group 1 Automotive, the fourth-biggest U.S. auto retailer, and a former executive with Ford, Nissan and Toyota.
"They've been building them right for 15 to 20 years." In last year's survey, Toyota accounted for 15 of 31 vehicles rated as "most reliable." Category Winners Among the 47 most-reliable this year were the Honda Fit small car, the Toyota Highlander hybrid mid-sized sport-utility vehicle, GM's Pontiac Vibe wagon and the Ford Fusion sedan, Consumer Reports said.
U.S. automakers had a combined 20 vehicles rated the least- reliable. European automakers - including GM's Saab and Ford's Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover brands - also had 20. Nissan alone had five and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz had eight.
Bennie Fowler, Ford's vice president of quality, said the inclusion of three new Ford sedans - the Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr - show the company is "making substantial improvements." He said Ford is working to improve the reliability of its trucks and SUVs, none of which made the list.
The absence of Chrysler vehicles from the most-reliable list is "definitely a concern," said spokesman Sam Locricchio. He said he expected the company's results to improve in future surveys.
Donna Boland, a Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman, said she thought the report was "out of sync" with buyers' experiences. "We've been seeing an upward trend in quality," she said. "There is something off with that survey." For GM, the survey's results "are not where we want them to be, but we do have a great improvement trend," said spokeswoman Janine Fruehan. The automaker had three of its minivans, including the Saturn Relay, ranked as least reliable.
U.S. automakers have been making progress in reliability and quality, said John Casesa, managing partner of Casesa Strategic Advisors in New York.
"The challenge is to convince consumers to buy them," he said.
The following table presents the three highest-rated vehicles and the three lowest-rated in each segment, where applicable, according to Consumer Reports' survey. Rankings are in order for each segment, with the highest rated at top.
The Best and Worst
According to Consumer Reports 2006 reliability survey, these vehicles scored the highest or the lowest.
Automobile type |Most reliable|Least reliable
Small cars:|Honda Fit|Chevrolet Cobalt
|Toyota Yaris|Nissan Sentra (2006)
|Honda Civic Hybrid|Volkswagen Jetta (5-cyl.)
|Toyota Corolla|Chevrolet Aveo
||
Family cars:|Honda Accord Hybrid|Volkswagen Passat (4-cyl.)
|Toyota Prius|
|Honda Accord (4-cyl.)|
|Ford Fusion|
|Mercury Milan|
||
Upscale/large cars:|Lexus ES350|Jaguar X-Type
|Lincoln Zephyr|Chrysler 300 (V-8)
|Hyundai Azera|Saab 9-3
|Acura TSX|
|Acura TL|
||
Luxury cars:|Lexus LS (2006)| Cadillac STS (V-8)
|Infiniti M*|Mercedes-Benz S-Class (2006)
||Mercedes-Benz CLS
||Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan
||BMW 7 Series
||Jaguar S-Type
||
Sports/sporty cars:|Lexus SC|Pontiac Solstice
|Toyota Camry Solara (4-cyl.)|Mercedes-Benz SL
|Subaru Impreza WRX|Mercedes-Benz SLK (V-6)
|Honda S2000|Chevrolet Corvette
|Mitsubishi Eclipse|Porsche 911, Carrera
|Mini Cooper Hatchback (2006)|Ford Mustang (V-6)
||
Wagons/minivans:|Pontiac Vibe|Buick Terraza
|Scion xB|Chevrolet Uplander
|Toyota Matrix|Saturn Relay
|Toyota Sienna|Nissan Quest
||
Small SUVs:|Toyota FJ Cruiser|Kia Sportage
|Honda Element|
|Honda CR-V (2006)|
|Toyota RAV4|
|Mitsubishi Outlander (2006)|
|Subaru Forester|
||
Midsized SUVs:|Toyota Highlander Hybrid|Mercedes-Benz M-Class
|Toyota 4Runner|Land Rover LR3 (V-8)
|Toyota Highlander|Mercedes-Benz R-Class
|Honda Pilot|Volkswagen Touareg
|Lexus RX400h (hybrid)|Jeep Grand Cherokee
|Acura MDX (2006)|Hummer H3
||BMW X5 (V-8, 2006)
||Volvo XC90 (6 and 8-cyl.)
||Ford Explorer
||Mercury Mountaineer (V-8 cyl.)
||
Large SUV’s:|Toyota Land Cruiser| Nissan Armada
|Lexus LX|Infiniti QX56
|Toyota Sequoia|Lincoln Navigator
|Chevrolet Tahoe|Hummer H2
|GMC Yukon|
||
Pickup trucks:|Subaru Baja|Nissan Titan
|Toyota Tundra|Ford F-250 (turbodiesel)
|Toyota Tacoma|Dodge Dakota (4WD)
|Nissan Frontier (V-6)|Cadillac Escalade EXT (2006)
Source: Consumer Reports.