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A
perfect storm of reliability problems has dropped Ford to next to last
among the 28 car brands ranked in Consumer Reports 2012 Annual Auto
Reliability Survey, while its luxury brand, Lincoln, placed just a notch
higher.
Only two years ago, Ford was Detroit’s poster child for
reliability. It cracked the top 10 among brands in Consumer Reports
predicted-reliability scores, with more than 90 percent of its models
being average or better. This year the top seven spots are all held by
Japanese brands.
Several factors contributed to Ford’s decline in
Consumer Reports reliability rankings. A few new or redesigned models,
including the
Explorer,
Fiesta, and
Focus,
came out of the gate with more problems than normal. Ford has also
added the MyFord/MyLincoln Touch electronic infotainment system, which
has been problematic so far, to many vehicles. In addition, three
historically reliable models—the
Ford Escape,
Fusion and the
Lincoln MKZ—are not included in the analysis; the three were redesigned for 2013 and CR doesn’t yet have reliability data on them.
Toyota,
on the other hand, has excelled in Consumer Reports latest ratings. Its
three brands—Scion, Toyota, and Lexus—swept the top spots. Toyota is
clearly setting the pace in reliability. Of the 27 models in the brand’s
lineup, 16 earned the highest rating. The subcompact
Toyota Prius C earned Consumer Reports top score overall. The hatchback Prius, the larger
Prius V, and the new
Prius plug-in were also above average.
The
Toyota trio was followed by four other Japanese makes: Mazda, Subaru,
Honda, and Acura, in that order. All of the models produced by the top
seven brands had average or better reliability. And of the 90 Japanese
models reflected in Consumer Reports brand comparison, 86 were average
or better, with 35 earning the highest rating.
Leading the
Europeans, Audi had its best showing ever, moving up 18 spots to eighth
place, making it easily the most reliable European make and the top
non-Japanese brand.
The findings from Consumer Reports 2012
Annual Auto Survey are based on subscribers’ experiences with 1.2
million vehicles. The organization uses that extensive data to predict
how well new cars that are currently on sale will hold up. For full
reliability charts and predicted reliability on hundreds of 2012 models,
plus a list of what's up and what's down, visit ConsumerReports.org.
Mixed bag for domesticsCadillac CTS-V CoupeCadillac is the top U.S. brand, having moved up 14 spots this year. Its
CTS coupe
was the most reliable domestic car. A number of other General Motors
nameplates—Buick, Chevrolet, GMC—also moved up in the ranking. The
Chevrolet Volt
extended-range electric car continues to have above-average
reliability, and the compact Chevrolet Cruze, dismal in its first year,
improved to average.
Chrysler brands had a few setbacks. This
year, Consumer Reports has enough data to report on some of the recently
revamped Chrysler and Dodge models, and their problems have dragged the
nameplates’ rankings down. The
Dodge Charger, for example, returns with well-below-average reliability. Other models had ups and downs. The V6 version of the
Chrysler 300 sedan, with an average rating, is now the brand’s most reliable model, and the V8 300 is its worst. Likewise, the V6
Jeep Grand Cherokee
scores average and the V8 is now below par. The differences stem from
the alternative powertrains and the extra features found in
higher-priced versions. Separating its trucks into a new nameplate,
Ram, didn’t help Dodge’s standing. And
Fiat’s 500 debuted with average reliability in its first year in the U.S.
Japanese models are topsMazda
is hot on the tail of the three Toyota brands, and its improvement is
buoyed by the predicted-reliability score for the new 2013
Mazda CX-5 SUV, which is much better than average. And Subaru’s standing improved, with its redesigned
Impreza
debuting with top marks and none of its models scoring below average.
Honda dropped one spot in the ranking, to sixth place, but its worst
vehicle, the
Odyssey minivan, improved from below average to average.
Nissan
and its Infiniti luxury brand performed well overall, but a few models
kept them from ranking with the other Japanese nameplates. Nissan’s
Versa sedan, redesigned for 2012, was much worse than average, as was the large
Armada SUV. The
Titan pickup truck was also below par. Of the seven Infiniti models, only the convertible version of the G scored below average.
Germans brands lead EuropeAll
of the German luxury brands improved. Six of the seven Audis in CR’s
survey rated average or better, as did 10 of the 12 BMWs. But the
high-end BMW
7 Series and the turbocharged six-cylinder version of the
X3 SUV were much worse than average. Mercedes-Benz made a good showing, with the turbocharged, four-cylinder
C250 sedan doing well in its first year and the V6
E-Class sedan moving from average to above average. But the redesigned M-Class came in below average in its first year.
Volkswagen was a mix. The redesigned
Passat did well, and the
CC,
Eos, and
diesel Jetta sedan improved. But the redesigned
Beetle, four- and five-cylinder gasoline
Jetta, sporty
GTI, and
Touareg
SUV were below average. Volvo, which ranked highest among European
brands last year, dropped 10 places, hurt by declining scores for the
C30 hatchback and
C70 convertible and a below-average showing for the aging
XC90 SUV.
Consumer
Reports reliability ratings do not come from the organization’s
experience during vehicle testing. Instead, it relies on owners to
supply the Consumer Reports National Research Center with the data.
Earlier this year, the organization asked subscribers to report about
serious problems they’ve had with their vehicles in the prior 12 months.
CR bases its predicted-reliability scores on the most recent three
model years of data, provided the model has not been redesigned for
2013. The scores are presented as a percentage better or worse than the
average of all cars.
The minimum sample size is 100 vehicles, but Consumer Reports often gets many more. Among 2012 models, the
Honda CR-V drew the most responses: 2,981. Other 2012 models with more than 2,000 responses are the
Hyundai Elantra sedan and the four-cylinder
Toyota Camry and
Subaru Outback.
Some new and redesigned models were released too late to be in our
survey, and redesigned 2013 models are not included in the brand’s
average reliability score.
source by yahoo.com