European vehicle reliability stalls

Consumer Reports annual survey of cars and trucks rates Asian brands on top, U.S. mixed, Europe worst.



By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News

Tuesday, November 9, 2004

European automakers fared the worst on Consumer Reports magazine's closely watched survey of vehicle reliability, with Asian brands dominating and Detroit automakers scoring mixed results.

Consumer Reports' New Car Preview 2005, which hits newsstands today, offers the first look at findings from an annual survey of about 5 million car and truck owners, who answer questions about problems with their vehicles during the past three years. Consumer Reports uses the data to make predictions about the reliability of 2005 models that are reaching showrooms this year. The magazine designates vehicles as "most reliable," "least reliable" or average.

The magazine weighs reliability heavily in determining whether it will ultimately recommend car or truck to readers. The recommendation can be crucial to a vehicle's success. About 40 percent of U.S. car buyers consult Consumer Reports before buying a new car or truck.

Among the 32 vehicles considered most reliable, 29 were built by Japanese companies, according to the survey.

Toyota Motor Co.p. led the pack with 16 models spread over its Toyota, Scion and Lexus brands, while Honda Motor Co. had seven models on the most reliable list, including two by its Acura brand.

General Motors Corp. was the only domestic company to make the most reliable list, scoring two spots, with its Pontiac Grand Prix and soon-to-be-discontinued Buick Regal.

Of the 38 models in the least reliability category, 20 were European, 13 were built by U.S. companies and five were Asian. Among the least reliable: the Ford F-150, the Volkswagen Touareg SUV, Jaguar X-Type sedan, BMW 5 Series sedan, Nissan Quest minivan and the Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster.

David Champion, director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports in East Haddam, Conn., said European automakers fared worst in the survey because of glitches with electrical and power systems.

"Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar tend to come out with the latest features more so than other manufacturers do," while Japanese automakers tend to keep their cars and processes more simple, he said.

The survey follows J.D. Power and Associates' most recent Vehicle Dependability Study of 3-year-old vehicles, which showed ''substantial quality gaps'' between domestic and European models. In the study, European vehicles had 49 more problems per 100 vehicles than did U.S. cars and trucks at three years of ownership.

Detroit automakers, however, should not be celebrating just yet. Consumers are still finding reason to complain about domestic models, he said.

"Sometimes it's the smaller aspects that become very annoying, like the cup holder lid that keeps on dropping off. It's not something that's going to stop you in the street driving along, but it's something that's really annoying that you use every day. It's that attention to detail that the domestics are missing."

But Consumer Reports did reward quality improvements at the Big Three by moving several vehicles into the "recommended" column, including the Chrysler Pacifica wagon, Cadillac CTS sedan and Ford Explorer Sport Trac truck.

The magazine only recommends a vehicle if it receives good consumer survey scores, passes internal driving tests and scores well on federal safety guidelines.

Big Three officials said better scores in some areas were proof that efforts to improve quality are paying off, but they acknowledged that low marks signal there is work to be done.

"One of the main things that still needs to change is consumer perception," said Sam Locricchio, a spokesman for DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group in Auburn Hills. While Chrysler has made big strides in improving quality during the last three years, the market is slow to give domestic automakers credit, he said.

GM spokeswoman Janine Fruehan agreed, saying the world's largest automaker has improved reliability by 40 percent during the last three years and cut warranty costs by 23 percent, but is still working to convince customers of quality gains. She would not comment directly on the Consumer Reports survey because she had not seen all the results.

"Quality is our highest priority," said Angie Kozleski, spokeswoman for Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, who cited several studies showing improvements during the last four years.

Yet the Consumer Reports survey placed the company's new Ford F-150 pickup in the least reliable column, along with the Jaguar X-Type and S-Type sedans, produced by its British subsidiary. Though the findings are contrary to other consumer feedback, Kozleski said Ford "will go back and see what we can learn from the results."

Geoff Day, a spokesman for Mercedes-Benz, also said the Consumer Reports survey does not reflect what customers are saying about the luxury automaker's vehicles and runs counter to earlier positive reviews from the magazine.

"It is our feeling that the better measure of reliability is the fact that 72 percent of the over two million Mercedes-Benz vehicles that have been sold in the U.S. since the 1950's are still on the road today," he said.

The Consumer Reports New Car Preview 2005 will be followed by the more detailed Consumer Reports Annual Auto issue in April.

Source : Detroit News

 

There's a small typo in the "sedan" category...the Lexus G5300 should be GS300.

No arguements here. As I pointed out in my thread on auto magazines, CR in general is probably the best auto reliability source out there. The only possible glitch here ?.....they may not yet have the very latest data for the Hyundai Tiburon. If or when they do, I think that car will be removed from the "least reliable" category as all other current Hyundais have already been.

 

Here is the story in CNN

http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/08/pf/a...lity/index.htm

 

If we're comparing a Honda Civic or Accord to a BMW 7 Series, then yes. Toyota/Lexus is hardly simple. Look my dad's beater 1983 Cressida, it's pretty darn complex...