And here it is: Consumer Reports' Most Reliable

[pcsario]

http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/autos/rel...ex.html?cnn=yes

 

Most Reliable Family Car:

 

 

Most reliable (Best score first)

Honda Accord Hybrid (pictured)

Toyota Prius

Honda Accord (4-cyl.)

Ford Fusion*

Mercury Milan*

 

Least reliable

Volkswagen Passat (4 cyl.)*

:reading:

Edited November 10, 2006 by pcsario

[bec5150]

I gotta tell you, VW has been at the bottom of the heap for a long time and they just don't get any better. Sad because they make some really cool cars.

[NickF1011]

Reliable hybrids? Has Toyota fixed all the Priuses that randomly shut down on the highway yet? Doesn't sound very reliable to me.

 

From talking to a few hybrid owners, I can understand why they rank high though. Owners of these vehicles are typically holier-than-thou types who think their purchase was the best decision ever executed by mankind. Therefore it would be reasonable to assert that these owners would never ever dare to speak ill of them on an owner survey. Perhaps?

[ute]

well i gotta say i had a 87 jetta and golf both diesels had 580,000 on the jetta and 280,000 on the golf

 

best dam cars i ever had all i ever did was timing belts, brakes ,glow plugs, air/oil/fuel filters

 

the jetta starter and alternator

 

both cars got 50 mpg ...sold both in 94

[retro-man]

Reliable hybrids? Has Toyota fixed all the Priuses that randomly shut down on the highway yet? Doesn't sound very reliable to me.

 

From talking to a few hybrid owners, I can understand why they rank high though. Owners of these vehicles are typically holier-than-thou types who think their purchase was the best decision ever executed by mankind. Therefore it would be reasonable to assert that these owners would never ever dare to speak ill of them on an owner survey. Perhaps?

I know 3 people who own Priuses, including my next door neighbor. Now granted, we don't normally converse about each-others automobile problems. But I haven't heard of any problems among the 3. And considering that 2 of them are previous generation Priuses, owned for a few years now, yet neither has been compelled to trade them in on something else yet, I'm going to guess that the cars are probably ok. Nor, come to think of it, have I ever seen a Prius stalled out by the highway. Listening to some people around here (Range), you'd think that every Honda CRV ever made spontaneously combusts too (for instance). It probably isn't so. Riddle me this: how many incidents of Priuses shutting down have there actually been? Despite the less than stellar reliability of my T-Bird, I know that all Fords aren't that bad (my old Escort was excellent).

 

Based on 23 years of experience with Honda Accords, I certainly don't dispute that choice. They have been as close to trouble-free as I could ask.

[bec5150]

well i gotta say i had a 87 jetta and golf both diesels had 580,000 on the jetta and 280,000 on the golf

 

best dam cars i ever had all i ever did was timing belts, brakes ,glow plugs, air/oil/fuel filters

 

the jetta starter and alternator

 

both cars got 50 mpg ...sold both in 94

Oh, don't get me wrong, mechanically they are great. Even the chassis and bodies seem bolted together pretty well. It's the little stupid shit that I have seen go out on them. A/C units. power window motors, power locks, turn signal relays, and other stuff like that. The engines and drivetrains, especially the diesels, usually give good service. Too bad the drivetrain is attached to a VW.

 

Glad to hear yours stayed together. Unfortunatly, most surveys show that you are part of a very small minority.

[matthewq4b]

Oh, don't get me wrong, mechanically they are great. Even the chassis and bodies seem bolted together pretty well. It's the little stupid shit that I have seen go out on them. A/C units. power window motors, power locks, turn signal relays, and other stuff like that. The engines and drivetrains, especially the diesels, usually give good service. Too bad the drivetrain is attached to a VW.

 

That about sums it up.

 

I had a 91 Jetta Diesel worst POS I have owned in my life. Car cost 14.5K in December 90. Totoal value of work done by dealer under warrenty befor it expired 16.7K. Traded the car upon warrenty expiration.

Replaced with 92GM that went 600K+ miles befor first major componant failer (tranny).

 

You name it busted or failed on the VW. The only part of the car that was any good was the engine the rest was crap.

 

Matthew

[tommy8768]

Predicted Reliability -if that isnt a contradiction I dont know what is! You cant predict reliability. Why dont they do this 5 years from now when cars have 70 or 80k on them? I predict the japs will have less problems than the domestics.

[bec5150]

Predicted Reliability -if that isnt a contradiction I dont know what is! You cant predict reliability. Why dont they do this 5 years from now when cars have 70 or 80k on them? I predict the japs will have less problems than the domestics.

You can't make a blanket statement like that. My father in law is currently riding in a Olds. Intrique, 1998, bought new. He is car shopping because his Olds needs new front wheel bearings and he's just ready for something different. But the Olds has only needed a brake master cyl. and a climate control module (automatic climate control), not bad for 196K miles.

 

Meanwhile, my brother's Honda Ody van needed a transmission before 100K. Now Honda replaced it for free, but still, it needed replaced. If I take that at face value, the Oldsmobile has been a better car than the Honda.

 

The domestics made some real "stinkers" as in products that were designed to break but they are being replaced with more reliable product. I was a victim of these stinker products, as was my father, but I am willing to say that the product is a whole lot better than it was even 5 years ago.

[WC-MAN]

Gentelmen, take my advice and stop reading consumer reports.

 

Now, if you must contnue to look at their numbers, understand a few things. Consumer reports gets its info through surveys of readers. Because of a pretty obvious japanese bias over many years now, CR tends to attract two types of car buyers, those who think they're Japanese car was the greatest purchase in the world and major transmission failure is not an issue, and those who bought something else and wish it was a japanese car. Look at how many Nissans are on the worst list, when's the last time you heard anyone decrying Nissan as a piece of crap? I have a freind who is one of these people "You are always better off with a Honda or Toyota." The last American car he owned? A 1988 Caravan. Oh yeah, THAT's EXACTLY like modern American cars. I could say Nissans rust because My aunts 1980 hatchback did (so did my uncles 81 subie) but that has NO bearing on moderns cars.

 

Secondly, the differences in good and bad at CR are incredibly small, like less than 10% or so. So don't believe the hype.

 

No Japanese bias you say? Why is the Fit and The Yaris there? They've not been on the road a year yet! I guess they are very reliable the first 2 or so months of ownership!

 

So, bravo for Ford for putting the new mid-sizers up there, they must truely be exceptional. But always approach CR with a grain of salt.

 

You can't make a blanket statement like that. My father in law is currently riding in a Olds. Intrique, 1998, bought new. He is car shopping because his Olds needs new front wheel bearings and he's just ready for something different. But the Olds has only needed a brake master cyl. and a climate control module (automatic climate control), not bad for 196K miles.

 

Meanwhile, my brother's Honda Ody van needed a transmission before 100K. Now Honda replaced it for free, but still, it needed replaced. If I take that at face value, the Oldsmobile has been a better car than the Honda.

 

The domestics made some real "stinkers" as in products that were designed to break but they are being replaced with more reliable product. I was a victim of these stinker products, as was my father, but I am willing to say that the product is a whole lot better than it was even 5 years ago.

 

I'll do you one better. My brother put 19K into a Grand Caravan, 1998 model he bought in 2000. Van's 8 years old, no major problems. My cousin dropped 25K on a 1999 Toyota Sienna the same year. Yes, he's had no problems with the van, but he also hasn't come anywhere NEAR making up the 6K difference, and the only advantage is he has the snob appeal of joining my relatives who can say they own a toyota, like its a freakin' Rolls or something.

Edited November 11, 2006 by WC-MAN

[bec5150]

The last few posts I have tried to make a point and I wonder of anyone agrees with me, that if the Ford product has changed that much, perhaps the dealerships and, dare I say, even the branding needs to change at least as much.

 

If a person has bought a Toyota or Honda for the last 5 or 10 or 20 years and has no disappointments with the product, it stands to reason that they will continue to buy that product unless Ford shows a major change to that customer.

 

It doesn't matter if the Fusion is better than the Accord and Camry, not at all, if the last Ford experience a person had was a Taurus with blown head gaskets and transmission issues AND the dealership he dealt with looks the exact same as it did when that happened.

Edited November 11, 2006 by bec5150

[Ford Rules]

No Japanese bias you say? Why is the Fit and The Yaris there? They've not been on the road a year yet! I guess they are very reliable the first 2 or so months of ownership!

 

 

I may be wrong but can't the same thing be said about the Lexus ES350 and the Toyota FJ Cruiser? They've barely been out on the market, yet they both were given a top pick in reliability in their respective classes based on probably less than three months of ownership. The Lincoln Zephyr really should have won in the upscale car category.

[StevenJ]

Answer me this, why is the Cobalt already on the least reliable list? According to a recent Edmunds test where they actually road tested the car for 17,000 miles, the only thing that needed fixing under warranty was the sun roof.

 

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/...rticleId=107488

 

I smell BS.

[F250]

Reliable hybrids? Has Toyota fixed all the Priuses that randomly shut down on the highway yet? Doesn't sound very reliable to me.

 

From talking to a few hybrid owners, I can understand why they rank high though. Owners of these vehicles are typically holier-than-thou types who think their purchase was the best decision ever executed by mankind. Therefore it would be reasonable to assert that these owners would never ever dare to speak ill of them on an owner survey. Perhaps?

 

Bingo! You are exactly correct.

 

The Prius problems (both generations) are well documented by the recalls for failures that DO leave the owner riding in an American built tow truck back to the dealership. But you know that's not a failure that's an opportunity for Toyota to show their great customer support.

[Imawhosure]

I have to agree with Bec on this one, perception does not always mirror reality.

 

When Ford and GM were having big problems with quality, consumers held their noses as they really did NOT want to buy a foreign car, but did it because they felt they had to. Now they are used to it, aren't they!!!

 

While it may not be popular with many, somehow the big 2 must make that first uncomfortable to buy foreign, again uncomfortable.

 

Seems GM is trying with their "American Truck" commercials to subliminely say something just like that.

 

If they do succeed, they better both make sure they have products that stand up to scrutiny. If they drop the ball again anytime soon, there will be no saving either one of them!

 

Remember, there is still more people that support Ford and GM, than support foreign makes. If it was a political race and everyone voted, it would be a slam dunk for the big 2. You wouldn't know that by how the media paints it though, and that should tell you that they honestly are biased.

 

There is no doubt the media for the most part is green. This is exactly why they trumpet vehicles as "best buys" that get great gas mileage for the most part.

 

Until that is not a weighted factor in their decision when "suggesting" to their readers what to purchase, we can expect more of the same!

[ANTAUS]

How one word makes a difference...

 

"Predicted reliability"... It's that ONE WORD that pretty much leaves CR off the hook if their information is inaccurate. That one word lets me know that Miss Cleo is probably just as dependable as their people.

 

Case in point, it's not the gospel at all. And people need to actually pay closer attention to JDPower which actually has a larger sample data.

[RichardJensen]

people need to actually pay closer attention to JDPower which actually has a larger sample data.

Problem with JD Power is they don't tell you what to expect will go wrong. CR does, and it has been pretty accurate in my experience.

[JETSOLVER]

This all comes back to perception and reality. Most of the uncommitted type of conquest sales that GM and Ford need to win back read Consumer Reports if they read anything at all. I have seen this latest ranking in 7 online papers this weekend, and like it or not, they are considered an authority. So take this to the bank. Many, many people who drive cars as appliances will only come in contact with this info and the media perception. In that case, the fact that the domestics made the lists in the upper end at all is a very good thing. The fact that the imports still hold the numbers is going to be the major purchase decision for a ridiculously(in an internet age) large number of purchases. And needs to change for the domestics to achieve the required conquest sales to achieve their stated aims.