Oct27
Chrysler ranks at the bottom of the industry for reliability
DETROIT (Reuters) -- Ford Motor Co. has made the most progress in improving vehicle quality among major automakers, while Chrysler ranks at the bottom of the industry for reliability, according to an annual Consumer Reports survey released today. Asian automakers dominated the magazine's influential list of recommended vehicles, with Toyota Motor Corp.'s Scion ranked the top brand followed by Honda Motor Co.'s flagship brand. Toyota's flagship brand placed third. Ford ranks as the only U.S. automaker that is competing with Asian brands with "world-class reliability," Consumer Reports said. About 90 percent of Ford's vehicles achieved average or better reliability, the study showed. Ford's Mercury brand ranked tenth for reliability -- the only U.S. brand to make the top 10 list. The Ford brand ranked 16th and Ford's luxury Lincoln brand ranked 20th. In contrast, Chrysler's three brands all slipped further in the ratings. The Jeep SUV brand ranked 30th, with Dodge just behind and the Chrysler brand dead last in the reliability ranking. Consumer Reports said more than a third of Chrysler models through the 2009 model year were "much worse than average." Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy on June 10 by completing the sale of most of its assets to a new company led by Italy's Fiat. CEO Sergio Marchionne, who also heads Fiat, will announce a five-year business plan for turning around the No. 3 U.S. automaker on November 4. General Motors Co's flagship Chevrolet brand, which accounts for more than 60 percent of its U.S. sales, ranked 25th on the list. The No. 1 U.S. automaker emerged from bankruptcy in July backed by some $50 billion in U.S. taxpayer funding. GM is counting on sales gains at Chevy at a time when it is selling Saab, Hummer and winding down Pontiac and Saturn.
Brand rankings Consumer Reports says it ranked 33 brands based on average predicted reliability scores, and which models by each make have the highest and lowest ratings.
RANK MAKE 1. Scion 2. Honda 3. Toyota 4. Infiniti 5. Acura 6. Mitsubishi 7. Lexus 8. Hyundai 9. Porsche 10. Mercury 11. Saab 12. Subaru 13. Suzuki 14. Kia 15. Mazda 16. Ford 17. Nissan 18. Volvo 19. Buick 20. Lincoln 21. Volkswagen 22. Pontiac 23. Mercedes-Benz 24. Audi 25. Chevrolet 26. BMW 27. Mini 28. GMC 29. Saturn 30. Jeep 31. Dodge 32. Cadillac 33. Chrysler Source: Consumer Reports
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