Todd Hollander Market Research

Consumer Reports� latest auto reliability and survey rankings, featured in the magazine�s April issue, reveal:

• Customer satisfaction is highest for Japanese vehicles
• Satisfaction with American cars has generally improved
• Satisfaction with European cars has generally declined

The findings are based on more than 250 tested vehicles and data collected from 1.3 million subscribers� vehicles.

For the second time in 10 years, all the magazine�s top-10 picks are Japanese. This year�s list includes five new models: the Toyota RAV4, Infiniti G35, Toyota Sienna, Mazda MX-5 Miata and the Honda Fit.

The list features vehicles that a) performed well in Consumer Reports� tests, and b) have average or better reliability and performance in government and insurance industry crash protection tests.

The Toyota Prius ranked as the most satisfying vehicle overall for the fourth straight year based on the percentage of respondents who said they would buy the same model again. The Chevrolet Corvette again came in second.

Seven U.S. models made the cut, compared with four last year. The number of Japanese models fell from 31 to 26, and the number of European models increased from nine to 11.

The magazine found that Volkswagen leads in overall test performance, followed by Honda, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Mazda and Nissan. But Honda, Subaru and Toyota get the highest marks when it comes to reliability.

In a new report card, Mercedes-Benz received the fourth-highest test score with 77 out of a possible 100. But not one of the German automaker�s vehicles received a recommendationfrom Consumer Reports because of reliability concerns. By contrast, Honda�s test score was 78, but the magazine recommends all of the Honda vehicles it tested. Recommendations of the tested vehicles are based on performance, reliability in surveys, and crash-test results.

The reliability of cars from Detroit vary greatly, according to the report. Chrysler posted the lowest score at 51, with 21 percent of the tested vehicles getting a recommendation. Ford�s score was 64, with 54 percent of its tested vehicles getting a recommendation; General Motors received a 57 with 36 percent recommendation rate.

David Champion, Consumer Reports� senior director of automotive testing, said there was some good news for the U.S. auto industry, which has been battered by a decreased market share and reductions in manufacturing.

�They are making strides in the right direction, but time is not on their side and certainly the financial situation is not on their side. If they�re going to succeed in this market, they have to build a world-class product � that doesn�t fall down in any one area.�

Champion cited the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan as the �shining stars� of the domestic auto industry.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 5th, 2007 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Customer Satisfaction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.