Ford shows improvement in Consumer Reports reliability survey

Asian automakers once again dominate the upper ranks of Consumer Reports’ annual vehicle-reliability survey, although Ford Motor Co. is making strides in improving the dependability of its cars and light trucks.

Ford’s sustained production of vehicles that are as dependable as — or better than — some of the industry’s best models dispels the notion that only Japanese manufacturers make reliable cars, the consumer magazine reported today.

The four-cylinder Ford Fusion and its cousin, the Mercury Milan, ranked higher in predicted reliability than any family sedan in the CR survey save the Toyota Prius. The cars beat out the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, while the Lincoln MKZ, a product of Ford’s luxury division, topped the rival Acura TL and Lexus ES, products of Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., respectively.

“It's rare for Consumer Reports to see family sedans from domestic carmakers continue to beat the reliability scores of such highly regarded Japanese models as the Camry and Accord,” said David Champion, senior director of the magazine’s automotive test center. The last domestic sedan that had better reliability than the Camry and Accord was the Buick Regal in 2004, he noted.

Overall, 46 of 51 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products were found to have average or better predicted reliability.

That said, Asian nameplates were the clear overall winners in the annual survey, which collected responses on vehicle reliability from 1.4 million subscribers to Consumer Reports magazine and its companion website, ConsumerReports.org. The responses, which covered ownership experiences with vehicles from model years 2000 to 2009, are used by the magazine’s researchers to predict the reliability of 2010 model-year vehicles.

Toyota’s Scion brand finished first, followed by Honda, Toyota, Nissan’s Infiniti brand, Acura, Mitsubishi, Lexus and Hyundai of Korea. All Honda and Acura vehicles are rated as having average or above-average reliability.

German automaker Porsche, at No. 8, is the highest-ranked non-Asian company.

Independents give better repair service, Consumer Reports survey says

When it comes to service and repairs, car owners surveyed by Consumer Reports said they preferred taking their cars to independent repair shops rather than dealerships.

Consumer Reports, the consumer affairs magazine and website published by the Consumers Union, surveyed owners of 349,000 vehicles among its subscriber base.

When it came to routine maintenance, 84% of respondents reported being “very satisfied” with the service that they received at independent repair shops, compared with only 77% satisfaction at dealerships. The difference was more pronounced where repair work was involved, with 75% giving the highest rating to independent shops versus 57% for dealerships.

“In many cases, we heard that independent shops were more thorough and consumers were more satisfied with repairs they made, there was less of a difference in routine service,” said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports Auto Test Center.

"The good news is consumers have choices when it comes to auto repair and maintenance," said a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association, a trade group based in McLean, Va. that represents the nation’s new car and truck dealers.

"Today’s vehicles are becoming increasingly complex . . . "New car dealers invest heavily in training, service equipment and diagnostic tools."

Among individual brands, domestic dealerships fared quite well, with Buick, Saturn, Mercury, Cadillac and Lincoln all landing in the top 10 (Lexus was No. 1). At the bottom of the ranking were Mazda, Nissan, Jeep, Suzuki and — in last place — Volkswagen.

The full results of the survey will be in the June issue of Consumer Reports, which hits newsstands Tuesday, and at www.consumerreports.org.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: John Kalleen of Accurate Autoworks in Pasedena. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Edmunds.com vs. Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports recently named the 2009 Toyota Prius as "the best new-car value" among the 300 vehicles evaluated by the magazine's staff.

Edmunds.com, the online car shopping and data site, begs to differ.

In a rare public display of intra-industry acrimony, Santa Monica-based Edmunds.com issued a news release this week warning that CR's ranking of best new-car values and its crowning of the Prius hybrid as best in show "could lead cost-conscious shoppers astray."

"The Prius is a lot of cool things, but 'value' is not something that pops into mind," Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl said in an interview. "If you're buying a Prius to save money, you're going to be in for a shock."

According to Edmunds.com's proprietary "true cost of ownership" yardstick, the No. 1 vehicle in terms of after-purchase costs is the Honda Civic DX-VP. Edmunds.com calculates the Civic's five-year ownership cost at $29,037. That was much less than the $37,079 cost for the top-of-the-line Prius Touring model, which the site ranked 41st. The less elaborately equipped Prius Standard model fared better in the survey, ranking 17th with a five-year total ownership cost of $33,848.

The cost of ownership, as defined by both Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports, doesn't include what you actually pay for a vehicle. It measures all the additional direct and indirect costs -- such as depreciation, fuel costs, insurance and repairs -- paid by a new-car buyer over a given period of time.

In compiling their rankings, Edmunds.com and CR used national averages to compute insurance rates, gas prices and other expenses. Edmunds.com's free website (www.edmunds.com) will calculate ownership costs based on individual ZIP Codes. The Consumer Reports website (www.consumerreports.com -- most info. available only to subscribers) doesn't provide that option.

Consumer Reports releases top picks for 2009

Consumer Reports magazine released its top new- and used-vehicle picks for 2009, and the results include two newcomers to the top of the rankings –- the Toyota Highlander as the top choice among mid-sized SUVs and the Chevrolet Avalanche as the best pickup truck.

Here are the top picks by category:

Small sedan: Hyundai Elantra SE
Mid-sized SUV: Toyota Highlander
Pickup truck: Chevrolet Avalanche
Best overall vehicle: Lexus LS 460
Family sedan: Honda Accord
Upscale sedan: Infiniti G37
Fun to drive: Mazda MX-5 Miata
Small SUV: Toyota RAV4
Minivan: Toyota Sienna
Green car: Toyota Prius

For more info. on the top picks, go to to the CR website.

CR also released its latest ranking of what it considers to be the most reliable used cars:

Small cars: Honda Civic, Toyota Echo, Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Mazda3, Mazda Protege, Subaru Impreza.

Family cars: Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Toyota Camry (except ’08 V-6), Subaru Outback (6-cylinder), Nissan Altima.

Minivans: Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey.

Small SUVs: Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, Mitsubishi Outlander.

Mid-sized and large SUVs: Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota 4Runner, Infiniti FX35, Acura MDX, Infiniti QX4, Lexus GX, Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Tribeca, Nissan Xterra (’05-’08), Toyota Sequoia.

In its first-ever ranking of “best new-car value,” the magazine’s top pick was the Toyota Prius hybrid, which was cited for comparatively low cost of ownership, high fuel economy and relatively high road test scores.

CR also ranked the automakers in terms of their overall output for the U.S. market. Honda, Subaru and Toyota finished first, second and third, respectively. Chrysler finished last.

For a photo gallery of each category winner, click here.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: CR's pickup pick, the 2009 Chevy Avalanche. Credit: General Motors