Annual auto reliability survey

2010 Cadillac SRX AWD
Originally uploaded by homeychan

Consumer Reports released the results of its annual auto reliability survey on Tuesday and made special note of the improvement in General Motors vehicles.
“While some G.M. nameplates had been among the least reliable brands in past years, they now
rank above some major European competitors such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz,” said Consumer Reports in a news release.
Out of all the G.M. brands, Cadillac improved the most, moving up seven places from last year’s ranking to 19 (out of 27 brands). At 17, Chevrolet ranked the highest of all G.M. brands. Still, G.M. models have not yet reached the level of most reliable, where Honda and Toyota dominate.
Conducted in the spring, the 2010 Annual Car Reliability Survey covers 1.3 million 2001-10 model year vehicles leased or owned by Consumer Reports subscribers. The results apply to the predicted reliability of new cars, and vehicles are rated on a scale of Much Better Than Average, Better Than Average, Average, Worse Than Average and Much Worse Than Average.
Over all, Japanese automakers had the most reliable vehicles, occupying five of the top six slots. The top brand was Scion, surprisingly followed by Porsche, which jumped six spots since last year. In fact, all of Porsche’s cars and S.U.V.’s were rated Average or Better.
The Porsche Boxster also had the best predicted reliability score in the survey, but it was based on one year of data. The other German automakers were among the bottom six automakers in terms of reliability. Consumer Reports slapped the Not Recommended label on three Audis — the A3, the A6 with the 3-liter supercharged engine and the Q5.
(from NYT blog)