Reliability is one of the more mundane reasons to buy a car but in hard economic times many buyers are planning to keep cars longer, thus placing a greater importance on reliability. Good reliability has one major advantage within the industry—they can charge more. If consumers believe a company’s cars are reliable they will be willing to pay a little more and manufacturers will not need as many rebates to get cars off dealership lots.
Consumer Reports recently released their latest new-car reliability survey. 1.3 million car owners were surveyed with vehicles from the past three years.
Firstly, the recalls that haunt every Toyota executive at night have not made a significant effect on Japanese cars. Toyota owners still seem happy with their vehicles and the Toyota brand Scion ranked No. 1 in the survey. However, the Prius’ reliability ranking was downgraded to “average” in light of the recalls. Honda and its luxury brand, Acura, still impress with top stops in five segments.
Secondly, Ford and GM show improvement as they discontinue the older models which were dragging down their scores. Ford ranked No. 10 among the 27 brands and Chevrolet ranked 17th in the survey. Ford’s Fusion even beat the Camry as being the most reliable car in the family sedan segment. This increased credibility allowed Ford to earn an additional $400 million to income because they did not have to rebate as much.
Thirdly, and most damaging, luxury German brands did not do well. BMW ranked 23rd out of 27 in reliability. There seems to be a price paid for putting more modern and advanced technology in cars.
Reliability surveys are very important to the industry but I have been told, from a former employee in the car survey business, that they should be taken with a grain of salt. Owners tend to have different expectations and different brands are owned by different people. A busy businessperson driving an Audi might find a minor recall annoying while a Buick owner, who is probably retired, may find a recall a nice opportunity to get out of the house and take a drive to the dealership. Most likely, there will be other Buick owners, who are also retired, at the dealership and they can talk the afternoon away. I also feel as if Mr. White is unfair to Ford and GM. The author of the article, Mr. White, barely applauds GM and Ford for bringing up their rankings from past years but calls Hyundai a company to be “reckoned with” with a score of No.12. Remember, Ford received the 10th spot in this survey but that doesn’t seem to be that important to Mr. White. I believe the days of giving slack to the Koreans should end.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303891804575576403299442246.html?mod=WSJ_Autos_LS_Autos_2
Ford's ranking is an especially good sign. I agree that the author was not very favorable to the American brands as compared to his lauding of Hyundai. Hyundai has been releasing good cars for at least five years. People should stop being so amazed at how well they are doing.
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