Magazine lauds Asian cars

Toyota was the most reliable brand, with Honda second. Ford fared the best among U.S. cars.

Scott Burgess / The Detroit News

EAST HADDAM, Conn. -- Japanese automakers again dominated Consumer Reports' ratings of the best vehicles, claiming every spot on the closely watched "Top Picks" list for a second consecutive year.

Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. captured seven of the list's 10 categories; only three American vehicles have been named top picks since 2000.

"The Japanese automakers, particularly Toyota, Honda and Subaru, tend to make well-rounded vehicles that score well in our tests," said Rik Paul, automotive editor at Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports' annual auto issue, which goes on sale Tuesday, includes its list of recommended models and is considered one of the most influential automotive reports.

While Japanese vehicles ranked highest in nearly every measure, Detroit automakers are making progress. Seven domestic models rated among the best in customer satisfaction, up from four last year. And the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ sedans, the Pontiac Vibe small car and the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs were among the most reliable in their classes.

Of 54 models that earned a top recommendation, eight were built by a Detroit automaker or one of its foreign units. And of the 84 vehicles that got a standard recommendation, 39 were built by a Detroit company. But all Honda models were recommended, along with most Toyotas.

Among Detroit automakers, Ford Motor Co. fared best, with the most recommended models. Overall, however, Detroit is still playing catch-up. "U.S. automakers build some good models," Consumer Reports said in a statement. "But many vehicles are mediocre, and even the best seldom rise to the top against stiff competition."

To compile its report, the magazine analyzed how vehicles performed in a battery of road tests and examined the reliability history of more than 1.3 million vehicles, representing 250 models. It rated models in several areas, including reliability, owner satisfaction and fuel economy.

To qualify as a top pick, a vehicle must test favorably in a number of categories, including reliability, consumer satisfaction and crash test performance.

New vehicles named as top picks for 2007 include the subcompact Honda Fit, Toyota's RAV4 small SUV, Infiniti's G35 luxury sedan, Mazda's MX-5 Miata convertible and Toyota's Sienna minivan.

A hit or miss in Consumer Reports' annual survey is extremely important to automakers, said Erich Merkle, the director of forecasting at IRN Inc., an automotive research and consulting firm based in Grand Rapids.

"When you start taking a look at consumers and folks that don't really know that much about the industry or cars, which is most of America, many rely on Consumer Reports as their guide to what they'll consider buying," he said.

Automakers respond

American automakers, which have acknowledged the need to improve the quality of their vehicles, said they believe they are building excellent vehicles and that many are recognized by Consumer Reports.

"We're going to continue to capitalize on our strengths," said Bennie Fowler, Ford's vice president for global quality. "We know the areas we need to improve."

Consumer Reports analyzed a variety of data to give individual automakers report cards.

Ford scored the highest among Detroit automakers, with 54 percent of its lineup recommended, compared with 21 percent for DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group and 36 percent for General Motors Corp.

"All of the domestic automakers are doing better," said David Champion, senior director for automotive testing at Consumer Reports. "Look at Ford's Fusion, Milan and Zephyr, it's done very well on first-year reliability, safety and fuel economy."

But Champion had some harsh words for Chrysler.

"Chrysler has been very good at bringing out good styling in mediocre cars," he said.

Chrysler spokesman Sam Locricchio said Chrysler has made quality improvements over the past five years, and the automaker is beginning to reap the benefits from those efforts.

Instead of focusing on just one area, Chrysler uses external data from Consumer Reports and other outlets, along with internal studies, to better determine how its vehicles fare.

"People who are out there buying everything from refrigerators to peanut butter to vehicles are using Consumer Reports. So certainly we can't turn a blind eye," he said. "But at the same time balancing that data we get a better representation of what's really going on."

Detroit's Big Three consistently do not meet all of the demands consumers have for new vehicles.

"You have to look at what consumers want, and what they want is a vehicle that doesn't fail in any area," Champion said. "There is a massive number of vehicles to choose from out there and a consumer wants everything: safety, fuel economy, luxury, performance, at a good value."

Reliability results

The report's reliability results provide a comprehensive look at how vehicles performed over time.

A 10-year reliability study showed that Japanese vehicles generally age more gracefully than their American and European counterparts. On average, a 10-year-old Toyota will have fewer problems than a 4-year-old vehicle from Detroit automakers.

In the reliability ranking, the only American brand to reach the top 10 was Mercury, at No. 10. Toyota rated the most reliable brand, with Honda second. Toyota's Scion brand ranked third out of 36 brands.

But, again, Detroit showed progress. Ford's luxury brand, Lincoln, jumped up 17 positions to No. 13. GM's GMC brand moved up 11 places to 14th. Mercedes finished last.

GM is well aware it's still playing catch-up to Toyota and Honda.

"We're not where we want to be," GM spokeswoman Janine Fruehan said. "It will take year-to-year consistent improvement for there to be a real change."

However, Fruehan said, Consumer Reports' data doesn't tell the whole story.

A host of other information -- from auto dealer feedback to warranty data -- backs up GM's claim that its vehicles are improving, she said. But consumer perceptions continue to lag.

"Whatever perception exists, you don't lose that overnight and you don't build it up over night," she said.

Merkle said Detroit makers may never be able to beat the Japanese companies head-to-head in quality, but there are other ways to win back consumers.

"If you're going to beat the Japanese, it's going to be on design," he said. "Most Japanese cars don't make my heart leap and there are some very good American cars that do."

Detroit News Staff Writers Sharon Terlep and Josee Valcourt contributed. Scott Burgess can be reached at (313) 223-3217 or sburgess@detnews.com.