Consumer Reports Best/Worst Cars 2007

[candidate]

I've worked for an automotive dealership for a few moons and have come to the conclusion that if there is not a dealership in town for the vehicle I want, I don't want it. Alot of places can change your oil but don't have the expertise to deal with resetting those damn oil life monitoring systems or even worse the tire pressure monitors on today and tomorrow's cars. (thank the government, Ford, and Firestone) Can't begin to count the times people have come in and had their oil changed somewhere and now this damn light is on. Either they are too lazy to read their owners manual or the slam bam thank you ma'am quick jiffy lube and coffee mart grunt can't figure it out. You can bet your ass that when you really need your car, a problem will come up that can't be fixed under a tree. Most small towns may only have one dealership and most likely it is GM, Ford, or maybe Chrysler. I chuckle when I see the mini's, the V-dubs, the beemers, the benz's, and all that yuppie crap. They may be fine automobiles but they will have a problem someday, somewhere, when your last nerve is frayed.

[Army_of_One]

Originally Posted by candidate

They may be fine automobiles but they will have a problem someday, somewhere, when your last nerve is frayed.

But those problems are few and far between in comparison to GM and Ford.

[deuce91]

Thought the following was interesting:

Beleaguered Ford tops quality rankings - MSN Money

By The Associated Press
Ford supplanted Toyota as the leader of the pack in initial quality rankings, taking the top spot in five of 19 segments in the 2007 survey by J.D. Power and Associates, released Wednesday.

Porsche again dominated the overall ranking of brands, averaging 91 problems per 100 vehicles, as it had last year. That compared with a 2007 industry average of 125 problems per 100 vehicles. Last year it was 124.

Ford Motor earned segment awards for the Ford Mustang, Lincoln Mark LT, Lincoln MKZ, Mercury Milan and Mazda MX-5 Miata. Mazda is 33.4% owned by Ford.

Toyota Motor, which grabbed the top spot in 11 segments last year, captured only four this year -- the 4Runner, Sequoia, Tacoma and Lexus RX350/RX400h.

Ford's Lincoln brand took third in overall nameplate rankings, averaging 100 problems per 100 vehicles. It was behind Porsche and Toyota's Lexus luxury brand, which averaged 94 problems per vehicles.

Toyota slips as Ford rises
Lincoln jumped from 12th in 2006.

"We saw dramatic improvement from Lincoln," said Neal Oddes, J.D. Power's director of product research and analysis. "It was a fantastic year for the Mercury Milan, with dramatic improvements in terms of defects."

Overall, he said, Ford's strength came from new launches such as the Edge, MKX and MKZ.

Toyota had seen its list of quality leaders decrease in a quality study released Monday by Strategic Vision, a San Diego market research company and consultant to automakers. Despite improving its overall quality, Toyota led in one category in that study -- down from four in 2006. South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor led in five categories, outperforming its Japanese, European and U.S. competitors. Last year, it had no winners.

Joe Ivers, J.D. Power's executive director of quality and customer satisfaction, said there's no clear answer for Toyota's drop. But several vehicles brought its quality performance down this year, including the Corolla, Prius and Lexus models.

It is worth noting, he said, that Toyota executives have been speaking publicly about their concerns about managing to maintain its historically high quality during a time of rapid growth.

"We're not used to seeing their vehicles go backward from a quality standpoint, and several of them did," he said. "It's no big change, but when things go backward for Toyota, it's unusual."

I feel bad for berating Ford and GM about their problems. Apparently, being #1 is a tough job for any auto company. I personally am happy to see that even foreign car makers are bound to stumble now and then like their domestic counterparts.

[Made in the USA]

I read an article on that today, Duece. Thanks for posting it for my "Japanese" friends!! BUY AMERICAN!!

[Army_of_One]

Man, click on the link and read. Sure Ford had a couple of vehicles in the top but look over all...Japanese cars..AND that doesn't take into consideration RESALE value, COST of OWNERSHIP, DEPRECIATION and other things that Consumer reports tests.....

[Flying Dutchman]

I own a 2005 Kia Optima EX, 1989 Chevy 4x4 and 1986 Cadi. The Kia is by far the best vehicle I have owned. It drives like a dream, looks sporty and classy and gets reasonable gas miliage. I have owned ALOT of different cars, each with their perks, but I have to say, the imports (Kia, Toyota, Hyundia and Mazda) were the best overall.

As for trucks..............I would eat glass before parting with my Chevy.

[deuce91]

I guess my take on it is this.

For years, Ford and GM have sold millions of cars. Because of the demand, they built them under the premise of "the public will buy them regardless of quality and design because we're #1." Demand was good and profits were wonderful. Because lots of people had their cars, resale was low. Toyota/Honda were small operations. They offered a small selection of cars. Because of that, they were able to address the quality concerns. Because of limited quantity, their resale was high.

Today the rolls have turned. Toyota/Honda are now producing more cars than Ford/GM. Because of increased demand, their quality has started lacking. Given time and an over abundance of used cars in three to four years, I predict their resale will lag too. Meanwhile, Ford/GM have scaled back production, started focusing on quality and details, but that means fewer vehicles available for resale. Soon, they will hold their resale values because they are no longer supplying cheap lease vehicles for wholesale.

To me, the lesson is that it may be nice to be #1, no automakers can truly handle the stress of it. At first glance, it seemed to be something only American automakers dealt with. It's a breath of fresh air to hear that the foreigns are now experiencing the same problems the domestics have struggled with for years.