Europe Dominates Lemon List
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HC Racer H5
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From: KCK
Europe Dominates Lemon List
By Shawn Langlois, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Nov. 9, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - European carmakers have firmly supplanted their U.S. rivals in winning the dubious honor of producing some of the world's most-unreliable cars, according to the latest Consumer Report rankings.
European models - mostly high-end vehicles - claimed 10 of the top 11 spots on the magazine's list of least-reliable sedans. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, with a sticker price starting at about $75,000, topped the list followed by the Jaguar S-Type, retailing at about $45,000.
BMW, Saab, Volvo and Volkswagen also placed models on the Top 10 list, which contained only a single U.S. vehicle - the supercharged version of the Pontiac Grand Prix.
"These high-end European models carry many of the latest features, and the more stuff you've got, the more likely you're going to have problems," said David Champion, Consumer Reports' director of automotive testing. "But the Japanese manufacturers have similar systems and they get it right. It's all about the attention to detail."
This poor-quality showing in the survey of 1997 to 2004 models comes at a time when Mercedes and Jaguar have been a source of mounting losses for parents DaimlerChrysler (DCX: news, chart, profile) and Ford Motor (F: news, chart, profile). Both divisions turned in another month of lower unit sales in October, with Jaguar off 11 percent and Mercedes off 5 percent. See monthly results.
"We have requested further information from Consumer Reports in an effort to better understand the metrics used," a Jaguar spokesman said, adding that other quality reviewers like J.D. Power and Associates had given the vehicle high marks.
10 Least Reliable Sedans
1. Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2. Jaguar S-Type
3. BMW 7 Series
4. Jaguar X-Type
5. Mercedes Benz E-Class
6. Mercedes Benz C-Class (V6)
7. Volvo S60 (AWD)
8. Saab 9-3
9. Pontiac Grand Prix (supercharged)
10. Volkswagen Passat (AWD)
American nameplates dominated the "least reliable" list until as recently as four years ago, Champion said, when U.S. automakers began reaping the benefit of heightened attention to the quality of design and workmanship. The U.S. placed three vehicles among last year's 10 least reliable, with Europe claiming the other seven spots.
"The domestics are seeing the Japanese coming in and taking large swaths of market share purely on reliability," Champion said. "If they want to compete, they have to improve their reliability and meet them head on -- they're starting to do just that."
Still, only two domestic models made it among the top 32 "most reliable" vehicles - the Buick Regal, discontinued for 2005, and ironically, the standard-model Pontiac Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, as has been the case for decades, the Japanese almost swept the top rankings across nearly all categories.
Of the 32 models earning the highest praise in the survey, 29 were Japanese, including 16 Toyota (TM: news, chart, profile) models and seven from Honda (HMC: news, chart, profile).
Broken down by segment, Toyota's Lexus IS300 garnered top honors in the sedan category, followed by the Acura RL and the Toyota Camry.
The in-demand Toyota Prius hybrid also took "most reliable" ratings along with the Honda Civic hybrid, which should help quell some concerns the environmentally-friendly line of cars might yield some unexpected glitches.
In the small car category, the Toyota Corolla and the Scion xB proved most reliable, while three Volkswagen models - the Golf, the Jetta and the New Beetle - came in last.
The Japanese also monopolized the hotly-contested sports utility class with the Toyota Land Cruiser and Highlander leading the way followed by the Mitsubishi Endeavor.
The European and American brands, completely absent from the "most reliable" side of the SUV list, fared poorly with such models as the Land Rover Freelander and the Lincoln Navigator jousting for the dubious distinction of least reliable.
Not even America's best-selling vehicle could compete with the Japanese as the redesigned Ford F-150 also fell into the "least reliable" category vs. the top showing from the Toyota Tundra.
Category Most Reliable Least Reliable
Small cars Toyota Corolla Volkswagen Golf
Sporty cars/convert. Lexus SC430 Hyundai Tiburon
Sedans Lexus IS300 Mercedes S-Class
SUVs Toyota Land Cruiser Land Rover Freelander
Pickup trucks Toyota Tundra Ford F-150
Nov. 9, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - European carmakers have firmly supplanted their U.S. rivals in winning the dubious honor of producing some of the world's most-unreliable cars, according to the latest Consumer Report rankings.
European models - mostly high-end vehicles - claimed 10 of the top 11 spots on the magazine's list of least-reliable sedans. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, with a sticker price starting at about $75,000, topped the list followed by the Jaguar S-Type, retailing at about $45,000.
BMW, Saab, Volvo and Volkswagen also placed models on the Top 10 list, which contained only a single U.S. vehicle - the supercharged version of the Pontiac Grand Prix.
"These high-end European models carry many of the latest features, and the more stuff you've got, the more likely you're going to have problems," said David Champion, Consumer Reports' director of automotive testing. "But the Japanese manufacturers have similar systems and they get it right. It's all about the attention to detail."
This poor-quality showing in the survey of 1997 to 2004 models comes at a time when Mercedes and Jaguar have been a source of mounting losses for parents DaimlerChrysler (DCX: news, chart, profile) and Ford Motor (F: news, chart, profile). Both divisions turned in another month of lower unit sales in October, with Jaguar off 11 percent and Mercedes off 5 percent. See monthly results.
"We have requested further information from Consumer Reports in an effort to better understand the metrics used," a Jaguar spokesman said, adding that other quality reviewers like J.D. Power and Associates had given the vehicle high marks.
10 Least Reliable Sedans
1. Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2. Jaguar S-Type
3. BMW 7 Series
4. Jaguar X-Type
5. Mercedes Benz E-Class
6. Mercedes Benz C-Class (V6)
7. Volvo S60 (AWD)
8. Saab 9-3
9. Pontiac Grand Prix (supercharged)
10. Volkswagen Passat (AWD)
American nameplates dominated the "least reliable" list until as recently as four years ago, Champion said, when U.S. automakers began reaping the benefit of heightened attention to the quality of design and workmanship. The U.S. placed three vehicles among last year's 10 least reliable, with Europe claiming the other seven spots.
"The domestics are seeing the Japanese coming in and taking large swaths of market share purely on reliability," Champion said. "If they want to compete, they have to improve their reliability and meet them head on -- they're starting to do just that."
Still, only two domestic models made it among the top 32 "most reliable" vehicles - the Buick Regal, discontinued for 2005, and ironically, the standard-model Pontiac Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, as has been the case for decades, the Japanese almost swept the top rankings across nearly all categories.
Of the 32 models earning the highest praise in the survey, 29 were Japanese, including 16 Toyota (TM: news, chart, profile) models and seven from Honda (HMC: news, chart, profile).
Broken down by segment, Toyota's Lexus IS300 garnered top honors in the sedan category, followed by the Acura RL and the Toyota Camry.
The in-demand Toyota Prius hybrid also took "most reliable" ratings along with the Honda Civic hybrid, which should help quell some concerns the environmentally-friendly line of cars might yield some unexpected glitches.
In the small car category, the Toyota Corolla and the Scion xB proved most reliable, while three Volkswagen models - the Golf, the Jetta and the New Beetle - came in last.
The Japanese also monopolized the hotly-contested sports utility class with the Toyota Land Cruiser and Highlander leading the way followed by the Mitsubishi Endeavor.
The European and American brands, completely absent from the "most reliable" side of the SUV list, fared poorly with such models as the Land Rover Freelander and the Lincoln Navigator jousting for the dubious distinction of least reliable.
Not even America's best-selling vehicle could compete with the Japanese as the redesigned Ford F-150 also fell into the "least reliable" category vs. the top showing from the Toyota Tundra.
Category Most Reliable Least Reliable
Small cars Toyota Corolla Volkswagen Golf
Sporty cars/convert. Lexus SC430 Hyundai Tiburon
Sedans Lexus IS300 Mercedes S-Class
SUVs Toyota Land Cruiser Land Rover Freelander
Pickup trucks Toyota Tundra Ford F-150
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From: Location Location
1. Mercedes-Benz S-Class not surprised
2. Jaguar S-Type not surprised
3. BMW 7 Series not surprised
4. Jaguar X-Type not surprised
5. Mercedes Benz E-Class not surprised
6. Mercedes Benz C-Class (V6) not surprised
7. Volvo S60 (AWD) surprised
8. Saab 9-3 surprised
9. Pontiac Grand Prix (supercharged)
10. Volkswagen Passat (AWD)
2. Jaguar S-Type not surprised
3. BMW 7 Series not surprised
4. Jaguar X-Type not surprised
5. Mercedes Benz E-Class not surprised
6. Mercedes Benz C-Class (V6) not surprised
7. Volvo S60 (AWD) surprised
8. Saab 9-3 surprised
9. Pontiac Grand Prix (supercharged)
10. Volkswagen Passat (AWD)
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From: NY
""The domestics are seeing the Japanese coming in and taking large swaths of market share purely on reliability," Champion said"
Maybe the fact that Japanese cars, since the 90s, were not fugly, and were built for people with a reasonable size ass also helps a lot. Not to mention the fact that there aren't 5 versions of accord or camry with different names the way domestics do with their car/truck.
Maybe the fact that Japanese cars, since the 90s, were not fugly, and were built for people with a reasonable size ass also helps a lot. Not to mention the fact that there aren't 5 versions of accord or camry with different names the way domestics do with their car/truck.
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IMHO, german cars were always terrible, especially BMW, its just that everything else was also just as terrible, but now that competition is improving, the overall crappiness of german automobiles is showing up.
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HC Racer H5
Joined: May 2000
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From: KCK
Let's do this by manufacturer as these are not European Mfgrs anymore as the Big 3 have bought most of them:
3 DCXs
3 Fords (Well at least Ford is making lower quality cars under different makes so they can they are making an improvement)
2 GMs (not surprised...figured the grand prix's chassis, engine etc was so old they'd have kinks worked out of it like 10 year old designed and never changed buicks)
1 VW (i'm surprised only one VW on this list especially with VW a perennial bottom dwellar in quality reports)
1 BMW (most likely on the list b/c of the i-drive and not being poorly built as often argued by someone here)
3 DCXs
3 Fords (Well at least Ford is making lower quality cars under different makes so they can they are making an improvement)
2 GMs (not surprised...figured the grand prix's chassis, engine etc was so old they'd have kinks worked out of it like 10 year old designed and never changed buicks)
1 VW (i'm surprised only one VW on this list especially with VW a perennial bottom dwellar in quality reports)
1 BMW (most likely on the list b/c of the i-drive and not being poorly built as often argued by someone here)
lots and lots of fail
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From: Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeetroit
Originally Posted by Ochdx
IMHO, german cars were always terrible, especially BMW, its just that everything else was also just as terrible, but now that competition is improving, the overall crappiness of german automobiles is showing up.
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From: Location Location
here is what's surprising... the ML is not in the top 10.
one of the worse models MB put out.
one of the worse models MB put out.
__________________
'00 Dakar Bus CRS Edition
LCD Squad #0001
'00 Dakar Bus CRS Edition
LCD Squad #0001
Originally Posted by WiLL
...I really wanna get out and shoot people.