Consumer Reports rates various vehicles

The Chevrolet Cobalt was rated as average in the reliability rankings.

STAFF/WIRE REPORT

NEW YORK — Toyota Motor Co.’s Scion brand topped the list of most reliable cars in Consumer Reports’ annual vehicle reliability study, as Asian automakers continued to crowd the top of the magazine’s rankings.

Meanwhile, Chrysler LLC vehicles saw their scores fall sharply from 2007, while Ford Motor Co.’s nameplates gained ground over their Detroit rivals.

“Scion has a portfolio of three fairly small, fairly well-equipped vehicles,” said David Champion, director of Consumer Reports’ auto test center. “It’s a basic form of transport, but put together well.”

The study compiled responses from Consumer Reports readers for more than 1.4 million vehicles during the spring of this year, using the results to predict reliability of 2009 models. The results are closely watched by automakers because of their influence on car buyers.

The Chevrolet Cobalt, which is produced by General Motors in Lordstown, did not fare well in the rankings. The Cobalt coupe ranked 18th out of 23 small cars, while the Cobalt sedan ranked 20th. Both were ranked with average quality rankings.

In this year’s study, the top five brands were Scion, Honda, Toyota, Kia and Lexus. Asian names occupied all of the magazine’s top 10 slots, with a domestic automaker not appearing on the list until No. 11 with Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln brand.

Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis said Toyota was pleased to see Scion — which just launched two 2008 models, the xB and the xD — top the list.

“Generally speaking, when a vehicle first launches, that’s when you’re more apt to have any issues that need to be worked out, and this is a vehicle that came right out of the gate and earned this praise right away,” Dominicis said.

Champion noted that Ford nameplates have pulled ahead of their Detroit rivals this year, with nearly all of Ford products carrying average-or-better rankings, with the exception of some of its truck-based vehicles. In addition, the Ford Focus sedan has been vastly improved since its 2000, debut, Consumer Reports said, and the car was ranked No. 4 for most reliable family vehicles.

Consumer Reports called General Motors Corp. cars a “mixed bag,” with bright spots being the redesigned above-average Chevrolet Malibu. The Buick Lucerne V-8 and Pontiac G6 are also came in above average, but a quarter of GM models came in below average, the magazine said.

Chrysler LLC, vehicles, on the other hand, clustered near the bottom of the rankings, with nearly two-thirds of its lineup below average. The Chrysler Sebring was Consumer Reports’ worst-rated car, coming in at a staggering 283 percent below average.

“I believe the introduction of some of their new models were not fully developed, and they hadn’t worked out all the bugs before they came up,” Champion said.

Consumer Reports’ reliability issue is scheduled to hit newsstands Nov. 11. The magazine is published by the nonprofit Consumers Union, based in Yonkers, N.Y.