Asian autos still considered the most reliable

DETROIT (AP) — Asian automakers are still building the most reliable cars and trucks, with eight of the top 10 brands from Japanese and Korean companies, according to an annual survey by Consumer Reports.

But several models from Ford Motor Co. are now consistently scoring above Honda and Toyota, the perennial leaders.

Though Toyota’s youth-oriented Scion brand finished first for the second year in a row, several Ford models, including the midsize Ford Fusion and its cousin, the Mercury Milan, consistently have been at or near the top of their classes, a trend that led Consumer Reports editors to declare that Ford is now making some vehicles with world-class reliability.

After Scion, Honda, Toyota, Infiniti and Acura rounded out the top five brands in reliability based on surveys taken in March of subscribers who own or lease 1.4 million vehicles.

“Ford is definitely doing something right,” said Rik Paul, the magazine’s automotive editor.

Ford’s Detroit-area competitors, General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, didn’t fare as well, however.

Chrysler had only one model that Consumer Reports recommended based on reliability and its staff test, and the Chrysler brand finished last out of 33 brands sold in the U.S. One third of Chrysler’s models were much worse than average in reliability.

Six models from GM were recommended by the magazine, but it’s still inconsistent. Only 21 of 48 models the magazine studied scored average or better in reliability.

The relatively poor performance by GM and Chrysler could hurt efforts to fight back from financial problems that led to stays in bankruptcy court earlier this year. Auto-industry officials say the nonprofit Consumer Reports is among the most widely consulted sources when people buy vehicles.

Officials at GM and Chrysler say they are committed to improving quality.

At Ford, though, four-cylinder versions of the Fusion and Milan finished second in the family-car category, beaten only by Toyota’s Prius gas-electric hybrid. The Fusion and Milan outscored Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry and Honda Motor Co.’s Accord, the two top-selling cars in the U.S. “which many people view as the paradigms of reliability,” Paul said.

Of the 51 Ford, Lincoln or Mercury models in the survey, 46 were ranked average or better in reliability.

Yet while Mercury was the only Detroit brand to finish in the top 10 (10th), the Ford brand finished 16th, while Lincoln finished 20th. That’s largely due to higher-end models — many with all-wheel-drive — scoring below average in reliability, said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ senior automotive engineer.

“Those types of problems are keeping them from being truly world class,” Fisher said.