Honda, Subaru remain top automakers in Consumer Reports ranking
Automotive News
February 28, 2011 - 2:00 pm EST
UPDATED: 2/28/11 4:10 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) -- Honda and Subaru topped Consumer Reports' annual rankings of automakers for 2011, while better reliability and enhanced resale values helped Ford improve the most since last year.
Honda Motor Co. posted the best overall score of 74 out of 100 points in the Consumer Reports' ranking. Honda was followed by Subaru with 73 points and Toyota Motor Corp. with 71 points. Volvo placed fourth with 68 points, followed by Ford with 67 and Hyundai.
Chrysler Group LLC had the worst ranking among the car makers with 43 points. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and General Motors also placed near the bottom of the rankings.
The Ford Mustang was the No. 1 pick among sports cars, placing a U.S. manufacturer at the top of that list for the first time in six years. Top picks in other categories include Honda Motor Co.'s Fit for the new category of budget cars, Hyundai Motor Co.'s Elantra for small cars and Nissan Motor Co.'s Altima for family sedans for the second year.
"The (best picks) come from many different manufacturers," Consumer Reports' Director of Automotive Testing David Champion said in an interview. "At one time, it used to be dominated by Honda and Toyota."
According to the magazine, no Honda product scores less than average in reliability. Currently, Consumer Reports recommends 76 percent of the Honda vehicles it has tested. But some new Honda models have been unimpressive, the magazine said, including the new CR-Z coupe and Insight hybrids. The two hybrids didn't score well enough in tests to be recommended.
The redesigned Odyssey, the magazine's top-ranked minivan, also dropped a few points in its test score, compared with the previous year.
Subaru has the highest average road-test score -- 81 -- as measured by the magazine. And while the Japanese automaker only markets a half-a-dozen models, they all do well in Consumer Reports' road tests and nearly all are reliable. The Forester is a top-rated small SUV, and the Legacy sedan has been improved with each generation. Only one model, the sporty Impreza WRX, has below-average reliability, the magazine said.
Toyota, which last week recalled 2.17 million vehicles for floor mats that may jam accelerator pedals, claimed three of the 10 top picks, the most of any automaker. Toyota's RAV4 is the top small sport-utility vehicle, its Prius is the top environmentally friendly car for the eighth consecutive year, and its Sienna is the top family hauler.
Toyota's Prius scored the best for fuel economy at an average 44 miles per gallon. Five vehicles -- the Cadillac Escalade, the Ford Expedition EL Eddie Bauer, the Lincoln Navigator Ultimate, the Nissan Armada SV and the Nissan Titan SV -- tied for the worst with 13 mpg.
The magazine said GM's average test score for all tested models improved to 67 from 65 last year. But the automaker still markets a few lackluster models, the magazine said, including the Chevrolet Impala sedan and Colorado pickup.
Chrysler finished last in the rankings with an average test score of 50.
An automaker's overall score is based on a composite of road-test and predicted-reliability scores for all tested vehicles. The magazine's road test score is based on more than 50 tests and evaluations, covering performance, safety, fuel economy, comfort, and convenience. Reliability scores come from Consumer Reports' Annual Auto Survey, which included histories of 1.3 million vehicles.
The rankings by Consumer Reports influence car buyers and are published in the magazine's annual auto issue. Consumer Reports, published by Consumers Union, uses vehicle owner reliability surveys from 1.3 million people, government and insurance-industry crash tests and its own evaluations of how vehicles function for its ratings.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Ford F-150 Recall
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Under government pressure, Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it will recall nearly 150,000 F-150 pickup trucks to fix air bags that could deploy without warning.
The recall covers trucks from the 2005-2006 model years in the United States and Canada for what the auto company calls a "relatively low risk" of the air bag deploying inadvertently.
The recall, however, is much smaller in scope than what the government had requested. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, citing 77 injuries, told the company in a November 2010 memo that the recall should cover 1.3 million F-150 trucks from the 2004-2006 model years.
The F-150 is the flagship of Ford's popular F-Series pickup trucks, the best-selling vehicle in America. The government expanded its investigation into the air bag problems in January 2010.
A Transportation Department spokeswoman said the agency was currently reviewing Ford's response to see if the recall was adequate. If the government determines that the recall is too limited, it could lead to a rare public hearing to decide whether Ford should expand its safety action.
NHTSA said in a Nov. 24 memo that it knew of 238 cases in which the air bags improperly deployed and noted that Ford made production changes to the trucks in 2006 and 2007 to fix the air bag wiring and other issues.
Government regulators said in the memo that Ford did not believe the issue "warrants any corrective action" because the number of reports and incidents were low, owners received "adequate warning" from the air bag warning light and the "resulting injuries are minor in nature."
Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said in a statement Wednesday that the recall covered trucks built at the Norfolk, Va., assembly plant from November 2004 through June 2005.
Sherwood said the majority of the complaints involved trucks built during the first shift of production at the Norfolk plant and the rates of air bags accidentally deploying were much higher in trucks built at the Virginia plant than those built at plants in Michigan and Missouri.
Ford said an air bag wire located in the steering wheel could have been improperly positioned so it would chafe, expose bare copper and create the possibility of a short circuit that would light up the airbag warning lamp.
Ford said most of the air bag issues happened within the first few seconds of the vehicle starting up and the company said it was aware of "one customer that jumped from the vehicle" after the air bag deployed while the truck was parked in a driveway.
The recall, which was first reported by the Detroit News, is expected to begin in early March. Owners will be notified and told to bring their truck to their dealer.
The recall covers trucks from the 2005-2006 model years in the United States and Canada for what the auto company calls a "relatively low risk" of the air bag deploying inadvertently.
The recall, however, is much smaller in scope than what the government had requested. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, citing 77 injuries, told the company in a November 2010 memo that the recall should cover 1.3 million F-150 trucks from the 2004-2006 model years.
The F-150 is the flagship of Ford's popular F-Series pickup trucks, the best-selling vehicle in America. The government expanded its investigation into the air bag problems in January 2010.
A Transportation Department spokeswoman said the agency was currently reviewing Ford's response to see if the recall was adequate. If the government determines that the recall is too limited, it could lead to a rare public hearing to decide whether Ford should expand its safety action.
NHTSA said in a Nov. 24 memo that it knew of 238 cases in which the air bags improperly deployed and noted that Ford made production changes to the trucks in 2006 and 2007 to fix the air bag wiring and other issues.
Government regulators said in the memo that Ford did not believe the issue "warrants any corrective action" because the number of reports and incidents were low, owners received "adequate warning" from the air bag warning light and the "resulting injuries are minor in nature."
Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said in a statement Wednesday that the recall covered trucks built at the Norfolk, Va., assembly plant from November 2004 through June 2005.
Sherwood said the majority of the complaints involved trucks built during the first shift of production at the Norfolk plant and the rates of air bags accidentally deploying were much higher in trucks built at the Virginia plant than those built at plants in Michigan and Missouri.
Ford said an air bag wire located in the steering wheel could have been improperly positioned so it would chafe, expose bare copper and create the possibility of a short circuit that would light up the airbag warning lamp.
Ford said most of the air bag issues happened within the first few seconds of the vehicle starting up and the company said it was aware of "one customer that jumped from the vehicle" after the air bag deployed while the truck was parked in a driveway.
The recall, which was first reported by the Detroit News, is expected to begin in early March. Owners will be notified and told to bring their truck to their dealer.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
WHO HAS THE BEST HEAVY DUTY? WE DO!
GMC Sierra Denali HD Wins Edmunds Shootout
The 2011 GMC Sierra Denali HD prevailed in Edmunds Inside Line’s latest tough truck testing, vanquishing the 2010 Dodge Ram 3500 and 2011 Ford F-350 Super Duty to take the top prize. Each diesel-powered, four-wheel-drive crew cab pickup was subjected to tow testing on the 11.5-mile Jacumba Grade in Southern California, and a battery of track testing.
Dan Edmunds, Inside Line’s director of vehicle testing, praised the Sierra Denali HD for having “plenty of power, torque and poise.”
“The 2011 GMC Sierra Denali wins because it does the important truck things well,” Edmunds wrote on Inside Line. “It accelerates, brakes and just plain drives better in just about any situation, towing or not… On top of that, it costs significantly less to buy and it drinks less fuel.”
The 2011 GMC Sierra Denali HD prevailed in Edmunds Inside Line’s latest tough truck testing, vanquishing the 2010 Dodge Ram 3500 and 2011 Ford F-350 Super Duty to take the top prize. Each diesel-powered, four-wheel-drive crew cab pickup was subjected to tow testing on the 11.5-mile Jacumba Grade in Southern California, and a battery of track testing.
Dan Edmunds, Inside Line’s director of vehicle testing, praised the Sierra Denali HD for having “plenty of power, torque and poise.”
“The 2011 GMC Sierra Denali wins because it does the important truck things well,” Edmunds wrote on Inside Line. “It accelerates, brakes and just plain drives better in just about any situation, towing or not… On top of that, it costs significantly less to buy and it drinks less fuel.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
