Japan dominates Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Rankings, US and Europe gain

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<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/acura/" rel="tag">Acura</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/audi/" rel="tag">Audi</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/" rel="tag">BMW</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/buick/" rel="tag">Buick</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/chrysler/" rel="tag">Chrysler</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/dodge/" rel="tag">Dodge</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/ford/" rel="tag">Ford</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/gmc/" rel="tag">GMC</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/honda/" rel="tag">Honda</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/infiniti/" rel="tag">Infiniti</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/jeep/" rel="tag">Jeep</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/lexus/" rel="tag">Lexus</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/lincoln/" rel="tag">Lincoln</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/mazda/" rel="tag">Mazda</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/mercedes-benz/" rel="tag">Mercedes-Benz</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/mini/" rel="tag">Mini</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/nissan/" rel="tag">Nissan</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/scion/" rel="tag">Scion</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/subaru/" rel="tag">Subaru</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/toyota/" rel="tag">Toyota</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/volvo/" rel="tag">Volvo</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/ram/" rel="tag">Ram</a></p><a href="/2013/10/28/consumer-reports-auto-reliability-japan/#continued"><img alt="Toyota Crisis Mounts as U.S. Steps Up Pressure to Fix Vehicles" data-caption="DALY CITY, CA - FEBRUARY 03: A row of brand new Toyota Prius' sit on the sales lot at City Toyota February 3, 2010 in Daly City, California. Toyota is being pressured by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood who says the automaker isn't acting fast enough to fix millions of defective accelerator pedals on late model Toyota cars and trucks. LaHood retracted a statement today that Toyota owners should stop driving vehicles affected by the accelerator recall. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)" data-mep="18092" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/2923x1962+22+0/resize/628x417!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/8c54826ad4cb89377c8d2dd1830d02d0/96386058.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/consumer+reports/"><em>Consumer Reports</em></a> has released its annual Auto Reliability Rankings, and surprise of surprises, Japan is dominant. Among brands in 2014, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/lexus/">Lexus</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/toyota/">Toyota</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/acura/">Acura</a> make up the top three marques, while <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/mazda/">Mazda</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/infiniti/">Infiniti</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/honda/">Honda</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/subaru/">Subaru</a> sit fifth, sixth, eighth, and tenth, respectively. For those keeping track at home, Japan's dominance wasn't complete, though.<br />
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Audi's 2014 models helped the German brand jump from eighth to fourth, while <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/volvo/">Volvo</a> saw a massive, 13-spot improvement, to seventh overall. Even <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/gmc/">GMC</a> got in on the action, jumping three places, to ninth.<br />
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Outside of the top 10, America, Europe <em>and</em> Japan saw more mixed results. <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/scion/">Scion</a> took the biggest tumble of any brand, falling ten positions to number 11, while <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/subaru/">Subaru</a>, though still in the top ten, dropped five spots (coincidentally, CR had nothing good to say about Subaru and Toyota's joint venture, calling the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/subaru/brz/">BRZ</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/scion/fr-s/">Scion FR-S</a> each brand's least reliable vehicle). <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/nissan/">Nissan</a> fell nine places to number 22 overall. <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/">BMW</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/mercedes-benz/">Mercedes-Benz</a> each climbed one place, to fifteenth and thirteenth, respectively.<br />
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The big earners, though, besides Volvo, included <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/buick/">Buick</a>, which jumped nine places to number 12. <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/chrysler/">Chrysler</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/ram">Ram</a> both saw improvements, turning in at 18 and 19 respectively, although Jeep dropped four spots and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/dodge/">Dodge</a> stayed level at number 24. After <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/29/ford-tumbles-to-second-worst-in-consumer-reports-reliabil/">a big fall in last year's rankings</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/ford/">Ford</a> made a mild improvement, but was still dinged by CR over infotainment issues relating to MyFord Touch. Only <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/lincoln/">Lincoln</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/mini/">Mini</a> scored worse than the Blue Oval.<br />
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While the American and European brands have gained ground in terms of individual marques, Japan still has a firm grasp on individual vehicle categories. Of the 18 vehicle categories, ranging from subcompacts to sports cars to full-size pickups, Japanese models led 14 categories, including the midsize car and midsize SUV rankings. Europe captured the remaining four categories, while US cars and trucks were relegated to silver medals, at best.<br />
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Take a look <a href="/2013/10/28/consumer-reports-auto-reliability-japan/#continued">below</a> for a full press release on the 2014 rankings from <em>Consumer Reports</em>, and be sure to pick up CR's December 2013 issue for the full story on the annual Auto Reliability Rankings.<br />
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<em><strong>*UPDATE:</strong></em> Consumer Reports <em>has removed the Toyota Camry, RAV4 and Prius V from its list of Recommended vehicles, and has added the Tesla Model S as a Recommended vehicle. Read more about those changes <a href="http://green.autoblog.com/2013/10/28/tesla-model-s-gets-recommended-rating-from-consumer-reports/">here</a>.</em><p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/28/consumer-reports-auto-reliability-japan/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Japan dominates Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Rankings, US and Europe gaining [UPDATE]</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/28/consumer-reports-auto-reliability-japan/">Japan dominates Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Rankings, US and Europe gaining [UPDATE]</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Mon, 28 Oct 2013 14:28:00 EST. Please see our <a href="/rss-term-of-use/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/28/consumer-reports-auto-reliability-japan/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/20755370/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/28/consumer-reports-auto-reliability-japan/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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Outside of the top 10, America, Europe and Japan saw more mixed results. Scion took the biggest tumble of any brand, falling ten positions to number 11, while Subaru, though still in the top ten, dropped five spots (coincidentally, CR had nothing good to say about Subaru and Toyota's joint venture, calling the BRZ and Scion FR-S each brand's least reliable vehicle). Nissan fell nine places to number 22 overall. BMW and Mercedes-Benz each climbed one place, to fifteenth and thirteenth, respectively.



The big earners, though, besides Volvo, included Buick, which jumped nine places to number 12. Chrysler and Ram both saw improvements, turning in at 18 and 19 respectively, although Jeep dropped four spots and Dodge stayed level at number 24. After a big fall in last year's rankings, Ford made a mild improvement, but was still dinged by CR over infotainment issues relating to MyFord Touch. Only Lincoln and Mini scored worse than the Blue Oval.



While the American and European brands have gained ground in terms of individual marques, Japan still has a firm grasp on individual vehicle categories. Of the 18 vehicle categories, ranging from subcompacts to sports cars to full-size pickups, Japanese models led 14 categories, including the midsize car and midsize SUV rankings. Europe captured the remaining four categories, while US cars and trucks were relegated to silver medals, at best.???