Lexus tops U.S. consumer magazine's reliability rankings for 3rd year
The annual survey also gave top marks to each of the seven Lexus models it rated, which the magazine called a "rare feat." And Toyota's namesake division held steady in the number two spot also for the third consecutive year. Consumer Reports attributed the Japanese automaker's high placement to its slow rollout of new technologies. Three other Japanese automakers -- Mazda Motor Corp., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Subaru brand and Honda Motor Co.'s namesake division -- were also named in the top ten. Honda fell four spots compared to last year to eighth place due to new electronic features and a new transmission in both the Fit compact and CR-V sports utility vehicle. Its Acura luxury brand dropped to 18th place because of entertainment system problems and transmission issues in its newest sedans. Nissan Motor Co. climbed one spot compared to last year to number 15 while its Infiniti luxury brand slipped further to 24th place from "teething problems" with the new electronic features in its Q50 sedan. Among U.S. automakers, General Motors Co.'s Buick brand placed seventh and was the only domestic name to make the top ten. Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc. was not included as a brand in the survey, but its Model S was rated "worse-than-average." The company's stock plummeted about 10 percent immediately after the well-regarded magazine's results were made public. Since the survey was conducted last spring, German automaker Volkswagen AG's rankings were not impacted by the revelation in September that it had rigged emissions data in some diesel engines. Its Volkswagen brand was rated the 13th most reliable brand and its luxury Audi brand third. Consumer Reports surveyed its subscribers and ranked 28 brands by the average of their model's reliability scores. The magazine said the data came from more than 740,000 cars.
