CR no longer considers Toyota 'automatically' reliable

Here's a link with more details:

I expect that the Camry will continue to sell based off of its reputation with the general populace but the Tundra ding has got to hurt. They have a lot invested in launching the new model and it looks like they just find one thing after another wrong with it. A car can go into the shop for a few days and it doesn't hurt too bad but you can't really get a loaner for a work truck. They don't seem to have figured out the truck market despite the propaganda.

Calvin

what really caught my attention was the vast gulf between Ford , Chrysler and GM.......as I recall, Ford had something like a 93% rating from owners.......Chrysler around 47% and GM was in the low 30s.

as reported, even if Ford quality remains high, it will take years for it to show-up in sales: people buy based on past good or bad experiences and the typical "memory" is 5+ years before they realize that their new rice grinder isn't as good as their old one......or to forget a bad experience.

all I know is that I've had cars from every American maker (including AMC....even Studebaker), from Volvo, BMC, Alfa, Rootes - you name it. My first brand new car was a '79 Camaro - and it was so bad I sold it with less than 2000 miles on it (most taking it back to the dealer) and swore off new cars until I bought a new '85 Mustang: it had one defect, a missing screw in the kick panel. I've had my '06 Mustang for a year and a half and haven't found anything wrong yet. Have had my '07 Five Hundred for a year and it likewise had zero defects.

Remember what Mario Andretti used to say in the commercials: "I know Ford and de makes em good>"!!!!!

Since all manufacturers make around 2% that are not up to snuff, it seems to me judging any current brand, available on the market today, by the ONE that they owned in the past is foolish albeit good or bad.

I'm 81 and have owned at least 70 new cars, foreign and domestic, ONLY two of them were problematic. A '51 Chevy and a '97 Lexus. ANY vehicle, foreign and domestic, given the proper preventive maintenance will last a long time.

I currently own an '07 Mustang GT convertible and an '08 Lincoln MKZ that I acquired last week. I still own my '41, '64, '71, and an '83 domestic models, with anywhere from 100k to 300K on their clocks, that are still running fine

mike

Mike:

re: "......any vehicle....given proper preventative maintenance will last a long time".

well, I agree they all should, most do, some don't. I'm sure I maintain my cars better than most. My '85 Mustang was purchased new and I kept it until '92 ..... 86,000 miles. I MAINTAINED it, including replacing items like brake pads before they were entirely spent....it never sufferred a single breakdown or unexpected repair. On the other hand, my '93 Jeep product just couldn't be kept together.....it, too, was fanatic maintained and was never off a paved highway.....but it couldn' go a month without a major repair......items like wheel bearings, water pumps, radiators etc., etc. were replaced 2 or 3 times.....during the last 2 years I had it, repairs (not maintenance) averaged about $400 a month.

But CR is primarily talking about initial build qualty and early owner satisfaction. As said, my recent Ford products have had zero defects. Years ago I bought GM....back in the day when you expected to take a new car back with some initial problems. A couple Oldsmobiles were nice cars, with some minor anoyances. Then I ordered the '79 Camaro. It came with half the air conditioning system missing (the dealer didn't notice)......the choke mechanism missing (they compensated by setting the idle at 30 mph)......the door handles, door upholstery, sun visors, and armrests were different on one side than the other, as were the front fenders (one was from a Z28, the other wasn't)....the radio was there, but no speakers or antenna......and you could slide your entire hand in the gap between the front fender and drivers door. Oh....and the stud that held the air cleaner on was so long it punched a hole thru the hood.....the dealer replaced the hood, then slammed it shut and punched a hole thru the new one too because they didn't change the stud !!!!!! Will I never own another GM car based on that single experience

- DAMN RIGHT I WON'T !!!!! And based on the CR report, GM's quality is still much, much worse than others.

hehehe......and I'd like to see you get 200,000 miles out of an British or Italian car......ooppps, they don't make any British cars any more, do they !!!!!!

JC

ps: the Camaro was built at the Norwood, Ohio plant which was closed some years later.....and the newspapers were full of heartbreaking stories about all the unionistas who had worked their hearts out building quality cars for the General....yeah......and they're probably still drawing checks.

pps: best car I ever had? A '56 Packard.....not trouble free - but it was so glorious, who cared?.

During the time I owned my fleet service business we serviced thousands of vehicles that were run to 300K and more. The key of course was proper preventive maintenance

Don't you wish you still owned that Packard? ;)

mike