These days, spending more than $50,000 on a luxury vehicle doesn’t even ensure that you’re buying something that’s reliable. In fact you could be buying a car that rates lower in terms of overall quality than a humble Corolla. Unfortunately that’s the case with some cars as identified in a J.D. Power and Associates survey on quality.

Some of the faults found in luxury vehicles are problems that are unacceptable by today’s standards. In fact, some issues were unacceptable back in the 80’s. Faults included components that stop working or trim pieces that break or come loose. The biggest culprit seems to be the increased use of electrical components which are prone to faults.

The people over at Forbes.com have put together a list of some of the least reliable cars of 2006. The list includes two Land Rover SUVs, a Lincoln, a Saab and a Volkswagen Touareg.

What doesn’t come as a complete surprise is that four of the vehicles listed as the Least Reliable Luxury Cars of 2006 are SUVs – the former cash cows of the automakers. Why is it that car makers slack off so much when building SUVs? Perhaps they’re making an assumption about the types of people who buy these kinds of vehicles.

[Source: Forbes.com]