Buick and Jaguar end Lexus’ 14 year reign in dependability study

So of the top 6, half are American?
Interesting.

gus.. clearly this is an american institution trying to drum up support for a failing american automotive industry. everyone knows that the top ranks are as follows:

lexus
toyota
acura
honda
subaru
mazda (part american ownership)
...
everything german
...
everything swedish
...
buick
mercury
lincoln
...
everything else american
...
everything chinese
...
jeep

expect a slew of commercial touting this by GM.

What about the Italian cars Chris? don't forget about the French as well (Peugeot).

Is Jeep really that bad? I haven't ever noticed what rank they've been in, but I wouldn't mind driving a wrangler.

Chris, that is one of the most loaded conspiracy theory posts I have ever seen.

This is the same American company that held Lexus on top for a long time, so no, I don't believe it is a BS report.

Buicks have always had good reliability.

Probably because they generally don't see more than 5000 miles per year to and from the golf course and nursing home.

Chris - so for 14 years J.D. Power was in the tank for Lexus and now they are jointly promoting Buick AND Jaguar?

That's a ridiculous statement, up there with the conspiracy theories that the moon landings were faked.

Chris- Of all the brands in the world JD Power is the most protected out there bar none...... The auto manufacturers pay a small fortune to be a part of it so the chances of JD Power swinging the vote to favor some one else is just nuts and suicide.

Maybe if you removed your automotive blinders you would realise Buick's main market is China, why is this relavent? Simple the Chinese buy Buicks for there quality so obviously this level of quality demanded by the Chinese consumer has now crossed the Pacific and is on our very shores. In regards to Jaguar you have no idea the level of passion and enthusiasm that is running through that company. It's fantastic to see that they are now enjoying the fruits of their labor.. Go Jaguar and Buick!!!!

P.S. Wait till the financial ruin hits Toyota/Lexus for betting on the wrong horse i.e. hybrid technology over diesels!!!!

It's about image, not reality.

Diesels have a huge image problem to overcome (in the states). Hybrids are like Obama. Everyone feels great about them now; they are the "in" thing. The follow the leader public is just getting going on hybrids. They still think hybrids are our answer.

Beta vs. VCR. Beta was better but lost.

Jaguar ain't gonna all of a sudden start selling cars because they are the number 1 most reliable car after 3 years of ownership. Can you imagine! The public still thinks they are nightmares.

As Gus points out half the cars on the list are 'mericans.
Again, ask a mostly non-informed public and you'll always get the same answer. "Why can't 'merican companies make a car like Toeyoto?"

BTW Chris,

I've owned 3 BMW's, 2 Porsches, and 1 Audi.

All the rest have been Fords and Lincolns and 1 Mercury.

With the exception of the Audi. (I still have a '93 S4 with 190,000 miles.) The German's absolutely blow away the Fords in ownership costs and repair. There is no comparison. My 911 has more repair cost in it than the purchase price itself. If something goes wrong with the BMWs I automatically figured $2000. If it's less, I won.

So there is no way Lincolns and Merc's are worse than German's.
I don't think JD Power accounts for pride of ownership. Because otherwise the German cars would rank lower in pure costs and reliability. They drive great, and still drive great at 100,000 miles. And I love that. My 740il had so many problems I can't count them all, but I still love that car.

Paul the point I'm making is that the U.S. consumer cant buy enough hybrids to recoup the investment especially since the rest of the world is already sold on diesels. Dont forget this year the U.S. is expected to junk/remove some 15 million cars and only sell 10 million it will be the first time since 1945 that this number has been reversed.

Also Obama like Hybrids will pass and what comes down the pike will be diesels.

oh crap i see its been far too long since ive posted my cynicism here... guys i was only joking. really. i promise.. remember.. its me.. the "ford is awesome" guy.

Rice: i was only putting up volume brands sold in north america. i hold reservations on the fiats and peugots of the world. and yeah the wrangler is a great product, but the last time i saw an article about reliability, it read exactly like the list i put up.. with apparently 50% of all jeeps having major mechanical failures in the first 3 years. they're simple trucks. they dont break. again.. cynicism.

Gus and Sid, i'm hurt that you guys didnt see the comedy.. but to continue with the cynicism, Sid: JDP wanted to keep the american populous subservient to the notion that they were inferior to the japanese for so long, but now that the economy is faltering, they have to tout the american cars so that those people who still do have money will buy american again, instead of thinking that japan is the pinnacle in quality.

MWOW: i know a lot of us on this forum have derided hybrids but let me just say that todays market hybrids are crap and thats the reason i hate cars like the prius (but moreso the people who buy them and swear theyre really making a difference). yes diesels are amazing but hybrids are a stepping stone to pure electric vehicles, which is good for two reasons: electricity production is flexible (can use coal, gas, petroleum, solar/wind/hydro, nuclear. therefor, it can be as clean as the government wants it to be) and local (meaning instead of supporting countries half a world away (and mostly canada), the USA can support their own infrastructure (if you want to go nuclear, canada has the best uranium, and we wont bomb you, i promise). secondly, electrical engineering has always progressed at a faster pace than mechanical engineering. its not that diesel or other ICE technologies arent possible, its that these technologies are prohibitively expensive. electric cars will have a cost point that lowers much faster than mechanical systems. heres an example: if you want higher efficiency from an engine, typically you have to go with more complexity, more moving parts, etc. (think turbos, DI, DOHC, etc).. with electric cars theres only a small number of components, and believe it or not, even the most advanced electric motors are only more complex in the electronics that control them. surely we all agree that electronics is the one industry that progresses at the speed of light.

I can assure you as some one doing research in this feild, that there are some motor designs in the pipeline that are absolute black magic.. even for an electrical engineer as myself. One of the guys in the lab that i work in showed me a technology hes working on.. he told me to sit down before he would show me cause the last person he showed his work to fainted and got a concussion when their head hit the brick wall behind his desk.

Electrical engineering runs nearly as fast as electronic engineering and mechanical systems will fail in the end. i dont know how much time it will take but at some point the efficiency of the vehicles and the energy that batteries can hold will surpass the range of mechanical vehicles and you will literally have no reason to not buy electric instead of mechanical.

Chris, damm!t, I didn't see that you were kidding, and I usually take your comments very seriously, since you really seem to know what the F you are talking about!

And Tall Paul, you hit it on the head. I've owned 3 Mercedes, a 1987 300E, a 1990 560SEC (my favorite) and a 1997 E420 (ugly headlights, jeez).

All three had repair costs through the roof. I can still remember the feeling I had when the dealer told me that a new rear diff for the 560 was $4,000.

I have also owned several Fords. A 2002 Explorer V8, a 2000 Mustang GT Convertible, a 2004 Expedition, which I still have, and my new baby, the 2008 Mustang GT Convertible. Not ONE had a repair greater than $500, and they are just so low tech (for the most part) that not much CAN go wrong, compared to the Space Shuttle tech on the other cars these days.

Chris, from now on, put a smiley face at the end or something man! :)

Oh, and I'll be doing a review of the new Prius sometime in May, so keep a lookout...