What Sells a Car? It is the on the Road Dependability
The average age for cars on U.S. roads is at record-high levels, according to a
report: 9.4 years for cars and 7.6 years for trucks. For automakers, durability
and brand loyalty now go hand-in-hand to increase the longevity of a car. These
factors either make or mar the ability of an auto seller to sell an automobile.
The analysts estimate 46.4 million new cars will be sold in 2009, which means there
will be an 18% drop globally. A latest vehicle dependability study shows how important
reliability is these days.
List of the Brands sold in the U.S for the greatest general dependability:
- Buick and Jaguar top most dependable cars
- Lexus, Toyota and Mercury are at the top five
- Suzuki, Volkswagen and Land Rover were the bottom three brands on the list
To determine the most dependable vehicles on the road today, 46,000 initial owners
of three-year-old cars were chosen. They were asked to report, in eight categories,
the type of problems the vehicles developed over the previous year. The survey covered
202 sub-categories in all the problem areas of the vehicle.
Categories included:
- Driving experience
- Engine
- Exterior
- Features/controls
- Heating/ventilating/cooling
- Interior
- Seats
- Audio/entertainment/navigation
Final rankings are based on the problems per 100 vehicles/PP100 score. The lower
are the scores the higher is the quality of the vehicle brand.
The top most dependable Automakers from Asia:
- Acura, Honda Lexus, Mazda Nissan Scion and Toyota as segment winners
- The Toyota marque stood out with five wins
- Toyota Prius wins in the compact car segment
- Toyota Highlander is in the midsize SUV segment
- Toyota Tundra is the winner in the large pickup segment
- The Solara topped the midsize sporty car size category
- Sequoia stands out in the large SUV bracket
The top most dependable Asian and Domestic Standouts:
- Several models from Lexus: Toyota’s luxury brand, ranked well in other rankings
also. According to the senior automotive engineer for Consumer Reports, Lexus is
reliable, very luxurious and comfortable, with the latest technology
- Toyota's reputation for both reliability and eco-mindedness makes it highly valued
by consumers in a down market according to the New York-based market research company
- The LS 430 sedan, the winner of the large premium car segment, returned especially
positive results: Its overall score was 61 PP100, the lowest of any model in the
study
- The Lexus SC 430, a $66,805 coupe, scored below 100 and beat the Porsche 911 and
Chevrolet Corvette in the premium sporty car category
- Consumer Reports ranked the LS 460 sedan the best overall vehicle of 2009
- GM’s Buick is a routine leader in dependability studies: It has ranked among the
top 10 nameplates each year since 2003