(Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus and Toyota brands held their lead atop Consumer Reports’ annual reliability rankings, while General Motors Co.’s 117-year-old line became the first from the U.S. to win one of the list’s top three places.
The survey, a buying bible to car shoppers that has been dominated by Japanese automakers, has more international representation this year. As other automakers catch up to Japan’s manufacturers, both Subaru and Honda tumbled from the top group of “more reliable” brands, with Honda’s Civic compact car losing its longstanding recommendation from Consumer Reports.
|SUVs among the most error-prone models
Besides GM’s Buick, Volkswagen AG’s Audi luxury line ranked fourth and Kia Motors Corp.’s namesake brand came in fifth. Sedans, selling poorly amid low fuel prices, scored best, while hot-selling SUVs are among the most error-prone models because of their complexity. Dashboard infotainment systems and fuel-saving multispeed transmissions caused the most trouble.
“Certainly, Lexus and Toyota know what they’re doing, but look at the top five: We’ve got America, Germany and South Korea — it’s anybody’s ballgame at the top,” said Jake Fisher, the magazine’s director of automotive testing, in an interview. “GM is making some very good cars today and Buick’s cars are very reliable.”
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