Honda, Toyota Top Latest Reliabilty Study; Domestics Improve, European Brands Faulter

Consumer Reports has released its latest reliability study and while little has changed in respect to the industry-leading Asian brands, domestic automakers are catching up. Toyota and Honda each recorded the highest scores in five vehicle segments in the 2010 Annual Auto Survey, while General Motors posted considerable improvements while Ford is ranked best among domestic automakers.

Toyota brand vehicles took the top reliability spot for the small car segment (Yaris), mid-size SUV (FJ Cruiser), luxury SUV (Lexus LX), minivan (front-wheel drive Sienna) and full-size pickup truck (Tundra V6). Honda took the top spots for upscale sedan (Acura TL), luxury cars (Acura RL), small SUVs (CR-V), upscale compact SUVs (Acura RDX) and compact pickup (Ridgeline).

Ford placed top among domestic automakers with 90 percent of Ford and Lincoln models posting reliability ratings of average or better. This compares to General Motors, where 69 percent of the lineup ranks as average or better. GM still has a ways to go in terms of reliability but it has surpassed Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. As a division, Cadillac improved the most at GM, while Chevy posted the best numbers with 83 percent of models ranked average or better.

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