Just read in my local paper that consumer reports listed the Infiniti G35 in its top ten as the best upscale sedan. Anyone surprised. Still glad I bought the IS350.

 

What were the other vehicles ... ??

 

I have a great deal of respect for the reliability ratings in Consumer Reports, which are a large statistical survey or their subscriber base. However, I don't think nearly as highly of their editorial opinions, which put a much higher emphasis on reliability, safety, value and convenience than they do on driving excitement and pleasure. The car magazines do just the opposite, which is why the BMW 3 series usually takes the upscale sedan category in their comparisons.

 

^^ +1 knowing the way they do things they prob put our car up against a Civc sedan or a washing machine....

 

ROFLMAO; almost spilled my coffee reading that one.

 

+1

CR loves Honda.

 

+1 Exactly. Neither CR nor the car rags give the complete picture. The car mags live with a car for a week or two and if something breaks they just have the distributor deal with it. They aren't the ones that have to make appointments to get maintenance work done on their BMW three or four years into ownership like the rest of the world does. And CR doesn't get into the emotional aspect of how the car works or feels, they just primarily look at the numbers. But I think that is why Lexus is so successful. They are a good blend between quality and reliability, and the emotional aspects of owning and driving a vehicle. That is why neither CR nor the car mags quite fully understand, or articulate, what people see in Lexus from an ownership angle. They think they understand, but I don't think they really get it.

 

Here's some remarks from an article on MSNBC about the report:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17385761/

Toyota and Honda’s brands scored top marks overall in the magazine’s “2007 Annual Car Reliability Survey,” which was compiled from survey responses from over 1.3 million magazine subscribers. The survey results will appear in the April issue of Consumer Reports magazine, which goes on sale March 6.

Toyota, Honda, Scion, Acura and Lexus took the top five places, in order, in the Consumer Reports list of the 36 most reliable car brands for 2007. Ford’s Mercury brand was the highest-placed U.S. nameplate, ranking 10th, while General Motors’ best-ranking brand was GMC, which came in at 14th on the list. Chrysler highest ranking was for its Dodge brand, which was placed 22nd on the list.

Remember CR looks for value, not luxury.

What’s more, for the second time in the 10-year history of the annual list, all of the magazine’s top car picks were Japanese brands. In addition, 55 of the 59 used car models recommended by the magazine were Japanese, again dominated by Toyota and Honda.

“What we see is if a car starts out with problems in the first couple of years it will tend to stay problematic throughout its lifetime,” Paul said. “This is where Toyota and Honda really shine — they start out well and maintain their reliability, even through 10 years of use, and so a 9-year-old Lexus can have fewer problems than a 2006 Mercedes.”

In fact, European automakers have consistently fared poorly in recent years in Consumer Reports’ reliability surveys. Mercedes-Benz, in particular, has seen its reliability ranking decline sharply — this year, the German luxury brand placed last in the reliability list of 36 automobile brands, its reliability level 123 percent below the average for the whole industry, said Paul.

“We have seen lows in recent years for European carmakers, but this was a particularly bad year for Mercedes-Benz — it surprised a lot of people,” said Paul.

Consumer Reports placed the Mercedes-Benz CLS, M-Class and R-Class on its “Not Recommended” list because of declining reliability. A third of survey respondents who owned the 2001 Mercedes-Benz C-Class V6 owners “griped about serious electrical problems,” the magazine report said.

 

Consumer Reports is good for collecting reliability data but their comparison articles are a complete joke! The car with the most features at the cheapest price always wins.

 

Last year, they had the IS rated as the best compact sports sedan, followed by the 3-series in 2nd...

I don't remember all the cars that were included, but I remember the IS, the 3-series, C-class, some Saab, the CTS... don't know what others.

And they DO include all the criteria mentioned in this thread. They include handling, luxury/comfort, driver feedback. It's just that those are just one of many other things they consider, so they don't count for as much as with some publications.

I mean the 3-series DID finish 2nd overall...

 

The GS killed Lexus it went from 1st to 5th
"Toyota's vaunted Lexus luxury brand has fallen from first to fifth in Consumer Reports magazine's annual predicted reliability survey."
David Champion, the magazine's director of automotive testing, blamed one model for Lexus' fall, the midsize GS that was redesigned last year. He said the car had problems in three areas -- body integrity, defined as rattles or poorly fitting panels; body hardware, such as locks and trunk mechanisms; and the sound system.

Mercedes was last
Mercedes, DaimlerChrysler's luxury brand, tumbled four places to the cellar, "a very poor showing for a very expensive car," Champion said. Mercedes' quality is so imperiled that a 9-year-old Lexus LS 400 has potentially fewer problems than a new Mercedes ML. Champion said of Mercedes: "They perform well, have great fit and finish. But they seem to have a lot of problems with the seven-speed automatic transmission in all their products, and power accessories and electrical systems."

 

Well the GS best get better because I am looking into getting one of those. I love their styling!!

I hope the new Tundra doesn't tank Toyota.