US brands falter in Consumer Reports auto reliability survey

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto companies such as General Motors, Tesla and Ford faltered this year in Consumer Reports’ reliability rankings as readers reported more mechanical trouble with their vehicles.

The magazine and website said all U.S.-based brands fell to the bottom half of 29 brands in the rankings. Lexus and Toyota were once again at the top.

Consumer Reports got more than 500,000 responses to the annual survey of its subscribers, and it uses the data from the 2000-2017 model years to predict reliability of 2019 vehicles.

The survey released Wednesday found that readers are having more trouble with technology designed to increase fuel economy than they are with electronic infotainment systems, which long had been a bugaboo for automakers and vehicle owners.

The mechanical problems with smaller turbocharged engines and transmissions with multiple gears could leave people stranded rather than just frustrated with voice recognition or other technology, said Jake Fisher, director of auto testing at the magazine.

“It’s worse for the consumer, absolutely,” Fisher said. “I would be happy to not be able to pair my phone five times than get stuck on the side of the road once.”

Mazda, Subaru, Kia, Infiniti, Audi, BMW, Mini and Hyundai rounded out the top 10 auto brands. Volvo had the worst reliability followed by Cadillac, Tesla, Ram and GMC. Asian or Korean brands took seven of the top 10 spots.

Tesla dropped six places from last year and now ranks 27th. GM’s Buick, normally a top-10 finisher, tumbled 11 spots to No. 19. Ford was the highest-ranked U.S. brand but fell three places to No. 18.

The domestic brands largely were plagued by problems with newly introduced models, Fisher said.

“Traditionally it’s the older models that have the best reliability. As they cycle through the fleet, we’re seeing a drop,” Fisher said.

In the case of Tesla, the Model S luxury electric car fell from “above average” reliability to “below average” as readers reported trouble with the air suspension and door handles that extend from the body when the driver approaches. The low reliability score cost the Model S its “Recommended Buy” status with the magazine. Tesla’s Model X SUV remained “much worse than average” due to problems with its falcon-wing doors and touch screen, while the simpler Model 3 mass-market sedan ranked “average” in reliability.

Tesla introduced more complexity into the Model S by offering all-wheel-drive and air suspension standard, Fisher said. The company makes hardware and software changes weekly, raising the risk of problems, he said.

General Motors’ brands were hurt by mechanical problems including transmissions on its newly introduced large crossover SUVs such as the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia. Buick’s Enclave was the most reliable vehicle the brand had until the redesign, and now it’s the worst, dragging down Buick’s score, Fisher said.

Cadillac, he said, pushes the edge on new consumer-pleasing technology, but that causes reliability problems.

Almost the opposite are Toyota and its Lexus luxury brand, which have taken the top two slots for the sixth straight year, Fisher said. Toyota is slow to introduce new technology, only now offering Apple CarPlay when other automakers did it years ago, he said.

“If you’re slow to the market, you’re slow with technology, that’s the way you do get reliability and that’s how Toyota is so consistent,” he said.

Consumer Reports said it didn’t have enough data to rank Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati, Mitsubishi or Smart.

The magazine gives more weight to mechanical and safety issues than minor problems like voice recognition or wind noise.

4 Comments

  1. Detail: http://zrenieblog.ru/ http://zrenieblog.ru/ http://zrenieblog.ru/
    歷史
    六七千年前的先民就開始釣魚。周文王曾和兒子們在靈沼釣魚取樂。戰國時范蠡也愛釣魚,常把所釣之魚供給越王勾踐食用。 二十世紀八十年代,中國大陸的各級釣魚協會成立,釣魚地點也從自然水域向養殖水域過度,所釣之魚則從粗養向細養過度。人數增多、水體污染及濫捕濫撈導致釣魚難度上升。釣魚協會開始與漁民和農民簽訂文件,使更多釣者能夠在養殖水域釣魚,達到了雙贏的目的。 二十世紀九十年代初,來自台灣的懸釣法走紅大陸,各地開始建造標準釣池。 二十世紀末,發達國家的釣者提倡回顧自然,引發新一輪野釣戰,而中國的釣者則更青睞精養魚池。]

    工具

    一种钓鱼竿机械部分示意图
    最基本的钓具包括:鱼竿、鱼线、鱼钩、沉坨(又名沉子)、浮标(又名鱼漂)、鱼饵。]:1其他辅助钓具包括:失手绳、钓箱、线轮、抄网、鱼篓、渔具盒、钓鱼服、钓鱼鞋等。]:1

    钓竿一般由玻璃纖維或碳纖維轻而有力的竿状物质製成,钓竿和鱼饵用丝线联接。一般的鱼饵可以是蚯蚓、米饭、蝦子、菜叶、苍蝇、蛆等,现代有专门制作好(多数由自己配置的半成品)的粉製鱼饵出售。鱼饵挂在鱼鉤上,不同的對象鱼有不同的釣組配置。在周围水面撒一些誘餌通常会有較好的集魚效果。

    钓具
    鱼竿
    主条目:鱼竿
    钓鱼的鱼竿按照材质包括:传统竹竿、玻璃纤维竿、碳素竿,按照钓法包括:手竿、矶竿、海竿(又名甩竿),按照所钓鱼类包括:溪流小继竿、日鲫竿(又名河内竿)、鲤竿、矶中小物竿。]:6-8

    鱼钩
    主条目:鱼钩
    鱼钩就是垂钓用的钩,主要分为:有倒钩、无倒钩、毛钩。]:14

    鱼线
    主条目:鱼线
    鱼线就是垂钓时绑接鱼竿和鱼钩的线,历史上曾使用蚕丝(远古日本)、发丝(江户时期日本)、马尾(西欧)、二枚贝(地中海)、蛛网丝(夏威夷)、琼麻(东南亚)、尼龙钓线(美国)。]:25

    鱼漂
    主条目:鱼漂
    鱼漂又名浮标,垂钓时栓在鱼线上的能漂浮的东西,主要用于搜集水底情报,查看鱼汛,观察鱼饵存留状态,以及水底水流起伏变化。]:36

    鱼饵
    主条目:鱼饵
    鱼饵分为诱饵和钓饵,是一种用来吸引鱼群和垂钓时使用的物品,钓饵分为荤饵、素饵、拟饵、拉饵。]:170

    沉子
    主条目:沉子
    沉子又名沉坨、铅锤,是一种调节鱼漂的工具。]:45

    卷线器
    主条目:卷线器
    卷线器主要安装在海竿和矶竿上的一种卷线的工具。]:63

    连结具
    主条目:连结具
    连结具是连结鱼线与钓竿、母线与子线的一种连结物,使用最广泛的是连结环。]:55

    识鱼
    鱼类的视力不如人类,距离、宽度均无法和人类的视力比较,鱼类对水色、绿色比较敏感,鱼类的嗅觉非常灵敏,鱼类的听觉也非常灵敏,钓鲤鱼时,不能在岸上大声谈笑、走动不停,鱼类的思考能力非常弱,鱼类应对周边环境随着气象、水温、水色、潮流、流速、水量的变化而变化,于是便出现了在同一个池塘、水库、湖泊,往日钓鱼收获大,今日少,上午收获大,下午少,晴天大,雨天少等情况。]:114-117淡水钓鱼,中国大陆经常垂钓的鱼类对象是本地鲫鱼、日本鲫、非洲鲫、鲤鱼、游鱼、罗非鱼、黄刺鱼(黄鸭叫)、黄尾、鳊鱼、青鱼、草鱼、鲢鱼、鳙鱼,台湾经常垂钓的鱼类对象是本地鲫鱼、日本鲫、吴郭鱼(罗非鱼)、溪哥仔和红猫(粗首马口鱲)、斗鱼、罗汉鱼、苦花、三角姑(河鮠)、竹蒿头(密鱼)。]:117

    影响鱼类的6大因素主要是:季节变更、气温高低、水的涨落、风的大小、水的清浊、天气阴晴

  2. I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your website. It’s a very easy on the
    eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit
    more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme?
    Fantastic work!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *