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The Updated 2011 Reliability Grade Point Averages and Grades for Lines/Brands of Automobiles
Sold in North America: The Complete Table
and the Top 10 Automobile Brands and the Bottom 10 Automobile
Brands
by James Bleeker
The Complete Table
This page provides detailed 2011 auto brand reliability
ratings and auto brand reliability rankings. It
expresses the auto brand reliability ratings and auto brand reliability
rankings, and makes available brand reliability comparisons and brand
reliability contrasts, using the Auto Reliability Grade Point Average, or
Auto Reliability GPA. This auto reliability index is valuable as it is an
easy-to-understand, but detailed, auto reliability measure, and is familiar
to many having attended secondary school and nearly all who have received
some post-secondary education. The page also employs Auto Reliability Grades
as a reliability index. This measure of auto reliability differences,
although less detailed, is valuable as it is familiar to all persons having
attended primary school. The updated Auto Reliability GPA is an automobile
reliability statistic that is obtained from Consumer Reports' auto
reliability survey data summarized in the reliability tables of (1)
Consumer Reports: New Car Buying Guide: 2011,
(2) Consumer Reports: Used Car Buying Guide: 2011, and
(3) the April 2011 issue of the Consumer Reports magazine.
The Average
GPA for each car brand is the average of the
Average GPAs of its models. The Average
Minimum GPA for each car brand is the average of the
Minimum GPAs of its models. The Reliable
Two, Toyota Motor Corporation and Honda Motor Company, appear first in the
table, because of their rather singular stature; the remaining manufacturers
are listed alphabetically.
Letter grades corresponding to Average GPAs and Average Minimum GPAs are determined thusly: A if the GPA is 3.50 to
4.00, B if the GPA is 2.50 to 3.49, C if the GPA is 1.50 to 2.49, D if
the GPA is 0.50 to 1.49, and F if the GPA < 0.50.
GPAs for 4 age ranges are given so that the visitor may
examine more thoroughly the age range that is of greater interest to
him/her, if such there be.
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The Updated 2011 Reliability Grade Point
Averages (GPAs) for Brands of Motor Vehicles with
Reliability GPAs for Four 4-Year Age Ranges and an
Overall Average Reliability GPA
|
|
ID |
Auto Manufacturer |
Line |
Line GPA for 0-to-4 Year Old
Vehicles |
Line GPA for 2-to-6 Year Old
Vehicles |
Line GPA for 4-to-8 Year Old
Vehicles |
Line GPA for 6-to-10 Year Old
Vehicles |
Average GPA |
Grade Based on Average |
Average Minimum GPA |
Grade Based on Average Minimum GPA |
Average Number of Model Years of
Data |
12 |
Toyota |
Lexus |
3.01 |
3.48 |
3.70 |
3.75 |
3.39 |
B |
3.06 |
B |
6.9 |
38 |
Toyota |
Toyota |
3.10 |
3.54 |
3.60 |
3.65 |
3.43 |
B |
3.04 |
B |
6.9 |
43 |
Toyota |
Scion |
3.56 |
3.73 |
3.56 |
3.50 |
3.65 |
A |
3.50 |
A |
4.0 |
52 |
Honda |
Acura |
3.55 |
3.67 |
3.40 |
3.38 |
3.51 |
A |
3.38 |
B |
6.3 |
67 |
Honda |
Honda |
3.27 |
3.45 |
3.59 |
3.39 |
3.45 |
B |
3.13 |
B |
6.9 |
80 |
BMW |
BMW |
1.21 |
1.80 |
1.99 |
1.79 |
1.37 |
D |
1.07 |
D |
5.5 |
83 |
BMW |
Mini Cooper |
1.63 |
0.88 |
0.63 |
0.67 |
0.95 |
D |
0.58 |
D |
7.5 |
93 |
Chrysler |
Jeep |
1.10 |
0.99 |
1.10 |
1.19 |
1.13 |
D |
0.82 |
D |
6.3 |
102 |
Chrysler |
Chrysler |
0.89 |
1.31 |
1.36 |
1.53 |
1.37 |
D |
0.92 |
D |
5.6 |
118 |
Chrysler |
Dodge |
1.08 |
1.02 |
1.16 |
1.07 |
1.04 |
D |
0.84 |
D |
5.1 |
131 |
Daimler |
Mercedes-Benz |
1.42 |
1.63 |
1.88 |
2.31 |
1.44 |
D |
1.11 |
D |
4.8 |
133 |
Daimler |
Smart ForTwo |
1.00 |
|
|
|
0.50 |
D |
0.00 |
F |
2.0 |
158 |
Ford |
Ford |
2.29 |
1.99 |
2.06 |
2.08 |
2.14 |
C |
1.87 |
C |
6.7 |
166 |
Ford |
Lincoln |
1.83 |
2.12 |
2.00 |
1.83 |
1.83 |
C |
1.57 |
C |
4.7 |
175 |
Ford |
Mercury |
2.19 |
2.11 |
2.18 |
1.67 |
2.14 |
C |
1.93 |
C |
6.3 |
186 |
Ford |
Volvo |
2.53 |
2.31 |
2.09 |
1.81 |
2.32 |
C |
1.86 |
C |
4.4 |
196 |
General Motors |
Buick |
1.83 |
1.90 |
1.95 |
1.78 |
1.88 |
C |
1.71 |
C |
4.5 |
203 |
General Motors |
Cadillac |
1.02 |
1.24 |
1.25 |
1.33 |
1.21 |
D |
0.74 |
D |
5.7 |
229 |
General Motors |
Chevrolet |
1.50 |
1.00 |
1.08 |
1.44 |
1.25 |
D |
0.94 |
D |
6.1 |
241 |
General Motors |
GMC |
1.31 |
1.01 |
1.32 |
1.70 |
1.27 |
D |
0.92 |
D |
6.3 |
243 |
General Motors |
Hummer |
0.50 |
0.33 |
|
|
0.42 |
F |
0.33 |
F |
3.0 |
252 |
General Motors |
Pontiac |
1.83 |
1.57 |
1.63 |
1.15 |
1.50 |
C |
1.22 |
D |
4.6 |
255 |
General Motors |
Saab |
3.25 |
2.17 |
1.25 |
1.13 |
1.95 |
C |
1.13 |
D |
7.5 |
262 |
General Motors |
Saturn |
1.23 |
1.13 |
1.42 |
1.38 |
1.13 |
D |
1.00 |
D |
3.7 |
275 |
Hyundai |
Hyundai |
2.52 |
2.47 |
2.29 |
1.69 |
2.38 |
C |
2.05 |
C |
5.5 |
278 |
Isuzu |
Isuzu |
|
|
|
1.50 |
1.50 |
C |
1.50 |
C |
2.0 |
284 |
Jaguar |
Jaguar |
1.00 |
2.00 |
2.00 |
1.83 |
1.46 |
D |
1.42 |
D |
2.3 |
296 |
Kia |
Kia |
2.41 |
1.98 |
1.38 |
1.04 |
2.04 |
C |
1.73 |
C |
3.8 |
300 |
Land Rover |
Land Rover |
2.00 |
1.50 |
1.00 |
|
1.50 |
C |
1.50 |
C |
1.5 |
314 |
Mazda |
Mazda |
2.35 |
2.13 |
2.38 |
2.14 |
2.15 |
C |
1.73 |
C |
6.2 |
321 |
Mitsubishi |
Mitsubishi |
2.83 |
2.83 |
2.50 |
2.35 |
2.61 |
B |
2.35 |
C |
2.8 |
331 |
Nissan |
Infiniti |
3.01 |
3.21 |
3.20 |
2.63 |
2.89 |
B |
2.67 |
B |
4.4 |
348 |
Nissan |
Nissan |
2.01 |
1.87 |
1.84 |
2.03 |
1.95 |
C |
1.56 |
C |
6.4 |
354 |
Porsche |
Porsche |
2.17 |
2.58 |
2.00 |
1.89 |
2.23 |
C |
1.75 |
C |
4.5 |
363 |
Subaru |
Subaru |
2.85 |
2.86 |
2.69 |
2.15 |
2.63 |
B |
2.11 |
C |
7.6 |
366 |
Suzuki |
Suzuki |
2.67 |
2.50 |
|
|
2.58 |
B |
2.50 |
B |
3.0 |
377 |
Volkswagen |
Audi |
1.41 |
1.37 |
0.70 |
1.00 |
1.14 |
D |
0.86 |
D |
3.7 |
390 |
Volkswagen |
Volkswagen |
1.78 |
1.21 |
0.82 |
1.00 |
1.29 |
D |
0.83 |
D |
4.1 |
|
|
|
 |
The following bar graph depicts the 2011 Auto Reliability GPAs
of the above brands.

There are several important points to be noted from the above
bar graph. The first is that the Hyundai brand
is now among the ten most reliable brands and the Kia brand is
above average. The second is that all of the Top 10 brands are
brands of corporations headquartered in Southeast Asia - 9 in
Japan and one in South Korea. The third is that 5 of the Bottom
10 brands are General Motors brands - Hummer, Saturn (a brand
offloaded with the assist of bankruptcy), Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC. The fourth is
that both the Hyundai and the Kia brands outperformed all of the
brands of General Motors and Chrysler. The fifth
is that many more brands have a 2011 Auto Reliability GPA
below 2.00 than above 2.00; this reflects the very high
concentration of quality in a small number of brands.
The 2011 Top 10 Automobile Brands
Next, we list the 10 most reliable automobile brands. The 2011 Top Ten
brands are:
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 3.65,
Honda Motor Company's Acura brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 3.51,
Honda Motor Company's Honda brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 3.45,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Toyota brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 3.43,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 3.39,
Nissan Motor Company's Infiniti brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 2.89,
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Subaru brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 2.63,
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation's Mitsubishi brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 2.61,
Suzuki Motor Corporation's Suzuki brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 2.58,
Hyundai Motor Company's Hyundai brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 2.38.
Note that Toyota Motor Corporation's three brands and Honda
Motor Company two brands constitute the five best brands. Also
note that the difference between the 2010 Auto Reliability GPA
of Toyota's Lexus brand, fifth most reliable, and the 2010 Auto Reliability GPA of
Nissan's Infiniti brand, sixth most reliable, is quite
sizable this year (0.50).
Ford Motor Company has sold the Volvo brand to the Tata Group
of India, but this year Volvo is still included among Ford's brands.
The 2011 Bottom 10 Automobile Brands
Next, we list the 10 least reliable automobile brands. The 2011 Bottom Ten brands are:
General Motors Corporation's Hummer brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 0.41,
Daimler AG's Smart ForTwo brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 0.50,
BMW AG's Mini Cooper brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 0.95,
Chrysler LLC's Dodge brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 1.04,
General Motors Corporation's Saturn brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 1.13,
Chrysler LLC's Jeep brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 1.13,
Volkswagen AG's Audi brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 1.14,
General Motors Corporation's Cadillac brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 1.21,
General Motors Corporation's Chevrolet brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 1.25,
General Motors Corporation's GMC brand, with an overall 2011 Auto Reliability GPA of 1.27.
Together, General Motors Corporation and Chrysler LLC account for 7 of the 10 worst brands in 2011.
By location of corporate headquarters, the U.S. accounts for 7 of the Bottom 10 brands; Germany - the remaining 3.
Caution
|
When the average number of model
years of data (appearing in the far right column) for a
line is small, the reliability GPAs of that line may be
less reflective of the line's quality. For example,
General Motors Corporation changes model names rather often;
consequently, there is more limited information in the higher age
ranges. |
Note
|
General Motors'
efforts to dump the Hummer, Pontiac, Saab, and Saturn
lines appear to have been well justified. However, the above
reliability values suggest that
an attempt to dump the Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and
Buick
lines may be equally well justified. |
Disclosure
|
Site manager is currently a
very small shareholder of Ford Motor Company (2010-08-11). I am not,
and have not been, a
shareholder of any other motor vehicle manufacturer. |
The method of computation of the GPAs is probably familiar to nearly
every college, technical school, and high school student. A Grade Point of 4.00 (that is, an A) is given to a Consumer Reports
"Much Better Than Average" auto reliability rating, a GP of 3.00 (that is, a B) is given to a
CR "Better Than Average" auto reliability rating, a GP of 2.00 (that is, a C) to an "Average"
auto reliability rating, a GP of 1.00 (that is, a D) to a "Worse Than Average"
auto reliability rating, and a
GP of 0.00 (that is, an F) to a "Much Worse Than Average"
auto reliability rating. A Grade
Point Average (GPA) is an average of the Grade Points and is computed using
Microsoft's Average(a:b,[c:d],...) function.
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