Cadillac, Honda, Porsche Take Beating In Consumer Reports’ Reliability Survey

2015 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS (Credit: Porsche)

Consumer Reports’ Annual Auto Reliability Survey sent PR departments scrambling and enthusiasts grumbling after Cadillac, Honda, Acura, Porsche, Infiniti and others took a real beating.

Whenever things are shaken up, you’re going to have people who aren’t happy about the change, and that’s certainly the case here.

Honda fell four spots, bumping it out of the Most Reliable club down to the top of the Reliable brands. Porsche saw an even bigger drop, plummeting five spots from where it sat in the last survey, leaving it in the fourteenth slot. The two biggest losers were Acura and Cadillac, with both luxury brands sinking down seven spots each, meaning they now reside in the dreaded Least Reliable group. In fact, Cadillac is only ahead of Ram, Jeep and Fiat.

Lexus has reason to celebrate, being the top brand in the survey, yet again, shocking nobody. Toyota stayed at number two. Audi rose two spots to bump Mazda out of the number three spot. Kia cracked into the coveted Most Reliable group at number six, advancing four spots from where it ranked last year.

Also notable is the fact that Buick was the only American brand in the top group. It’s the second consecutive year that the Big Three have been all but shut out of the Most Reliable club.

Ford should be pleased at least to a degree, because it rose six spots to land at number 17 on the survey. Still, the Blue Oval is part of the Least Reliable group, even if it and luxury brand Lincoln are at the top of it. According to Automotive News, Consumer Reports director of automotive testing Jake Fisher attributed at least some of Ford’s increased success to its ironing out various technologies, platforms, etc. that launched a few years ago.

Consumer Reports has been stirring the pot of controversy big time lately, eliciting cheers and jeers from plenty. It’s a smart move for a publication some have tried to claim has become irrelevant, because the latest round of reactions from various parties proves CR still has got it.