Toyota is slipping, Consumer Reports says

[Psephos]

Consumer Reports magazine reports that the quality of cars made by Toyota, long the benchmark for reliability among automotive brands, has slipped so much that the organization no longer will automatically recommend them.

...

For Ford, the news was positive. The magazine said 93% of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models scored average or better, allowing a "Recommended" designation.

"Ford continues to improve," said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center. "The reliability of their cars has steadily improved over the years and is showing consistency." He added, "We believe Toyota is aware of its issues and is trying to fix problems quickly."


http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/Advice/ToyotaIsSlippingConsumerReportsSays.aspx

[Romulox]

1. Most car buyers don't know how to comparison shop.

They simply proceed with the idea that "foreign = good". How else can you explain the popularity of VW and Subaru, for example, both of which have long had quality ratings far below industry averages?

This part of the article is interesting:

Typically, Consumer Reports will recommend a vehicle only if it has at least one year of reliability data. New and redesigned Toyota models had been exempted from that standard because of the company's record. The magazine said today it no longer will recommend any new or redesigned Toyota-built models without reliability data on a specific design.

:wtf: