Bookmarking Auto on Info pagesSupporting Auto on InfoHome or Site Layout or Site Map or Site Index or Quick Jumps or Search Engine Directory or The Mart or The Links Auto InformationReliability InformationReliability Index Values and AveragesTable I: Part 3: Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corporation: 2007

This page has been updated to include the data that became available in 2007.

Note: The 1998-1999 Reliability Index Value of the Golf is for the 4-cylinder edition and that of the Jetta is for the 4-cylinder edition.

The Reliability Index Values are based on reported auto problems in 6-to-8-year-old vehicles. To view the methodology for the computation of the Reliability Index Values, go to the Methodology Page.

The Reliability Index Values are based on reported problems in 6-to-8-year-old vehicles. To see an extrapolation of the current thirteen-year Reliability Index gap between Toyota and the Big Three, go to the Bottom Line on Reliability web page of the Auto on Info website. This web page will give you an idea as to what you can expect of a new 2007 or 2008 Big-Three-engineered model relative to a 2007 or 2008 Toyota or Honda model.

Some Additional Charts and Tables Pertaining to Reliability, Durability, and Emissions
(Each chart is linked to a news article providing additional information.)

Table I: Number and Percentage of Entries in CR's 2007 Much-Worse-Than-Average List, by Manufacturer
Auto Manufacturer Number of Entries Percent of Entires
General Motors Corporation 14 36.8%
DaimlerChrysler AG 7* 18.4%
Ford Motor Company 6** 15.8%
Volkswagen AG 5 13.2%
Nissan Motor Company 3 7.9%
BMW AG 2 5.3%
Kia Motors Corporation 1 2.6%
All Others 0 0%
* Three are from DaimlerChrysler's North American Chrysler group and four are from the Mercedes-Benz division.
** Two are from Ford's North American group, two are from the Jaguar division, one is from the Land Rover division, and one is from the Volvo division.
Source: "CR Bad Bets," Consumer Reports, April 2007, p. 81

More Charts and Tables appear below the list of news articles.

Some Auto News Articles:

June 2007: The J.D. Power Surveys: Gleaning Values from Things That May Be Worth, Individually, Something Close to Nothing: GM in the Dumps Again
May 2007: Does GM Mean Junk and Ford Too? Toyota and Honda Shine Again.
May 2007: In 2007, Toyota and Honda Dominate Most Reliable List with 10 of 11 Best, GM Dominates Least Reliable List with 7 of 10 Worst
April 2007: The Best Models by CR's 2007 History of Reliability Verdicts: The Reliable Two Shine; Big Three Score Zip
April 2007: The Reliable Two Dominate Greenest Dozen; Big Three Score Zip
April 2007: Toyota and Honda Dominate CR's 2007 Top Picks and Alternates; Nissan's Infiniti Division Accounts for CR's Upscale and Luxury Top Picks; Big Three Score Zip
April 2007: By Yet Another Quality Measure, Toyota and Honda Are Best and GM and DaimlerChrysler - Worst: The UCS 2007 Environmental Report
April 2007: In the U.S. in March 2007, Consumer March to Quality Continues: Toyota Sets New Monthly Record, Honda Sets New March Record, and Big 3 Sales Tumble, but Multiple Chapter 11 Bankruptcies by Any of the Big 3 Seem Unlikely
March 2007: Cleaning Arizona Air: The Exclusive Three
March 2007: Toyota and Honda Increase Dominance of Consumer Reports' Good Bets List: Toyota's Best Widen Quality Gap
March 2007: Chevrolet Upholds a Tradition: GM's Chevrolet Line Worst by CR's 2007 Vehicles-to-Avoid List
March 2007: GM Expands Lead on CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List, a Tad
March 2007: GM Maintains Leadership in Much-Worse-Than-Average: A Guide to Making Sales Challenging
January 2007: Toyota Expands Dominance on Durability Measure
January 2007: In the U.S. in 2006, Consumers Quicken Their Pace to Quality: Toyota Sales Soar and Honda Sales Rise as Big Three Sales Plunge
November 2006: True Value Estimates of GM's 2007 Vehicles
October 2006: U.S. Consumer Shift to Quality Outpaces Big Three Price and Production Cuts; Big 3 Inventories Get Big, But How Big? Three for One, Anyone?
October 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 of 5 Most Durable Sport-Utility Vehicles; General Motors - 7 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical 1998 Toyota SUV Be More Trouble Free at 21 Years of Age Than a Typical 1998 GM SUV at 3?
October 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota Tops in Pickup Reliability and Durability: Just How Bad, or Disastrous, Are GM Pickups?
October 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 Most Durable Vehicle Lines; General Motors - 4 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota or Honda 1998 Model Be More Trouble Free at 20 Years of Age Than a Typical 1998 GM Model at 3?
September 2006: Ford Motor and GM: Where to from Here?
September 2006: Market Capitalizations of Toyota Motor Corporation, General Motors Corporation, and Ford Motor Company
September 2006: Reliability Updates: Toyota and Honda Still Tops, But Lose Luster; General Motors Still Worst of Major Auto Manufacturers; Hyundai Clobbers GM Yet Again
September 2006: In the U.S. in August 2006, Toyota Sales Soar Again, Honda's Dip, as do Chrysler's, Ford's Plunge, and GM's Fall a Bit of a Bit and Its Market Share Drops a Notch
September 2006: Reliability Updates: Best and Worst Cars and Trucks Tables: A Chart Summary
August 2006: Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 6-to-8 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 7 of 10 Best, GM - 17 of 36 Worst
August 2006: Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 5-to-7 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 9 of 13 Best, GM - 17 of 42 Worst
August 2006: Reliability Updates: For Model Year 2002, Toyota Accounts for 11 of 16 Best, GM - 16 of 53 Worst
August 2006: Fitch Cuts Ford Debt Deeper into Junk, Retains Negative Outlook, Puts Estimated Post-Bankruptcy Recovery at 51-70%; Will GM-Ford Race to Bankruptcy End in Dead Heat?
August 2006: For 2-to-3-Year-Old Model-Year-2003 Vehicles, Toyota Garners 8 of Top 9 and 9 of Top 14, General Motors Accounts for 18 of Bottom 46
July 2006: Toyota and Honda Dominate CR's Ten Best Family Sedans with Above Average Predicted Reliability; Big Three Score Zip
July 2006: In the U.S. in June 2006, Toyota Sales Surge to Set a New June Record; Legendary Corolla Sales Soar; Honda Sales Squeak Past Previous June Record; Big Three Sales Remain In or Near Friction-Free Free Fall, But GM's Prospect of Multiple Bankruptcy Filings Dims
June 2006: S&P Cuts Ford Debt Deeper into Junk: Which of the Big Two Will Win the Race to Bankruptcy?
June 2006: In the U.S. in May 2006, Reliable Two and Legendary Corolla Sales Soar Past Previous Records; Big Three Sales Take a Step into Friction-Free Free Fall; Accelerated Consumer Shift to Quality and Out of GM Products Puts Prospect of Multiple Bankruptcy Filings on GM's Horizon
June 2006: Toyota and Honda Dominate CR's 2006 Higher-Reliability, Higher-Owner-Satisfaction Quick Picks; Big Three Score Zip
May 2006: Toyota and Honda Account for 75% of CR's Top Picks, Alternatives, and Runners-up; Subaru and Nissan Account for Balance; Big Three Score Zip
April 2006: In 2006, Toyota and Honda Rule Most Reliable List with 10 of 10 Best, GM Dominates Least Reliable List with 6 of 10 Worst: Reliability Gap Grows
March 2006: Moody's Cuts GM Creditworthiness Another Notch Deeper into Junk
March 2006: Toyota Reliability Takes Another Leap Up; Honda's Too; Toyota-GM Reliability Gap Sets Another Record: Will GM Bottom?
March 2006: GM's Chevrolet Aveo Flunks Crash Test
March 2006: GM Truck Owners Hot under the Collar over Salt on the Casing: The Runaway Saga Continues
March 2006: In the Race to Quality and Out of Big Three Products, Australia Stalls and America Accelerates
March 2006: In April 2005, NHTSA Ratcheted Up Investigation into Collapsing Tailgates of 3.1 Million GM Pickups; in March 2006, GM Recalls 805,368: And the Rest?
February 2006: GM Strengthens Lead in Race to Bankruptcy: Moody's Cuts GM's Credit a Notch Deeper into Junk
February 2006: Chevrolet Reliability Worst of Big Three Brands, by CR Measures
February 2006: Toyota and Honda Dominate Consumer Reports' 2006 Good Bets List, with Small Changes from 2005
February 2006: General Motors and DaimlerChrysler Again Dominate CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List
February 2006: Into the Pits and Down and Under Charges the General; General Motors Sets Record Share of CR's Much-Worse-Than-Average
February 2006: In the U.S. in January 2006, Reliable Two Sales Soar to Set New January Sales Records; GM and Ford Dodge Plunge with Huge, Premature Fleet Sales, but GM's Market Share Still Drops a Notch; Toyota RAV4 Overtakes Honda CR-V with Dramatic Sales Surge
January 2006: U.S. President Bush Says GM and Ford Must Make a Relevant Product, But Can They and Should They Try?
January 2006: Toyota Overwhelmingly Dominates Another Measure of Durability
January 2006: By WSJ's Lot-Stay Time, Made-in-Japan TMC Models Are Top 5 of Hottest 10
January 2006: Ford Cuts GM Lead in Race to Insolvency: Which Big Three Will Go Bust First?
December 2005: MPR's Senior Economics and Business Editor Predicts GM Bankruptcy in 2006
December 2005: Relentless U.S. Consumer Shift to Quality Prompts S&P to Cut GM Debt Deeper into Junk
December 2005: By CR's Predicted Short-Term Reliability for Model Year 2006, Toyota and Honda Dominate Best, GM and Ford Dominate Worst
November 2005: Moody's Cuts GM Debt Deeper into Junk
November 2005: In the U.S. in October 2005, The Reliable Two Set New October Sales Records, Subaru Sales Advance, and GM and Ford Sales Plunge Again
September 2005: In the U.S. in August 2005, Reason Rather Returns: Quality Four Sales Soar, GM Sales Plunge
September 2005: Fifteen-Year Data History Points to Continued Overwhelming Dominance of the Best of Each Year by TMC
September 2005: Auto on Info Site Manager's Conclusion: GM Likely to Dominate Worst-Cars-and-Trucks Tables for Years to Come
August 2005: For 2-to-3-Year-Old Model Year 2002 Vehicles, Toyota Garners 6 of Top 9, General Motors - 13 of Bottom 45
August 2005: For Vehicles 2-to-4 Years Old, Toyota Garners 11 of Top 16, General Motors - 16 of Bottom 40
August 2005: For Vehicles 3-to-5 Years Old, Toyota Garners 9 of Top 14, Honda - 5 of Top 14, and General Motors - 19 of Bottom 44
August 2005: For Vehicles 4-to-6 Years Old, Toyota Garners 6 of Top 10, General Motors Garners 15 of Bottom 38
August 2005: For Vehicles 5-to-7 Years Old, Honda Garners 5 of Top 9, Toyota - 4 of Top 9, and General Motors - 19 of Bottom 38
August 2005: For Vehicles 6-to-8 Years Old, Toyota Garners 7 of Top 10 Reliability Percentranks, General Motors Gathers 23 of Lowest 36
August 2005: Speediest Dilapidations: General Motors Accounts for 16 of the 20 Worst
July 2005: Mini-Survey Points to Toyota Dominance in Overall Quality and Customer Satisfaction
July 2005: Volkswagen, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Toyota Recall a Batch in the U.S.
May 2005: With U.S. Consumer Shift toward Quality Unabated, S&P Cuts GM and Ford's Debt to Junk
May 2005: In the U.S. in April 2005, Quality Four Sales Soar, GM and Ford Continue Free Fall
May 2005: Park That Ford on the Street!
May 2005: General Motors Vehicles Hit with Another Safety Investigation: NHTSA to Investigate 1.3 Million GM Pickup Trucks and SUVs for Corroding Brake Part
April 2005: King of Recalls Recalls Again: General Motors Leaps Past Ford with Recall of 2 Million Vehicles, Including 1.5 Million 2003-2005 SUVs and Pickups
April 2005: Consumer Shift Toward Quality Gives Honda Market Capitalization Greater Than GM's and Ford's Combined
April 2005: Moody's Cuts GM Long-Term Debt Rating to One Notch Above Junk, Puts Ford Debt Under Review
April 2005: General Motors Models Dominate Flop Survey
April 2005: Himmel vs. Ford Motor
April 2005: Part of GM's Repair Kit - A Very Bloodied Ax
April 2005: In the U.S. in March 2005, Toyota and Nissan Sales Advance, Ford and GM Sales Drop
April 2005: General Motors' Dominion - Down & Under
March 2005: Additional Measures of Toyota's Dominion in Automotive Quality: Market Capitalizations and Bond Ratings of Toyota vs. General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and Volkswagen
March 2005: Toyota and Honda Dominate Consumer Reports 2005 Overall Quick Pick List; Big Three Score Zip
March 2005: Models Engineered by Toyota and Honda Dominate Consumer Reports Fuel Economy Quick Pick List; Big Three-Engineered Models Score Zip
March 2005: Toyota and Honda Dominate Consumer Reports Owner Satisfaction Quick Pick List; Big Three Score Zip
March 2005: GM's Bond Rating, Bond Outlook, Common Stock, and Market Cap Take a Tumble, Reports WSJ
March 2005: General Motors Slashes 2005 Earnings Estimate, S&P Cuts GM's Outlook to Negative
March 2005: General Motors Dominates List of Models with Highest Death Rates
March 2005: General Motors and Chrysler Dominate Consumer Reports Used-Cars-To-Avoid List
March 2005: General Motors Dominates Consumer Reports Much-Worse-Than-Average Reliability List, Again
March 2005: Toyota and Honda Again Dominate Consumer Reports Good Bets List
March 2005: Toyota Dominates Consumer Reports Reliability Quick Pick List; Big Three Score Zip
October 2004: Is GM King of Junk?
January 2004: The Piston Slap - Engine Knock Lawsuits: Do General Motors' Pickup Trucks and SUVs Make a Grotesque Noise? 
Automotive News Menu Pages
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The visitor may find the following tables and charts useful as well.

Cumulative Number of Auto on Info Auto Manufacturer Awards for Motor Vehicle Quality   Cumulative Number of First Place Positions in Auto on Info's Auto Manufacturer Awards for Motor Vehicle Quality
Auto Manufacturer Awards Auto Manufacturer First Place Positions
Toyota 40 Toyota 37
Honda 32 Honda 5
Mercedes-Benz 2 Mercedes-Benz 0
Nissan 4 Nissan 0
BMW 1 BMW 0
Volvo 1 Volvo 0
General Motors 0 General Motors 0
Ford 0 Ford 0
Chrysler 0 Chrysler 0
This table is current as of 28 May 2007. This table is current as of 28 May 2007.
Shares of Consumer Reports' 2005 Quick Picks, by Auto Manufacturer and Motor Vehicle Line
Manufacturer Share of 2005 Reliability Quick Picks Share of 2005 Owner Satisfaction Quick Picks Share of 2005 Fuel Economy Quick Picks Share of 2005 Overall Quick Picks
  Vehicle Line
Toyota .63 .47 .46 .33
  Lexus .11 .16 0.00 .14
  Toyota .53 .32 .46 .19
Honda .21 .26 .38 .33
  Acura .11 .11 .08 .05
  Honda .11 .16 .31 .29
Subaru .05 .11 0.00 .14
Nissan 0.00 .05 0.00 .14
  Infiniti 0.00 0.00 0.00 .05
  Nissan 0.00 .05 0.00 .10
Mazda .05 .05 .15 .051
BMW 0.00 .05 0.00 0.00
Mitsubishi .05 0.00 0.00 0.00
Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, and all others 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
1 Mazda's one entry, the Mazda3 i, may have been pulled from Consumer Reports' Overall Quick Pick List due to a "Poor" side-impact crash test rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Insurance Institute's rating did cause Consumer Reports to pull the Mazda3 from its recommended list.
All shares are rounded to two significant digits.
CR 2005 Quick Picks are quick pick models of model year 2005.
Note: A rebadge of a product engineered by Toyota, but sold by another auto manufacturer, is omitted from the latter's share.
Source for Consumer Reports' Good Bets: "Quick Picks," Consumer Reports, April 2005, P. 31

Shares of Consumer Reports' 2007 Good Bets for Model Years 1997-2006 with Selected 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Averages, by Auto Manufacturer and Motor Vehicle Line
Manufacturer Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .80 Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .85 Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .90 Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .95
  Vehicle Line
Toyota .54 .55 .72 .83
  Lexus .16 .19 .28 .50
  Toyota .38 .35 .44 .33
Honda .27 .32 .22 .17
  Acura .11 .13 .06 0.00
  Honda .16 .19 .17 .17
Subaru .03 0.00 0.00 0.00
Nissan .14 .10 .06 0.00
  Infiniti .08 .10 .06 0.00
  Nissan .05 0.00 0.00 0.00
Mazda .03 .03 0.00 0.00
Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, and all others 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
1 If the vehicle model is too new for a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank average to exist, the early 2003 Reliability Percentrank is used when such exists.
All shares are rounded to two significant digits.
CR Good Bets are models that have several model years between 1997 and 2006 of better-than-average reliability and have performed well on Consumer Reports' road tests. An auto Reliability Percentrank is a measure of relative overall reliability used by Auto on Info.
Note: Two rebadges of products engineered by Toyota, but sold by another auto manufacturer, are omitted from the latter's share.
Source for Consumer Reports' Good Bets: "CR Good Bet: The Best of Both World's," Consumer Reports Cars: Used Car Buying Guide 2006, p. 25
Source for Reliability Percentrank averages: Table I-MVRP

Median Reported Severity of Engine Knock for Various Classes of GM Vehicles as of July 12, 2005
Class 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
GM pickup trucks                
GM sport utility vehicles                
GM minivans                
GM passenger cars                
Value definitions: 0 is not auditorily offensive; 2 is auditorily offensive; 6 is very auditorily offensive; 8 is extremely auditorily offensive.
To view more results or to express your opinion regarding the engine knock in General Motors Corporation's products, go to Mini-Survey No. 65, GM's Piston Slap - Engine Knock."

Median Value of a New Big Three Vehicle as Assessed by Mini-Survey Respondents Reporting Ownership of a Quality Four Product on or before July 8, 2005, by Manufacturer
Manufacturer Big 3 Vehicle Valued at More Than What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Only 95% of What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Only 80% of What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Only 50% of What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Nothing Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Nothing Plus Respondent Would Require $20,000+ per Year to Drive It Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Nothing Plus Respondent Would Require $200,000+ per Year to Drive It Respondent Unwilling to Own a Big Three Vehicle under Any Circumstance
Toyota Motor Corporation                
Honda Motor Company                
Subaru Division of Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd.1                
Nissan Motor Company1                
1 Very few respondents reported owning a product by Nissan or Subaru.
The Big Three manufacturers are General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG. See Glossary.
To view more results or to express your assessment of the value of a new Big Three Vehicle, go to Mini-Survey No. 31, "The True Value of a Big Three."


Moody's Ratings of General Motors Corporation's
Unsecured Long-Term Debt by Month from January 2005 to June 2006
Investment Grade Ratings