Auto on Info: Car News and Commentary 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

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

Models by Toyota Motor Corporation account for eight of the nine highest Reliability Percentranks for 2003 vehicles between the ages of two years and three years, and nine of the fourteen highest. Honda Motor Company garners 3 of the top 14 and the Subaru division of Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. and General Motors Corporation each garner.

The Reliability Percentranks are based on information appearing within Consumer Reports 2006 reliability tables that pertains to model year 2003.

The following table lists the top fourteen models, together with their respective Reliability Percentranks.

The Toyota Corolla, whose sales were up 42.3% in July 2006, is an internationally renowned 40-year legend of reliability, durability, and pleasing performance and appearance. As a buyer from Africa at Dubai's mid-eastern auto mart Ducamz put it: Everyone wants one. Indeed, life may not be complete without having owned a Corolla, and life may be appreciably less interesting without having owned the same one for at least 20 years and 400,000 miles.

The following table provides photographs of the 2006 editions of Toyota's nine of the Best of 2003, together with links to review pages. The review pages provide additional distinctions held by each model.

The following table provides photographs of the 2006 editions of Honda's three entries on the Best of 2003, together with links to review pages. The review pages provide additional distinctions held by each model.

The Subaru Forester, in the thirteenth spot of the Best of 2003, has a number of distinctions. It was a Consumer Reports' Top Pick for model years 2004 and 2005, and it is a 2006 CR Top Pick. In addition, the 2005 model was a CR reliability quick pick and a CR owner satisfaction quick pick, and the 2006 model is a CR most-agile-and-fun-to-drive SUV quick pick.

A General Motors model, the Buick Century, also holds a spot on this early Best of 2003 list, but its current 2003 Reliability Pecentrank is anomalous for the Buick Century and for the entire Buick line and may not accurately reflect the true reliability of the 2003 Century. In addition, the standards of persons purchasing a Toyota product may be much higher than those purchasing a GM product (i.e., what constitutes a serious problem to a Toyota owner may be inconsequential to a GM owner), and consequently, the Reliability Percentrank of a GM product may not be fully comparable to that of a Toyota product. Hence, caution should be exercised in the consideration of any General Motors product. Site manager views the purchase of any Big Three vehicle as ill-advised.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, models in GM's domestic lines account for 18 of the 46 worst cars and trucks of 2003, by Reliability Percentrank. Models in Ford's domestic lines account for 8 of the 46 worst, and Chrysler's models account for 4 of the 46 worst. By percentage, GM's domestic-line products account for 39.1% of the worst of 2003, Ford's - 17.4%, and Chrysler's - 8.7%. If the European lines of GM (the Saab line), Ford (the Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover lines), and DaimlerChrysler AG (the Mercedes-Benz line) are included in the account, GM products account for 43.4% of the worst of 2003, Ford products - 26.1%, and DaimlerChrysler products - 19.6%, for a total of 89.1% of the worst of 2003. The following table shows that little has changed over the sixteen-year reliability data history, with the exception that GM now occupies Ford's position as the dominant supplier of the worst cars and trucks sold in the North America, per the Reliability Percentrank.

The following table lists the individual models with the 46 lowest Reliability Percentranks for model year 2003.

The Worst of 2003: Models with a Reliability Percentrank of .25 or Less at Vehicular Age of 2-to-3 Years
Model	Reliability Percentrank
V6 Mazda 6	.24
Saab 9-5	.24
General Motors' Cadillac DeVille	.24
Chrysler's V6 Dodge Caravan	.24
Mercedes-Benz E-Class	.22
General Motors' GMC Yukon	.22
General Motors' Chevrolet Tahoe	.22
Jaguar X-Type	.18
4-cyl. Volkswagen Golf	.18
Ford's Mercury 2wd Mountaineer	.18
Ford's Mercury 4wd Mountaineer	.18
2wd Ford Explorer	.18
4wd Ford Explorer	.18
General Motors' GMC Yukon XL	.18
General Motors' Chevrolet Suburban	.18
Mercedes-Benz C-Class	.15
Kia Sedona	.15
General Motors' Cadillac CTS	.15
General Motors' Chevrolet Avalanche	.15
General Motors' Chevrolet Cavalier	.15
Ford's Lincoln LS	.14
V6 Chrysler Stratus	.14
Chrysler's Dodge Intrepid	.13
BMW 7-Series	.11
General Motors' 4wd GMC Sierra 1500	.11
General Motors' Saturn Vue	.11
General Motors' 4wd Chevrolet Silverado	.11
Volvo XC90	.10
Chrysler's V8 4wd Dodge Ram 1500	.10
BMW's MiniCooper	.08
Ford Expedition	.08
General Motors' Cadillac Escalade	.08
Mercedes-Benz M-Class	.05
Mercedes-Benz S-Class	.05
Mercedes-Benz CLK	.05
General Motors' 6-cyl. GMC Envoy	.05
General Motors' Chevrolet Trailblazer	.05
Ford Excursion	.05
General Motors' GMC Jimmy	.03
General Motors' Chevrolet Blazer	.03
Land Rover Discovery	.03
Jaguar S-Type	.01
General Motors' GMC Safari van	.01
General Motors' Chevrolet Astro van	.01
Saab 9-3	.01
Ford's Lincoln Navigator	0.00

Source for Consumer Reports 2004 Top Picks: "Top Picks 2004: The Best Models in 10 Categories," Consumer Reports, April 2004, p. 8

Source for Consumer Reports 2005 Top Picks: "Top Picks 2005: The Best Models in 10 Categories," Consumer Reports, April 2005, p. 7

Source for Consumer Reports 2006 Top Picks: "Top Picks 2006: The Best Models in 10 Categories," Consumer Reports, April 2006, p. 6

Source for Consumer Reports 2005 Quick Picks: "Quick Picks," Consumer Reports, April 2005, p. 31

Source for Consumer Reports 2006 Quick Picks: "Quick Picks," Consumer Reports, April 2006, p. 23