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InformationReliability
InformationReliability
PercentranksSummary
of the Best and Worst Cars and Trucks Tables for Model Years 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992,
1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003
The following table provides a summary of the Best Cars and Trucks Tables from 1988 to 2003 by auto manufacturer.
Percentage of Model Entries in the Best Cars and Trucks Tables for Each Manufacturer by Model Year
Auto Manufacturer 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Toyota 45.5% 40% 50% 57% 61.5% 67% 45.5% 73% 56% 73.5% 70% 69% 57% 86.5% 69% 64.3% Honda 36.5% 40% 37.5% 43% 31% 11% 36.5% 27% 44% 21% 30% 23% 36% 13.5% 12.5% 21.5% Nissan 18% 20% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10.5% 0% 8% 7% 0% 12.5% 0% Mazda 0% 0% 12.5% 0% 7.5% 11% 18% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 6% 0% Subaru 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 11% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 7.1% General Motors 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 7.1% All others 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% From the above, it may be seen that Toyota dominates the tables of high reliability motor vehicles, and Toyota and Honda together account for the bulk of high reliability vehicles.
The following charts depict this polarity for some of the more recent years.
The next chart depicts the fractional shares of the Reliable Two over time - from 1988 to 2003.
The next chart gives an extrapolation of the performance of each to 2008. The extrapolation is a linear regression of degree one.
This chart suggests that by 2008 Toyota may achieve a very considerable dominance of the best vehicles sold in North America.
The following table provides a summary of the Worst Cars and Trucks Tables from 1988 to 2003 by auto manufacturer.
Percentage of Model Entries in the Worst Cars and Trucks Tables for Each Manufacturer by Model Year
Auto Manufacturer 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 General Motors 28.5% 30% 35% 35% 43% 29% 38% 43% 46% 66.5% 47% 40.5% 40.4% 36% 30% 39.1% Ford 43.5% 43% 36% 34% 26% 32% 19% 16% 4% 5% 11% 7.1% 14.9% 15% 9% 17.4% Chrysler 25% 25% 29% 31% 31% 36% 37% 34% 42% 21% 14% 19.0% 10.6% 6.5% 15% 8.7% Volkswagen 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 3.5% 6% 3.5% 19% 19.0% 14.9% 15% 15% 2.2% Land Rover 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2.4% 2.1% 2% 2% 2.2% Volvo 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 3% 4.8% 4.3% 6.5% 2% 2.2% Jaguar 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2.1% 2% 4% 4.3% Kia 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 2.2% Isuzu 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2.4% 0% 0% 0% 0% Hyundai 3% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 4.3% 2% 0% 0% Mercedes-Benz 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 2.4% 4.3% 8.5% 11% 10.9% Saab 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 4.3% BMW 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 2.4% 2.1% 6.5% 6% 4.3% Mitsubishi 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1.5% 0% 0% 2% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Mazda 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1.5% 3% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2.2% Nissan 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 3.5% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 0% Honda 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% All others 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% From the above, it may be seen that General Motors has, for the past decade, dominated the tables of low reliability motor vehicles. Also, GM's reliability stature, vis-à-vis the remaining two of the Big Three, has worsened rather considerably from 1988. In 1988, Ford models accounted for 43.5% of the entries in the Worst of 1988 and General Motors models accounted for only 28.5% of the entries, but in 2003, Ford accounted for only 17.4% of the entries of the Worst of 2003 and General Motors accounted for 39.1%, more than two times that of Ford and more than four times that of Chrysler. (For more discussion of the Worst of 2003, see "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," Auto on Info, August 2006.) Nonetheless, GM has crawled back some from the reliability depths that it occupied in 1997, when it accounted for a full 66.5% of the entries in the table of the Worst of 1997.
The following chart depicts the fractional shares, for each model year, of the worst cars and trucks held by each of the Big Three, exclusive of European lines.
The next chart provides an extrapolation of these Big Three fractional shares to 2008, again a linear regression of degree one.
The following chart depicts the fractional shares, for each model year, of the worst cars and trucks held by General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and DaimlerChrysler AG, with European lines included (GM's Saab, Ford's Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover, and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz).
The next chart provides an extrapolation of these expanded Big Three fractional shares to 2008, again a linear regression of degree one.
From the last pair of charts, when compared with the preceding pair, it may be seen that the European lines are providing a rather steadily increasing proportion of GM's, Ford's and DaimlerChrysler's worst cars and trucks, as they should with increased centralized control, centralized engineering, and parts sharing.
Also, note that GM's share of the worst showed a solid increase in 2003. This drop in quality may reflect the cutting edge of the worsening financial circumstances of GM and most of its supplier base.
From the above extrapolations, it may easily be seen that over the sixteen-year history of Big Three representation on the tables of the worst motor vehicle models, by Reliability Percentrank, Ford and Chrysler have shown improvement, but General Motors remains in decline. And, it should be added, there is very little difference between GM's current regression line and those of the previous two years, as may be seen from the earlier charts appearing below.
On balance, it seems likely that General Motors Corporation will continue to dominate the worst-cars-and-trucks tables for years to come, although maybe not as pronouncedly as in the second half of the decade of the 1990s.
To view the Best and Worst tables for any model year, select from the following menu table.
This page has been updated to include the data that became available in 2006.
Links to Amazon.com: Auto Quality Management Lit
The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles From The World's Greatest Manufacturer December 17, 2003 Toyota Production System: An Integrated Approach to Just-In-Time Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System (This is an article from the Harvard Business Review.) Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production A Study of the Toyota Production System from an Industrial Engineering Viewpoint Team Toyota: Transplanting the Toyota Culture to the Camry Plant in Kentucky 
