“Stuttgart, We Have a Problem…”

November 9, 2004

Via CNN Money:

These models earned ratings Most and Least reliable in Consumer Reports’ 2004 reliability survey.

Small cars

Most reliable: Toyota Corolla, Scion xB, Honda Civic, Mazda3, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Echo, Mitsubishi Lancer (except Evo)

Least reliable: Volkswagen Golf (turbo), Volkswagen Jetta (turbo), Volkswagen New Beetle

Sedans

Most reliable:
Lexus IS300, Acura RL (previous version), Toyota Camry (4-cyl.), Toyota Avalon, Lexus LS430, Lexus GS300/GS430 (previous versions), Buick Regal (discontinued), Pontiac Grand Prix, Hyundai Sonata, Infiniti G35 (AWD)

Least reliable:
Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Jaguar S-Type, BMW 7 Series, Jaguar X-Type, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Mercedes-Benz C-Class (V6), Volvo S60 (AWD), Saab 9-3, Pontiac Grand Prix (supercharged), Volkswagen Passat (AWD), BMW 5 Series

Being a German engineer- this hurts. What happened?

"Oh Lord, don´t you buy me a Mercedes Benz, …"

Update:

Posting on 11/9 on a German topic I should mention some German history related to this date:
11/9/1848
– Excecution of Robert Blum marks the end of the 1948 revolution
11/9/1918
– Revolution against the war – Kaiser abdicated – begin of the German Republic
11/9/1929
– Hitler attempts coup in Munich
11/9/1938
– Kristallnacht
11/9/1989
– The Fall of The Wall
11/9/2004
– German cars are rated least reliable

(via A fistful of €)

Posted by b on November 9, 2004 at 15:57 UTC | Permalink

Comments

Hyundai Sonata is most reliable? Wow!
Why does it feel so ‘tinny’ in a test drive? Or are the 2004s that different from the 1999s?

Posted by: Citizen | Nov 9 2004 17:12 utc | 1

All the rich people at my Dad’s work who have Audis, Mercedes and Volkswagens are at the mechanic’s one week out of every month. It’s just not worth it… not just the cost but the hassle. If you must blow money on a high-profile car purely for show, get a Lexus.

Posted by: kat | Nov 9 2004 17:26 utc | 2

Where’s Mazda?
Do them sell them in the USA?

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Nov 9 2004 18:03 utc | 3

b
I wouldn’t feel too bad if I were you. Remember that half (or more probably) of those surveyed voted for Bush. Just how good can their judgement be?

Posted by: dan of steele | Nov 9 2004 18:54 utc | 4

@Kat I find the cheapest car to maintain is no car 🙂 bike/bus suits me fine — rent a car if absolutely necessary, then it’s not my problem to maintain the darned thing. at some point our possessions begin to own us…

Posted by: DeAnander | Nov 9 2004 19:02 utc | 5

What happened, Bernhard, from what I’ve heard is that Hitler left Germany w/great cars & it’s been downhill from there. Like us, you haven’t kept up w/the Japanese. I wish you’d leapfrog ahead of everyone & start producing the cars Amory Lovins designed w/even SUV’s getting 65 mpg w/exc. safety. Using the ultra-strong light carbon fibre for body, it saves gas by saving weight w/out reducing safety. I’m not as lucky as DeAnander, so I’m waiting for one of those.
I’m surprised that BMW didn’t make the least reliable list. Others must be horrid. I recently got an MD, consumed w/status anxiety to switch from BMW’s to Toyota & Honda. I reminded her that cars were meant to faciliate not complicate our lives. She’s so relieved not to have to worry whether it will start everyday, she’ll never go back.
Toyotas even better than Hondas, since they came 2nd & simplified everything. W/out salt on winter roads to rot the underneath, I get 200k miles. Honda’s start breaking down ~130k. Since you asked as an engineer, here’s the Toyota profile of breakdowns: Timing chain every 60k, water pump 130k, radiator 140k, clutch 150k. That’s it for yr. repair bills.

Posted by: jj | Nov 9 2004 19:30 utc | 6

The worst for Mercedes was a few days back, when the JD Power study came out, with the FT splashing their yearly rankings on the first page. It went something like: first, first, first, third, first, third, second, sixth, third, seventh, 13, 26, 29, 32. Ouch! With a big 3-point star alos on the front page, impossible to miss!
No French cars in that study, of course, they are not sold in the US (unless you count Nissan as part-French…)…
I remmeber when I was 10 or so, my father “merged two 2CV into one – the mechanical parts of one with the body of another – et hop – a brand new car. I doubt this would be possible today…
To DeAnander – I am sorry to say I have a car, but it’s a Renault MPV (Scenic, for those of you familiar with european models) and we mostly use it with 5 people inside, so I suppose it’s not so bad. (I take the metro to work) Our only luxury: a GPS system, so we (and Echelon) know where we are all the time (it’s amazingly effective, btw)!

Posted by: Jérôme | Nov 9 2004 20:01 utc | 7

jérôme & deanander
i’m worse – i take taxis – with a gps & i’m so bolshie that i try speaking to the voice giving directions to explain the state of things
blind in one eye – so id be a great danger on the roads – no depth perception(perhaps that might explain something to pat) though aesthetically i like the look of the scenic jérôme the megane even more so
when the revolution comes they can expropriate everything of mine except my macs, my books, stationary – i’ll gladly give up the rest (perhaps not my leather coat)
still steel
comrade deanander – please don’t accuse me of sexism – i am an exemplary character in that regard after much work

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Nov 9 2004 20:38 utc | 8

@B:
Sorry, I got to concur with the article. Worst car I’ve ever had for maintenance costs and costs of parts was a ’92 VW Fox, built I believe in Brazil.
If that little fart is an example of German engineering, VW would probably be ahead by outsourcing the engineering to the 3 Stooges or Wile E. Coyote.
OT: anyone know of a reasonably priced, low maintenance diesel car?

Posted by: FlashHarry | Nov 9 2004 21:16 utc | 9

Bernhard…………..
Is the Humvee on any reliability lists?
Flash: You can get a diesel Fiesta.

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Nov 9 2004 21:25 utc | 10

My Mazda 626 post
Bought 2000 (2 years old then)
I’ve done 30,000 miles………… aside from the usual oil change……… only one problem….. battery needed to be changed.
It’s 2000cc and does 46mpg on long trips.

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Nov 9 2004 21:28 utc | 11

What happened?
@Bernhard
As an engineer, you should be able to offer some answer to the question posed.
I’ll take a stab.
The Japanese and Korean cars are refined designs (mainly from British and German designs in the first place). The KISS principle.
The latest German cars are innovative. Maybe too innovative.
I’d take the Saab or the S-Class in preference to my Daewoo anyday.

Posted by: DM | Nov 10 2004 10:25 utc | 12

Bernhard,
I am surprised, as I have been driving a SEAT Ibiza for 14 years and switched to a SEAT Arosa a while ago. As far as I know, SEAT has been bought a long time ago by VW and I have been very happy with both of them. I usually bring them for service once a year and that is it, they have been very reliable.

Posted by: Fran | Nov 10 2004 11:56 utc | 13

@DM The latest German cars are innovative. Maybe too innovative.
That´s my best guess too esp. for Mercedes and BMW. The most failing parts are electronics and they put in too many of these to be innovative. The “return” in saftey and comfort of some of these electronics or some 20 electric motors to move a driver seat is getting smaller. The “price” in lesser reliability is getting more expensive. I hope for a new wave of “simple” cars in future and for diesel-electric hybrids.
Until then I´ll keep sharing my Twingo with three grown ups and three kids and will never bother about finding parking space.

Posted by: b | Nov 10 2004 12:12 utc | 14

Yep, you hear more and more “horror” stories about car electronics going crazy; the car stopping and refusing to start again, equipement jamming for no explainable reason…
There have been two stories recently about a car and truck where the speed regulator got stuck at very high speed and the driver could not stop his car/truck for many miles and had to zigzag on the freeway between normal traffic.
And today, the scariest news of all: Microsoft want to be “as ubiquitous in the car as in the office”. Please god, no Microsoft in our cars!

Posted by: Jérôme | Nov 10 2004 12:46 utc | 15

And today, the scariest news of all: Microsoft want to be “as ubiquitous in the car as in the office”. Please god, no Microsoft in our cars!
That should be fun: Developing viruses for Microsofts Car Control System. Imagine all the weird stuff one could influence – blink right, turn left – open the roof when its raining – change the location parameter in the MS Registry from Paris to London influencing the “right” side of the street – blue screen at 120 MPH – reset while pushing the breaks.

Posted by: b | Nov 10 2004 13:02 utc | 16

I read recently that the BMW 5 series was named the most unreliable of all, due to the new fancy-dancy electronics which are unreliable. I hate the look of the new BMWs anyway. One can only ask why and beg them to go back 🙂

Posted by: x | Nov 10 2004 13:30 utc | 17

It surprises me that German cars rank so badly. Probably reflects upon the latest models and not on the good old stuff. Then, I’m always wary of automatic windows and would prefer if we still had the old hand-moved ones. Not to mention I don’t think I’ll ever buy a car with electronic doors for fear of the whole thing falling out – then I don’t have any plan to buy any car ever.
Micro$oft dealing with cars? Well, it’s an old joke, but it’s already been planned.

Posted by: Clueless Joe | Nov 10 2004 14:26 utc | 18

CJ – thanks for the link. I’ve read it many times (and always quote the Airbag line, my favorite) but it’s good to have a link for it now!

Posted by: Jérôme | Nov 10 2004 16:00 utc | 19

Not to mention that generally speaking, the Japanese cars get better gas mileage. I could almost get past the number of things that go wrong with my VW Passat, but the crummy gas mileage gets under my skin every time I get in the damn car.
I don’t get it – Europeans have been suffering with high fuel prices for years (something we Americans are just getting used to) so why haven’t they done anything about fuel efficiency? Or do the European car makers just send us their lowest MPG models for spite?
OT- I haven’t been around here for awhile. It’s so nice to see the names of old WB friends. In case you’re wondering, this has been one really completely awful week here in Bushland. Please allow me to extend my personal apologies for inflicting Bush on the rest of the world for four more years. I tried my best not to let this happen. 🙁

Posted by: semper ubi | Nov 10 2004 17:21 utc | 20

let me be the first to welcome you back semper ubi.
I do believe that the european cars you are familiar with in the US are not the ones that get the great gas mileage. There is for example the VW Lupo which takes just 3 liters of diesel to travel 100 kilometers. Folks tend to buy big european cars in the US so that is what is offered. It is incredibly expensive to get the crash testing and all that is required to sell a car in the US so automakers tend to focus on what sells.
A friend of mine who was just recently in New York City tells me he saw a lot of Smart cars there. If you travel a lot by yourself or with no more than one other person, this is the car for you.

Posted by: Dan of Steele | Nov 10 2004 19:42 utc | 21

welcome – semper ubi
Or do the European car makers just send us their lowest MPG models for spite?
Market share for Diesel car with higher efficiency is some 50% in Europe. That plus smaller cars than marketed in The US makes for much less average MPGs – even if we drive faster.

Posted by: b | Nov 10 2004 19:47 utc | 22

welcome back to lonesomeG also!

Posted by: b real | Nov 10 2004 19:49 utc | 23

I’m getting on a waiting list for a Japanese hybrid. Are there many hybrids in Europe now? It’s just starting to take off here, and it’s about time. But naturally, it’s the Japanese who are out in front of this one. US car makers are still in a race to create the biggest, most most obscene, most gas-guzzling SUV the all-American macho male could dream of.
(thanks Dan of S and b- it’s nice to be back.)

Posted by: semper ubi | Nov 10 2004 20:45 utc | 24

OT:
Barbie with pink boots with the special lace-ups are going to be a big hit for Christmas.

Posted by: Blackie | Nov 10 2004 21:09 utc | 25

Japanese hybrid
None in Germany, lots of diesel, natural gas is picking up. The car industry is sleeping on hybrids – unfortunatly.
Is there a “total efficiency” calculation on hybrids somewhere? It takes more energy to build a hybrid than a “normal” car and I just don´t know how that values against lower gas consumtion.

Posted by: b | Nov 10 2004 21:17 utc | 26

Hybrids are not so competitive in Europe when most modern diesel engines (around 50% of the market and climbing, 70% in France, including close to 90% for top-of-the-range cars) provide pretty much the same kind of fuel efficiency (in the 40 MPG range – that’s 6l/100km in European units), with very low emissions and a cheaper price. (plus in France, diesel is still 20c/l cheaper (1$/gal less, approx. 5$/gal vs 6$/gal for unleaded).

Posted by: Jérôme | Nov 10 2004 21:22 utc | 27

I have Toyota for 4 years (was new at the time of buying) and am happy with it. No more expenses then usual service. Friend (who is dentist and need to buy buy buy in order to lower his tax on his huge income) bought Lexus 4WD (don’t know exact name) but he paid around $130 000 for it. It’s OK and I like GPS and fridge and DVD , and leather and luxuries of all kinds (we often go together for weekends) but no bloody way I would pay that amount of money for car even if I have millions. Then again I don’t care for cars. For me if it’s comfortable and going well and could take me from A to B with no too much cost and trouble…it’s OK for me…

Posted by: vbo | Nov 11 2004 2:03 utc | 28

My 1999 BMW 740i Sport is the least reliable car I have ever owned – “the ultimate headache and money pit”. It is in the shop every other month for either an electrical problem or cooling system issue. Parts & service are expensive. A co worker with the same car has had the same issues. These cars are terrible to own. They drive great, but I cannot wait to get rid of it. I am going back to Lexus.

Posted by: george | Oct 24 2005 1:25 utc | 29

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