Cars Are Great, Until They’re NotCars Are Great, Until They’re Not

My first car, a 1967 Fiat, was a blast to drive – when it wasn’t in the shop for repairs. Which, alas, was often.

I was at the Fiat dealership so much I got to know the service department people and the dealer, Sam Goldfarb. Even he was irked by Fiat’s build quality back then.

“When a car is shipped to the dealership, and the roll-up window handles are lying on its floor, we’re not doing dealer prep,” he once told me. “We’re doing final assembly.”

Fiat left the American market in 1983 with its tail between its legs.

Today’s Fiats are much better made, although sales since the brand’s return to the U.S. have been tepid. 

In a way, the Italian brand is still trying to live down the old reputation that Fiat stands for “Fix it again, Tony.” It also doesn’t help to be a tiny car in a beefy SUV-crazy market.   

I thought about my love-hate relationship with my old Fiat (which incidentally also rusted away before my very eyes) while listening to Jake Fisher talk about the reliability of today’s vehicles. He did so during a presentation of Consumer Reports’ 2024 Automotive Report Card.

Fisher is the senior director of automotive testing at CR’s test track, where staffers assess how well vehicles perform under various conditions.
That’s vital information for dealers. They might consider that many of their customers are veteran car buyers with histories of car experiences, good and bad. Lots of them want to keep it simple. “We always hear from consumers, ‘Make this car easy to use,’” Fisher says.  

CR also relies on vehicle owner surveys to determine vehicle quality or lack thereof to assemble its annual report.        

“If a vehicle is not standing the test of time, it’s probably not good for you,” says Fisher.

Reliability is a significant factor in how CR ranks and recommends vehicles. Other factors include owner satisfaction and maintenance/repair costs. 

There’s a delicate balance for a dealership’s service department. 

On the one hand, it should ideally be a strong profit center. On the other hand, if people constantly bring in their vehicles for repairs, chances are you won’t see them later as a return customer in the showroom.

Toyota and co-brand Lexus typically top the ranking of CR’s annual Automotive Report Card. Not this year, though.

Subaru took the top spot for the first time. Fisher calls it “a shocker.”

Helping to propel Subaru to the top were its Forester and Impreza. CR lauded them for “outstanding reliability.”

Lexus was No.2 on the list, followed in order by Toyota, Honda, its co-brand Acura and Mazda. Those top six are all Japanese brands.

The Germans kicked in at No.7 and No.8 with Audi and BMW, respectively. Next came the South Koreans: Kia was No.9 and Hyundai No.10.

The Americans didn’t show up until Buick took 11^th place and Ford 13^th, sandwiched between Nissan.

Worse, U.S. brands held the dubious distinction of holding the four bottom spots, in descending order: Jeep, GMC, Cadillac and Rivian, a relatively new electric-vehicle maker.

CR recently presented its findings to the Automotive Press Assn., based in Detroit. During a Q&A, someone asked the obvious question: Why did the home-team domestics score so low?

Fisher replied: “The ones doing well, such as Toyota and Subaru, stick to incremental changes. Domestic brands have changed directions several times.”

He singles out General Motors for developing and then killing the Chevrolet Cruze with a diesel engine, the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid and the Chevy Bolt battery-electric vehicle.

“It’s growing pains,” Fisher says. “When an automaker puts in a new powertrain, it takes time to get it down right. 

“With time, things will absolutely improve but some (automakers) take longer than others. Automakers that stay the course do much better.”

GM could argue it is agile and able to pivot by switching up vehicles and powertrains as the market changes. 

CEO Mary Barra said last year GM pulled the plug on Bolt production to make room for a new generation of EVs, such as the Cadillac Lyriq, which Fisher says has had battery issues.

Unsurprisingly, vehicles with internal-combustion engines outperformed EVs in reliability. That’s because automakers are still fixing bugs on their recently introduced EVs. 

“We’re seeing a lot of electronics complaints,” Fisher says. 

Rivian is an irony on wheels.

In 2021, it was the first automaker to bring to market a battery-electric pickup truck. GM, Ford and Tesla followed. 

Yet Rivian is dead last on CR’s reliability ranking. Raps against it include high-voltage battery failures triggering error messages.

“Being so new doesn’t translate well regarding reliability,” says Fisher.

Despite its problems, Rivian buyers give it high marks in customer satisfaction. 

“That’s OK, as long as you know what you’re getting into,” Fisher says of the dichotomy.