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Top Consumer Reports Car Honors All Go to Asia

U.S. Automakers Shut Out for First Time

March 2, 2006

• Global Auto Market Faces "Outright Collapse" in 2009 • Ford Flex, Mazda Cx-9 Rank Among Best Three-Row SUVs • Hispanic-Americans Pay More For Used Car Loans • GM Offers Employee Prices to Spur Slow Sales • U.S. Consumers Favor Japanese and German Automakers • Automakers Report Huge Drop in Sales • GM Cuts Prices for February • Toyota Sales for 2007 May Surpass GM • New GM Sale May Challenge Bargain Hunters • GM Hangs on as World's No. 1 Automaker • Saturn Outlook Gets High Marks from Consumer Reports • Summer Car Sales Start to Sizzle • Consumer Reports Lists Best New Car Deals • Chrysler Dumps Remaining 2006 Inventory on Used Car Market --- • More about Auto Sales ...

Japanese automakers were at the top of the list in Consumer Reports' annual ratings of the best and most reliable cars and trucks. Asian vehicles took all the spots in the "top picks" list for the first time ever.

The results are a setback for Ford Motor Co. and General Motors. Both companies have pledged to mount a comeback in their home market and say they have been fighting lagging consumer perceptions of the quality of their offerings.

Honda Motor Co.'s redesigned Civic was named top small sedan for 2006, while the Honda's first-ever pickup, the Ridgeline, won top truck honors.

Consumer Reports also warned that most automakers' efforts to improve quality are losing steam

"The progress that some of the manufacturers have been making seems to have stalled," said David Champion, senior director of the magazine's automotive test center in East Haddam, Conn.

The annual April auto issue of Consumer Reports is available on newsstands March 7. It is the magazine's most-read issue and is widely regarded as one of the most influential automotive reports.

Honda's Odyssey was named top minivan, while its luxury nameplate Acura took honors for top upscale sedan for its TL model.

Toyota Motor Corp. won a top pick for its Highlander Hybrid (best mid-sized SUV) and its hybrid Prius, named best "green" car by the magazine for the third consecutive year.

Subaru, a unit of Fuji Heavy Industries, won two top picks from the magazine: best small SUV for its Forester and most fun to drive for its Impreza WRX STi sports car.

Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti M35 was named top luxury sedan, a potential shot in the arm for a brand that has been lagging in U.S. sales so far this year.

Japanese brands also dominated the magazine's annual survey of consumer satisfaction and reliability.

Infiniti Slumps

Infiniti, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s luxury brand, fared the worst in this year's reliability report, plummeting 20 places from eighth to 28th because of widespread problems with its QX56 luxury SUV.

The magazine ranked the troubled SUV as the least reliable new vehicle on the market today. Porsche was the worst-rated brand. Chevrolet also fell sharply in this year's quality rankings.

Of the 69 cars and trucks Consumer Reports rated "good bets" for used car buyers, 59 carried Japanese nameplates, while just 8 were from domestic brands. Noticeably absent from that list were any products from the Chrysler Group, which includes the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands.

American brands accounted for 22 of the 34 "bad bets" -- a list that included no Japanese models. Chevy had the most models on the list.

Consumer Reports, published by the nonprofit Consumers Union, bases its top picks on the findings of a team of engineers and technicians who test vehicles and on its survey results.

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