If Ford can keep this up they may be able to start making money off their cars instead of their daughter companies being sold.

I guess these guys must be paid off right? Where are all the fanboy's? Come on in and tell everyone why you know better than all the org's that have been saying Ford has made great strides.

Btw. I am a Tundra owner and even I can admit it. Waiting for your "expert" advice.

The US hands down is now making the best power trains in the world. The US has been delivering more HP/Gas mileage for several years not now.

LOL. Who the hell will believe the report when Toyota is not number one and Subaru is number 2? Give me a break! Yes, Ford is improved. But, sorry, Ford still sucks. Buying a Ford is like buying a Creative MP3 player. No matter how good it is, it is just a Ford!

Roy,

A few points. Does it surprise you that Honda is number 1? On what recent experience do you base your opinions of Ford on? Do you actually have experience or are you just basing your opinion of Ford on just that..... opinion?

You know, just because Toyota has been making reliable vehicles doesn't mean it will always be that way. Also, even though Ford has been having a bad streak over the past 10 years or so doesn't mean they cannot pull out of it.

You people act like you are enthusiasts and objective, but most of you are far from it. It wouldn't hurt to open your eyes every now and then and stop the blind hatred.

I am suprised honda has rated so highly with all the transmission problems they have. Everyone I know has had to replace their honda transmissions between 80 & 100 k miles

I have a 94 Honda Civic LX with 190,000 miles and have had no major issues except the radiator and the light switch. But I am probably one of those unusual people who get their vehicles serviced regularly.

I honestly believe that for the most part, no matter what type of car you drive, if you service your vehicle at the recommended times, including oil changes, then your car will be virtually as reliable as day you bought it.

I have had a honda civic 2000 Ex for 8 years now and I never had a problem with a honda, I dont even service that damn thing. The last time i checked my oil was last year sometime in the summer, the only thing is i used synthetic oil. It still drives like a charm. Only things changed from the beginning was oil, brakes, tires etc the normal wear and tear stuff. Infact my dad had a ford the broke completely after 5 years of usage (my parents driver slow everyday), he was so impressed with the civic they bought their own in '06. The only reason I am going to change mine is because I just want to drive a different car, it wont be a ford. If fords get out of the slump they're in thats great, they need to be more solid and they still have a long way to go to even reach the reliability of toyota or honda. I'm no fan boy but good word spreads quick.

Have you driven a ford lately !?
Still the same old crap just in a new wrapper.
America makes great war machines , tanks and figther jets
Amerian made cars only can wish to be as good as toyota
Ford is still SHlT in my book , but maybe one day they will get it right . Hennry Ford was just a sIave-driver and the model T was was the only ford worth anything.

I love all the morons who's only thought process is "American made equals shit."

"Hennry Ford was just a sIave-driver and the model T was was the only ford worth anything."

Wow this comment takes the cake. Yes, the first car Ford ever made on a mass scale was the only car they ever made that was good. Are you really that fucking stupid?

I have no love for Ford since I am a GM guy, but even I have the open mindedness to recognize that their quality is going up. It's really quite sad that Americans who claim to love their country have such a low view of the products that people in their own country produce. Perhaps we should be more like China. You know, because there isn't any problems with the stuff they make...

But I will continue to buy American cars. Because the GM and Ford of the mid-80s no longer applies. I have no respect for the majority of the organizations rating cars either. When a magazine like Car & Driver does a performance test of all the sport compacts out there and gives the win to the Acura RSX despite it not coming in first in ANY test? Yeah, thats unbiased. And in my mind, Consumer Reports isn't any better. There is an anti-American product bias in nearly all auto-related media. Motor Trend is the only one I'll read.

That being said, maybe with this report coming out, all the people out there who view Toyota as this infallible car company will take a step back and actually pay attention.

"...According to Consumer Reports, Toyota's predicted reliability..."

Am I the only one that saw the word "predicted"? We should all know that predictions are just that, predictions. Time will tell the real tale.

No matter what you buy-- care for it, and it will serve you well.

Honda FTW, always been that way.
My 01 Sienna has been a great vehicle so far. 73k miles and not one repair needed. Tires and oil.
Same with our 02 Accord with 83K miles.

I am happy to see Ford improving on quality and would say the same for GM or Chrysler, however, they will need to come a lot further before I switch from Honda.

You're wrong David.

I have great love for my country and love the Hondas my fellow citizens produce.

I really like the look of the new Malibu, it looks like they may finally be putting some money into their cars.
We will see though.
By the time I am ready to replace the Accord, time will have shown if the Mailbu is a reliable, quality car. If it is, I would be happy to buy one. But, inital quality doesn't cut it with me. I will go test drive a 5 year old Malibu and see how it has held up over time. I will see if its full of rattles and creaks and if it still looks as great as my Accord does 5 years later. If it passes that test, I will seriously consider one.

First thing I would like to point out is that no matter what brand of product you buy, there always a chance of getting a lemon... So its natural that if you do encounter a bad product, w/e it may be, you will most likely avoid it for as long as the name still exists, even when major improvements are done by that specific manufacturer. Is it rational behavior, no... Is it understandable, very much so.

However rather than just spitting on FORD, maybe you should acknowleadge the facts and realise that they are getting better while in constrat, some Japanese compagnies are slacking off in the reliability department... (Nissan comes to mind). Also try to realise that this kind of competition is healthy for the consumer, since north american auto makers will have to eventually wake up and start making better and even more reliable products if they want to stay competitive.

Just to add my 2cents about Toyota reliability: I have a 2003 Corolla and it has over 224 000km on it... Ive never had a issue with the vehicle:)

I wish I could put a picture here:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c140/jedisentinal/simpsons_nelson_haha2.jpg

Purchased a new leftover '06 Fusion S I4 Manual in March '07 for $11995. Highest quality fit and finish of any Ford I've ever seen and no problems after 8K mi. Drives much better than my '97 Acura CL with 135K ever did. Look again at this Ford before expressing yourselves with such profane words.

I have had a 1978 Ford Fairmont Futura and a 1998 Ford Windstar. The transmission went on both of them. They had alot of miles on them.

I am more of a Nissan driver now. My 1996 pickup is doing great even after 11 years. I usually travel to and from work in it. It only has 69,000 miles on it. :) I really like it.

I own both a Ford and a Toyota and I am 100% happy with both of them granted my Toyota only has 3k miles on it. My Ford on the other hand has 124,000 miles and it is still going strong. Like a few posters here mentioned I believe if you take care of your vehicle(s) and keep up on the maintenance in general your vehicle will treat you well.

Lets all be open minded and thank Honda, Toyota and Subaru for bringing such strong benchmarks in quality/reliability to the industry, who knows w/o them things could be much worse.

Happy driving!

Wow, that sounded like a screaming good deal Coleman!

I love Davids comments as he is open minded in many respects but one. David, please explain to me what an American Car is? The GM built in Mexico by Mexican workers or the Honda built in Alabama by people who live there, raise their families there and pay taxes there? The concept of a domestic car and a foreign car is nearly gone. What matters to most is reliability, measured by number of failures out of x thousands of cars. Sure people will say an Accord is ugly, boring, etc....Those folks can buy a bright red Dodge Charger that swallows gas and within 3 years will leak from every pore on it's engine and drivetrain due to substandard gaskets and milling of the surfaces. It sounds kool, it has horsepower and the resale is near zero. Buy it because it sounds kool if you want, that's your right in this country. My vote is how long will it run on how little money. That says Honda, Subaru and Toyota...the fact that Toyota is slipping is it's own fault...currently they are too interested in taking the Chrysler path of what looks kool instead of what functions the best.

Honda #1? Well that doesn't surprise me , I have always thought Honda made some of the most reliable cars. Hey my 92 accord is proof of that, 290000kms I drive it every day, rarely breaks down and the their engines and trannies are solid as a rock..well as long as you don't beat on them like those little ricer s*&ts do, then you will have that honda for along time. I Luv my HONDA ACCORD

Keith,

Just because it's made in America doesn't automatically mean it sucks. You know it's possible for the American auto makers to improve, and I suspect we are going to see great strides in the future now that they have taken some control over the unions and aren't going to be bleeding as much money to those leaches.

Quality is one thing and I for sure give Ford what they deserve on doing such much better in this case.
That being said, they still piss me off when I look at what Europe get FROM Ford vs what Ford gives us.
My god, take a look at the 2008 Mondeo (Europes Torrus)
h**p://www.autosbikes.com/content/uploads/2006/12/2007-ford-mondeo-1.jpg
You can see what a difference it is. Europe's Fords are Fords I would gladly open my checkbook for.

we all know honda makes the best reliable engines/trannys nowadays. yea they might not be the most powerful, most torque in its class but they last. i've had my 88 civic since it was new and now have 289kmiles and only been replaceing the needed belts/oils. move along toyota/ford/chevy and everyone else.

There are cars that are made in America but have Japanes or German names. Honda has a factory in Ohio. Toyota has a factory in California. Subaru has a factory in Indiana. Nissan has a factory in Tennessee. Volkswagen has (or had) a factory in Pennsylvania. There are cars that are made overseas or outside the USA but have American car brands. I believe the Chrysler makes the Caravan in Canada. The Mercury Merkur is made in Germany. One can not go by the company name as to where it is made. Car companies have factories all over the world.

The crankshaft problem on the Tundra is a bad stumble for Toyota...can't think of a worse part to self-destruct.

I feel that the problem with American made cars is not the drivetrain, but all the small things. Case in point, the Pontiac Grand Am. It has re-occurring issues such as the driver's power window, turn signal blinkers, etc etc. Small things maybe, but when Pontiac wants to charge you $400 to fix the window for the 3rd time in a year.... well, maybe not so small after all! On the other hand, with 70k miles, I have had zero drivetrain-related problems. (Although I would consider 70k miles as the break-in period only.)

Until the last few years, I always felt like the Japanese automakers avoided a lot of these "small item" reliability issues by simply not including them at all. (My Honda Odyssey EX doesn't even have auto-on headlights for example). Now that they market demand has shifted and they are including them, it will remain to be seen if that affects their reliability scores in the long term.

Congrats to Ford. I like to see companies in the US making strides in quality. I personally have left the domestic cars since the late 80's early 90s due to having several terrible cars. They were olds and buick. My last great car was a Buick Skylark in the 70's...that was a horse! So, perhaps one day they can earn back the trust I lost and shelve my Toyota/Honda for a Ford..This coming from a die hard Honda guy too ;) Again, kudos Ford, keep up the good work and start making money again soon, it's good for our economy!

I am the poor america that can only afford to buy a new car very 5 or 6 years . The 34K jap car costs me much less than a 30K GM or FORD car in my period of ownership . Frist is resale value which should tell you all you need to known,, jap cars win without a doubt.. Repairs, most jap cars won't need anything major (100k) and if they do it only has to be fixed ONCE and jap car dealers are honest in there billing of repair work. So why should I take a chance on "" THE NEW "" ford or GM when I KNOW a toyota is a sure bet...
And why should I pay for the retirement benefits to the guys who built those crappy fords and gm cars I brought and had so many problems with in the 70s, 80s and early 90s... Thank god for toyota / lexus and the three and four year warranty

I haven't needed a flatbed since !!!!!!!!!!!

Buddy, if you can afford a $34K car...you're not the "poor America".

ummmm..... "poor america" and buying a $34k car? Ok buddy, I have to agree with WS, you are not in the group that you refer to as "poor america".

THREE WORDS:

LONG-TERM RELIABILITY!!!

THREE WORDS:

LONG-TERM RELIABILITY!!!

I would have to say that if you wanted LONG-TERM RELIABILITY!!!! you should have gone with Honda or Toyota. I know many people that have been having problems with Nissans(350z's and Maxima's in particular).
Nissan does not have the reliability it once had, and I am sure you can look this info up.
Three words..... STOP SMOKING CRACK!!! ;)

I would have to say that if you wanted LONG-TERM RELIABILITY!!!! you should have gone with Honda or Toyota. I know many people that have been having problems with Nissans(350z's and Maxima's in particular).
Nissan does not have the reliability it once had, and I am sure you can look this info up.
Three words..... STOP SMOKING CRACK!!! ;)

Sorry about the double post, had some network problems...

Its no surprise Ford moved up in quality considering they are finally producing cars that are, well, cars, not steaming piles of crap.

But Toyota is going to be trying to catch up like all hell, as it knows that one of the reasons it sells so well is its reliability. Ford on the other hand still needs to get in the top five. Yes the Crankshaft on the 5.7L Tundra was a bad problem, but hey, at least they fixed it early. American automakers still seem to follow the formula of "if only so many people complain, its not an issue."

Honda, I've figured out, cannot produce a bad car. Why? Dunno, maybe it has something to do with the name: if you have ever played Street Fighter (I'm dating myself here) then you never lost when you played as Honda did you? Did you?

To Icester: you've never owned an S-10 Blazer! I wish I had a Grand Am over that thing, and yes, I too have had to fix grand ams in the past.

I am glad to see Ford move up in reliability. I believe that all carmakers have made continual strides in reliability.(The US makers followed by the Korea have made continuous improvement in quality and reliability). Toyota's slip should come as no surprise, as they have increased their market share their reliability (QC) may have taken a hit. I still believe that the best barometer for individual model rating is at a car forum site (i.e. Edmunds or a vehicle specific site). CR rating system's major fault is it's rating system gives equal measure for small problems (squeak/rattle) as well as large(trany problems, fuel issues and the like). By studying a specific model over a period of time(1 yr,3yrs), one has a better understanding of its overall reliability.

Its no surprise that Ford's quality has improved. They've been on the ball with all their new vehicle launches creating cars with the same vision that Toyota uses, make conservatively styled yet reasonably attractive vehicles with above average finish, performance and reliability. You couldn't of said that about Ford 5 years ago. Its a shame the other Detroit manufacturers are still very far behind.
Now, I'm not saying Ford's engineers and management have managed to do a complete 180. In fact, Ford's smartest move recently was its purchase of a portion of Mazda. The Ford Fusion is simply a lengthened Mazda 6 dressed up like a Ford. Also Ford and Mazda have been able to share technology. The impressive new 3.5L engine on the Ford Taurus was designed by Mazda. Other cars in Ford's line-up like the Focus have older more proven (although not as advanced) technology. But you really do have to hand it to Ford for being the First of the Big 3 to successfully start building cars that can compete with Japanese reliability.

Just a few other observations:
Toyota is a very large company, *obviously*. Honda isn't quite as large. Toyota actually owns a lot of part suppliers like AISIN and DENSO to name a few. AISIN fabricates a lot of transmissions for Honda based on Honda designs. Aisin also supplies GM, Ford and Nissan with parts as well.
Denso also supplies parts to GM, Ford, Honda and Nissan in addition to Toyota. Obviously though, AISIN and Denso's largest customer is Toyota.

Now as for Toyota's "plummet in quality". Who ever came up with this title is obviously a domestic fanboy or exceptionally retarded. Plummet would imply a significant drop. Going from 1st to 3rd is a drop but isn't a plummet. To be far, Toyota has the most diverse and possibly largest unique product line up. Its like GM where the GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado are more or less the same vehicle. Toyota's line up has unique cars Yaris to Avalon, RAV4 to Sequia, Sienna, and Tacoma to Tundra. Add in the fact that Lexus and Scion cars future similar platforms but different bodies and you have a more difficult manufacturing situation. Also note that Toyota, foolishly, released a lot of new powertrain technologies recently including a new 3.5L V6, 5.7L V8, new 6speed transmission to name a few. They're in the process of rapidly expanding with finite engineering resources while the Big3 have an excess capacity of such resources.

Also just another curious thing. Subaru is partially owned by Toyota. Where do you think Toyota goes for its AWD? Toyota bought Fuji heavy industries which not only owns Suburu but also makes parts for Boeing Aerospace.

Just a note, I drive a Toyota Camry which is now 7 years old. It has no issues although I do take good car. My brother just purchased a new Fusion with the 2.3L I4. He got a good deal on it so he's pretty impressive with the car he got for the money. He basically got a roomier Mazda 6 for a lot less!

In closing, Good for Ford. Its nice to see them improving quality. A lot of people comment on how Ford isn't making too much money. Unless GM and Chrystler, I honestly believe they're trying very hard to make high quality cars that will rebuilt Ford's reputation for innovation.

Curtis R,

Excellent post with common sense. No blind loyalty to one side or the other that seems to be very common in these forums. Thanks for a level headed response lacking ignorance.

I personally have had little trouble with Ford reliability. I have a '97 Ford Escort with 247,775 miles that still runs and looks great.

Casey

I bought a 2007 Camry SE V6 and have had nothing but problems with it. Transmission slips, creaking dash and windshield, A pillar airbag cover replaced 3 times, center console stack does not line up, dash is not flush next to A & B pillars (haven't seen one yet that was), knocking noise in rear strut tower (fixed after two dealer visits, they added sound insulation), driver side armrest fabric peeling off (seen at first delivery of vehicle ), radio head unit freezes up randomly (dealer cannot fix because they cannot duplicate), steering is very loose and vehicle drifts on road (safety concern, dealer stated characteristic of tire), front grill loose on right side (dealer fixed) and seat plastic rail covers broken upon delivery (dealer fixed). Vehicle also idles rough in cold weather (dealer stated bad gas).Each dealer visit required me to leave the car once for ordering the part and a second time for installation. I have wasted way too much time at dealerships having my car repaired to ever consider buying another Toyota again. Over all I should have tested other cars before buying Toyota based on its reliability alone.

Ed,

I would be willing to bet that the vast majority of the vehicles won't have the same amount of problems you have had so far. I have a 2005 Tundra DC 4x4 and it's been a great truck, one recall and only one minor issue that I haven't had fixed yet.

Curtis brings even more evidence to help level the american / import arguement. Global sourcing for global cars.

I don't think auto manufacturer even applies anymore. Auto designers and assemblers is closer.

Automakers design vehicles, then source out the majority of the component work to established facilities that specialize in that particular product. You think GM makes their own belts and hoses ? Hell no, Gates does. You think Toyota makes their own windshields ? Wrong. Pilkington, PPG, and others do.

Since we're speaking of Ford here, they did make one step backwards in the quality department despite taking steps forward. Allowing Delphi to enter into bidding to supply audio and video components in their vehicles starting with the 2004 model year. It was like pissing in Visteon's face.

The per unit cost Delphi bid was roughly 75 cents lower. Obviously that adds up to millions very quickly, but not worth losing a customer over. (And yes boys and girls, people will swear off an automaker over something as simple as the RDS display system in their radio because it didn't update the text as quickly as they liked.)
These units are JUNK ! Just about anybody who has owned a GM vehicle probably has a radio that is missing paint on the buttons and bezel (myself included) How many years did Delphi have to resolve that issue ?

Don't answer, it was a trick question. As early as 6 months after buying a new Ford, customers were headed back to the dealer because the radio had leprosy !

So who do you blame when you bring your car in to have the radio exchanged ? Ford of course. Even though they didn't make it. So who is really to blame for Toyota's "predicted" reliablilty issues ? Them ? A vendor ? A manufacturing facility ? Poorly programmed assembly line robots ? Poor design and/or manufacturing account for all "signature" flaws in any product.

My oldest car relevant in this conversation is a 96 Sable (plain ol' 3.0) daily driver that doesnt get garaged. 180,000 miles and no squeaks, or rattles, or leaks, or drivetrain issues, and the a/c gets drawn down and recharged every year. Nothing in the a/c system has ever needed replacing. The interior plastics and fabrics haven't gotten bleached like i see in some imports that sit outside. Plenty of room for my fishing gear and my 6' 3" frame.
I've added DRL's, auto-headlamps, and remote start with full entry ala AstroFlex. And of course my BF Goodrich Traction T/A's make for one of my favorite daily drivers.

@ Trooper Bri:

Excellent post. I think the vast majority of people still have the notion that automakers build every component for a car. The reality is that Ford/Toyota/GM outsource interior components/ specialized suspension components/ rubber goods/windows/ audio components etc from a variety of vendors.

I agree that almost every latemodel GM with a Delco audio unit usually has missing paint on its buttons. While functions are not affected, the appearance of quality is lacking. (Again GM proper is not directly at fault, however they are indirectly by allowing a substandard part to continue in its fleet).

The new 3.5 L in the Taurus is actually the coproject between GM and FORD, that ended up in the Edge as well.
Secondly, there is one thing about buying a foreign car that can always be argued: Even though all companies have some outsourcing, the fact of the matter still remains, if you buy American, your money stays in America. If you buy Japanese, your money goes to Japan. It's not really a bad thing, I mean, the US has a good relationship with Japan, for the most part, but it's certainly something to think about.

"In the past Consumer Reports has based the reliability of future Toyota's on the past performance of older models. This practice has ended," "According to Consumer Reports, Toyota's predicted reliability has slipped"

This article doesn't state how Consumer Reports calculate their "Predicted Reliability" rating. Unless they're using MKULTRA I can't see how they can "predict" reliability.

On side note, Domestic cars loose their value almost at double rates of most Imports. Anyone who buys them are careless about finances or likes to waste money.

I do not buy cars very often as I tend to keep them at least 10 years before swaping them out and since I switched to Toyota years ago, I have always been able to sell my car to a friend or someone that I know from work. When I had GM and Fords, I was lucky to keep them more than 3 or 4 years since they seem to be so poorly made. The good thing was that the insurance was cheaper due to the value of the car depreciating so quickly, the bad thing was that I could not give my car away when I was through with them. The fact still remains that it actually cost me more to drive American cars since they were unreliable, depriciated so quickly, and I had to trade them rather than having a friend or co-working wanting to buy them before I went to the dealers. Perhaps Ford has improved, its hard to believe that they could go down in reliability. Did I mention that all of my Fords were always in the shop and one was a lemon? One of the non-lemon one was at the dealers every month for usually a week at a time being repaired in the first two years that I had it. Good luck to those who still think Ford and GM are the way to go. My GM's were not bad, but they were Oldsmobiles which GM decided to stop production on. Go figure!

I don't buy imports because even though some are made here, the profit leaves the country. Yeah, people get employed. Now we are working for other countries. Sound familiar? And with the money leaving the country, they end up printing more of it and (giving out refunds) now your dollar is worth less. That $2.00 loaf of bread is now $2.75. Not trying to preach. My wife owns an 02 Tahoe, made in Canada. Even though they employ the Canadians, the profit comes back to the US manufacturer. Also, I would really like to find out who is controlling the US car manufacterers ie. Chysler/Damler. Could it be that foreign ownership/influence are driving the quality of Ford, GM, etc? We'll all find out when every US auto manufacturer is gone. We'll be saying, it serves them right for making such junk! Toyota, Honda, and BMW will be laughing their way to the bank.

Ha Ha, we sure will Joe, looks like in about 6 months we might just know exactly what it's like to not have a domestic auto maker in America. Even if that retarded bailout passes, they'll all go down sooner than later. And yes, it serves them right.

I really wish they would have owned up, fought the unions harder, and committed themselves to quality a LONG time ago. It's been too long to turn it around for probably 5 years now.

Having only imports sold new in this country will be devastating to the market. We're all going to lose out on this one.