J.D. Power Ranks Most Reliable Vehicles

It’s very enlightning watching people suddenly start trashing JD Powers. They dare to say that a domestic car maker made a good car that owners liked…there was no such problem when they rated Japanese cars as being satisfying. 30 years ago people said Jap cars and bikes were made from pot metal and would never be as good as European or American cars. Now people are so trusting of Toyota that when a Chevy Cobalt is rebadge as a Toyota it’s road test raing rose 20 points. Instead of bashing the domestics and anyone who doesn’t say their trash, take a few minutes and check one out. Hopefully with an open mind.

Black and white TV’s are longer lasting and more reliable than plasma sets, but wouldn’t you rather watch a plasma TV? Just because a car is reliable doesn’t mean it’s worth driving. Reliability doesn’t necessarily equal satisfaction. When I was in college, I bought a used, cheap (CHEAP!) Jeep Wrangler that was loud, crude, bouncy, uncomfortable, impossible to heat in the winter, and chicks hated riding in it. But it NEVER broke down. I wanted it to break down, get hit by a plow in the parking lot, catch fire, get stolen, roll into the drainage pond, have a cracked engine block, any kind of catastrophic fateful end just so I could justify getting another car to my parents. But no, it was a reliable but miserable car to own. There are other considerations when buying a car, such as gas mileage, smoothness, power, steering feel, handling, ride, comfort, price, trade in value, safety, insurance cost, and aesthetics.

Please stop shilling for Honda, the back end of the 2008 Accord looks like a 2007 Azera. Just another generic Honda! 500K units sold (get real)

The 2008 Chevy Malibu will be the real suprise to new car buyers in this segment. Looks like GM will have a winner!

I read lots of reviews about the new Accord and saw its specs and styling, and I am AMAZED at the HUGE HOME RUN Honda has achieved here.

There was no “New Accord” (or even any Accord) blog here, so I post it here for lack of a better home.

Unless the greedy Honda Dealers charge $5k above the puny $18k List price (and I’m pretty sure HONDA will NOT tolerate such excessive markup), it will sell at a rate of a HALF MILLION A YEAR, eclipsing its arch-rival CAMRY, and even more the pitiful domestic entries in the LARGE and midsize segment.

The Accord has grown so long, wide and tall, and still weighing a trim 3,200 lbs (or at most 3,500 with the V6), that is now in the LARGE EPA CLass. Assorted Buicks and Ford Tauruses, your end is near! Only those prejudiced buyers that have sworn to never buy a so-called IMPORT (and never mind that HOndas are made in the US with US workers AND largely US PARTS!) will not be persuaded by its tremendous value.

AND All that Car that looks exactly like a midsize BMW 5-series on the side, and is even BIGGER than the $50k 5-er inside, can still do 34 MPG!!! ANd based on my own past Hondas, they routinely EXCEED their EPA highway nos.

WHat else can I say?

WOW!!!!!!!

My hat’s off to you, Honda!

Yea.. JD Powers is total BS.. They said last year Dodge Durango was Better than a Acura MDX.. Get REAL! After that story.. JD Powers should call themselves JD BullShit .. that’s more like it..

Many people are biased and will never buy a so-called “import” (even though Hondas and TOyotas are largely made in the US and of US parts and with US workers, while a lot of so-called “big 3″ cars are made in such low-wage havens as Mexico, and that includes the new Ford Fusion and many others.

THese people do not have high expectations. They compare their 90s and more recent junkmobiles with their terrible interiors and cheap hard plastics and crude engineering and poor handling and performance,and the god-awful gauges staring you in the eye all the time you drive, and are still satisfied, because these poor vehicles are simply much better than the PREVIOUS domestics these people have owned.

I know. I had bought a fuel-efficient Pontiac 2000 back in 83, and kept it for 11 years and only 65,000 or so miles, before it had to be sold for parts! ANd bought a used Accord 5-speed 1990 model after that, which already had 69k+Miles. I STILL drive that Accord, now with over 136k hard-driven, stop-go, cold-start miles, and if it were not for the salt-induced Midwest rust, I’d not need another vehicle EVER.

I don’t like almost any Lexus for its conservatve design and unenthusiastic performance and handling, but to claim they are as bad as any Buick is ludicrous.

Even if they are just going off of three or four years of use I am still sold on Buick. I drive a 1992 Buick and she is still going strong. Both the engine and interior are holding up VERY well.

I cannot believe the industry takes these JD power surveys seriously. They are laughable. There is a HUGE difference between a Lexus and a Buick, and very few similarities (mostly in their geriatric styling, poor handling and performance)

Does anybody in his or her right mind really believe that, just because a Buick owner is happy with the vehicle, that means it has lexus-level (or Honda-level for tha tmatter) reliability?

Does anybody believe that the interior materials and ergonomics of an obese, large Buick are anywhere close to the materials and the ergonomics of the Accord or the Camry?

Power “satisfaction” and “owner reported” ratings are EXTREMELY Subjective. Owners of Hyundais that have driven chevys, fords and dodges before that, will praise their vehicles for their COMPARATIVELY trouble-free operation, but that does no tmean there is a huge gap between the Hyindai and the Honda or Toyota. In fact, there is a big gap between these two and the NISSANs, who are almost as poor quality as the domestics, and almost as cheaply priced (and with good reason!)

As for the other Power ratings, the Durability-dependability, are they KIDDING????? They only examine cars after only THREE YEARS!!!!! Is that durability????? Don;t make me laugh! MY Accord is 17 years,going on 18, (5-speed coupe 1990), and my BMW 740iL is 10 years (or 9, it’s a 98) and is closing in 120,000 miles, and looks as good as new outside, inside, and performance-wise. People buying a new Lucerne not only get a vastly inferior vehicle, they pay THREE TIMES what I did for my “Magnificent Seven”!

japanese cars are more reliable than american and european makes.

Buick tying with Lexus is no surprise to me. I’ve had phenomenal luck with my 2001 Chevy Suburban; in 110,000 miles I’ve only replaced the tires once, shocks once, the battery and I run Mobil 1 synthetic. It’s never been in the shop in the 6 years I’ve owned it. I had terrible luck with the 2004 Honda Accord I got rid of last Fall; it was in the shop on average every 6 weeks. Terrible car, terrible dealer. Our 1997 Chevy Cavalier and 2000 Saturn have also been extremely reliable; my kids have tried to “kill” them, but they haven’t suceeded. Neither have had any major mechanical failure; just maintenance items.

I’m trying to talk my wife into purchasing either a Buick Lucerne or Buick Enclave as our next vehicle. She likes both vehicles; she’s just having some issues getting past the fact that the vehicles are Buick’s, and she likes them.