Ford progresses, Chrysler falters in key survey

Asian automakers dominated the magazine's influential list of recommended vehicles, with Toyota Motor Corp.'s Scion ranked the top brand followed by Honda Motor Co.'s flagship brand. Toyota's flagship brand placed third.

Ford ranks as the only U.S. automaker that is competing with Asian brands with “world-class reliability,” Consumer Reports said.

About 90 percent of Ford's vehicles achieved average or better reliability, the study showed.

Ford's Mercury brand ranked tenth for reliability — the only U.S. brand to make the top 10 list. The Ford brand ranked 16th and Ford's luxury Lincoln brand ranked 20th.

“Ford definitely has closed the gap,” said Rik Paul of Consumer Reports. “We started seeing that a couple of years ago. We didn't know at that time if it was a fluke or if it was something they were going to be able to maintain. Last year, they were still there and this year, they are still there.”

In contrast, Chrysler's three brands all slipped further in the ratings. The Jeep SUV brand ranked 30th, with Dodge just behind and the Chrysler brand dead last in the ranking.

Consumer Reports said more than a third of Chrysler models through the 2009 model year were “much worse than average.”

Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said the carmaker has heightened emphasis on quality in the past 18 months, which has cut its warranty claims by 30 percent.

“Eventually, Consumer Reports and other metrics will start showing improvements,” said Tinson. “It will take some time because we are living with the past.”

Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy on June 10 by completing the sale of most of its assets to a new company led by Italy's Fiat SpA. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, who also heads Fiat, will announce on Nov. 4 a five-year business plan for turning around the No. 3 U.S. automaker, including new product plans.

Steve Rattner, the former investment banker who headed the Obama administration's restructuring of GM and Chrysler, said last week that officials were divided about whether Chrysler could be saved, in part because Consumer Reports did not recommend any of its vehicles.

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