Each year the Consumer Union rates automobiles for infrequency of reported serious problems by model and model year. It rates a model, for each model year offering the requisite data, as “Much Better than Average,” “Better than Average,” “Average,” “Worse than Average,” and “Much Worse than Average.” In 2010, it reported these ratings in the April 2010 issue of Consumer Reports, Consumer Reports: New Car Buying Guide: 2010, and Consumer Reports: Used Car Buying Guide: 2010.
In order to obtain a four-year reliability rating for a model, Consumer Union’s model-year reliability ratings must first be converted to numerical values. To do this, the standard academic convention is followed. A letter grade of A and a grade point of 4.00 is ascribed to a “Much Better than Average” rating, a letter grade of B and a grade point of 3.00 is ascribed to a “Better than Average” rating, a letter grade of C and a grade point of 2.00 is ascribed to an “Average” rating, a letter grade of D and a grade point of 1.00 is ascribed to a “Worse than Average” rating, and a letter grade of F and a grade point of 0 is ascribed to a “Much Worse than Average” rating.
To compute a 2010 car reliability rating for 6-to-10-year-old convertibles, coupes, sedans, and hatchbacks, the average of each model’s grade points for model years 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 is taken. This 2010 car reliability rating provides the 2010 Car Reliability Grade Point Average (GPA) for 6-to-10-year-old vehicles.
From the foregoing, a 2010 Car Reliability GPA must fall between 0 and 4.00 or on one of the two end values, and a higher 2010 Car Reliability GPA for a model means a better multi-year reliability history.
With the 2010 Car Reliability GPAs for 6-to-10-year-old vehicles computed, the twenty best convertibles, coupes, sedans, and hatchbacks from the time period 2000 to 2003 may be set forth. The Best Twenty, Twenty-three by tie, are listed below, together with their corresponding 2010 Car Reliability GPA, and are ranked in descending order of reliability.
Toyota Motor Corporation’s Lexus ES, an upscale sedan with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation’s rear-wheel-drive Lexus GS, a luxury sedan with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation’s Lexus LS, a flagship luxury sedan with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation’s Lexus SC, a hard-top convertible with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Avalon, a large sedan with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Echo, a small sedan or 2-door hatchback with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Prius, a 4-door hatchback hybrid with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
Honda Motor Company’s Acura RSX, a sporty 2-door hatchback with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Civic Sedan, with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
The Honda S2000, a convertible with a 2010 GPA of 4.00,
The 4-cylinder Toyota Camry, a midsize sedan with a 2010 GPA of 3.75,
The Toyota Corolla, a small sedan with a 2010 GPA of 3.75,
The 4-cylinder Honda Accord, a midsize sedan with a 2010 GPA of 3.75,
The Mazda MX-5 Miata, a convertible with a 2010 GPA of 3.75,
Toyota Motor Corporation’s Lexus IS300, IS350, a somewhat sporty upscale sedan or 4-door hatchback with a 2010 GPA of 3.67,
The Honda Civic Si, a sporty coupe or sedan with a 2010 GPA of 3.67,
The Toyota Celica, a sporty 2-door hatchback with a 2010 GPA of 3.50,
Honda Motor Company’s Acura RL, a sedan with a 2010 GPA of 3.50,
The Honda Insight, a 2-door hatchback hybrid with a 2010 GPA of 3.50,
The 4-cylinder Toyota Camry Solara, a convertible or coupe with a 2010 GPA of 3.25,
The BMW Z3, Z4, a convertible with a 2010 GPA of 3.25,
Ford Motor Company’s Lincoln Town Car, a large luxury sedan with a 2010 GPA of 3.25,
Nissan Motor Company’s Infiniti I30, I35, an upscale sedan with a 2010 Car Reliability GPA of 3.25.
Of the twenty-three best, Toyota Motor Corporation accounts for 12, Honda Motor Company accounts for another 7, and Mazda Motor Corporation, BMW AG, Ford Motor Company, and Nissan Motor Company each account for one.