Consumer Reports: Lexus top '13 auto brand
Lexus vehicles such as the F sport, above, topped Consumer Report’s auto brand report card for 2013. The magazine rated 26 brands from 0 to 100 based on road tests and subscriber surveys. Credit: Handout
Lexus topped all automotive brands in Consumer Reports magazine's 2013 brand report card. Japanese automakers again dominated the rankings, taking eight of the top 10 spots.
Lexus vehicles are rarely sporty, but they earned the top score of 79 points out of 100 because of plush and reliable vehicles, the magazine said Tuesday.
The ratings of 26 automotive brands, closely watched by consumers, are based on the magazine's average road tests and predicted reliability scores from surveys of subscribers.
Detroit automakers didn't fare very well in the magazine's rankings. Cadillac was the best U.S.-based brand, tying for 14th place with Hyundai, scoring a 63.
Consumer Reports changed its rankings this year, splitting off individual brands from the companies that make them and scoring them individually. For example, in past years, all three Toyota brands -- Lexus, Toyota and Scion -- were scored collectively as Toyota.
The magazine said Lexus cars are among the most reliable even though they are "brimming with technology," including hybrid gas-electric power systems and complex information and entertainment systems.
Besides Cadillac, General Motors Co. had two other brands in the top 20: GMC and Chevrolet tied with Volvo for 17th with a score of 58. Buick, with a score of 54, was 21st.
No Chrysler brand fared well. Jeep and Dodge were the bottom two finishers with scores of 47 and 46.
