Detroit 3 small cars lay an egg in latest Consumer Reports reliability study

Tue, 28 Oct 2014

Consumer Reports has released its Annual Auto Reliability Survey and the results are, in a word, interesting. While we already covered the score-damaging effects of infotainment systems, there's another big angle to the data that's getting some attention – the utterly dismal scores of the Detroit Three's small car offerings.

The turbocharged Dodge Dart and Chevrolet Cruze, as well as the Ford Fiesta were their respective brands' lowest-scoring models, a stat that's made worse by the fact that the American automakers finished 25th, 21st and 23rd, respectively.

That's not acceptable for The Detroit Free Press' auto critic, Mark Phelan, who has penned a scathing critique of the D3's small car reliability scores, arguing that GM, Ford and Chrysler are "out of excuses."

Phelan argues that Detroit automakers have been honest about the poor nature of its past econobox offerings, but today things are different, noting the new domestics' "world-class engineering, electronics and designs" as well as their entertaining character, fuel-efficient powertrains and affordable price should be driving sales.

"Chrysler, Ford and GM have a chance to change how people view their small cars, but not if they get many more quality scores like this," Phelan writes.

What do you think? Have your say in Comments.

By Brandon Turkus