This list the top auto brands:
http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosins...a01-158047.htm

Check out this artical from USAtoday : Click here

Cadillac CTS, in its first year, came in second to the Lexus ES 300 in quality among specific models.

Chevy Malibu, Pontiac Grand Am and Hyundai Sonata beat perennial top-sellers Honda Accord and Toyota Camry among entry midsize cars

Chevy also beat out Audi, VW, Mercedes-Benz and many many others.

GM also has the top 3 fullsize SUVs

 

I simply cannot fathom that Hummer buyers are shocked by their poor gas milage. Why don't these soccer moms and "bling bling" junkies buy a clue. How poor gas milage directly relates to "quality" I don't even know.

Anyway, keep it up GM. Especially Cadillac. Sooner or later people will notice.

 

good for cadillac! i love what GM is doing with that division... even the quirky styling
the CTS is a great car.. a little sluggish maybe but overall quite good

but the whole malibu beating out the camry bit... maybe in initial defects but i bet the toyota will still be better in the long term

 

I think they're being a little broad in their category of "things gone wrong" if they're counting poor gas mileage (BTW, both the H2 and Toyota Prius were heavily dinged for this particular complaint). They need to reconsider what constitutes a defect.

As to the Malibu beating the Accord: yes, GM's quality has come a long way, but the Malibu has been in production for what, 6 years now? And the Accord was just launched. I'll also agree with l_bilyk that initial quality does not necessarily translate to long-term durability.

Still, at least it's movement in the right direction .

 

We shouldn't confuse "quality" with "reliability." The idea of "initial quality" is very fuzzy. To most European buyers, orange-peel free paint and narrow, even panels gaps are the definition. Although every Audi or BMW fits that definition, perhaps better than most any Japanese product, British surveys found that alot of "quality" German cars were of relatively low reliablity.

Having seen huge numbers of Cadillac with large, uneven panel gaps, and crappy orange-peeled paint, I'd say that the $50K DTS isn't a "quality car." Unfortunately, this isn't counted as an "initial quality defect." Similarly, some current Cadillacs (Seville, Escalade) have earned Consumer Reports lowest ratings in terms of reliability.

Figures don't lie, but...

 

I do not think highly of these "Best Initial Quality". They tell very little, in my opinion. They tell absolutely nothing of reliability. The best way to find out what Best Initial Quality is to you is to go and check the car out yourself, in person. It works much better than relying on such benchmarks.

And although Accord and Camry scored lower than, say, Malibu or Hyundai, I'll go for the Honda or Toyota any day. They have a proven record of reliable cars.

P.S. The worst cars for reliability, it seems, are Chryslers, specifically their Stratus/Avenger line from around mid to late 90's.

 

I think it is great.

What a fantastic launch CTS has had!!!

As for the "Well, there must be something wrong with the rankings if American cars are in there" stuff.... well, those ranking were acceptable to most of those people when the imports were on it.

 

Here here!

 

Another round of applause for Darth. If you don't like the results, you can't just change the criteria.

 

Has anyone seen a "per model" break down yet?

Nice to see Caddy has done a 180, they are putting out bad *** quallity cars.

 

It is good to see American cars at the top, I did not make this clear. Still, having said this, my decision (when acquiring a new car) is not going to be influenced by initial quality survey. And many people do not know what this survey encompasses, I would even say as far that many are mistaken to think that this reflects car's reliability.

Initial quality to me means that pieces fit together nicely with even, small gaps. It means that buttons for windows/doors/radio are neat, handsome and fit nicely (NOTE: not the monster Camaro buttons with half-an-inch spacing in between (note on that: exaggeration may have been used)).

A good example - fuel economy. What on earth does that have to do with initial quality? It somewhat undermines the value of the survey.

I will be delighted when American cars will match/exceed reliability of Toyota/Honda. And I am definitely all for that. Looks to me that now GM is producing cars that may do just that, but we do have to wait 3-5 years to see. And until then, I will take that Japanese car - why? Because I am concerned about reliability.