Honda Motor Co. and several other Asian auto makers scored high marks in a series of new studies and rankings of new cars by Consumer Reports magazine.
Ford Motor Co. was on the only one of the three Detroit auto makers to make it into the top 10 in the publications annual auto maker score card for 2011, which was released on Monday. General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC were placed twelfth and thirteenth out of 13 auto makers ranked in the April issue of the magazine, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Among other auto makers, Toyota Motor Corp. managed to keep its scores near the top of the rankings, despite the recall and quality troubles it has suffered in the past year. European car companies including BMW AG and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz performed well in comfort and overall ride but lost points due to weak ratings for reliability, Consumer Reports said.
Honda had the top overall score of 74, and was followed by Subaru, Toyota and Volvo. Ford placed fifth with an overall score of 67. Hyundai Motor Co., Mazda Motors, Nissan Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and Mercedes rounded out the top 10.
The score card takes into account a variety of factors as measured by Consumer Reports, including on-road performance, reliability and fuel-economy.
Honda got a boost in its scores from the Fit subcompact, which was named the "best value" among small cars and the "best budget car." Ford's Mustang and Kia Motor Co.'s Sorento were among six new models added to the magazine's annual list of best picks.
