Consumer Reports’ has recently announced their choice of the best carmakers that build the best cars and leading the pack is Volkswagen—Europe’s largest automaker and manufacturer of quality VW alternator --- together with its luxury unit Audi. They are followed by Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, and Nissan. In the aspect of reliability the carmakers that scored high include Honda, Subaru, and Toyota. This was the result of the Consumer Reports’ latest Annual Car Reliability Survey.

Consumer Reports has also provided some explanations why some automakers are succeeding while others are wishing for luck. CR studied its own internal data to determine the various factors that affects the success rate of the 17 major carmakers. CR has also analyzed the efficiency of vehicles running on batteries but conducting more than 50 toad tests coupled with reliability histories based on more than 1.3 million vehicles, representing 250 models.

CR makes use of reports car to record all their findings, testing and survey results. The reports card also shows how the major manufacturers fare in the test and surveys conducted by CR. Consumer Reports’ will only recommend vehicles that have performed excellently in the various tests conducted plus it is also very important for vehicles to at least obtain an average predicted reliability basing again on the CR’s annual reliability survey. CR also requires for vehicles to undergo crash test or at least be included in a government rollover test. The report cars will also contain lists of the common high and lows of the vehicles tested.

The main rationale of the CR tests is to show customers that no carmaker is perfect and that there would always be flaws on their vehicles. And these imperfections are what exactly Consumer Reports wants customers to be aware of before they decide on purchasing a vehicle. As they say, prevention is always better than cure. By knowing beforehand the defects of certain vehicles will help customers to make right decisions on which car brand to buy.

Consumer Reports’ has use Volkswagen as an example stating that the automaker scores high on the various tests conducted by CR obtaining an average test score of 81 but despite that out of the number of VW vehicles tested only 45 percent is recommended for use by Consumer Reports’. Toyota on the other hand obtains a less than satisfactory average test, scoring only 70 percent but due to the automaker’s consistently high reliability, Consumer Reports recommends 85 percent of its tested vehicles.

Consumer Reports also added that if the only consideration for purchasing a vehicle is performance, safety, and comfort then Volkswagen is the perfect choice. Volkswagen together with its Audi models do well in terms of handling, braking, and standard safety features. Unfortunately, very few VW’s have decent reliability.

Consumer Reports is one of the most trusted sources for information and advice on various consumer products and services. Its comprehensive auto-test program provides a reliable source especially for consumers who are searching for advice on what cars to purchase.