AUTOMOBILES : ‘Buyer’s Bible’ Increases Focus on Used Vehicles

Consumer Reports magazine’s annual automobile issue--the buyer’s bible for many car shoppers--gives added attention to used cars this year with its first list of the best and worst.

The magazine’s increased focus on used cars acknowledges their growing importance in a marketplace where the average new vehicle carries a price tag of about $20,000, making them unaffordable for many consumers.

Based on reports from owners of 580,000 cars and light trucks, the April edition says:

* The 10 most reliable 1987-93 vehicles were built by Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Nine of the 10 were cars; the exception was Nissan’s Pathfinder sport-utility. The Honda Accord topped the list.

* The domestic Big Three auto makers and Korea’s Hyundai accounted for the bottom 10, with the Ford Bronco sport-utility labeled least reliable.

* The 10 most reliable cars costing $10,000 or less, which the magazine called its “Best Buy” list, were the 1991 Acura Integra, 1992 Geo Prizm, 1990 Honda Accord, 1992 Honda Civic, 1991 Mitsubishi Galant, 1990 Nissan Maxima with automatic transmission, 1993 Saturn SL and SW models, 1991 Toyota Camry, 1992 Toyota Corolla and 1990 Volvo 240.

The used car picks were based on owner surveys and testing.

Consumer Reports also rated new models based on its own testing and said it expects most 1995 sedans to be more reliable than the average for all light vehicles, the category that includes cars and light trucks.

Most minivans, pickup trucks and sport-utilities will be less reliable than average, the researchers predict.

But in general, new cars and trucks are improving, said Bob Knoll, head of automotive testing for Consumers Union, the nonprofit organization that publishes Consumer Reports.

“It’s harder and harder for us, with a group of truly competitive cars from different manufacturers, to find differences,” Knoll said.

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Automobile Reliability

Consumer Reports magazine’s ratings of 1987-93 cars and light trucks based on information gathered from owners of 580,000 vehicles. Models for which the researchers had insufficient data were not included. Inclusion on the lists was determined by the number of times a vehicle appeared in the top 10 or bottom 10 lists for the seven model years from 1987-93.

10 Most Reliable

Model Years in Top 10 Honda Accord 6 Nissan Maxima 5 Toyota Corolla 5 Acura Legend 4 Lexus LS400 4 Acura Integra 3 Honda Prelude 3 Infiniti G20 3 Nissan Pathfinder 3 Toyota Celica 3

10 Least Reliable

Model Years in Bottom 10 Ford Bronco 6 Chevrolet Camaro 4 Chevrolet-GMC Suburban 4 Eagle Premier 4 Ford Taurus SHO 4 Hyundai Excel 4 Jeep Wrangler 4 Ford Taurus (4-cylinder) 3 Ford Tempo-Mercury Topaz 3 Pontiac Sunbird 3

Notes: Lexus LS400 not made 1987-89; Infiniti G20 not made 1987-90; Eagle Premier not made 1987 or 1993; Ford Taurus SHO not made 1987-88; Ford Taurus (4-cylinder) not made 1990-93.

Source: Consumer Reports