Ford, Mazda Last in Consumer Reports Poll

Ford Motor Co., which had its first annual loss in nine years in 2001, and its Japanese affiliate Mazda Motor Corp. were the lowest-ranked auto makers in Consumer Reports’ annual subscriber survey.

Subscribers reported 26 problems for each 100 vehicles made by the second-largest auto maker and 31.5 for Mazda’s vehicles, according to results released by publisher Consumers Union of Yonkers, N.Y. Ford’s Explorer Sport Trac sport-utility vehicle had the most problems in the survey, with 44 per 100.

Readers noted an average of 15 problems per 100 vehicles made by Japanese firms, 23 for European brands and 24 for U.S. auto makers.