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https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/chevrolet/impala/2018/oem/2018_chevrolet_impala_sedan_premier_fq_oem_1_1280.jpg
I like the Malibu in that it looks like a 3/4 Impala, but I hate that even the Premier has no brightwork down the side. Not enough difference between the LT and Premier IMHO.
Anybody notice that you can't even optionally buy side moldings from the factory anymore?
All of the top 10 models for reliability listed by the magazine based on its annual reader survey are foreign makes. The only other exception is the Audi Q3, which is tied with several Toyota and Lexus models for reliability.
The most reliable cars did, basically, everything well. The 10 worst, which we've already told you about, fell apart in the ratings for a variety of reasons, from balky automatic transmissions to glitchy power electronics.
With that in mind, here is what Consumer Reports lists as the 10 most reliable cars for 2017:
1. Kia Niro
2. Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 (tie)
3. Lexus ES (tie)
4. Lexus GS
5. Audi Q3 (tie)
6. Toyota RAV4 (tie)
7. Lexus IS
8. Toyota Prius V
9. Toyota Prius C
10. Infiniti Q70
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/10/28/consumer-reports-names-10-most-reliable-cars/809540001/
For pioneering consumers, nothing beats the thrill of owning something completely new. These early adopters are the ones you see lined up around the block when a next-generation smartphone is released or racing to the dealership when a redesigned or new car model rolls into showrooms.
But our Annual Reliability Survey, in which consumers provide us with data on hundreds of thousands of cars, has consistently shown that this pioneering spirit is not without consequences. Our latest survey of about 400,000 subscribers who own 640,000 vehicles reveals that all-new or updated models are now more likely than older ones to have a wonky engine, a jerky transmission, or high-tech features that fail outright.
The Chevrolet Cruze, for example, was redesigned for the 2016 model year and, in last year’s survey, had outstanding first-year reliability. But the 2016 and 2017 models dropped to below average this year because of power equipment, fuel and emission systems, engine, and transmission problems.
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/consumer-reports-car-reliability-survey-2017/
I know this bunch is more car-minded that the average consumer, but I've actually seen people post online about their new Cruze "stalling at stops". They actually don't know it's built with a start/stop feature. Real educated consumers! Although, I guess shame on the salesman for not mentioning that, but on the other hand...we all know attention spans today. It's what makes me worry more than ever about driving my old Studebaker out-and-about.
Which reminds me in a roundabout way--I am still stupefied how I say, DAILY, people driving at dusk or later with ZERO lights on. Even my old Cavaliers had daytime running lights and automatic headlights. Of course, one has to set the auto lights to "auto" on the switch. It's hard for me to believe how apparently not every car at least has daytime running lights.
Personal opinion, but this is a feature they need to dump, or at least allow the driver to disable. I've yet to drive a rental with it (any brand) that I don't find bothersome and intrusive.
Before I bought my Cruze, I actually read some reviews where it was rated as less-obtrusive than in BMW's. Blasphemy!
I think all electronics issues short of system failures should be disregarded - an owner being unable to grasp the functionality (I suspect with never reading a manual), it is not a reliability or quality issue, it is a dolt owner issue.
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
I remember a 2013 Impala I rented (new style, loaded LTZ) with the touchscreen system also had a laggy interface that seemed to be running on tech from a decade prior.
Regarding start/stop--I have thought for decades, how wasteful it was to have to stop at red lights when an ignoramus could see nothing was coming at all the other directions. I'd tell my family, "I think you should be able to go through a red light after stopping if nothing is coming", usually to ridicule, LOL. I'd say "There'd be no fuel crisis if you could do that".
I do think the start/stop addresses this somewhat. My younger daughter dislikes the feature so much that when I bounced off her if she wanted a new Cruze if I could get a good deal on one (deals like I got in January aren't around anymore though), she actually said she'd rather have the older style since I told her it didn't have start/stop, so that's what we bought to replace her Cobalt which was totalled.
Do most cars have a button to switch off stop-start? My car does, I'll use it if I know there is heavy traffic.
GM Ignition Defect Scandal Reaches Penultimate Chapter
The California settlement amounts to $13.9 million, but GM previously paid around $2.5 billion in penalties and settlements over the faulty ignition switches, which caused engines to stall and prevented airbags from deploying during collisions. The automaker has repeatedly assured the public that is has learned from its past mistakes and taken measures to improve the safety of its vehicles. A large part of that has been GM’s Speak Up for Safety program — established in 2014.
However, that’s aimed toward a brighter future, whereas this court case was targeted at an uglier past. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said it was his belief that GM absolutely failed to disclose important defects in power steering, airbag and braking systems.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/10/gm-ignition-defect-lawsuit-reaches-penultimate-chapter/#more-1597830
While GM still faces countless civil suits in connection to the ignition switch recall, the California angle was among the last governmental cases against the company that had gone unsettled. Only State of Arizona vs General Motors is left to wrap up. Ironically, Arizona was the first state to pursue legal action against the manufacturer.
In heavy traffic, mine won't shut down in repeated stops. It must somehow sense that.
I had both of mine replaced again after the recall. They made a dumb mistake not assigning a new part number after redesigned ones had previously been used in replacements, so they weren't able to tell if they were replaced with new or old inventory.
I would absolutely have bought my Cobalts again.
Incidentally, we rented a 2016 Corolla about six months ago. My wife, very non-car, said, "This car feels like crap compared to our Cruze".
LOL.
She based that on her experience, not what she heard or read.
That's pretty true. I bought a new '11 Malibu. Had I bought a new Sonata instead, according to CR, I'd be two notches worse off for reliability at this point.
I believe, but not sure, that Volkswagen and Toyota have had the largest fines levied on an auto manufacturer in history.
Thinking Tokyo-based Takata's fines were pretty high too.
Does a neon nitro green paint job really cost thousands more than a blue one? If you pony up though, you can probably get any color you want.
So with unlimited money I could say I want 2013's Garnet Red on my new XXXX.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
re: blaming imports for it, I'd rather blame the consumer who accepts it.
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
The color choice reductions are purely a management decision by each individual automaker.
I think the reality is, no matter what your buying habits are, the domestics were influenced in this regard by the imports. It seems obvious. Maybe it isn't if you weren't alive or old enough to look at new cars in the sixties through the late seventies.
Most new-car buyers today don't know about those days and most buyers, other than guys like us on car forums, see a car as an appliance.
All I'm getting at is that it was much-more fun to custom-order a car even 35 years ago than it is now. I'd compare it to being hungry for something but you're not sure what--you'd enjoy going to a place with a big menu than one with four daily specials.
IMO, the most traditional "American style" car in terms of variety is the MB E-class. It exists as a sedan, wagon, hardtop coupe, convertible, and rakish "4 door coupe" that I consider the 21st century version of a 4 door HT. It can be found with engines from relatively thrifty 4cyls to supercar-like V8s, and can be built to your spec.
As you know, a lot of things were different 45 years ago. Probably a better time to have been lucky enough to be buying a house or paying for college, too. Things changed, just as they did in the 45 years prior.
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
Every place I've ever worked (all white-collar) has wanted me to think that every change is for the better, and would never be about somebody's ego.
I've lost count at how many changes at my various workplaces had made things worse in general! LOL
And why do they call it a 'four door coupe'?! How about 'hardtop sedan'?
I have felt old lately. I love watching "Jeopardy". In the last three episodes, no one knew who had the album "Tea for the Tillerman" and the single "Wild World"; what artist beginning with 'Z' performed "Werewolves of London"; and what film had a bit part with Lulu who was much-better-known as the performer of the hit song from the film. That all just astounded me. I think I was generally more aware of history and even pop culture from before my age group than younger folks are today (and the contestants weren't twenty-somethings). Just an observation.
"Curmudgeon alert", LOL. Better bring it back to cars I guess.
A few weeks back, we passed a gorgeous (to my eyes) dark green metallic C7 Corvette coupe.with polished or machined aluminum wheels. I think it was a '14 as I don't think that color lasted a year.
My dealer always has the high-zoot Corvettes in the showroom--screaming yellow or red or black, with black wheels and cladding. Yuck. I'd rather have a base coupe. There is a dark plum color I like on 'Vettes now--much like my '85 Celebrity was.
Four door coupe is just a term for a racy roofline. Not quite a fastback, but maybe it is the modern day equivalent. I doubt a 4 door HT design could meet modern side impact standards. The racy low cut sedans are as close as we will get. Change isn't always for the better, but sometimes it is. If standardized colors and options make a car 3% cheaper for the typical consumer who couldn't care less about those items, it wins.
I had to look up the Wild World part (I know the song, but not the album name), but I know about Lulu. I suspect most 30-somethings in 1972 didn't know the stars of the flapper era, either
A friend of mine recently bought a green on green MKZ, Lincoln calls it a "jade" green, I think.
I don't think I'd want to be a solo Lincoln dealer today, but that's how Ford is marketing the make. They're in their own location where I live now, but it's owned by the Ford and Mopar/Jeep dealer. Now that I think about it, Cadillac is marketed as a stand-alone brand now too, but there isn't a Cadillac dealer within fifteen miles of here.
Popular music from the '60's and later is surely more prevalent in today's culture (oldies radio, movies, TV shows, Muzak) than that of the teens or twenties was when I was young.
I suspect some luddite types definitely bemoaned 60s cars - too big, too powerful, too complex.
Back then, that probably would've been Consumer Reports, LOL.
I remember when they would pooh-pooh any bodystyle available for a model other than four-door sedan, LOL.
"Fun to drive" was never a consideration for them. Since then, they seem to actually employ some enthusiasts in their testing, I will give them that.