Dodge is Most Reliable American Brand

Consumer Reports has rated Dodge as the most reliable American brand.

Here are its comments:

"Dodge made an enormous jump in this year's Consumer Reports reliability rankings, climbing a whopping 13 spots to number eight on the list from last year's 21st place. This places the horsepower-loving brand well ahead of any other American automaker.

The publication lists the Dodge Challenger as the brand’s most reliable model in 2019, and the family-friendly Dodge Durango as the least reliable on its "Who makes the most reliable cars?" report. Its cross-town competitors Ford and Chevrolet came in 16th and 25th place with their most reliable models being the EcoSport and Tahoe, and the F-150 and Colorado pickup trucks being their least reliable. This makes Dodge the most reliable American automaker in 2019, and as a result, the 10-plus-year-old Challenger the most reliable American vehicle.

These numbers can be somewhat deceiving, however, because most of the vehicles in the Dodge stable have been around for a pretty long time, meaning that Dodge has had over a decade to work out any kinks or issues. Models like the Challenger, Charger, Grand Caravan and yes, even the Durango, are essentially pre-recession vehicles, meaning they've cruised through the last 11 years with simply minor tweaks to the original formula.

Not surprisingly, Lexus topped the list again, beating its corporate parent Toyota who landed on the third spot this year, getting beat by none other than Mazda to second place. Consumer Reports generates its rankings from owner surveys that gather data on reliability problems over the previous 12-month period. Owners are asked questions that cover a variety of topics, from squeaks and rattles to serious engine and transmission problems. In all, the publication received over 420,000 vehicles in its latest survey."