Detroit can't break grip of Japanese cars

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 7, 2006

THOSE WHO believe that American automakers have closed the "quality gap" on foreign manufacturers are not going to like this: Consumer Reports magazine's independent testing suggests the gap may be widening.

For the first time since the magazine began its annual Top 10 ranking of all vehicles, foreign and domestic, back in 1997, Japanese-built cars, SUVs and trucks claim every spot on the list. The widely respected magazine's 2006 Top 10 includes five models by Honda, two by Toyota, two by Subaru and one by Nissan.

Japanese domination of the list is nothing new. Last year the only American nameplate to crack the Top 10 was the Ford Focus, in the small sedan category. But even that distinction was pulled after Consumer Reports learned how badly the vehicle performed in crash tests administered by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. This year the top car in that category is the Honda Civic.

Nor is 2006 the first year American brands have been shut out. In 2000, 2001 and 2002, the Top 10 list was a blend of Japanese and European vehicles. Never until now, however, had one country captured all 10 spots.

The presence of two hybrid vehicles on the list, both Toyota- built, reflects how far ahead of the curve the Japanese are in developing vehicles that have the potential -- if the public accepts them in sufficient numbers -- to diminish the seemingly insatiable demand for gasoline, especially in this country. Consumer Reports testers got 44 miles per gallon from the Prius, a gasoline-electric hybrid certified by the California Air Resources Board as a near zero-emissions vehicle.

All in all, it's a depressing performance by domestic automakers and a marketing bonanza for the Japanese. Sometimes we wonder what it will take to get Detroit's attention.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette