Buick, Lexus tie for top spot in vehicle dependability

Buick tied with Lexus as the highest-ranking brand in a closely watched study of vehicle dependability, marking the first time in 12 years that Lexus has shared the top award, J.D. Power and Associates said Thursday, according to USA Today.

Cadillac, Mercury and Honda rounded out the top five brands in the annual survey, which measures problems experienced by the original owners of three-year-old vehicles. Both Buick and Lexus had 145 problems per 100 vehicles.

The worst-performing brand, Land Rover, had 398 problems. The industry average was 216 problems, down from 227 in last year's survey.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:06 AM | Permalink

Automakers extend intervals between oil changes

Improvements in motor oil and car engines are combining to torpedo a popular car ownership mantra: the 3,000-mile oil change, according to USA Today.

Ford is lengthening the recommended interval between oil changes for its 2008 models to 7,500 miles, up from 5,000 miles. Volkswagen just got done increasing its oil-change recommendations to 10,000 miles on its 2007 gasoline-powered models.

Posted by   at 2:32 PM | Permalink