U.S. cars move up in magazine ranking

DETROIT – Buick is the first U.S.-based automotive brand to crack the top 10 in Consumer Reports magazine’s annual brand report cards.

U.S. automakers also placed three vehicles on the magazine’s list of “top picks” for vehicles, the first time that’s happened in 17 years. The rankings were unveiled Tuesday in the magazine’s annual auto issue.

Buick, made by General Motors, placed seventh in the brand rankings. But the brand rankings and top picks still were dominated by Japanese and German manufacturers, with Lexus, Mazda, Toyota, Audi and Subaru taking the top five brand spots.

The magazine calculates each brand’s overall score with a composite of its vehicles’ road-test scores and reliability scores for each model in its annual survey of subscribers. It’s the third year for the brand rankings.

Porsche placed just ahead of Buick at No. 6, while Honda, Kia and BMW rounded out the top 10 brands. Mercedes-Benz, Acura and Infiniti all suffered precipitous declines in their rankings due to unreliable new models or poor road-test scores. Mercedes fell out of the top 10 to 21st, while Acura dropped from No. 2 to 11 with an unimpressive test of the new RLX sedan, the magazine said.

In the model rankings, the top overall finisher was California-based Tesla’s Model S electric car, for the second year in a row. The Model S, which cost the magazine $89,650, finished first due to its performance and technical innovations, the magazine said. Buick’s Regal midsize car beat the BMW 328i as the top sports sedan, and the Chevrolet Impala was named the top large car.

The model rankings are closely watched in the auto industry, since shoppers consistently cite Consumer Reports as a main source of car-buying advice.