DETROIT – The head of the Consumers Union auto test unit, David Champion, ventured to Detroit last week to talk to a somewhat skeptical Automotive Press Association about CU’s conclusions on reliability, fuel economy, and stability control, after extensively testing some 85 new 2007 models – significantly up from only 35 different models a few years ago.

Somewhat surprisingly, some of Ford Motor Company?s new products got a good report card, specifically the Fusion/Milan/MKZ/Zephyr family. They were among the handful listed by Champion as ?most impressive.? Others were the Hyundai Azera, Kia Sedona, and Mazda5.

On the ?least impressive? list were the Dodge Caliber, Pontiac Solstice, Subaru Tribeca, and Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Champion said CU believes its fuel economy tests are more representative of consumer driving experience than the current EPA cycles used for labeling purposes. He noted, moreover, that the Japanese brands are way ahead of American, European, and Korean brands in fuel economy. Only four American and two European and no Korean brands made the ?best? list compiled by CU, compared with 35 Japanese. Conversely, the ?worst? list for fuel economy included 29 American, six Japanese, six European, and four Korean.

Another part of his report, reflecting write-ups in Consumer Reports? ?New Car Preview 2007? issue, dealt with CU testers? evaluations of stability control. Listed as ?well-tuned? were systems found on ?06 Explorer, ?06 Corvette, ?06 Porsche 911, and ?05 Kia Amanti. Rated as ?not quite there? were systems on the ?07 Audi Q7, ?06 Cadillac CTS, ?06 Outback VCD, and ?05 Lexus GS300.

Consumers Union sends annual product reliability surveys to some five million reader/members. The most recent mailing yielded some 950,000 responses including 1.3 million different vehicles comprising 264 different ?97 to ?06 models, a huge database but of course potentially biased by self-reporting. CU tries to eliminate duplicate reporting of vehicles, Champion told the automotive writers, and ask respondents NOT to include reports of recalled items. The testing organization also requires a minimum of 100 of any given model to be included in the reported results, he said.

On the basis of predicted reliability, this year Consumer Reports has newly recommended eleven American models, four Japanese, six European, and six Korean. The ?not recommended? badge of shame is newly associated with eight Americans, two Japanese, eight European and no Korean models. CR?s ?most reliable? list includes six American, one European, one Korean, and a whopping 39 Japanese models. But the ?least reliable? list comprises 20 Americans, five Japanese, nineteen European, and two Korean.

Champion named only a few names to auto journalists in his organization?s predicted reliability findings. The Fusion family ?matches Accord and Camry? but ?I would like to see if how well Fusion is in its fifth year? when most people are ready to trade. He noted that the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS were presently predicting better than Avalon, and that new GM SUV models also looked promising when it comes to trouble-free operation. Other models singled out for favorable ratings were Azera, Sorento, Sedona, Entourage, and MINI Cooper.

Finally, he noted that quality and safety of vehicles has ?improved dramatically.? The ratings are ?moving targets? because the base average of ?things gone wrong? or defects is always being improved.

Champion was a test engineer for Goodyear, Land Rover, and Nissan before joining Consumer Union in 1997.

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