Why are Japanese cars more reliable than European cars?

Question

According to the May 2007 issue of Consumer Reports, the most reliable cars are Hondas, Subarus, and Toyotas. The least reliable? Jaguars, Land Rovers, and Mercedes-Benzes. Why are Japanese cars more reliable than European cars, especially considering the reputation of European cars ... not to mention the prices?

Answer 1

Sweeping statement - Jaguar, Land Rover and Mercedes Benz are not indicative of all European cars. Mercedes had terrible quality problems as they tried to cut costs and effected quality but they knew that there was enough badge influenced people who would still buy it (idiots). Jaguar and Land Rover - owned by Ford, go figure. Now take a look at Skoda, SAAB, Volvo, Audi, VW, BMW to name but some - reliability personified.

The Japanese do make quality cars and they are reliable but they no longer have it all their own way.

Answer 2

There are too many factors to just make a blanket statement like that. Keep in mind these things:

1. Consumer Reports is just one opinion.

2. Every make and model is different depending on the year.

3. Depends what factory the model is assembled. (VW makes cars in Mexico, Toyota makes cars in Nashville, for example) Nowadays just because the company is from a country doesn't mean the car is.

4. The more options and gizmos you have the more likely there are to break down. (A basic Honda with no sunroof and crank windows should have less problems than a fully loaded Benz.)

5. Larger engines with more cylinders will be more apt to have problems than a small "4 banger".

6. Also just because it is a new model doesn't mean it has a newly developed engine. The 2000 Civic came with a '91 Civic SI engine that had been refined over 9 model years, hence all the bugs had been worked out and it was reliable. The Scion TC has a older Camry engine that is tried and true. A new engine design usually leads to new problems.

I also agree that Mercedes is the only true European car company you named and I think things went to crap when they merged with Chrysler. That's not a fair representation of European cars.

Answer 3

Car makers like Ford and still popular where i live they are popular and famous for making cheap cars which are able to be reached by most people and now doing well with offering there cars with a Japanese made engine and selling there sporty models with a Volvo engine,is great that makers can add these bits and have input from other makers to produce good cars. Its was sad the other day as i had to drive a few hundred miles in my friends new Ford and the engine ran great but the rest of the car sensors failed half way home.

Answer 4

I like Japanese cars. I drove an Acura RSX Type S for 4 years. Great and reliable car. I also like to read Consumer Reports Auto Reviews but, in my opinion, they seem to be biased towards the Hondas and the Toyotas. I know their feedback is supposed to come from consumers but I would check out the other publications also.

Answer 5

i'm not good with cars, but my father refuses to get me my mercedes baby because he thinks that japanese cars are the best. he said 1) takes up less gas - considering the gas prices these days 2) cheaper parts - in case a part breaks down.. european cars are not only expensive, they are more expensive to fix. 3) like i said, they are cheaper. my dad's a cheapo. :0(

but you know what? i personally think you would have a better chance of living in a european car if you fell off a cliff or rolled down the mt. everst.........hah.

but my daddy disagrees :(

but he's never wrong, so get a japanese car!

Answer 6

The primary reason for the difference in the quality has to do with Dr. W. Edwards Deming who taught the Japanese that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations can increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs (by reducing waste, rework, staff attrition and litigation while increasing customer loyalty).

"The key is to practice continual improvement and think of manufacturing as a system, not as bits and pieces."

In the 1970s, Dr. Deming's philosophy was summarized by some of his Japanese proponents with the following 'a'-versus-'b' comparison:

(a) When people and organizations focus primarily on quality, (Quality defined by the following ratio: Quality = Results of Work Efforts / Total Costs.) then quality tends to increase and costs fall over time.

(b) However, when people and organizations focus primarily on cost, (often dominant/typical human behavior) then costs (due to not minimizing waste, ignoring amount of rework occurring, taking staff for granted, not rapidly resolving disputes and failing to notice lack of product improvement plus, over time, loss of customer loyalty) tend to rise and quality declines over time.

In Japan they even have a Deming Prize which is given to companies and individuals for major advances in quality improvement.

Answer 7

Japanese people are more experienced with electronics. They create gaming systems, televisions, speaker systems, and many others. This includes cars. Eurpoean cars may be more highly priced because they are more widely known, or just European people have lost it....

Answer 8

yes

Answer 9

Everything japanese people make is more reliable, its their intelligence.

Answer 10

they are not ...consumer reports is not unbiased..
they are politically and profit motivated.
i would be embarrassed to be seen in Japanese car..
Japanese quality is a joke ...they are junk!!!!!!!!!!