Forbes Ten Clunker Cars to Avoid

Washington DC November 12, 2009; The AIADA newsletter reported that in response to a recent study by Consumer Reports, Forbes has unveiled its list of ten clunker cars to avoid.

To determine the worst clunkers on the road, Forbes paired Vincentric's five-year repair-cost data for 2009 models with reliability ratings from Consumer Reports and based its results on the combination of those scores.

The reliability ratings were based on 1.4 million vehicles owned or leased by CR subscribers and covered the model years 2000 to 2009. The higher the cost of repair, and the lower the reliability rating, the worse the vehicle.

To break ties, Forbes also looked at vehicles' overall rating from Consumer Reports, which evaluates reliability, owner satisfaction, accident avoidance, crash protection with side airbags, crash protection without side airbags, and fuel efficiency. It's telling that these cars aren't all compact sedans – or heavy SUVs. They don't all come from one brand or one part of the world, either.

Asian automakers in general performed exceptionally well; no Japanese or Korean-made vehicles came close to making Forbes’ list, and of 48 total models with top reliability scores, 38 are Asian, including 18 Toyotas, eight Hondas, four Nissans, and three from Hyundai/Kia and Subaru.

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