New Car Preview 2006: Consumer Reports Survey Predicts Subpar Reliability for Some Asian Models; Survey Also Finds Continued Reliability Problems for Some European, Domestic Models.

(From AScribe)

YONKERS, N.Y. -- Consumer Reports' latest annual reliability survey predicts widely disparate records for some Asian automakers including Nissan and Hyundai. The survey also finds continued troubles for European and domestic automakers with some 2006 vehicles. For the second year in a row, European automakers did not have even one entry on CR's list of models with the best predicted reliability ratings.

Four models from Nissan and its luxury brand, Infiniti - Nissan's Quest, Armada and Titan, and the Infiniti QX56 - are on Consumer Reports' list of 2006 models with the worst predicted reliability. But the new Infiniti M35 and M45 are among the most reliable models. Other Nissan models, such as the Murano and Sentra, have above-average predicted reliability. Historically, Nissan and Infiniti have done well in CR reliability surveys; many vehicles from the automaker have had above-average reliability over the years.

CR predicts that reliability for 2006 models from Hyundai is likely to be spotty. For example, the Hyundai Tucson is predicted to have poor reliability while the Santa Fe and Elantra are predicted to have average reliability. Reliability for the new-for-2006 Sonata remains unknown.

"The message to consumers is clear: You can't gauge reliability based only on a nameplate. Some …