Fording The Road

While my motorcycle is out of commission, let's talk cars.

I have a Mercury that I inherited a few years ago that I never give any credit to. I mean, it's a freaking Ford, so you know it's no good. This morning, after reading this article, I will definitely soften my attitude towards my car and ask for it's forgiveness.

J.D. Power and Associates have finalized their yearly automobile rankings for dependability. In this study, dependability is measured in "problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years." For the 14th year in a row Lexus has topped this list with a record of 120 problems per 100 vehicles.

"Ford Motor Co.'s Mercury brand ranked second, followed by General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac. Toyota was fourth, and Honda Motor Co.'s Acura luxury brand was fifth. Land Rover, which Ford sold this year to India's Tata Motors Ltd., was the worst-performing brand, with 344 problems."

I never would have guessed that my car's brand ranks second and I can now laugh at all the yuppies parading around town in their status symbol Land Rovers. There are more brands listed in the article, which also has a link to the annual study. Where does your car sit on the list? Are you as surprised as I was?