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CAA ends reliability survey
Cost, disinterest cited for demise of frequency-of-repair poll
By Michael Bettencourt
Thursday, February 19, 2004
After 23 years of collecting unique Canadian reliability data from its members, the CAA's frequency-of-repair survey is officially dead. CAA president, David Flewelling, confirmed the move at the organization's Canadian International AutoShow (CIAS) announcement of the 2004 CAA Pyramid Awards, which moved away from rating vehicles based on the survey's results this year, in large part because of the dominance of a few manufacturers year after year.
"The difference in reliability among the top 10 vehicles is now so slight that it makes little sense to proclaim a winner," said Flewelling on the end of the Autopinion publication. "The industry as a whole has improved quality to the point where there really are no unreliable cars on the road now."
The CAA first published results of its annual reliability survey in the early 1980s as a special supplement in the CAA Toronto member publication, Car Facts, and it later became an independent publication using the Autopinion name.
Without this annual ownership survey, the CAA's 2004 Pyramid Awards presented at this year's CIAS were the first to be based solely on the judgement of a panel of automotive, safety and environmental experts.
Toyota Canada received the environmental Pyramid Award for its hybrid Prius, which brings more space and power as well as fuel-sipping gas/electric technology to the market.
Ford of Canada was awarded the Pyramid for Safety Innovations for lowering the price of a bundle of safety items in its new Freestar minivan with the Canadian Driving package, which includes electronic stability control, brake assist, traction control and a reverse sensing beeping system for $800.
DaimlerChrysler was also recognized for its Fit for a Kid program, which provides the facilities and trained personnel to help parents make sure they restrain their children properly, no matter what brand of vehicle they drive.
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