Japanes cars more reliable

[sasguru]

BBC News - Japanese cars are 'most reliable' used car brands in UK

Is the Pope a catholic? Do bears tulip in the woods?

Seriously though, if German cars were better engineered, surely they'd be more reliable?
I suppose they look nicer though

here's a plan B: set up a design consultancy that helps Japanese cars look nicer and have superficially better materials in the cabin. Then spend a fortune on marketing.

Having said whoich some of them seem to have started that process already.

[Mich the Tester]

BBC News - Japanese cars are 'most reliable' used car brands in UK

Is the Pope a catholic? Do bears tulip in the woods?

Seriously though, if German cars were better engineered, surely they'd be more reliable?
I suppose they look nicer though

here's a plan B: set up a design consultancy that helps Japanese cars look nicer and have superficially better materials in the cabin. Then spend a fortune on marketing.

Having said whoich some of them seem to have started that process already.

Not necessarily; they may be more 'durable' in that they can give a consistent level of 'reliability' over many years. I don't want to get into the theoretical stuff about quality attributes, because I think a lot of it is guff, but there's a case for saying that if you want a car that'll run reliably for 5 to 10 years then buy Japanese, and if you want one that you can pass on as an inheritance, buy something big, smart and German. Or of course a Rolls or a Land Rover.

[sasguru]

Not necessarily; they may be more 'durable' in that they can give a consistent level of 'reliability' over many years. I don't want to get into the theoretical stuff about quality attributes, because I think a lot of it is guff, but there's a case for saying that if you want a car that'll run reliably for 5 to 10 years then buy Japanese, and if you want one that you can pass on as an inheritance, buy something big, smart and German. Or of course a Rolls or a Land Rover.

I don't get the reasoning. If something stops being reliable (or is less reliable than another brand) after 5 years, its not going to be great as an inheritance, is it?

Also we're talking real data here, not "guff".
It's the probability of having a breakdown after a set number of years.
I've no reason to think the stats. methodology is erroneous e.g. it should only look at cars that have been maintained according to instructions, have similar mileages and modes of use etc.

A metadata analysis would probably show this finding repeated in many countries in many surveys.

[Mich the Tester]

I don't get the reasoning. If something stops being reliable (or is less reliable than another brand) after 5 years, its not going to be great as an inheritance, is it?

Also we're talking real data here, not "guff".
It's the probability of having a breakdown after a set number of years.
I've no reason to think the stats. methodology is erroneous e.g. it should only look at cars that have been maintained according to instructions, have similar mileages and modes of use etc.

A metadata analysis would probably show this finding repeated in many countries in many surveys.

I don't know. I do know there are still a lot of Mercedes cars from the 70s and 80s still driving around, and many are still seen as desirable, like the w123 saloon or the convertibles ffrom 60s and 70s; obviously, because they're desirable, they probably get good maintenance. I wonder whether there'll be lots of Japanese cars from 2012 on the roads in 30 or 40 years time.

[DimPrawn]

You have to consider how a Toyota Corrolla is typically driven vs an Audi A4 or 3 Series.

The sort of person who buys a Corrolla is going to live an extremely long and dull life, and bit like the car really.

[sasguru]

I don't know. I do know there are still a lot of Mercedes cars from the 70s and 80s still driving around, and many are still seen as desirable, like the w123 saloon or the convertibles ffrom 60s and 70s; obviously, because they're desirable, they probably get good maintenance. I wonder whether there'll be lots of Japanese cars from 2012 on the roads in 30 or 40 years time.

Spot on. That's my point - they look better.
There are some, but a lot fewer, Japanese cars from the 60s and 70s that are also seen as classics. Those are the ones, where by luck, they designed to Western tastes.

hence my plan B: European exterior and interior designers in conjunction with Japanese engineers for the innards would be the perfect combination. Sadly the Japanese are a very insular people.

[sasguru]

You have to consider how a Toyota Corrolla is typically driven vs an Audi A4 or 3 Series.

The sort of person who buys a Corrolla is going to live an extremely long and dull life, and bit like the car really.

That's why I mentioned modes of use in the stats analysis, but that probably went over your shallow little head.

[Mich the Tester]

Spot on. That's my point - they look better.
There are some, but a lot fewer, Japanese cars from the 60s and 70s that are also seen as classics. Those are the ones, where by luck, they designed to Western tastes.

hence my plan B: European exterior and interior designers in conjunction with Japanese engineers for the innards would be the perfect combination. Sadly the Japanese are a very insular people.

I've heard from people in the motor trade that the Koreans are trying to do something like that and have a big future.

[lukemg]

First off - ALL cars are vastly more reliable than they used to be but also cost much more to maintain properly and fix if they do go wrong.
Second - Jap cars do tend to fill the top few reliability places but the Koreans are coming in hard, reviews of the later models seem really good and I expect them to eat more of Ford/Vauxhalls lunch.
BUT in rich western countries like UK, car is far more than function, so brand is very important. Germans have got this in spades but owned by indians or not, I think JLR are doing a brilliant job.

[sasguru]

First off - ALL cars are vastly more reliable than they used to be but also cost much more to maintain properly and fix if they do go wrong.
Second - Jap cars do tend to fill the top few reliability places but the Koreans are coming in hard, reviews of the later models seem really good and I expect them to eat more of Ford/Vauxhalls lunch.
BUT in rich western countries like UK, car is far more than function, so brand is very important. Germans have got this in spades but owned by indians or not, I think JLR are doing a brilliant job.

Brand = spending money on high-quality marketing over years and decades.
The Japanese culturally have always felt that engineering is all that matters. That is their downfall.
As MTT has pointed out the Koreans are doing it differently, AFAIK they've got a design centre in Germany and are spending a fortune on marketing, sooner or later they will succeed.
As for JLR, they need to pick themselves up from the bottom of the reliability tables.