Consumer Reports has been testing cars since its inception in 1936, giving buyers an unbiased assessment of the best cars for their hard earned money. Over the years, we have seen the Big 3 domestic auto manufacturers rise and fall, but I don’t believe we have ever seen all of them in such perilous state.

In the 1950s and ‘60s the Michigan-based manufacturers had the automotive landscape to themselves, but as the ‘70s arrived, they failed to keep pace with technology and the market. As we moved into the ‘80s and ‘90s it was almost like an alcoholic who remains in denial until they acknowledge they have a problem. In some ways this is understandable. They were the biggest manufacturers in the world and living in the Detroit area in those days, the executives’ and employees only saw their own products driving around. Clearly, everyone loves them!

However, in other parts of the country where the work force is not so closely tied to the auto industry, other consumers were getting fed up with poor gas mileage and appalling reliability. At one time not so long ago during the check-in procedure of new cars that Consumer Reports had purchased anonymously from local dealers, we would count up the number a delivery faults (sample defects) each car had. These ranged from misaligned panels and malfunctioning parts, to major issues such as transmissions that would not shift correctly. We also heard from cars owners who had bought a Chevrolet or a Dodge or a Ford who had nothing but problems with their cars. Such owners would write, "I would never buy another XYZ again." This was not just the model they were talking about, it was the manufacturer – Chrysler, Ford, or General Motors—they were never going to buy a car from again.

Around this time the European and, more importantly, the Japanese car manufacturers started to get a foothold in the American market. In the early days Japanese cars were not very good, however they got customers to buy their cars by selling them fully equipped with A/C, radios, and other optional equipment the Big 3 charged extra for. Once the customers had these new small Japanese cars, they found out they were good on gas and they would go forever without breaking down. We still hear from subscribers who say that all they have done to a car in 200,000 miles is routine service.

I have always considered that the most important period for a car to be reliable is in its fourth and fifth year of ownership; this is the time when many owners are considering buying a new car. Many manufacturers have concentrated on initial quality and a three-year warranty period, thereby missing out on when the customer is considering their new car.

Over the years the Japanese vehicles have improved and are now make some of the best performing cars on the market. In fact most of the Top Picks in Consumer Reports Annual Autos issue have traditionally been from Japanese manufacturers. This is probably why about three quarters of the people who buy a Honda or Toyota buy another one, but less than half of Ford and GM buyers and only a third of Chrysler buyer buy another one.

Lately, we have also seen the rise of the Hyundai from Korea, who in the early ‘90s made awful cars with terrible reliability, which almost put them out of business. However, since the late ‘90s, we have seen tremendous improvements in Hyundai cars in both how they perform and in their reliability. The latest Hyundai products are now competitive with Honda and Toyota.

The Detroit 3 now
Today, I believe the Big 3, or as they should now be known as, the Detroit 3, have been in "rehab" for several years and are on the road to recovery, but like many recovering alcoholics, they are overweight and broke.

They are making progress, Ford over the last five years or so has been making incremental improvements year over year in the reliability of their cars, to the point that the newly introduced cars are on par with Honda and Toyota. Many consumers would not think that the Ford Fusion is one of the most reliable family sedans on the market and more reliable than poster child for reliability the Toyota Camry. Unfortunately their current line up of cars is not very exciting and bland; this does not bring customers into the showroom.

GM has introduced some very good cars that are competitive with the best cars in the world. The Cadillac CTS is competitive with BMW and Mercedes-Benz; the new Malibu is competitive with Honda Accord and Toyota Camry; and the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Arcadia, and Saturn Outlook are competitive with the best SUVs on the market. GM’s pickup trucks are some of the best available, but unfortunately their reliability has not been able to match the cars’ performance.      

Chrysler seems to have concentrated innovative features at the detriment of the vehicle as a whole. They have introduced "Stow and Go" and "Swivel and Go" seating in their minivans, but unfortunately the powertrains, handling, and interior quality in all Chrysler products has been lacking and nearly all their vehicles have below average reliability. Their one bright light is the new Ram pickup truck. Thus far in our testing, it marks a big improvement over its predecessor, but given that pickup trucks are not the most vibrant market segment today, Chrysler still has much work ahead. However, its recently announced alliance with Fiat may be able to accelerate the automaker’s turnaround.

A shorter version of this piece appears on NYTimes.com in a collaborative piece titled "How to Get Detroit Selling Again."

—David Champion

For more Consumer Reports’ insights on the domestic automakers, read “Report card for Detroit.” And see how car owners feel in the “Car Brand Perceptions Survey.”