Car Brands - 7 Best Brands of MY 1985

The 7 Most Reliable and Durable Car Brands of Model Year 1985 

This page lists the top seven car brands (as well as the Top 10 and Top 15 car brands) of model year 1985 by reliability-and-durability grade point average (Reliability-Durability GPA or more concisely, R-D GPA).

1985's Top 7 Car Brands 

1985's 7 best car brands on the North American automobile market are listed below in descending order of Reliability-Durability GPA (best first), together with their R-D GPAs.

  • The Honda line, with a R-D GPA of 3.72
  • The Toyota line, with a R-D GPA of 3.48
  • The Mazda line, with a R-D GPA of 3.33
  • The Porsche line, with a R-D GPA of 3.16
  • The Mercedes-Benz line, with a R-D GPA of 2.89
  • The BMW line, with a R-D GPA of 2.84
  • The Saab line, with a R-D GPA of 2.78

In 1985, the Honda line had a solid quality lead over Toyota. Mazda was more modestly behind Toyota.
 
Honda cars dominate 1985's Top-10 list as well.
 
Chart of the 7 Best Car Brands of 1985
The following bar graph depicts how much above average the Top 7 car brands of 1985 are. The 7 best are listed in descending order (best first.)
This is a bar graph of the Reliability-Durability GPAs of the 7 best car brands of model year 1985. The Reliability-Durability GPA of a car model is a composite measure based on the category and overall reliability ratings of Consumer Reports for age ranges 4-to-5 years and 5-to-6 years. Brand R-D GPA is an average of model R-D GPAs. Chart by James Benjamin Bleeker, January 30, 2012.
 
Countries of Origin of the 7 Best Car Brands of 1985
 
Japanese-engineered car brands account for 3 of the 7 best brands in 1985; German-engineered car brands account for 3, and Swedish -engineered car brands account for 1.

Note that in 1985, as in 1986 and 2005, none of the Detroit manufacturers has a car brand among the Top 7.

The following chart gives each nation's percent share of the 7 most reliable and durable brands of 1985.

This is a pie chart of each country's share of the Top 7 automobile brands of model year 1985 by Reliability-Durability Grade Point Average (GPA). Japan has 42.9% of 1987’s best car brands, Germany has 42.9%, and Sweden has 14.3%. The Reliability-Durability GPA of a car model is a composite score based on the category and overall reliability ratings of Consumer Reports for age ranges 4-to-5 years and 5-to-6 years. Brand R-D GPA is an average of model R-D GPAs. Chart by James Benjamin Bleeker, January 30, 2012.

The Next 3 Car Brands of 1985

The next 3 car brands are listed below in descending order of Reliability-Durability GPA (best first).

  • The Nissan line, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 2.76
  • The Volkswagen line, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 2.38
  • The Lincoln line, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 2.31
Note that the United States' Michigan 4 has one brand among the Top 10 - Ford Motor Company's Lincoln brand. Also note that this line has a Reliability-Durability GPA that is above average, and is the only Michigan 4 line above average.
 
Countries of Origin of the 10 Best Car Brands of 1985
 
Each country's percent share of the 10 best automobile brands of model year 1986 by R-D GPA is:

Japan: 40%
Germany: 40%
Sweden: 10%
U.S.: 10%

The Next 5 Car Brands of 1985

The next 5 car brands are listed below in descending order of Reliability-Durability GPA (best first).

  • The Mitsubishi line, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 2.27
  • The Volvo line, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 2.03
  • The Subaru line, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 2.00
  • The Isuzu line, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 1.86
  • The GMC line, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 1.83
Chart of the 15 Best Car Brands of 1985

The following bar graph depicts how much above average the Top 15 car brands of 1985 are. The 15 best are listed in descending order (best first).

This is a bar graph of the Reliability-Durability GPAs of the 15 best car brands of model year 1985. The Reliability-Durability GPA of a car model is a composite measure based on the category and overall reliability ratings of Consumer Reports for age ranges 4-to-5 years and 5-to-6 years. Brand R-D GPA is an average of model R-D GPAs. Chart by James Benjamin Bleeker, January 30, 2012.
 
Note that the bottom 2 of the 15 best brands are below average.
 
Countries of Origin of the 15 Best Car Brands of 1985
 
Japanese-engineered car brands account for 7 of the 15 best brands in 1985; German-engineered car brands account for 4; Sweden and the U.S. each account for two.

The following chart gives each nation's percent share of the 15 most reliable and durable brands of 1985.

This is a pie chart of each country's share of the Top 15 automobile brands of model year 1985 by Reliability-Durability Grade Point Average (GPA). Japan has 46.7% of 1985’s best car brands, Germany has 26.7% of the best, Sweden has 13.3%, and the U.S. has 13.3%. The Reliability-Durability GPA of a car model is a composite score based on the category and overall reliability ratings of Consumer Reports for age ranges 4-to-5 years and 5-to-6 years. Brand R-D GPA is an average of model R-D GPAs. Chart by James Benjamin Bleeker, January 30, 2012.
 
Computations

To compute the reliability-durability grade point average of the MY 1985 cars, Consumer Reports' reliability ratings for the age ranges 4-to-5 years and 5-to-6 years are used.

CR's ratings are converted to numerical values following the standard academic pattern: a grade point of 4.0 (an A) is accorded a rating of Much Better Than Average, a 3.0 (a B) is accorded a rating of Better Than Average, a 2.0 (a C) is accorded a rating of Average, a 1.0 (a D) is accorded a rating of Below Average, and a 0 (an F) is accorded a rating of Much Below Average.

Then, for each age range, the grade point of CR's overall reliability rating is weighted 2/3 and the average of the grade points of the category ratings is weighted 1/3.

Then, the average for the two age ranges is taken.

Finally, a car brand's Reliability-Durability GPA is computed by taking the average of the Reliability-Durability GPAs of its models.

Best and Worst Car Brands of Each Model Year

The Best Car Brands of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Worst Car Brands of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005 

Additional Resources

The Best Cars of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1975  1976  1977  1978  1979  1980  1981  1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  ...  2004  2005

The Worst Cars of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1980  1981  1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  ...  2004  2005 

The Best Car Manufacturers of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Worst Car Manufacturers of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

Best Car Brands by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 

Worst Car Brands by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

Best Car Makers by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid: 1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

Worst Car Makers by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

For additional car quality information, visit www.AutoOnInfo.net and CarsOnInfo.net.

In particular, for additional durability information, see:

http://www.AutoOnInfo.net/SharesOfHighMileageVehicles.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/ToyotaAgeEquivalents.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/ToyotaMileageEquivalents.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/Top25OfAutoonInfosHighMileageRoster.aspx

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