THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, March 19, 1996                TAG: 9603190257
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY MIKE MCKESSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: DETROIT                            LENGTH: Medium:   62 lines

U.S. CARS CLOSING GAP WITH JAPANESE ACURA AND INFINITI WERE THE BRANDS WITH FEWEST PROBLEMS REPORTED BY OWNERS.

Japanese cars still hold the edge in reliability, but computers on American vehicles are narrowing the gap, Consumer Reports said Monday.

Acura and Infiniti, the luxury lines of Honda and Nissan, were the brands with the fewest problems reported by owners. General Motors' Saturn and Geo were best among American brands. Volvo and BMW were the most reliable Europeans.

``The high-tech-ness creates a performance level that's pretty comparable across the board,'' said Bob Knoll, who runs the magazine's auto testing program. ``We used to rate something called `drivability' - cars used to stumble, stall, have trouble starting. Today's cars are running extremely well.''

The coughing, sputtering, surging and slow starting that once plagued some cars and trucks have nearly disappeared from today's new vehicles, thanks to on-board computers aimed at reducing pollution.

Brakes are another area where technology has evened out the competition. Knoll said anti-lock brakes work so well ``it has made our brake testing even more routine than ever before.''

Consumers Reports' auto issue, which goes on sale March 26, analyzes problems owners have had with hundreds of car and truck models and combines the data with results of Consumer Reports tests. Problems can range from a dashboard that rattles to an engine that doesn't run.

For the 1995 model year, the magazine found:

Average reliability, measured by owner reports of problems, was 28 problems per 100 cars, about one problem for every four owners.

Japanese brands averaged about 17 problems per 100 cars, about one problem for every five owners.

The Big Three domestic automakers, GM, Ford and Chrysler, average about 33 problems per 100 cars - one for every three owners - and were comparable to each other in overall quality.

As a group, European automakers were about the same as their American competitors in terms of reliability.

In 1980, Consumer Reports surveys found that buyers of American cars reported 70-plus problems per 100 cars, while buyers of Japanese cars reported fewer than 50.

Consumers Reports testers also keep track of the problems they find in the American cars they buy to test. Fifteen years ago, it was not uncommon for a new vehicle to have 20, 30 or 40 defects, Knoll said. ``Now, it's two or three,'' he said.

Automakers pay attention to what Consumer Reports says about their products because for some consumers, the annual auto issue is the buyer's bible.

``There are people who come into dealerships and carry a copy of Consumer Reports,'' said William J. O'Neill, director of product public relations for General Motors in North America. ``If you have a `recommended' rating from Consumer Reports, it has a favorable effect on sales of your vehicle.''

KEYWORDS: CONSUMER REPORTS SURVEY CAR AUTOMOBILE by CNB