General Motors

Brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC

GM has proved it can build good vehicles. Now, with an ambitious line of upcoming models, it needs to prove it can be more consistent.

What's right

In our testing, we've seen notable improvements in the performance, interior fit and finish, and overall refinement of recent GM cars. Several models we've tested now compete well with the best in their classes, including the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Malibu sedans, and GM's crossover SUVs—the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia. And its full-sized pickups are tops in that category.

Other good signs: The redesigned Buick LaCrosse sedan and Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain small SUVs, introduced this summer, are much more capable, refined, and better finished than their mostly mediocre predecessors.

What's wrong

Reliability has been inconsistent and below the competition. About half of the GM models for which we have data from our 2008 survey are below average. That keeps several models that did well in our road tests from being recommended. GM also has been struggling to find the right formula for its small and midsized sedans. Older designs, such as the Chevrolet Aveo and Cobalt and Pontiac G6, are among the worst in our test Ratings for those categories.

Of the brands that GM is jettisoning (including Hummer, Pontiac, Saab, and Saturn), only a few models, such as the Pontiac Vibe and G8, Saab 9-3, and Saturn Outlook, did well in our tests.