America's Worst Car Brand

Cars and Drivers

Published: August 22, 2023 9:30 am

Car prices are so high that many Americans cannot afford a new one. The average price of a new car recently topped $40,000. And car loans can carry an interest rate well above 5%. For used cars, this can be closer to 10%. These are why people should search for the best-rated cars available. (These 15 cars hold their value the longest.)

American Customer Satisfaction Index Automobile Study 2022-2023 was just released. It is based on a survey of 8,941 customers between July 2022 and June 2023. The study was comprehensive. It looked at braking, steering, performance, dependability, comfort, the quality of the exterior and the interior, and warranties. It also looked at each brand’s app.

Cars were rated on a scale of 0 to 100. The industry average was 79. The results were divided into luxury cars and mass-market cars. The average for luxury cars was 81, and for mass-market cars the figure was 79.

The brand with the lowest rating was Chrysler, at 71. Global auto giant Stellantis owns it. The other two worst-rated brands are made by Stellantis as well. Pickup brand Ram had a grade of 74, as did Jeep.

Chrysler was once one of America’s largest car brands. For decades, it was part of the Big Three, along with Ford and General Motors. Founded in 1925, Chrysler once owned other large brands like Plymouth.

Chrysler has fallen on hard times. It sells only two minivans and one car. The minivans, a type of car Chrysler invented, are the Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid Plug-In. It also sells the aging Chrysler 300. The brand has so few options it is hard to imagine why people would visit its dealers. The American Customer Satisfaction Index results give people another reason to stay away.