Cars and Drivers

GM's Cadillac Hit Hard in Quality Survey

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: December 6, 2024 7:45 am

Key Points

• Cadillac ranked near the bottom of the 2025 Consumer Reports Automotive Report Card.
• This is another black eye for the General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) brand.
• Take this quiz to see if you’re on track to retire. (sponsored)

Once a year, Consumer Reports releases its widely followed Automotive Report Card. The current version is for 2025. It reviews data on 200 new vehicles gathered by evaluating 300,000 cars with model years from 2000 to 2025. In the “Reliable Brand” portion of the study, General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Cadillac finished second from the bottom of 22 brands. Only tiny electric vehicle company Rivian did worse.

The yardsticks used were: 1) new car reliability, 2) used car reliability, 3) owner satisfaction, 4) road test score, and 5) maintenance and repair costs. Additional evaluations included the number of rows, powertrains, and vehicles people would “recommend” to others.

Brands were given a score between 0 and 100. Cadillac received a score of 27. It dropped seven points from the previous year’s report. Cadillac rivals got much better scores. BMW, Audi, Lexus, and Porsche were all in the top six spots.

Cadillac suffered as German and Japanese luxury cars entered the U.S. market. It has fewer models than most other luxury brands. Last year, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi outsold Cadillac. Acura’s sales were about the same as those of GM’s luxury brand.

Cadillac almost certainly cannot catch the top German and Japanese luxury brands. With poor reliability ratings, it is not even likely to gain ground.

This Car Brand Earned a Stunning 88/100 on Safety and Customer Satisfaction