Posted by Mark Williams | October 27, 2016

According to the Consumer Reports' Annual Auto Reliability Survey for 2016, Ram is dead last, 29th out of 29 brands. In fact, five of the last seven spots on the list are Fiat Chrysler Automobiles brands: Jeep (23), Dodge (26), Chrysler (27), Fiat (28) and Ram (29). The annual survey ranks all the major vehicle brands in the U.S. in terms of dependability.

This year, the survey list is broken into three different categories, with the top third considered "more reliable," the middle third "reliable" and the bottom third "less reliable." Because the survey does not distinguish brands from their model lineup, it's difficult to know how each model of car, SUV or pickup truck affects the overall scores.

In the case of Ram, Consumer Reports looked at two models: the Ram 1500 and Ram 2500/3500 pickups. For the purposes of CR's survey, Ram is unique in that it is the only brand that exclusively sells mainstream pickups (leaving out the more commercially oriented Ram ProMaster and ProMaster City vans).

In response to the survey results, FCA released this statement: "The Company values all feedback from our customers and third-party evaluators, including Consumer Reports, as it helps guide our product improvements. Our internal quality surveys and measurements continue to show positive growth toward vehicle quality and dependability across our brands. Additionally, it's important to note that the Ram Truck brand finished in the top 10 of automakers in J.D. Power's 2016 Vehicle Dependability Study. With that being said, we encourage customers to experience our vehicles for themselves."

In the same survey, Consumer Reports named the Toyota Tundra the most reliable of all pickups, while the Ram 2500 was named the least reliable. The survey does not have a separate mid-size pickup category.

For the 2016 survey Consumer Reports said it gathered data on more than half a million vehicles, including more than 300 models from model years 2000 to 2016, plus a few early 2017s, to analyze how reliable vehicles have been and to predict future reliability.

Cars.com image by Mark Williams