Vehicle recalls up 25 percent in 2007

DETROIT, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- At least 14.2 million motor vehicles were recalled in the United States in 2007, up more than 25 percent from 2006.

Automakers recalled 11.2 million vehicles last year, far fewer than the 30.8 million recalls in 2004, signaling newer cars and trucks are improving reliability, the Detroit News reported Thursday.

Preliminary figures from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration show Ford Motor Co. led in recalls, recalling 5.5 million vehicles this year, but about 4.8 million were 2004 and earlier model vehicles. Most of the recalls were for 1992 to 2004 models with a defective switch that deactivates the cruise control.

General Motors Corp. recalled 537,000 vehicles as of Dec. 21, a major improvement from the 1.37 million in 2006.

Honda Motor Co. recalled 547,000 vehicles, down from 1.19 million.

Volkswagen of America recalled 1.5 million vehicles, up from 950,000 in 2006.

Chrysler and Toyota had far fewer recalls in 2007 and Ford had 41 vehicle late model nameplates ranked highest for reliability by Consumer Reports magazine.