Sneak Peek: J.D. Power Quality Study Results

[Perian]

Source: Automotive News email service

Porsche, Hyundai make big gains in quality study.

Porsche and Hyundai will emerge as the biggest winners Wednesday when J.D. Power and Associates releases its 2006 Initial Quality Study, industry sources say.

Porsche will vault to the top spot overall in the study, improving from No. 32 in last year's ranking, making Porsche the top European nameplate.

Hyundai will place third, up from No. 11 in 2005. That makes the Korean automaker the top mass-market nameplate.

Toyota will round out the top four, moving up three spots from No. 7 last year.

The study, which measures quality after 90 days of ownership, asks owners to rate vehicle quality on 135 attributes.

[Perian]

Time to buy a Porsche? 32 > 1 ?? How did they do that?

Congratulations to Hyundai. Job well done, like it or not.

My fingers are crossed for the GM divisions...

Will share update when received.


Thank you to Finch for posting the update (scroll down page).

[Masospaghetti]

Keep in mind that they changed the survey significantly this year, so the nameplates will probably shuffle around quite a bit.

I always thought Porsche made good vehicles.

[Finch]

Originally Posted by Masospaghetti

Keep in mind that they changed the survey significantly this year, so the nameplates will probably shuffle around quite a bit.

Exactly!

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by Masospaghetti

Keep in mind that they changed the survey significantly this year, so the nameplates will probably shuffle around quite a bit.

Ah, I didn't know that -- I wonder if they will put some sort of a disclaimer on it to make sure folks understand this?

[jbartley]

[quote=Perian]Time to buy a Porsche? 32 > 1 ??

they should be able to have better quality, they don't make THAT many vehicles. And it's not like they have plants all over the world to regulate.

[cadillacpimpin]

gm better be 5th

[mkaresh]

Even if they include a disclaimer, few people will read it.

The thing with initial quality (issues in first 90 days) is that it can be achieved in two different ways:

1. Design and assemble the car right, so everything goes together right the first time.

2. Inspect cars thoroughly and fix any problems at the plant and/or dealer before a customer even sees the car.

#1 is the method the Japanese pioneered. #2 has traditionally been the German route to quality. It's much easier to make rapid improvements with #2, all it takes is money and/or dealers that give a ****************. Okay, maybe that last bit isn't so easy...

#2, if handled in the plant, kills the Harbour study productivity stat. So Detroit avoids it lately. Inspection performed off-site doesn't count, so they might do this.

No idea which method Porsche and Hyundai relied on.

Traditional American method: a little bit of #2, but generally wait for the customer to find the problem then fix it under warranty. Who here feels their dealer thoroughly inspects cars before putting them on the lot?

[smk4565]

Porsche makes very few cars, so they can improve fast. GM should be embarrassed for having any brand below Hyundai. Sad to see Toyota went up, and I am sure Lexus is in that #2 slot. I am so sick of Toyota and how the press loves them.

[WishIhadatruck]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

Traditional American method: a little bit of #2, but generally wait for the customer to find the problem then fix it under warranty. Who here feels their dealer thoroughly inspects cars before putting them on the lot?

Inspect it? I just hope they don't screw it up! I would just assume they didn't touch it at all, it should come ready from the factory. And lastly they want to paste their advertisement all over it.

That is why I decided to buy used this last time, my expectations are lower from the start. Maybe next time I'll try new again, and try a new dealer.

[63cat]

Toyota had several recalls last year, widespread problems with the Avalon, and crash tests showed the Corolla to be one of the least safe small cars. I can't figure how they would have climbed in quality.

[ralphh]

Originally Posted by 63cat

Toyota had several recalls last year, widespread problems with the Avalon, and crash tests showed the Corolla to be one of the least safe small cars. I can't figure how they would have climbed in quality.

I'll take this one...

1. Recalls don't always equate with quality, this was covered on another thread about "Toyota's Spate of Recalls".

2. I would guess the Avalon is only a small percentage of Toyota's overall sales.

3. Since when do crash test results=quality?

[MNdudeswitz]

Initial quality means nothing about a cars real quality, it just means that Joe Smith in Canada was able to put part A into part B correctly to make a Impala. People who heavly rely on initial quality studies are no better than people who rely heavily on consumer reports!

[mkaresh]

As I've said many times, with any study it's important to find out what is truly being measured.

Safety scores definitely don't count.

Recalls might not count at all, and certainly don't count after the first 90 days. If they do count, I suspect many recalls gets issued after the JD Power survey period.

I'm now remembering a number of tricks to boost initial quality. Things like cutting the number of features or feature combinations offered during the survey period. Every wonder why many new features are "delayed availability?" This is one possible reason.

JD Power has a consulting arm that teaches manufacturers how to boost their scores. For a fee, of course. Think changing the system this year has boosted the consulting division's revenues?

Could hiring the consultants have any effect on what gets included in press releases like this one?

Lastly, problems with the Avalon have been greatly overblown at this site. The only numbers I've seen are CR, where it still has a decent rating. Everything else is anecdotal.

My piece on JD: http://www.truedelta.com/pieces/jdpower.php

[ScottS]

Originally Posted by smk4565

Porsche makes very few cars, so they can improve fast. GM should be embarrassed for having any brand below Hyundai. Sad to see Toyota went up, and I am sure Lexus is in that #2 slot. I am so sick of Toyota and how the press loves them.

If this is a study based on owner reviews after 90 days, how is this the press' fault? The answer to quality after 90 days isn't changing the data or changing the study, it's changing the quality of vehicles delivered. Why is it so hard to believe GM still isn't quite up to snuff, even if they've improved?

Either way, if the Hyundai assessment is right, and it's a true reflection of actual quality, then the Japanes, Europeans and Americans all have a lot more to worry about. All these years we've been chasing the Japanese to stay on top, and they may not be the biggest threat going forward.