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Porsche is No. 1, Mini second to last in J.D. Power report
Craig Trudell
Automotive News
June 4, 2008 - 12:00 pm ET
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. posted mixed results in the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study.
The Ford and Mercury brands each jumped two spots and both cracked the top eight, while Lincoln fell from No. 3 to No. 15, the last brand ranked above the industry average.
Quality is a crucial part of Ford Motor's effort to rebuild its auto sales and image. The J.D. Power results -- except for the stumble at Lincoln -- could boost the automaker's promotional efforts.
Small-car specialist Mini ranked next to last, ahead of only Jeep. Mini wasn't included in the study last year because of a small sample size and was well below the industry average in 2006.
Infiniti vaulted from No. 9 to No. 2 behind only Porsche, which topped the overall brand ratings for the third straight year. The study was unveiled at an Automotive Press Association luncheon here today.
Audi improved the most in ranking and problems per 100 vehicles, vaulting into the top 10 this year from near the bottom fourth in last year's rankings. At 113 defects per 100 vehicles, it shed 23 defects from a year ago.
Kia down, Mazda and Hummer are up
The Kia brand, which placed just above the industry average last year, fell in the rankings this year. Kia's fall came despite nine fewer defects per 100 vehicles this year.
Mazda and Hummer, two of the bottom three in the 2007 study, improved this year: Mazda climbed 11 spots, while Hummer moved up eight.
The Saturn brand went the other way, falling to No. 33 from its No. 20 ranking a year ago.
Nearly three-fourths of the 36 ranked brands fared better in problems per 100 vehicles, and the industry average improved to 118 problems per 100 vehicles, down from 125 in 2007.
The study tallies problems reported by owners of new vehicles 90 days after purchase. It is reported in problems per 100 vehicles. The survey includes design complaints and manufacturing defects.
According to the study, 86 percent of overall improvement this year resulted from fewer defects.
Honda secured three segment awards with the Civic and Fit cars and CR-V crossover, which was more than any other nameplate in the 2008 study. Collecting two segment awards each were Chevrolet (Malibu sedan and Silverado LD pickup); Dodge (Dakota pickup and Durango SUV); Infiniti (EX crossover and M sedan); Lexus (LS car and RX crossover); and Mercedes-Benz (CLK-class and E-class car).
Full article (sub reqd?): http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.d...534397/1200/emailblast01&refsect=emailblast01
There's not much here on GM aside from the good showing by the Malibu (which I've been expecting based on the survey responses at TrueDelta) and the poor showing by Saturn (ditto--blame the new VUE).
As usual, JD Power won't provide numerical results at the model level. Those are only provided to paying manufacturers.
Also remember that these results include both "design quality" (usability) and "manufacturing quality" (defects). I haven't found any subscores separating these yet.
Craig Trudell
Automotive News
June 4, 2008 - 12:00 pm ET
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. posted mixed results in the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study.
The Ford and Mercury brands each jumped two spots and both cracked the top eight, while Lincoln fell from No. 3 to No. 15, the last brand ranked above the industry average.
Quality is a crucial part of Ford Motor's effort to rebuild its auto sales and image. The J.D. Power results -- except for the stumble at Lincoln -- could boost the automaker's promotional efforts.
Small-car specialist Mini ranked next to last, ahead of only Jeep. Mini wasn't included in the study last year because of a small sample size and was well below the industry average in 2006.
Infiniti vaulted from No. 9 to No. 2 behind only Porsche, which topped the overall brand ratings for the third straight year. The study was unveiled at an Automotive Press Association luncheon here today.
Audi improved the most in ranking and problems per 100 vehicles, vaulting into the top 10 this year from near the bottom fourth in last year's rankings. At 113 defects per 100 vehicles, it shed 23 defects from a year ago.
Kia down, Mazda and Hummer are up
The Kia brand, which placed just above the industry average last year, fell in the rankings this year. Kia's fall came despite nine fewer defects per 100 vehicles this year.
Mazda and Hummer, two of the bottom three in the 2007 study, improved this year: Mazda climbed 11 spots, while Hummer moved up eight.
The Saturn brand went the other way, falling to No. 33 from its No. 20 ranking a year ago.
Nearly three-fourths of the 36 ranked brands fared better in problems per 100 vehicles, and the industry average improved to 118 problems per 100 vehicles, down from 125 in 2007.
The study tallies problems reported by owners of new vehicles 90 days after purchase. It is reported in problems per 100 vehicles. The survey includes design complaints and manufacturing defects.
According to the study, 86 percent of overall improvement this year resulted from fewer defects.
Honda secured three segment awards with the Civic and Fit cars and CR-V crossover, which was more than any other nameplate in the 2008 study. Collecting two segment awards each were Chevrolet (Malibu sedan and Silverado LD pickup); Dodge (Dakota pickup and Durango SUV); Infiniti (EX crossover and M sedan); Lexus (LS car and RX crossover); and Mercedes-Benz (CLK-class and E-class car).
Full article (sub reqd?): http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.d...534397/1200/emailblast01&refsect=emailblast01
There's not much here on GM aside from the good showing by the Malibu (which I've been expecting based on the survey responses at TrueDelta) and the poor showing by Saturn (ditto--blame the new VUE).
As usual, JD Power won't provide numerical results at the model level. Those are only provided to paying manufacturers.
Also remember that these results include both "design quality" (usability) and "manufacturing quality" (defects). I haven't found any subscores separating these yet.
