Consumers cry out for return of DeSoto? - - Source: The Car Connection


Maybe consumers aren't crying out for a return of DeSoto, but they are saying some peculiar things about quality.

In the latest "quality" survey by Strategic Vision, one that measures how "delighted" customers are after three months, Volkswagen-Audi tops all manufacturers with their combined score, while Mercedes topped all brands, tied with Infiniti.

For those who have been watching J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study (things gone wrong in the first 90 days) and its Vehicle Dependability Study (things gone wrong in three to five years), it doesn't seem right that Germans should top any survey as VW and Mercedes have done poorly in both measures.

But Strategic Vision's Dan Gorrell says, "That's where brand cachet and perceived quality come in."

Strategic Vision's Total Quality Index measures how many glitches reported; how much quality is perceived in the vehicle's packaging and performance; emotional attachment; and asks whether they would buy the car again if they had the chance.

Companies still like to do well on Power's IQS and VDS for bragging rights. But they pay more attention internally to this study and Power's APEAL Study, which is much like TQI.

As the performance of VW and Mercedes show, the quality of craftsmanship and performance, as well as how strong a brand is, can make up for an extra trip or two or even three to the dealer service bay.

Among the highlights of the study:

-Hyundai topped both Toyota and Honda for delighting customers, with Elantra and Santa Fe topping their respective categories.

Hyundai, says Gorrell, is on an upward trajectory of surpassing low expectations by a wide margin.

-Toyota brand is below industry average and 20th. Seems low based on how well Toyota tends to score on reliability. But Gorrell says the ubiquity of Camry and dullness of most Toyotas drags down the brand's score. Camry was bested handily by the Pontiac Grand Prix, among others. Ouch.

-Chevy Malibu topped all compact cars, topping VW Jetta, Toyota Prius, Chrysler PT Cruiser among others.

-GM topped ten categories overall with Cadillac XLR and Escalade, Chevy Corvette and Silverado and Saturn ION among segment toppers.

-Hyundai XG350 easily beat the Honda Accord. Who the heck is filling this survey out anyway?

-BMW fell back from first place among all brands last year to fifth. X5 respondents graded harder this year, and the new 5-Series scored lower than the old one. iDrive was a helluva idea.

-64% of GM's models, 61% of Ford's and just 52% of Chrysler's models were above industry average.

-29% of Ford buyers reported a problem with 4% saying the problem was serious. That was worst in the industry. Toyota was best with 21% reporting a problem and just 2% said it was serious. Imagine what Toyota could do if it paid more attention to performance and styling?

-Mercury Monterey ties for best minivan with Honda Odyssey and Chevy Monte Carlo topped a segment? Based on driving Montereys and Monte Carlos, we wonder how many surveys were filled out by GM and Ford employees and their families who must have made up many of the buyers.

Gorrell's firm arrives at scores based on a 1,000 point scale. Most brands and individual vehicles score between 750 and 900, with any brand or vehicle worth buying over 800. A five point differential or swing doesn't seem like much, but it is on this ranking.

 

Related article from the same link below:

 

Germans in quality crisis - - By Mac Gordon- - Source: The Car Connection

Germany is undergoing an automotive crisis it never expected as the birthplace of the first production car. Quality, by many measures, has tanked at three of its revered brands: Mercedes, Porsche, and Volkswagen. The fourth, BMW, still is holding steady on quality, according to a recent J.D. Power survey of initial quality and durability, but many of its owners have had trouble adjusting to the high-tech controls on the 7-Series and 5-Series products.

The fact that Mercedes trailed Infiniti and Lexus in the dependability survey rankled Germans last year more than a little, but when DaimlerChrysler's American "populist" brands, Chrysler and Dodge, pulled ahead of the luxury icon, the downward trend became a national disgrace. Salt was added to the wounds when Porsche and Volkswagen finished 35th and 36th out of 37 brands rated by Power. "German standards are going down," Professor Claus Leggewie, a political scientist at the University of Giessen, told the New York Times (May 20). "We're no longer in the position of being expensive but very good."

German automakers are not taking the bad quality news lightly. U.S. Volkswagen executives are engaged in "teardown" examinations of vehicles shipped from Germany to their headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Porsche has pointed a finger at the VW plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, where parts are made for both the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg SUVs. Somewhere in the mix, production and quality wires are being crossed. "Globalization makes the debate over quality less important," says Professor Leggewie. "When you create transnational companies like DaimlerChrysler, the idea of 'made in Germany' matters less."

U.S. dealers, for that matter, have not complained much about the X5 SUV and Z4 roadster built by BMW in Spartanburg, S.C., or the M-Class SUV coming from the Mercedes facility in Vance, Alabama, though the M-Class routinely finishes among the lowest of the SUVs in Power surveys. Not having been built in the Fatherland was a concern to the proud automakers at first, but southern workers have shown they can build 'em as good as the Germans, if not better. -

 

Very interesting aritcle. That goes to show just how crucial "percieved" quality really is. It can keep a premium brand like Merc high in scorings, even though the facts prove otherwise. It can also bring up brands that are grossly underestimated, al la' XG350, giving it a score higher than Accord... it's amazing. Customer satisfaction is so crucial.

 

It's interesting how both agree on Hyundai's great strides.

 

It looks like a survey that is created when particular companies don't do good on the quality checkups:

C'mon, Malibu outscoring other cars in it's class?
Toyota scoring poorly?

GM not being able to score well in J.D POwer, so all of the sudden does soooo good in this little survery...

What the hell does "bragging rights" have to do with how good the automobile is?

Makes me sick...