gavriil

Reuters / May 06, 2003

DETROIT -- Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. on Tuesday topped a benchmark U.S. survey on vehicle quality for the fifth straight year, but many other automakers gained ground on the leading Japanese car company.

Toyota had 115 consumer-reported problems per 100 vehicles in the annual J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey, up from a record-low 107 problems last year. Four of the top five automakers in the study, a poll of more than 52,000 buyers and lessees of 2003 model year vehicles during the first 90 days of ownership, had more problems this year.

Meanwhile, most other automakers posted better results as the difference between the best and worst scores narrowed.

"The quality has improved so dramatically, particularly for the Koreans, that they are becoming very competitive players in the market," Brian Walters, director of product research with J.D. Power, told Reuters. "The longer they are here, the better they are able to understand the U.S. consumer."

Overall, the industry had 133 problems per 100 vehicles, the same as last year. Top complaints in the annual study include wind noise, chipped paint and loud brakes.

Porsche was the only one of the top five automakers to improve its score, moving up to second place with 117 problems, down from 122 problems last year.

BMW, Honda Motor Co. and General Motors remained near the top of the rankings behind Toyota, but they also had more problems this year.

Walters said Honda and GM had some problems with the launch of some new vehicles. GM's Hummer brand had the worst score of all automotive brands with 225 problems per 100 vehicles, due to many complaints about the high fuel consumption. That compares with Lexus, which had the best score with 76 problems per 100 vehicles.

Because Hummer H2 is too heavy to be subject to federal mileage regulations, the popular SUV does not have its fuel rating posted on the window sales sticker like most other vehicles do.

U.S. and European automakers narrowed the gap with Japanese automakers, and have only nine more problems per 100 vehicles, down from 19 problems five years ago, J.D. Power said. The Koreans still rank the lowest, but have improved their scores substantially, narrowing the gap with the Japanese to 26 problems from 116 problems five years ago.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. moved up to sixth place with 135 problems, down from 152 last year when its new Altima mid-sized sedan was launched.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. had the biggest improvement, 66 fewer problems per 100 vehicles for a score of 144, while Korea's Kia Motors America had 44 fewer problems for a total of 168 this year.

Top-ranking automakers often tout the results of the study in advertisements, while others go back and make revisions to their cars and trucks to try to garner a better score and improve customer satisfaction.

Out of 16 car and truck segments, Toyota and its luxury division Lexus led in the quality rankings in six categories, while Ford and its Mazda unit took top spot in five, followed by GM with three and Honda and DaimlerChrysler with one.

J.D. Power said consumers may may want to reconsider the maxim "never buy a new car in its first year." An analysis showed that many new models or vehicles which had major redesigns scored higher initial quality marks than the model they replaced.

gavriil

So solving all the Boxster problems, Porsche moves up. Hmm...

gavriil

So it's

Toyota
Porsche
BMW
Honda
GM
Nissan

I wonder what the rankings are taking into consideration the subsidiaries. We know Lexus was number one but where was Acura and Infiniti?

gavriil

Let me answer my own question:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...e-rankings.htm

gavriil

So a LOT more of the truth now is coming out. Porsche is not a cool number 2 any more I thought so.

Look at Cadillac! WOW!

Infiniti beat us by ONE! Darn!

Go Buick. They scored well last year too. Which means it's for real since it's consequtive.

In this table, now let's look at Toyota. Number 9 !

How can Jaguar beat Honda? Go Jaguar. I guess...

Mercedes still in deep sh!t

Chrysler, darling, what happened to you?

Ford. Man, these guys dont get it. Bitch mode off.

Good to see USAmerican and European cars get better.

gavriil

By car and truck category here:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...07-segment.htm

gavriil

I cant believe the Vette lost the crown this year (in its segment)

gavriil

Look at the:

Entry midsize Car, Premium Midsize Car and Full Size car categories be almost 100% USAmerican dominated. Where is the Accord and the Camry? Where is the Altima and the Maxima?

Red Nj-s

How in the hell is BMW ahead of Honda and GM? Those cars are constantly in the shop from what I've heard.

Collective27

I dont know if i agree with all this shit....i thought the volvo S80 had all types of problems....and the pontiac boniville and all those other american cars??? come on now, those things have more problems then who knows...

At least the TL made it on the list.

heyitsme

i dunno about jdpower, i used to be into these results but after seeing such big changes in the lineup from year to year, other than lexus, i take them with a grain of salt. like with hummer, people are stupid asses, they think a tank is going to get good gas mileage so when it doesn't, jd power ends up ranking it last? what a joke.