LexFather

More good news for Porsche/Lexus/Infiniti.
Wow Benz higher than HOnda. Acura, more fuel to they really aren't that good fire. They have been around average in quality for awhile now.

They rated the Infiniti EX as a CAR and not a SUV/CAV thing? lol


Again big kudos to Benz!

RON430

I know they've been up there for a while but do you think Jag is a fluke? Makes the XF worth looking at.

LexFather

Jaguar has made tremendous strides in quality and service, not a fluke. The XF is based on the OLD S-type, so all the quirks are figured out on major parts. Now the new electronics, not so sure.

spwolf

IQS has very little to do with quality - it is survey after 90 days of ownership - quality is only 20-25% of the score, rest is mix of things to see how owner is happy with their purchase.

Threxx

Where did you get the 20-25% number?

I took the IQS survey... the majority of it was very focused on actual build defects or at least perceived defects experienced by the user. So even if something isn't actually wrong, if the person thinks it's wrong then it counts against them. This can make things like difficult to use blue tooth sync operations count against the manufacturer if the consumer perceives it as a quality issue. So something like "not so great paint job" counts against them but "not enough cup holders" does not unless the plant really forgot to install one.

However JD Power makes a big production about giving awards to the assembly plants with the best IQS scoring vehicles... if only 20-25% of the IQS score was actual quality then the assembly plants would have very little part in obtaining those good scores, and thus the awards would be kind of pointless to be given to the plants.

RON430

We'll see, they have been doing a lot better on these surveys. But it is going to take a lot of data to keep my wife from busting out laughing everytime I mention wanting to go look at Jags. To her credit, she blew me off when I tried to interest her in the XK, but said she liked the Bentley Continental. What a woman.

Pearlpower

iTrader: (2)

Appears Lexus/Toyota did better this time around and BMW, where did they go? Agree, 90 days has little bearing, give us some long term 5 year studies. My Fusion was great for 4-5 months and then all hell broke loose-literally.

darkdream

90 is nothing... most people nowadays try to drive as little as possible too...

RON430

Like everyone else, it is a bit difficult to read too much into initial quality other than if it is a dog within ninety days, you are probably in for it. Bimmer is four or five under the industry average.

You know, when I went back and looked at the chart I realized that the Mini was next to last. I thought the Mini was at least average, does it really have that many problems? Scary. And Saturn was in the bottom as well. I was still laboring under the misapprehension that Saturn was pretty reliable too.

RON430

Here's an article that is about the J.D.Power survey. Might answer a few questions. The questionairre had 228 questions! I am surprised they actually got 80,000 some people to fill it in, I wouldn't. I am also just flabbergasted that they rank production plants and that the top European plant with fewest defects in a new car (33 per 100) is a Mercedes plant. Maybe they are getting better. No surpise that the American and Asian winning plants are Toyota.

J.D. Power: Vehicle quality improves industrywide
By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writer
Wed Jun 4, 4:30 PM ET

DETROIT - The quality of new cars improved across the industry this year, with Porsche, Honda, Toyota, General Motors and Ford among the automakers leading the pack, the marketing and consulting company J.D. Power and Associates said Wednesday.

Porsche was the top brand in J.D. Power's annual ranking of initial vehicle quality, which measures both mechanical and design problems in the first 90 days of ownership. Others in the top five were Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus and Toyota brands.

In rankings by vehicle segments, Honda was the only brand with three winners — the Fit subcompact, Civic small car and CR-V crossover. Toyota, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. had three winners each across all their brands. Overall, 26 of the 36 nameplates in the rankings improved from last year.

Chrysler LLC's Jeep was the worst performing brand, with 167 problems per 100 vehicles. Other brands in the bottom five were BMW AG's MINI, Land Rover, GM's Saturn, and Suzuki.

David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power, said the most improved vehicle this year was the Volkswagen Passat. He also cited the Chevrolet Malibu and Infiniti EX-Series, saying both vehicles had strong launches with relatively few problems, which is rare for all-new vehicles.

J.D. Power says overall quality improved to an average of 118 problems per 100 vehicles from 125 problems last year. Vehicle quality has steadily improved over the last decade; there were 176 problems per 100 vehicles in 1998.

The rankings were based on questionnaires from 81,500 people who bought or leased new 2008 vehicles between November and January. The questionnaires ask 228 questions on issues from handling, braking and engine trouble to seat comfort and stereo systems. Sargent said consumers reported that quality was up in every category except audio, entertainment and navigation systems.

The rankings are closely watched by automakers and are frequently used in advertising despite persistent questions about whether they show any real statistical difference between automakers. For example, if Jeep has 167 problems per 100 vehicles, that equals 1.67 problems per vehicle, making the difference with Porsche — at 0.87 problems per vehicle — seem less significant.

Sargent said there are more profound differences in the numbers for individual models, which aren't released publicly but are shown to automakers.

"Most brands produce some very good cars, and many brands produce some cars or vehicles which are not so good," Sargent said during the release of the numbers before a meeting of the Automotive Press Association.

He also said that even though the differences seem insignificant, they have an effect on consumers and whether they will stay with a brand or recommend it to others.

"For every small, incremental increase in quality, you will get more customers coming back to your brand," Sargent said.

Sargent said rising gas prices had some effect on the rankings this year. While the average number of problems with vehicles' fuel consumption stayed the same as in 2007, the owners of large vehicles were more likely to complain about high fuel consumption, while the owners of small vehicles were less likely to complain.

"I believe this is entirely due to increased gas prices and people's sensitivity to the issue," Sargent said.

Sargent also said hybrid vehicle owners were also slightly more likely to complain about fuel consumption.

J.D. Power also gave awards to the plants which produce the vehicles with the fewest mechanical complaints and defects. The Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, was the best overall, averaging 33 problems per 100 vehicles. In North and South America, the winner was the Toyota plant in Baja California, Mexico, which produces the Toyota Tacoma. In Asia, the top plant was Toyota's Fujimatsu plant in Japan, which makes the Toyota Prius.

Hypnotik

I find that funny about the EX35 too. People have said that it is sorta like a G wagon or something.

LexFather

It looks like a more round Mazdaspeed 3, 5 door hatch, so I really think its a hatch. I could not believe how utterly small the rear was with the seats up. You can't tow with it either, so I guess it is like a wagon/hatch/car thing.

G35 Wagon, I could see that though Infiniti positions the EX above teh G35/37.

soakgame

infiniti # 2..

hmmmm.. the gs400 might need a wifey =D

gengar

Agreed. It's one of those things that if it's bad, things are probably bad. If it's good, that doesn't really mean anything. No real "winners" here, just avoidance of being a loser.

MoLexus

Strange.....BMWattics are very very quiet. Scion should be discontinued IMO.