GS69

Porsche & Lincoln Climb to Top of J.D. Power 2010 Vehicle Dependability Study

J.D. Power and Associates has just released its 2010 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS)... and Porsche, Lincoln and Buick have climbed on the podium (Buick, Jaguar and Lexus occupied the top spots in last year's 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study). The German automaker demonstrated a significant jump in quality (up ten spots) with Ford's brand hot on its heels (up six positions). While Buick dropped down, its score was indicative of improved quality – however, the bar had been raised.

This year's VDS found that several brands that perform well in the firm's dependability study are avoided due to public misperception about reliability. These brands include Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai, Lincoln and Mercury – all having the greatest lags between dependability performance and consumer perception. "Producing vehicles with world-class quality is just part of the battle for automakers; convincing consumers to believe in their quality is equally as important," says a J.D. Power and Associates spokesperson.

The Vehicle Dependability Study is designed to accurately measure problems experienced by original owners of three-year-old (2007 model year) vehicles. This year's study was based on responses from more than 52,000 vehicle owners surveys between October and December of 2009. Scores are based on the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with lower scores reflecting higher vehicle quality. The complete J.D. Power press release and charts can be found after the jump and in the gallery below.

Mister Two

Sad that even the LS is yielding the top spot. And the ES is even beaten by an Audi. Is the world coming to an end?

And where did the IS, GS, SC and LX go? They all used to be up there.

(Cj)

I don't have many objections to the lists. I don't agree with everything, but it's not too far off.

TorontoIS

Lexus is a bit off its game lately. Hopefully next year will be different.

LexFather

Look at the numbers. Lexus had 115 one less than Buick/Lincoln and 5 more than Porsche. It's still a high ranking and Lexus has a much larger lineup with more tech that "could"break down. So it's not bad at all.

The ES/LS/RX won individual awards

TorontoIS

True, which is why I said a "bit" off its game. I just expect them to be always at the top and not equal with Buick which has obviously really improved over the years.

Lexmex

I don't have too many objections either, but let's keep a few things in mind.

It's a study, so we don't see the whole population and some vehicles have newer technology/design (hence leading to reliability) than others.

We've talked about before about comparing a 7 year old Lexus to say something like a 3 year old Chevrolet.

Then what about the that guy or girl out there that like to take their Cayenne offroad and runs into a big ditch and suffers a problem, is that counted in there. Or somebody really adventurous who decided to take their Buick sedan offroad.

In addition, people use the vehicles differently and may neglect or be super on the ball about maintenance issues and also factor in that companies sometimes cover certain maintenance issues albeit at a price factored into the vehicle.

However, it does more or less tell the story within standard deviation.

lex

How did Jaguar suddenly from last year fall below industry average?

rdgdawg

Biggest head slap for me- how Volkswagen continues to increase global sales with such horrid reliability

IS350jet

The problem with studies like this is that people think differently about what dependability means. Old school
dependability meant that the car didn't break down on you. A very important question to ask is, How many
people surveyed had multiple problems with their car, yet, ranked it high in reliability because the car never left
them stranded? The opposite is true, also. How many people surveyed had 1 minor problem in 5 years, only to write
the car off as a complete piece of junk?

caddyowner

I'm going to hear about this over on cadillacforums because I elected to buy an 05 LS430 over an 07 DTS.

Unfortunately, some of what these surveys measure is how well the automaker manages the survey process by encouraging owners to return favorable results.

Mister Two

Also surprised at how much worse than Toyota Scion did, considering that they are basically rebadged Toyotas. Perhaps the typical Scion owners tend to be more abusive?

caddyowner

I read somewhere that Toyota was concerned because the younger buyers of Scion whine a lot about stuff older buyers have learned to live with.

GS69

Porsche Edges Out Lincoln for Vehicle Dependability Title

Porsche sits atop the annual U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study rankings released by J.D. Power and Associates today.

The German sports car maker rose from 11th place to top 2009 co-winners Buick and Jaguar and lead the annual study of 3-year-old vehicles. Lexus, which ended its 14-year reign last year, fell to third, in a tie with Buick behind Lincoln.

"It's not ‘What happened to Lexus?' … the entire industry has gotten very competitive,” said David Sargent, vice president of global research for J.D. Power and the chief author of the study. “No one brand stands out like it used to.”

While vehicles in general keep getting more dependable each year, some U.S. and South Korean automakers don't get the public respect they deserve, Sargent added. Most of the 36 brands surveyed scored fewer problems than they did in last year's study, repeating a long-term pattern. The brands with the biggest perception gaps, according to Sargent: Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai, Lincoln and Mercury.

Manufacturing more dependable vehicles can be easier and faster than convincing skeptical consumers of any improvement.

“It's not an overnight process,” Sargent said. “They just have to keep designing and building quality vehicles and communicate with customers. They're in the process of doing that, but it takes time.”

Each of Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. brands -- Ford, Mercury and Lincoln -- finished in the top 10 this year, while Hyundai was No. 11 and Cadillac No. 12.

Fourteen brands finished above the industry average score of 155 problems, which improved from last year's average of 167.

The study measures problems experienced by original owners of 3-year-old (2007 model year) vehicles, covering 198 different problem symptoms. The score reflects the number of problems reported per 100 vehicles. The lower the score, the better the apparent vehicle dependability.

All but seven brands scored below 200, meaning less than two reported problems per vehicle over the three years.

In addition to Porsche's rise, notable gains included No. 2 Lincoln, which finished eighth last year, and No. 9 Mercedes-Benz, which climbed 10 spots.

The biggest surprise was Jaguar falling from last year's first-place tie to No. 23 this year. Jaguar's score may have been affected by the introduction of a new model, Sargent said.

Jaguars from the 2007 model year were built by Ford Motor Co., as were Land Rovers. The brands are now owned by India's Tata Motors.

Germany's Audi also plummeted, slipping to No. 26 from No.12 a year earlier.

The same three brands finished at the bottom both years, although in a different order. This year, the lowest score was Land Rover's 255, below Suzuki's 253 and Volkswagen's 225.

mmarshall

Some of these figures, IMO, are questionable. Consumer Reports, which I consider the best reliability source of all, agrees with part of it, but is substantially different in other areas. A good example: J.D. Power ranks the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice right behind the Miata in reliability, but Consumer Reports shows them both far behind the Miata in reliability, with a number of other cars in between. Last, J.D. Power and Consumer Reports probably have different ideas of which vehicles fall into which classes, which, of course, further muddles the picture.