Lexus, Honda top J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey, Ford plummets

Despite being caught in the undertow of Toyota's recall and safety issues last year, Lexis tops J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study (IQS) as the best brand in the survey being released today. Even better, Lexus' flagship LS sedan had the fewest problems of any vehicle in the first 90 days of ownership.

Meanwhile Ford, which was fifth last year and the only mass-market brand in the top five, fell to 23rd this year. It had 116 problems per 100 vehicles,up from 93 last year and worse than the industry average of 107 owner-reported problems. Its Lincoln brand dropped from No. 8 to 17 this year, with 111 problems.

Power attributed Ford results partly to two specific issues about which owners have complained: complicated communications and other controls and a dual-clutch automatic that some owners found balky and unpredictable. (Drive On friend Greg Gardner of the Detroit Free Press explained the complaints and predicted the IQS rating fall in a detailed story here.)

Power also said new technologies were an increasing problem for all makers. While the overall industry average improved to 107 from 109 problems last year, the IQS scores for models all-new or with major redesigns was 10% worse: an average of 122 problems, up from 111 last year. Carryover or lightly freshened models, by contrast, improved to 103 from 108.

"Exciting models with the latest features are crucial for winning over today's demanding consumers," said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power and Associates. "However, automakers must not lose their focus on the importance of these models also achieving exceptional quality levels. Expected reliability continues to be the single-most-important reason why new-vehicle buyers choose one model over another."

Honda, Acura, Mercedes-Benz and Mazda rounded out the top five nameplates in the IQS survey, which is one of the most closely watched measures of quality in the car industry.

With Ford's fall, you have to go to ninth place before the first U.S. brand shows up -- Cadillac.

Only it and GMC were above the industry average of 107.

Land Rover showed the biggest improvement.

The worst brands for quality? That would be Dodge, followed by Mitsubishi and Suzuki. Still the gap between best and last isn't all that great. Lexus had 73 and Dodge had 137 per 100 vehicles -- and the study doesn't take into account whether the problem was as simple as a rattle in a glove compartment or as bad as a cracked engine block.

Overall, cars had fewer problems, but the number of issues increased slightly in new models.
"Automakers must not lose their focus on the importance of these models also achieving exceptional quality levels. Expected reliability continues to be the single-most-important reason why new-vehicle buyers choose one model over another," said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power.

Only seven all-new or redesigned models rank among the top three of their respective award segments, compared with 17 models in 2010, and only one launch model receives a segment award this year vs. five launch models in 2010. Just one-fourth of redesigned models perform better than the outgoing previous-generation model did in 2010, and eight all-new models perform above their respective award segment average.

Honda picked up seven segment awards for the Accord, Accord Crosstour, Civic (in a tie), Element, Fit, Insight (in a tie) and Ridgeline.

Lexus receives four segment awards for the ES, GS, GX and LS models. For a second consecutive year, the Lexus LS has the fewest quality problems in the industry with just 54.

Source;
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/06/lexus-toyota-gm-ford-jd-power-initial-quality-survey/1

Ford, Honda top customer loyalty survey

Scott Burgess / The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. have the most loyal customers, according to a new study released today by J.D. Power and Associates.

Nearly two-thirds of Ford and Honda owners, 62 percent, return to their brand for their next vehicle. For Ford, the key vehicles are the Edge crossover, the F-Series pickups and the midsize Fusion sedan. Honda customers come back for the Accord sedan, CR-V crossover and the seven-passenger Pilot.

Hyundai, Lexus and Toyota customers return to their respective brands at the rate of 60 percent. Kia, which had a 58 percent retention rate, improved the most in the study, gaining 21 percentage points over 2009 numbers, the study said.

Additionally, the study noted that more drivers want vehicles that are fun to drive and that has played a role for carmakers to get a customer to switch from one brand to another, known in the industry as a conquest customer.

"Now that economic and market conditions have improved somewhat, vehicle owners are increasingly citing emotional, rather than practical, reasons for staying with their vehicle brand or switching to a different one," said Raffi Festekjian, director of automotive product research at J.D. Power and Associates, in a news release. "In light of this, developing new models with attractive styling and that are perceived as fun to drive is increasingly critical for automakers in order to retain and conquest customers as the market continues to recover."

The study also states that domestic carmakers have done a better job at attracting traditional import buyers. In 2010, 14 percent of buyers of domestic brands had previously owned an import, which was up from 10 percent in 2008.

However, the overall loyalty rates remains fairly consistent, the study noted. In 2009, 69 percent of owners who traded in a domestic brand vehicle bought another domestic brand vehicle compared with 68 percent in 2008. Import buyers, however, are much more loyal to import brands, with 90 percent of import buyers traded in an import brand for another import brand in 2010, which is the same number as 2008.

Source;
http://www.detnews.com/article/20101209/AUTO01/12090465/1148/auto01/Ford--Honda-top-customer-loyalty-survey

J.D. Power and Associates Names 2007 Model Year Honda CR-V, Fit and Ridgeline as Most-Dependable Vehicles in Their Segments

04/02/2010 - TORRANCE, Calif. -
J.D. Power and Associates has named the 2007 Honda CR-V, Fit and Ridgeline as the "most-dependable" vehicles in their respective segments in its 2010 Vehicle Dependability Study℠ (VDS).

The study, which measures problems experienced by original owners of three-year-old vehicles (2007 model year), includes 198 different problem symptoms across all areas of the vehicle. Overall dependability is determined by the level of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The industry average for all vehicles in the 2010 VDS survey measured 155 PP100.

The CR-V compact multi-activity vehicle received an overall score of 113 PP100. The Fit subcompact received an overall score of 137 PP100, and the Ridgeline midsize pickup received an overall score of 109 PP100. The Honda Accord was also among the top three models in the midsize car segment with a score of 103 PP100.

J.D. Power and Associates also measures initial quality of new vehicles. Last year the CR-V and the Honda Ridgeline pickup ranked highest in their respective segments in the company's 2009 Initial Quality Study℠ (IQS). The Honda CR-V ranked highest for IQS in its segment for the third consecutive year, with an IQS score of 93 PP100, and the Honda Ridgeline truck ranked highest in the midsize pickup segment, with an IQS score of 81 PP100.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on cell phone ratings, car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Source;
http://www.hondanews.com/categories/1097/releases/5411

Are You Satisfied? What Automakers Retain Their Valued Customers Year After Year?

Resale value and vehicle quality have become increasingly important reasons for new-vehicle buyers to remain loyal to an automotive brand, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Customer Retention Study(SM) released today.

Now in its seventh year, the study measures the percentage of vehicle owners and lessees who replace a previously purchased new vehicle with another from the same brand. Retaining existing owners is critical to a brand's market success, particularly in the current challenging market conditions.

The study finds that the importance of resale value as a reason for owner loyalty has increased by 12 percentage points in 2009, compared with 2008. Meanwhile, the importance of vehicle quality has increased by 6 percentage points. In comparison, in 2008, the reasons with the largest increases in importance for staying loyal to a brand were safety, fuel economy and deals/incentives.

Resale value and quality have also increased in importance as reasons why brands conquest new customers from their competitors, as has the importance of appearance and styling.
"Although there are some signs of economic recovery, the outlook remains uncertain, so for many new-vehicle buyers, high resale value and quality are particularly important considerations that are driving purchase behavior," said Raffi Festekjian, director of automotive product research at J.D. Power and Associates. "Whether manufacturers are striving to increase loyalty or conquesting buyers from other brands, offering attractively styled models and having strong customer perceptions of resale value and quality are critical."

Mercedes-Benz ranks highest among automotive brands in retaining vehicle owners when they buy a new-vehicle, and improves their retention rate by eight percentage points from 2008 to 67 percent in 2009. Following in the rankings are Honda (64%) and Toyota (61%).

"Mercedes-Benz has steadily improved its customer retention rates during the past five years, and in 2009, has achieved the highest rate ever attained by a manufacturer since the inception of the study," said Festekjian. "In particular, customers cite the resale value and appearance and styling of Mercedes-Benz models as primary reasons to remain loyal to the brand."

Overall customer retention in 2009 has remained stable from 2008 at 48 percent. In 2009, 13 of the 36 ranked brands have improved in customer retention rates from 2008, while 20 have declined and three have remained stable. MINI and Porsche post the greatest improvements in customer retention rates from 2008, each improving by 14 percentage points in 2009. For MINI, this improvement is driven primarily by incentives and customer perceptions of resale value of the brand's models. For Porsche, the increase is due to resale value, fuel economy and quality.

The 2009 Customer Retention Study is based on responses from 128,939 new-vehicle buyers and lessees, of which 74,610 replaced a vehicle that was previously acquired new. The study was fielded between February and May 2009 and August and October 2009.

2009 Make Retention Rates

Mercedes-Benz 67%

Honda 64%

Toyota 61%

Lexus 57%

Subaru 57%

Ford 56%

Nissan 55%

Chevrolet 54%

BMW 52%

Porsche 52%

Industry Average 48%

Hyundai 47%

Audi 45%

Volkswagen 44%

Cadillac 43%

MINI 43%

Dodge 42%

Lincoln 39%

Acura 38%

GMC 38%

HUMMER 38%

Kia 37%

Jeep 34%

Mazda 31%

Scion 31%

Mercury 29%

Volvo 29%

Pontiac 28%

Chrysler 27%

Jaguar 26%

Buick 25%

Infiniti 25%

Land Rover 25%

Mitsubishi 25%

Saturn 25%

Suzuki 24%

SAAB 9%

Source;

http://www.autospies.com/news/Are-You-Satisfied-What-Automakers-Retain-Their-Valued-Customers-Year-After-Year-50350/

Honda has best overall customer retention rates, Jaguar comes last

I've always thought it was interesting to see who had the most loyal customers, and that usually goes hand in hand with quality of vehicle.
Honda leads the automotive industry in retaining the highest percentage of new-vehicle purchasers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Customer Retention Study. The study measures the percentage of new-vehicle buyers who replace a previously purchased new vehicle with another from the same brand. Improving by nearly two percentage points from 2007, Honda retains an exceptional 64.7% of its customers, followed by Toyota at 63.2% and Lexus at 60.4%.

J.D. Power and Associates stated that "Honda's reputation for creating safe vehicles with high resale value has been instrumental in retaining owners", and this was a theme consistent amongst the top performers.

Meanwhile, Jaguar came in with the worst customer retention rates, with just over one-quarter of customers sticking with the brand. This is significantly less than the average customer retention rate, which declined slightly to 48% in 2008 from 49% in 2007.

Land Rover posts the greatest improvement in customer retention rates from 2007, improving by 18 percentage points in 2008 to 49%. This puts Land Rover above the industry average, as well as other marques such as Porsche, Volkswagen, and Audi who were all below average.

Foreign marques led the way in customer retention, with the best placed American brand coming in at 6th thanks to Ford. GM's Chevrolet brand followed closely behind, but what still almost 13 points behind Honda.

Customer retention will become even more critical to automakers in the coming year, as new car sales in 2009 are projected to decline to below 12 million units, according to automotive forecasting outfit CSM Worldwide.

The full list of carmakers is as follows:

Honda 64.7%
Toyota 63.2%
Lexus 60.4%
Mercedes Benz 58.6%
BMW 58.5%
Ford 52.5%
Chevrolet 52.0%
Nissan 51.3%
Subaru 50.5%
Cadillac 50.4%
Land Rover 49.0%
Scion 47.2%
Hyundai 46.7%
HUMMER 43.7%
Jeep 42.8%
Suzuki 40.7%
GMC 40.6%
Lincoln 40.6%
Dodge 39.7%
Volkswagen 39.7% (wow, how the mighty have fallen)
Porsche 38.2%
Infiniti 37.9%
Audi 37.2%
Saturn 37.1%
Acura 37.0% (Ouch!)
Chrysler 32.8%
Kia 32.5%
Volvo 32.5%
Buick 31.3%
Mazda 30.7%
SAAB 30.5%
Mercury 30.2%
MINI 29.3%
Mitsubishi 28.1%
Pontiac 27.2%
Jaguar 26.2%

Source;
http://www.motorauthority.com/honda-has-best-overall-customer-retention-rates-jaguar-comes-last.html

JD Power's 2008 Initial Quality Study Rankings

Well, another year, another JD Power & Assoc. Initial Quality Study. This is a study that the manufacturer's either love or hate.

Auto manufacturers are listening to the voice of the customer, as the industry sees a 6% reduction in problems compared to last year’s study. In the 2008 IQS, new-vehicle quality improves for the large majority of nameplates, and for all but three vehicle segments.

Honda receives the most model awards, for the Fit, Civic and CR-V. Chevrolet, Dodge, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz also have multiple award winners.

Source: http://www.jdpower.com/autos/articles/2008-Initial-Quality-Study-Results

J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Initial Quality Study

The Initial Quality Study serves as the industry benchmark for new-vehicle quality measured at 90 days of ownership and captures problems experienced by owners in two distinct categories—quality of design and quality of production (defects and malfunctions).

Some surprises as to where some manufacturer's sit, both high and low.

Here's a link to a PDF of the article;
http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pdf/2007088.pdf