Two Japanese Carmakers Leads Over All Other Mainstream Brands.Toyota, Honda

Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen Take Top Spots in ALG's Fall 2009 Perceived Quality Study
Las Vegas (CRWENEWSWIRE) Nov. 23, 2009 Two Japanese carmakers, Toyota and Honda were the top performers among mainstream brands in ALG’s Fall 2009 Perceived Quality Score (PQS). German carmaker Volkswagen (VW), takes third spot .

Ford Cars showed the strongest year-over-year improvement in perceived quality, followed by Ford Trucks/SUVs. Ford’s ability to avoid bankruptcy and launch new models in 2009 has likely generated increased consumer confidence in the brand.

Hyundai rounded out the top three in terms of greatest year-over-year improvement.

Consistently lead the industry when it comes to perceived quality are Toyota and Honda. These companies have maintained a long history of durable and reliable powertrains.

About ALG
Based in Santa Barbara, California, ALG is a leading provider of data and consulting services to the automotive industry. ALG publishes the “Automotive Lease Guide” – the standard for Residual Value projections in North America, and has been forecasting automotive residual values for over 37 years in both the U.S. and Canadian markets. ALG is a company of DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAK).

About DealerTrack
DealerTrack’s intuitive and high-value software solutions enhance efficiency and profitability for all major segments of the automotive retail industry, including dealers, lenders, OEMs, agents and aftermarket providers. Our solution set for dealers is the industry’s most comprehensive. DealerTrack operates the industry’s largest online credit application network, connecting over 17,000 dealers with over 750 financing sources. Our Dealer Management System (DMS) provides dealers with easy-to-use tools with real-time data access that will streamline any automotive business. With DealerTrack Inventory Optimization, dealers get better data along with the tools to make smarter, more profitable inventory decisions. Our Sales and F&I solution enables dealers to streamline the entire sales process, quickly structuring all types of deals from a single integrated platform. DealerTrack’s Compliance solution helps dealers meet legal and regulatory requirements and protect their hard-earned assets. DealerTrack’s family of companies also includes data and consulting services providers, ALG (Automotive Lease Guide) and Chrome Systems. For more information, visit www.dealertrack.com.

Source;
http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=142354&cat=1

Honda Tops Euro Reliability Survey

Looks like the 'domestics' in the UK have the same thing going on as we do in the US. The Japanese build reliable cars, period.

Japanese car manufacturers have enhanced their already formidable reputation for first class engineering by leading a reliability league table drawn up in one of the UK's most detailed motoring surveys.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/06/20/mjapan120.xml

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

Car and Driver Magazine Comparison Test; North America's Favourite Sedans

The Buzzard-and-Baloney Brigade - Comparison Test
We compare seven of America’s most popular family sedans, searching for value and verve, and whether there’s really any meat in the middle.

BY JOHN PHILLIPS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON KILEY March 2008
1st Place: 2008 Honda Accord EX Sedan
In its 32-year existence, the Accord has landed on C/D’s 10Best Cars list 22 times. We must have cost Honda a pile of cash in trophy cases alone. In this group, our Accord carried the highest base price, but it was because we wanted to sample the 190 horsepower that comes with the EX, rather than the base LX’s 177. It paid off. Our test car was the second quickest to 60 mph.
The Accord’s essential goodness, however, doesn’t derive from power alone. Even with the standard stability control chipping away, our EX was also the fastest through our lane-change test.

Honda has simply nailed the econosedan formula, and it isn’t just a matter of building the highest-revving engine, the most competent suspension, and the most ergonomic interior. The trick is getting every component talking openly and honestly to every other component. It’s that sonorous mechanical interplay that lends the Accord its agility and charm. Throttle tip-in reminds us of a BMW 3’s, and there’s steady power delivery right up to 7100 rpm. Steering heft and linearity are spot-on, although some of us noted that this new rack doesn’t transmit road textures as clearly as did its forebear. The taut-yet-frictionless chassis makes up for it, however, posting regular updates on available grip. The brakes are easy to modulate. The thin A-pillars let you see around turns. In short, no car in our cast was as eager to establish a friendly rhythm when the roads got tricky.

Although the Accord was tied with the Avenger for loudest idle, it was merely a matter of our microphones registering quantity of sound versus quality.

Like the Sonata, the Accord is now officially a large sedan, with the extra room paying dividends abaft. For two or three adults, the rear seat proved the most spacious in this group. But try it yourself—the seatback is steeply reclined. We loved the three-tier dash, whose bulges and contours place all secondary controls at your fingertips. Which is lucky, because the center stack—ahem—contains 34 buttons.

We wish the Accord came with a manumatic, but you can shift manually by pulling straight back from D, to D3, to 2, to 1. Left to its own devices, the five-speed is prescient about holding lower gears on downhill grades and during spirited driving.

Like its predecessors, this latest Accord contains real meat in the middle. And that ain’t no baloney

Highs: Telepathic interplay among chassis, engine, and transmission.
Lows: Needlessly complex center stack, could use more steering feel.
The Verdict: Another Accord? We’ve pretty much run out of nice things to say.

2nd Place: 2008 Nissan Altima 2.5S Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-7.html
Highs: Drag-strip king, a real corner carver, a Mosler vault of a platform.
Lows: CVT not to everyone’s liking, no stability control, dour cockpit.
The Verdict: True dual personality—fun in the hills, serene on the interstates.

3rd Place: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LT Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-6.html
Highs: Elegant cockpit, superb engine isolation, a handsome lad.
Lows: A little heavy, needs more than four gears, fat A- and C-pillars.
The Verdict: The best four-cylinder mainstream car GM has ever built.

4th Place: 2009 Hyundai Sonata Limited Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-5.html
Highs: Soothing interstate cruiser, pillowy ride, delectable manumatic.
Lows: Too much body roll, could do with a stiffer platform.
The Verdict: One foot deeper into Honda Accord territory.

5th Place: 2009 Toyota Camry LE Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-4.html
Highs: Eerily quiet, Lexus-like switchgear, limousine ride.
Lows: Early understeer, too much body roll, plastic hubcaps.
The Verdict: Practical and tranquil but not much of a dancer.

6th Place: 2008 Ford Fusion SEL Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-3.html
Highs: Sharp styling, leather interior, thoughtful ride-and-handling trade-off.
Lows: Too little power and a transmission that spoils the party.
The Verdict: Right face, wrong drivetrain.

7th Place: Dodge Avenger SXT Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-2.html
Highs: Good fuel economy, easy-to-read gauges, inexpensive.
Lows: A festival of NVH, hard interior surfaces, feels insubstantial.
The Verdict: A mid-size sedan relying almost entirely on its sticker price.

Honda and Toyota Top Consumer Reports 'Brand Perception' Survey

Well, it looks like Honda and Toyota have done it again, this time Brand Perception. Now, this is brand perception, NOT in some cases reality. When you look at some of the catagories, Safety being one, there are a few companies that are left off of the list; Mercedes and BMW come to mind in a big way! Anyway, here is the list along with the link;

Best Brand Perception
1 Toyota - 189 pts
2 Honda - 146 pts
3 Ford - 114 pts
4 Chevrolet - 110 pts
5 GMC - 102 pts

Worst Brand Perception
1 Buick - 25 pts
2 Mercury - 22 pts
3 Mitsubishi - 21 pts
4 Audi - 14 pts
5 Acura - 8 pts

Must say, I am shocked at the brand perception of Audi and Acura.
Here is the Brand Perception by Catagory;

Safety
1 Volvo - 77%
2 Toyota - 21%
3 Subaru - 18%
4 Ford - 17%
5 Honda - 17%

Quality
1 Toyota - 33%
2 Honda - 24%
3 Lexus - 23%
4 Mercedes Benz - 19%
5 Chevrolet - 17%

Value
1 Honda - 30%
2 Saturn - 24%
3 Toyota - 24 %
4 Kia - 23%
5 Ford - 20%

Performance
1 BMW - 28%
2 Porsche - 25%
3 Chevrolet - 21%
4 Toyota - 20%
5 Honda - 20%

Here is the link to the rest;
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/news/2008/01/brand-perceptions/top-five-in-brand-perception/brand-perceptions-top-5.htm

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