| Porsche tops Power Auto Dependability Study |
|
18/03/2010 16:35 (695 Day 11:24 minutes ago) | |||||
|
The FINANCIAL -- Porsche made it to the top of J.D. Power and Associates' annual Vehicle Dependability Study, overtaking U.S. and Japanese rivals.
Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln topped both General Motors Co.’s Buick, last year’s leader, and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus, Bloomberg reports. U.S. owners of 2007 model Porsche luxury cars reported 110 problems per 100 vehicles, J.D. Power said in a statement today. Porsche rose from 10th place in 2009 and Lincoln improved from 7th, according to the Westlake, California-based industry researcher.
Continued improvement by Ford and GM in quality surveys by J.D. Power and Consumer Reports may help them lure buyers as U.S. vehicle sales recover from last year’s 21 percent plunge, according to the same source. American cars are more reliable than consumers realize, said David Sargent, J.D. Power’s vice president of auto research.
The annual study measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years. In last year's study, Buick and Jaguar tied for fewest problems, but both brands lost ground to rivals this year, AP reports. Toyota, whose reputation has come under scrutiny in the face of massive recalls, fell two spots from its third-place standing last year. While average vehicle quality across the industry improved from last year's survey, Toyota's quality score fell slightly.
However, the Japanese nameplate still swept four segment awards, more than any other brand. Japanese rival Honda took three segment awards, while Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln brand took two awards, according to the same source. The industry average was 155 problems per 100 vehicles, J.D. Power said, or less than two problems per vehicle. That's a decline from 167 problems per 100 vehicles last year.
The study is based on the responses of about 52,000 owner surveys taken during October to December of 2009. Owners are asked to identify any "problem symptoms" (J.D. Power has 198 different ones) with their vehicles, though it's unclear whether each problem carries the same weight, The Motor Trend reports. The 2010 study attempts to predict the reliability of 2007 model year vehicles. Overall, J.D. Power says dependability has improved by 7 percent from last year's study, which documented 2006 model-year vehicles.
The top four brands on the study are Porsche, Lincoln, Buick, and Lexus. The next four brands on the list are the highest-ranking non-premium brands: Mercury, Toyota, Honda, and Ford, according to the same source. Surveyed owners of 2007 Jaguars reported an average of 175 problems, up from 122 last year.
Here are the most reliable vehicles by segment:
Subcompact: Honda Fit
Compact car: Toyota Prius
Compact sporty car: Mazda MX-5 Miata
Midsize sporty car: Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Midsize car: Buick LaCrosse
Large car: Mercury Montego
Compact premium sporty car: BMW Z4
Entry premium vehicle: Lincoln MKZ
Midsize premium car: Audi A6
Large premium car: Cadillac DTS
Premium sporty car: Mercedes-Benz SL Class
Compact multi-activity vehicle: Honda CR-V
Midsize multi-activity vehicle: Toyota Highlander
Large multi-activity vehicle: Toyota Sequoia
Large pickup: Toyota Tundra
Midsize pickup: Honda Ridgeline
Midsize van: Ford Freestar
Midsize premium multi-activity vehicle: Lexus GX 470
Large premium multi-activity vehicle: Lincoln Mark LT
|
|
|
