Survey: U.S. cars getting better
By Sarah A. Webster
Detroit Free Press
DETROIT — Even though Toyota Motor Co. ranked first in J.D. Power and Associates' annual survey on long-term quality, U.S. automakers — especially Ford Motor Co. — are making impressive gains.
Cars and trucks made by Ford, General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG are less likely to break down, need parts replaced or annoy drivers with noise and other glitches than they have in the past, according to the vehicle dependability study. The trusted study evaluates customer satisfaction with three-year-old vehicles. More than 48,000 owners of 2001 model-year cars and light trucks responded to this year's survey.
The improvements could help make U.S. automakers' vehicles more attractive to buyers and reduce warranty costs.
"We're narrowing the gap pretty rapidly," said Louise Goeser, vice president of quality at Ford.
Overall, customers reported about 269 problems per 100 vehicles — fewer than three problems per vehicle — in this year's study. That's about four fewer total problems than were reported last year. Vibrating brakes and check-engine lights were the most common complaints.
Ford owners reported 12 fewer problems per 100 vehicles this year than in 2003, and the improvement helped Ford jump two spots, to seventh place among automakers, with about 2.75 problems per vehicle. DaimlerChrysler owners reported nine fewer problems per 100 vehicles, moving it up a notch to ninth place, with an average of 3.02 problems per vehicle.
GM customers reported an average of 2.62 problems per vehicle, a drop of 0.02. But even that modest improvement bumped the world's largest automaker up to fourth place in long-term quality from sixth as a few competitors lost some of their edge.
Nissan, whose sales are up 28 percent so far this year, slipped two notches to sixth place. Its customers reported an average of 2.71 problems per vehicle, compared with 2.58 problems per vehicle last year. Nissan also placed below average in J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study, which evaluates customer satisfaction after 90 days of new vehicle ownership, causing the automaker to take an in-depth look at its operations.
The latest report ranks automakers for overall corporate performance, as well as their brands. Toyota's Lexus led the brand rankings for the 10th year, followed by GM's Buick, Nissan's Infiniti, Ford's Lincoln and GM's Cadillac.
Interestingly, while GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler posted overall improvements, their European nameplates gave consumers more headaches than the year before.
"The product improvement that we're seeing for the Big Three is pretty much isolated to their American brands," said Joe Ivers, J.D. Power's executive director of quality and customer satisfaction. "All the overseas brands are having actually more problems."
Customers reported more problems this year with GM's Saab, DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes and Ford's Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover than a year ago.
The poor perceived quality of Detroit's vehicles has been a major obstacle for U.S. carmakers, which continue to lose market share to Asian competitors. More than half of new-vehicle buyers say the automaker's reputation for quality plays a role in their decision, J.D. Power reports. Poor quality can drive up warranty costs for automakers that have to repair their mistakes.
