If there were any doubts about reports that the American auto industry is on the mend, they were laid to rest today with the release of
J.D. Power and <NOBR style="FONT-FAMILY: inherit; COLOR: darkgreen; FONT-SIZE: 100%; FONT-WEIGHT: normal" id=itxt_nobr_0_0>Associates'
</NOBR> 2010 Initial Quality Study (IQS). Domestic brands, as a whole, demonstrated higher initial quality than the imports for the first time in the study's 24-year history. And, not surprisingly,
Ford Motor Co. led the reformation.
Even before the Big Three went to Washington with their hats in hand back in the fall of 2008, Ford had been making sound decisions about the direction of the business. One of the pivotal moves it made was hiring Alan Mulally, the automaker's current CEO, from Boeing. By focusing on the company's balance sheet and leveraging its assets, Mulally was able to cut costs, put money in the bank and avoid taking government bailout money, unlike the other two big American automakers. While this endeared the brand to a financially strapped American public, it also gave Mulally the money needed to aggressively restructure the company and, more importantly, develop better automobiles.
It was a gamble, for sure, but one that has paid off in spades, as the Blue Oval is now the highest-ranked mass-market automaker in initial quality. It also jumped into the list of top five brands in overall quality for the first time ever, and has 12 models that rank within the top three in their respective IQS segments — more than any other carmaker in the study — including capturing top honors in three segments with the
Focus,
Mustang and
Taurus.
General Motors (often called "Government Motors" these days) also did well, with 10 models that rank within the top three in their segments.
Chrysler didn't fare as well.
This is in sharp contrast to last year's results, when much of the discussion about automotive quality centered on the difficulties U.S. automakers were facing, and the perceptions that these problems were largely caused by poor product quality.
"Domestic automakers have made impressive strides in steadily improving vehicle quality, particularly since 2007," says David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at
J.D. Power and <NOBR style="FONT-FAMILY: inherit; COLOR: darkgreen; FONT-SIZE: 100%; FONT-WEIGHT: normal" id=itxt_nobr_5_0>Associates</NOBR>. What is still lagging, however, is the consumer perception of domestic quality. "It just isn't as high as the imports," Sargent says. "People that own a domestic-brand car love them, but those that don't still believe that foreign automakers build better automobiles. Domestic manufacturers need to consistently prove to consumers that they can produce models with quality that equals or beats that of the import brands. Achieving quality comparability is the first half of the battle; convincing consumers — particularly import buyers — that they have done this is the second half."
Getting It Right the First Time
Another trend to emerge from this year's study is that the initial quality of new models and major redesigns continues to improve, led by new launches from Ford,
Honda,
Lexus,
Mercedes-Benz and
Porsche.
"There is no penalty anymore for buying new," Sargent quips. "Automakers are getting better about designing quality into the vehicle right from the get-go. No one wants to build something that is hard to manufacture and thus likely temperamental, or is difficult for the consumer to operate."
Historically, newly launched models have incurred substantially more quality problems than carryover models, on average. However, more than one-half of all models launched during the
2010 model <NOBR style="FONT-FAMILY: inherit; COLOR: darkgreen; FONT-SIZE: 100%; FONT-WEIGHT: normal" id=itxt_nobr_8_0>year</NOBR> performed better than their respective segment averages. Furthermore, 12 all-new and redesigned models ranked within the top three in their respective segments. Meanwhile, initial quality of carryover and freshened models has declined for the 2010 model year.
The all-new
Honda Accord Crosstour and the redesigned Ford Mustang, Ford Taurus and
Lexus GX 460 each ranked highest in initial quality in their respective segments. The
Ford Fusion,
Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe and Sedan and
Porsche Panamera also launched with notably high initial quality levels.
Toyota's Woes Continue
Unlike Ford,
Toyota clearly is not having a good year. The once-shining example of quality and reliability fell from the sixth overall position in the manufacturer rankings in 2009 to 21st this year.
"The recent rash of recalls had quite an effect on the nameplate's performance," Sargent says. "Not surprisingly, we've seen an increase in concern over brakes, pedals and floor mats, all issues related to recalls."
However, that doesn't mean Toyota is down for the count. "This is the 24th consecutive year we've done the study, and Toyota was above average for 23 of those years," Sargent says. "Their lowest ranking before this was 13th. Remember, not even the Yankees make the playoffs every year."
It will be interesting to see what will happens next year, however, when there is a whole new crop of vehicle owners to survey that have purchased
2011 model <NOBR style="FONT-FAMILY: inherit; COLOR: darkgreen; FONT-SIZE: 100%; FONT-WEIGHT: normal" id=itxt_nobr_4_0>year</NOBR> cars and trucks hopefully not subject to recall. "We will most likely see Toyota bounce back," Sargent says.
While Toyota didn't do so well, its luxury brand, Lexus, captured three segment awards for its GS, GX and LS models. In fact, the Lexus LS had the fewest quality problems in the industry, with just 55 problems reported per 100 vehicle owners surveyed (55 pp100).
Highlights of the Study
For the fourth time in the last five years, Porsche led the overall nameplate rankings, averaging 83 pp100.
"Their vehicles are just very high-quality," Sargent says. "The 911 has been strong for decades, frankly. The new Panamera does extremely well. It is tied for highest-quality all-new vehicle this year with the Honda Accord Crosstour." Considering how their cars perform, that is a pretty impressive achievement. "It's not easy to get both sides of the equation as right as that," Sargent says. "Some manufacturers can produce high-quality vehicles that aren't exciting, while others can get it the other way around. But to get both is clearly what Porsche was aiming at, and they achieved it."
Following in the rankings are Acura, which moved from 14th position in 2009 to second in 2010; Mercedes-Benz, which improved from sixth to third; and Lexus and Ford, which moved into the top five for the first time since the study began. MINI posted the largest improvement in 2010, reducing problems by 32 pp100 from 2009.
Chevrolet, Honda and Toyota received two awards each. Chevrolet models earning awards are the Avalanche (in a tie) and the Tahoe. Honda received awards for the Accord and the Accord Crosstour, while Toyota received awards for the FJ Cruiser and Sienna.
Also receiving segment awards were: Acura RDX, Cadillac Escalade, GMC Sierra LD (in a tie), Hyundai Accent, Mazda
MX-5 <NOBR style="FONT-FAMILY: inherit; COLOR: darkgreen; FONT-SIZE: 100%; FONT-WEIGHT: normal" id=itxt_nobr_10_0>Miata</NOBR>, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Nissan Frontier, Scion xB and Volvo C70.
The booby award goes to Land Rover this year, as the automaker registers a whopping 170 pp100.
"That pains me, as you can imagine," says Sargent, a Brit. "It's an example of a brand that does really well in our appeal and attractiveness studies. But in reliability, they tend to rank towards the bottom. It's a dilemma — how to fix the problems without taking away what makes a Land Rover a Land Rover - they really need to work on."
The Initial Quality Study serves as the industry benchmark for new-vehicle quality measured at 90 days of ownership. The study is used extensively by manufacturers worldwide to help them design and build better vehicles and by consumers to help them in their vehicle purchase decisions. Initial quality has been shown over the years to be an excellent predictor of long-term vehicle durability, which directly affects consumer purchase decisions. The study captures problems experienced by owners in two distinct categories: design-related problems and defects and malfunctions. The 2010 Initial Quality Study is based on responses from more than 82,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2010 model year vehicles.
For nearly two decades, New York-based writer and editor Chuck Tannert has covered everything fromautomobiles to gadgets to travel. Before joining the MSN Autos team, Tannert served as senior automotive editorat Cargo
and Popular Mechanics,
and his work has appeared in many outlets, including Men's Fitness, Men's Journal, Penthouse, Popular Science
and Wired.
