THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994 TAG: 9406170606
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MCKESSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: 940617 LENGTH: DETROIT
Lexus, the luxury division of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., ranked No. 1, edging Infiniti by a point. Saturn, Cadillac and Lincoln completed the top five.
{REST} J.D. Power and Associates, a marketing firm in Agoura Hills, Calif., surveyed 45,000 people who bought 1994 cars and light trucks. Numerical scores were assigned to the brands based on buyers' satisfaction with dealers.
Among other things, the survey measured how well salespeople explained a vehicle's features, how well it was ``prepped'' and how customers were treated when they picked up their cars.
The average score for the industry was 122, and 17 nameplates ranked above that.
Nine were from the Big Three U.S. automakers and six from European makers. Lexus, with 157, and Infiniti, at 156, were the only above-average Japanese brands.
Sixteen of the 17 brands also were above average last year, with Plymouth moving onto the list for 1994. None of last year's brands dropped off.
Land Rover's 141 score led the above-industry-average truck list, followed by Oldsmobile, GMC, Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Pontiac and Plymouth.
Dodge, Plymouth and Land Rover weren't on the truck list last year, and Land Rover showed a 34-point improvement to move above average. Chrysler and Toyota fell off the truck list. They and other truck brands ranked below the industry average of 117.
J.D. Power does not release a ranking of vehicles scoring below average, but it sells that data to automakers, along with other information from its surveys, which also look at owner's opinions of vehicle quality at various times after purchase.
``All manufacturers are making great strides in product quality improvements. Now, as quality differences among nameplates become less distinguishable to the consumer, the fight to attract and retain consumers is shifting to dealers and their salespeople,'' said J.D. Power III, president of the company.
The automakers know that.
Saturn is among the most aggressive in trying to encourage relationships between the company and customers. It is sponsoring a two-day festival this month and has invited Saturn owners to Spring Hill, Tenn., for plant tours, country music and sunshine.
GM is distributing new operating standards to its dealers this month that set guidelines for sales techniques and customer relations. The industry journal Automotive News reported the company might link dealer incentive payments to how well the guidelines are followed.
by CNB