THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607100379
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: DETROIT LENGTH: 122 lines
Infiniti, Lexus and Acura, the luxury car lines of Japan's three biggest automakers, led this year's J.D. Power and Associates survey of driver satisfaction.
The survey, released Tuesday, is a closely watched measure of automaker and dealer performance. It again named Saturn as the top-rated U.S. car brand. But the General Motors Corp. small-car unit fell to fourth place in a tie with Germany's Mercedes-Benz. It had been ranked third since 1993.
The three Japanese lines have been at or near the top of the list for several years. Lexus, Toyota's luxury division, was bumped to second place by Nissan's Infiniti line after five years as the No. 1 car line in the survey.
Infiniti was last ranked on top in 1991 in a tie with Lexus, and had been second-ranked since then. Honda's Acura division moved up a notch from fourth in 1995.
``Acura, Lexus and Infiniti have made customer satisfaction an integral part of their overall market strategy,'' said Bill Wallis, the survey's author. ``These automakers built customer satisfaction into the fabric and fiber of their entire organizations . . . and it has paid off.''
Among buyers of pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles, Honda was rated No. 1, ending Toyota's five-year domination as the top light-truck line. Toyota was ranked second, followed by Chevrolet's Geo line and a tie between Chrysler and Pontiac.
Honda's popular Odyssey minivan received the highest truck score in the 15-year history of the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index: 181 out of a possible 240.
The marketing firm surveyed 32,117 car and light truck owners who registered new vehicles in February, March and April 1995. The surveys measured how they felt, after a year driving their cars, about the way they were treated by their dealerships, and about the repair and reliability records of the vehicles.
The study scores cars and trucks on different scales, giving more weight to repair and reliability questions for trucks because truck owners generally place more emphasis on those issues, Wallis said.
The industry average score for cars was 137 out of a possible 202, down one point from last year. Infiniti scored 168, Lexus 166, Acura 159, and Mercedes-Benz and Saturn 158. The top 10 car lines included four Japanese brands, three American and three European.
The light truck average was 140 out of 240, down two points. Top truck scores were Honda at 166, Toyota 158, Geo 157 and Chrysler and Pontiac tied at 154.
The car average for U.S. makes remained below the industry average at 134, the same as last year. Asian makes averaged 142, down one point, while European brands averaged 139, down four points.
Wallis said Asian and European automakers are having trouble improving customer handing at their dealerships, which led to the slight decline in the industry average.
The last big improvement in the index came in 1993 with a six-point jump; since then the averages have leveled out.
Wallis said dealers need to find ways to improve their service to compete with what customers have come to expect from their experiences with other businesses that emphasize fast, efficient service. He cited as an example the growth of quick-lube stores that offer inexpensive, fast oil changes.
J.D. Power sells details of the study to automakers and others interested in the industry. Its surveys of initial vehicle quality and customer satisfaction often are used in car and truck advertising. ILLUSTRATION: FILE PHOTOS
J.D. POWER SCORES
Scores for car lines in the J.D. Power and Associates Customer
Satisfaction Index, based on a survey that measured owner
satisfaction with 1995 cars and trucks after a year of ownership.
Car Line Score
(maximum possible: 202)
Infiniti 168
Lexus 166
Acura 159
Mercedes-Benz 158
Saturn 158
Honda 154
Cadillac 151
Lincoln 150
Audi 149
Volvo 148
BMW 144
Buick 144
Jaguar 143
ASIAN AVG. 142
Oldsmobile 142
Subaru 141
Toyota 140
EUROPEAN AVG. 139
Nissan 138
Porsche 138
INDUSTRY AVG. 137
U.S. AVG. 134
J.D. Power did not release scores of car lines below the industry
average. In alphabetical order, they were Chevrolet, Chrysler,
Dodge, Eagle, Ford, Geo, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mercury, Mitsubishi,
Plymouth, Pontiac, Saab, Suzuki and Volkswagen.
Truck Line Score
(maximum possible: 240)
Honda 166
Toyota 158
Geo 157
Chrysler 154
Pontiac 154
Mercury 151
Plymouth 150
Oldsmobile 148
IMPORT AVG. 145
Land Rover 145
Mitsubishi 144
Jeep 143
Dodge 140
INDUSTRY AVG. 140
U.S. AVG. 139
J.D. Power did not release scores of truck lines below the
industry average. In alphabetical order, they were Chevrolet, Ford,
GMC, Isuzu, Mazda, Nissan and Suzuki. Kia was not ranked because of
small sample size.
SOURCE: J.D. Power and Associates by CNB