J.D. Power Releases 2009 Initial Quality Study Results
Market research company J.D. Power and Associates released the results of its annual Initial Quality Study today. The automotive industry as a whole improved its average results (108 defects per 100 vehicles) by 8 percent from a year ago, which is better than the typical 6-percent year-to-year improvement. This is impressive given the longer amount of time vehicles have remained on dealer lots in the past year.
"The longer a vehicle sits on a lot, the more defects typically arise," said Dave Sargent, J.D. Power's vice president of automotive research. "But despite that, the industry showed a tremendous rate of improvement in initial quality."
The study showed a narrowing gap in initial quality between domestic and foreign automakers. Notably, Cadillac jumped from 10th to third in overall brand ranking. Other improvements came from Suzuki (from 32nd to ninth) and Hyundai (13th to fourth), while Infiniti dropped from second to 11th and Jaguar from ninth to 29th. Amongst specific models, Toyota group netted the most top scores of any automaker, with the low-volume Lexus LX 570 luxury SUV suffering the fewest problems of any other model on sale (52 problems per 100 vehicles).
The Initial Quality Study is based on surveys sent to new vehicle owners. It notes problems experienced within 90 days of ownership, including design-related problems, defects and malfunctions. In other words, a faulty transmission is equal to an owner disliking the cupholder placement.
The full results (including charts) can be found after the jump. For more analysis, see Edmunds AutoObserver.
- Posted by
- James Riswick June 22, 2009, 1:31 PM
- Permalink
- Categories:
- Automotive Consumer News
J.D. Power's data is whack, jack. I don't give "initial quality" surveys much weight because most people are probably "so happy" with their vehicles from a psychological standpoint that they overlook things because they spent their hard-earned quid on them.
I'll go along with "whack". Lookie how Honda is so much better than Acura or how Ford smokes Lincoln.
It's amazing they get away with this garbage.
I've always thought the IQ survey was a pretty good indicator.
Back in '05, the top 5 rated brands in the IQ survey were Lexus, Jaguar, BMW, Buick and Cadillac.
Now look at the '09 JD Power Vehicle Dependability long term survey. Buick and Jaguar tied for #1, followed by Lexus, Toyota and Mercury. Caddy fell to 9th, while BMW was only average.