J.D. Power: Top Quality Cars

abacin	Jun 30 2009, 10:25 AM
Membership since Feb 08 2003 1984 posts Send PM Add Friend	by Peter Valdes-Dapena Tuesday, June 23, 2009 These new vehicles have the best quality right out of the gate, according to owner surveys. Intial Quality If you're tempted to buy a domestic car because of its bargain price, here's another reason to consider: Quality improvements among U.S. carmakers have outpaced the industry placing some brands among the very best, according to J.D. Power and associates. While quality for the industry overall has improved by about eight percent this year domestic automakers managed a 10% improvement, according to the market research company. General Motors Cadillac luxury brand, for instance, jumped from 10th place last year to third this year. Asian nameplates continue to lead the pack, though, with buyers of Lexus vehicles, Toyota's luxury brand, experiencing the fewest problems, followed by Porsche. Another big surprise came from South Korean Hyundai, ranking as the best non-luxury brand and beating out both Honda and Toyota. Ford Motor Company's Ford brand was the best domestic non-luxury nameplate scoring just slightly behind Toyota's mainstream Toyota brand. Despite progress among domestic manufacturers, Toyota, including Scion and Lexus, earned the most top rankings in various market categories. Toyota, Lexus and Scion products ranked at the top in 10 out of 14 different categories. Cadillac, despite it's high rank as a brand, had no vehicles that topped any given category. J.D. Power and Associates definition of "Initial Quality" includes design factors -- such as the usability of various features -- as well as problems like things not working right or loose-fitting parts. Owners are surveyed 90 days after purchasing their cars and scores are tabulated based on "problems per 100 vehicles." Initial Quality has proven to be a good predictor of long term dependability, according to J.D. Power and other industry sources. Subcompact Car: Toyota Yaris 2nd place: Hyunndai Accent 3rd place: Honda Fit Compact car: Hyundai Elantra sedan 2nd place: Toyota Prius 3rd place: Honda Civic Compact sporty car: Scion tC 2nd place: Volkswagen TDI Only two vehicles are listed here because they were the only ones to score above average in this category. Compact premium sporty car: Nissan Z 2nd place: Mercedes-Benz SLK-class Only two vehicles are listed here because they were the only ones to score above average in this category. Entry premium: Lexus IS 2nd place: Cadillac CTS, Infiniti G-series (tie) Mid-size premium: Lexus GS 2nd place: Acura RL 3rd place: Lexus ES Midsize sporty car: Ford Mustang Only the Mustang is listed here because it was the only car to score above average in this category. Large premium car: Lexus LS 2nd place: Mercedes-Benz S-class Only two vehicles are listed here because they were the only ones to score above average in this category. Mid-size car: Nissan Altima 2nd place: Pontiac G6 3rd place: Chevrolet Malibu Large car: Mercury Sable 2nd place: Toyota Avalon 3rd place: Chevrolet Impala Compact SUV: Two-way tie Winners: Chrysler PT Cruiser, Honda CR-V 2nd place: Mitsubishi Outlander Mid-size SUV: Three-way tie Winners: Ford Edge, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Toyota 4Runner Minivan: Toyota Sienna 2nd place: Honda Odyssey Only two vehicles are listed here because they were the only ones to score above average in this category. Mid-size pick-up: Honda Ridgeline 2nd place: Nissan Frontier 3rd place: Honda Odyssey http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/107226/jd-power-top-quality-cars.html
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