Porsche Surpassed Lexus in Quality Survey
06-08-2006, 02:05 PM
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Porsche Surpassed Lexus in Quality Survey
WARNING: This article was copied from a Wall Street Journal article. Please let me know if you would like this to be removed if this violates copyright issues.
On a side note, Honda's only #6 ...
Porsche Takes Lead
In Major Quality Study
J.D. Power Survey Drops Longtime Leader Lexus
To No. 2 ; Asian Cars Still Top U.S. Brands Overall
By JENNIFER SARANOW
June 8, 2006; Page D1
In the latest J.D. Power & Associates new-car-quality survey, Porsche AG came from behind to overtake longtime leader, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand.
Lexus, which had held the top spot for five years, came in second, while Porsche moved into first place from last year's ranking of No. 31.
Porsche Cayman S
Despite Porsche's gain, Asian auto makers generally held on to high rankings, while a number of German and domestic nameplates lost ground, signaling further challenges for U.S. auto makers who have lost market share to Asian rivals perceived to have higher-quality vehicles.
Rounding out the top four, Hyundai Motor Co. jumped to No. 3, up from a tie with General Motors Corp.'s Hummer brand at No. 10 last year, and marking the first time Hyundai came in among the top three nameplates in the study.
Toyota came in fourth, up from seventh place last year. GM's Buick brand dropped from No. 4 to a below-average ranking at No. 22, and Ford Motor Co.'s Land Rover came in last place, down from nearly last in the 2005 survey.
Besides Porsche, German brands generally dropped in the survey, with DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand and BMW AG's BMW both falling to below average from top-10 rankings last year. Volkswagen AG's VW brand finished in the bottom four for a second year in a row.
Auto makers consider the Initial Quality Study, which looks at problems owners report for the first 90 days of ownership, to be the Oscars of quality. And they pay the Westlake Village, Calif., consulting firm for breakdowns of the data and to be able to use the results in their advertising.
This year for the first time, J.D. Power divided the publicly published results into two categories: design quality, measuring things like the usefulness of dashboard displays and controls, and production quality, which measures the level of defects and malfunctions. Based on the two different categories, Porsche had 49 defect or malfunction problems and 35 design problems per 100 vehicles. BMW, in contrast, had 82 design problems and 52 defect or malfunction problems, per 100 vehicles. Problems with the new 3 series, in particular, dragged BMW down.
The survey itself has been totally redesigned this year, for the first time since 1998. The aim was to make it more relevant to the vehicles on the road today, which are loaded with high-tech features ranging from DVD players to navigation systems and have faster production cycles, as well as to help car makers better identify problems with these models.
The new survey, based on questionnaire responses from 63,607 buyers and lessees of new 2006 models, asked about 217 specific problems, ranging from rear DVD-system playback to loose molding to peeling paint. That's up from 135 problems previously queried. And the questions were more detailed than in the past, asking, for instance, if "a navigation system freezes up" rather than if it's just "not working properly."
Because of the change to the survey, some auto makers say it's hard to compare results year to year. But Joe Ivers, executive director of quality and customer-satisfaction research for J.D. Power, says that his own analysis shows that the changes in rankings weren't due to the different questions being asked, but rather could be explained by changes in the vehicle lineup.
The success of Porsche, which jumped to No. 1 in the nameplate rankings, can be partly attributed to the totally new Cayman mid-engine hard-top sports car, which came in at the top of the compact premium sporty car segment. In addition, the German car maker made a number of quality improvements to its Cayenne sport-utility vehicle.
"We study the results of quality studies ... and we go to the factory and make changes," says Tony Fouladpour, Porsche spokesman. For example, he says the Cayenne key fob was improved so someone can hold it and lock the car from further away than previously.
Hyundai, meanwhile, came in third with 102 problems reported per 100 vehicles, making the Korean car maker the top non-luxury or mass-market nameplate. The company's focus on quality in recent years has "really paid off over the last three years," says spokesman Chris Hosford.
Mr. Hosford says the headrests in the 2006 Tucson were changed to improve comfort, the instrument-panel was improved for visibility and ease of use, and the radio antenna was redesigned to reduce wind noise. Among Hyundai models, the Tucson was ranked the highest among compact "multi-activity vehicles" (or SUVs).
TOP HONORS
Some of the top-ranked models:
On a side note, Honda's only #6 ...
Porsche Takes Lead
In Major Quality Study
J.D. Power Survey Drops Longtime Leader Lexus
To No. 2 ; Asian Cars Still Top U.S. Brands Overall
By JENNIFER SARANOW
June 8, 2006; Page D1
In the latest J.D. Power & Associates new-car-quality survey, Porsche AG came from behind to overtake longtime leader, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand.
Lexus, which had held the top spot for five years, came in second, while Porsche moved into first place from last year's ranking of No. 31.
Porsche Cayman S
Despite Porsche's gain, Asian auto makers generally held on to high rankings, while a number of German and domestic nameplates lost ground, signaling further challenges for U.S. auto makers who have lost market share to Asian rivals perceived to have higher-quality vehicles.
Rounding out the top four, Hyundai Motor Co. jumped to No. 3, up from a tie with General Motors Corp.'s Hummer brand at No. 10 last year, and marking the first time Hyundai came in among the top three nameplates in the study.
Toyota came in fourth, up from seventh place last year. GM's Buick brand dropped from No. 4 to a below-average ranking at No. 22, and Ford Motor Co.'s Land Rover came in last place, down from nearly last in the 2005 survey.
Besides Porsche, German brands generally dropped in the survey, with DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand and BMW AG's BMW both falling to below average from top-10 rankings last year. Volkswagen AG's VW brand finished in the bottom four for a second year in a row.
Auto makers consider the Initial Quality Study, which looks at problems owners report for the first 90 days of ownership, to be the Oscars of quality. And they pay the Westlake Village, Calif., consulting firm for breakdowns of the data and to be able to use the results in their advertising.
This year for the first time, J.D. Power divided the publicly published results into two categories: design quality, measuring things like the usefulness of dashboard displays and controls, and production quality, which measures the level of defects and malfunctions. Based on the two different categories, Porsche had 49 defect or malfunction problems and 35 design problems per 100 vehicles. BMW, in contrast, had 82 design problems and 52 defect or malfunction problems, per 100 vehicles. Problems with the new 3 series, in particular, dragged BMW down.
The survey itself has been totally redesigned this year, for the first time since 1998. The aim was to make it more relevant to the vehicles on the road today, which are loaded with high-tech features ranging from DVD players to navigation systems and have faster production cycles, as well as to help car makers better identify problems with these models.
The new survey, based on questionnaire responses from 63,607 buyers and lessees of new 2006 models, asked about 217 specific problems, ranging from rear DVD-system playback to loose molding to peeling paint. That's up from 135 problems previously queried. And the questions were more detailed than in the past, asking, for instance, if "a navigation system freezes up" rather than if it's just "not working properly."
Because of the change to the survey, some auto makers say it's hard to compare results year to year. But Joe Ivers, executive director of quality and customer-satisfaction research for J.D. Power, says that his own analysis shows that the changes in rankings weren't due to the different questions being asked, but rather could be explained by changes in the vehicle lineup.
The success of Porsche, which jumped to No. 1 in the nameplate rankings, can be partly attributed to the totally new Cayman mid-engine hard-top sports car, which came in at the top of the compact premium sporty car segment. In addition, the German car maker made a number of quality improvements to its Cayenne sport-utility vehicle.
"We study the results of quality studies ... and we go to the factory and make changes," says Tony Fouladpour, Porsche spokesman. For example, he says the Cayenne key fob was improved so someone can hold it and lock the car from further away than previously.
Hyundai, meanwhile, came in third with 102 problems reported per 100 vehicles, making the Korean car maker the top non-luxury or mass-market nameplate. The company's focus on quality in recent years has "really paid off over the last three years," says spokesman Chris Hosford.
Mr. Hosford says the headrests in the 2006 Tucson were changed to improve comfort, the instrument-panel was improved for visibility and ease of use, and the radio antenna was redesigned to reduce wind noise. Among Hyundai models, the Tucson was ranked the highest among compact "multi-activity vehicles" (or SUVs).
TOP HONORS
Some of the top-ranked models:
06-08-2006, 03:28 PM
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06-08-2006, 04:10 PM
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Well the thing that I'm interested in is the long term quality reports. I'm sure the first or second year Porsche buyer will be pleased w/ the purchase but what are the results down the line?
06-08-2006, 05:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Slamnasty,Jun 8 2006, 07:28 PM
my bad ... locking this thread
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