An interesting nugget from this Economist article: Only two of the top ten stolen cars in America (measured in terms of cash paid out by insurers) come from a foreign manufacturer.
(Source: TreeHugger; Photo via: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)
The American auto industry has gotten a bad wrap over the years, and justly so in many ways. While a lot of negative responses continue to circulate around the Big Three, their Bailout, and their past inferior vehicles, they have actually risen above this ridicule and at the very least deserve a second look.
Quality Rivals Japan
The Japan manufacturer has enjoyed being the top dogs for many years among the consumer ratings and ranking. However a very unsuspecting competitor has risen from the depths of gas guzzling SUVs and has begun to rival Japan’s quality, reliability, safety, and environmental friendliness… the domestics. In fact, both the Chevrolet
Malibu and Ford Fusion are ranked right along with the Honda Accord and Toyota
Camry according to U.S.News. Aside from these, J.D. Power and Associates second this praise, rating American brands as equivalent to such heavy hitters as Audi, Acura, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz in overall quality.
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(Source: AP via WTOP.com)
NEW YORK (AP) – Jaguar and Buick surged to the top of J.D. Power and Associates’ closely watched vehicle dependability study this year, tying for the No. 1 spot and dethroning Lexus for the first time since the Japanese luxury brand has been a part of the survey.
Lexus, Toyota Motor Corp.’s luxury brand, took the next spot in the study released Thursday, followed by Toyota’s namesake brand, then Mercury, Infiniti and Acura.
“Buick and Jaguar both lead the industry in nameplate performance,” said Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis at J.D. Power. “In terms of individual model performance, Lexus and Toyota still do very, very well.”
The annual study measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years. Suzuki owners reported the most problems among the 37 brands assessed by J.D. Power.
Despite losing its crown to Jaguar and Buick, Lexus still swept top awards in four segments, while Toyota’s namesake brand took five awards. General Motors Corp.’s Buick LaCrosse was J.D. Power’s top midsize car, while Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln brand took two awards. Chrysler LLC, which took no segment awards last year, won top honors for its Dodge Caravan in the van segment.
Jaguar jumped from the No. 10 spot in 2008, while Buick leapt from the No. 6 spot. The movement is notable for a study that is fairly consistent from year to year, and the results marked the first time Lexus was not either first or tied for first since it was first included in the study in 1995. Oddes said both Jaguar and Buick have made significant improvements recently.
“We see improvements all over the board with Jaguar,” Oddes said, citing fewer reported problems with vehicle exterior, sound system and the overall driving experience. “The improvement at a nameplate level is significant.”
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