2HD
05-05-2000, 07:30 AM
Detroit trails in quality
Toyota ranks tops among automakers in J.D. Power's 2000 survey of car owners
By Mark Truby / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- The auto industry is building better cars and trucks across the board but domestic carmakers still lag behind Japanese competitors in quality, according J.D. Power and Associates.
Consumers reported 5 percent fewer problems with their new vehicles on average vs. 1999, according to J.D. Power's 2000 initial quality study. Despite these improvements, a gap in quality and reliability remains between domestic and Japanese brands.
Toyota and its Lexus luxury division were tops in eight of the 14 vehicle segments, including traditional Detroit strongholds such as full-size pickups and full-size sport-utility vehicles, the report showed. The Lexus LS 400 sedan was named top vehicle for the second straight year.
http://www.detnews.com/pix/2000/05/05/b01topgraf.gif
Honda and its luxury Acura line took two segment-leading titles. Only one domestic vehicle, DaimlerChrysler AG's Plymouth Breeze midsize car, was named best in segment.
J.D. Power asked 47,000 owners of 2000 model vehicles whether they found any of about 135 possible defects during the first 90 days of ownership.
The report praised automakers for producing better vehicles, despite the strain of record demand. Notably, models redesigned for 2000 showed fewer problems than their predecessors, casting doubt on the old adage that buyers should steer clear of first-year models.
"Sixty percent of the models redesigned for the 2000 year performed better than the models they replaced, compared with only 29 percent in 1999," said George Owens, manager of product research at J.D. Power.
Detroit auto executives often contend these improvements have dramatically reduced the quality gap between foreign and domestic cars.
But the J.D. Power survey and other recent owner satisfation studies raise questions about just how much ground Detroit's automakers have gained. Domestic brands averaged 168 problems per 100 vehicles vs. 157 and 142 for European and Asian vehicles respectively.
"Domestics have made big strides compared to where they were in the '70s but they haven't made the strides the competition has," said David Champion, director of Consumer Reports magazine's automotive testing division.
U.S. automakers are quick to point out how feverishly they are working to improve quality. Ford Motor Co. recently start using six-sigma, a statistical quality improvement program championed by General Electric Chairman Jack Welch.
"We're competitive. I'm not embarrassed by any of our products," said Louise Goeser, Ford's vice-president for quality. "But we are not going to be happy until we are the best in class."
The Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler also is aggressively attacking quality problems, said Cindy Hess, vice-president of quality for Chrysler Group. "We are never satisfied," Hess said. "We are attacking on all fronts."
A few questions about the article. First of all why wasn't any of Nissans cars mentioned by J.D. not even the refined QX4?
Second how did corrola get best compact when it's built side by side with the chevorlet
prizm? Third why did the toyota sienna get best minivan when it's as problematic as a caravan, let alone it's even smaller than the Quest.
I wonder how much toyota paid J.D. Power to get those top spots.
[This message has been edited by 2HD (edited 05-05-2000).]
Toyota ranks tops among automakers in J.D. Power's 2000 survey of car owners
By Mark Truby / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- The auto industry is building better cars and trucks across the board but domestic carmakers still lag behind Japanese competitors in quality, according J.D. Power and Associates.
Consumers reported 5 percent fewer problems with their new vehicles on average vs. 1999, according to J.D. Power's 2000 initial quality study. Despite these improvements, a gap in quality and reliability remains between domestic and Japanese brands.
Toyota and its Lexus luxury division were tops in eight of the 14 vehicle segments, including traditional Detroit strongholds such as full-size pickups and full-size sport-utility vehicles, the report showed. The Lexus LS 400 sedan was named top vehicle for the second straight year.
http://www.detnews.com/pix/2000/05/05/b01topgraf.gif
Honda and its luxury Acura line took two segment-leading titles. Only one domestic vehicle, DaimlerChrysler AG's Plymouth Breeze midsize car, was named best in segment.
J.D. Power asked 47,000 owners of 2000 model vehicles whether they found any of about 135 possible defects during the first 90 days of ownership.
The report praised automakers for producing better vehicles, despite the strain of record demand. Notably, models redesigned for 2000 showed fewer problems than their predecessors, casting doubt on the old adage that buyers should steer clear of first-year models.
"Sixty percent of the models redesigned for the 2000 year performed better than the models they replaced, compared with only 29 percent in 1999," said George Owens, manager of product research at J.D. Power.
Detroit auto executives often contend these improvements have dramatically reduced the quality gap between foreign and domestic cars.
But the J.D. Power survey and other recent owner satisfation studies raise questions about just how much ground Detroit's automakers have gained. Domestic brands averaged 168 problems per 100 vehicles vs. 157 and 142 for European and Asian vehicles respectively.
"Domestics have made big strides compared to where they were in the '70s but they haven't made the strides the competition has," said David Champion, director of Consumer Reports magazine's automotive testing division.
U.S. automakers are quick to point out how feverishly they are working to improve quality. Ford Motor Co. recently start using six-sigma, a statistical quality improvement program championed by General Electric Chairman Jack Welch.
"We're competitive. I'm not embarrassed by any of our products," said Louise Goeser, Ford's vice-president for quality. "But we are not going to be happy until we are the best in class."
The Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler also is aggressively attacking quality problems, said Cindy Hess, vice-president of quality for Chrysler Group. "We are never satisfied," Hess said. "We are attacking on all fronts."
A few questions about the article. First of all why wasn't any of Nissans cars mentioned by J.D. not even the refined QX4?
Second how did corrola get best compact when it's built side by side with the chevorlet
prizm? Third why did the toyota sienna get best minivan when it's as problematic as a caravan, let alone it's even smaller than the Quest.
I wonder how much toyota paid J.D. Power to get those top spots.
[This message has been edited by 2HD (edited 05-05-2000).]