Strategic Vision Annual Car Quality Survey Release

[skylight]

http://www.vision-inc.com/04_tqa_release.html



Total Quality Index
How brands scored in the consumer survey. Based on a 1,000-point scale:


Mercedes-Benz 898
Infiniti 898
Cadillac 896
Jaguar 895
Lexus 894
BMW 893
Acura 886
Audi 883
Lincoln 880
Saab 880
Volkswagen 874
Volvo 873
Saturn 871
Hyundai 868
Nissan 862
Honda 861
Chevy 861
Industry avg. 858
Mitsubishi 857
GMC 852
Mercury 851
Chrysler 851
Dodge 850
Ford 850
Buick 849
Land Rover 849
Toyota 848
Pontiac 845
Mazda 843
Oldsmobile 838
Subaru 838
Jeep 838
Kia 830
Suzuki 817
Isuzu 808


Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti score in survey
By David Kiley, USA TODAY

DETROIT — Emotions can trump problems when consumers size up their new cars, a survey out Monday shows.

Volkswagen beat all multi-brand automakers for satisfying customers in the first three months of ownership, according to the annual survey by Strategic Vision, an automotive research firm in San Diego. Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti scored at the top for all brands.

The survey, called Total Quality Index, asked 40,000 owners how much they like their vehicle overall; how many glitches they found; how much quality they perceive in the packaging and performance; how emotionally attached they are; and whether they would buy the car again if they had the chance.

Both Volkswagen and Mercedes have scored poorly on rival J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS), which surveys consumers only on things gone wrong in the first 90 days.

"Often the things right with a vehicle— plus brand image in the case of Volkswagen and Mercedes — can overwhelm the things gone wrong," says Strategic Vision's Dan Gorrell. "And this points to the importance of building in emotion and desirability to new products, not just reliability."

VW has topped all automakers the last three years in the Strategic Vision survey, even though sales in the USA are down 50,000 the last two years and its score in the Power IQS was down 15% last year.

Mercedes, which tied with Infiniti for first among brands in the Strategic Vision survey, improved from sixth last year. But it ranked 13th among brands in the IQS.

"We made progress in Power's survey, but we aren't in the top 10, which is where we have to be," says Mercedes spokeswoman Donna Boland. But Strategic Vision's Total Quality Index "shows we are on the right track."

South Korean automaker Hyundai, which vaulted ahead of the Toyota brand in this year's IQS, beat both Toyota and Honda in the Total Quality Index.

Toyota, which ranked 20th among all brands, "suffers from blandness and ubiquity, especially with high-volume cars like Camry and Corolla," Gorrell says.

But he credits Toyota with working on the problem by expanding its design resources in North America to cater more to American tastes.

Other key findings in the Strategic Vision survey:

• General Motors topped 11 of 19 product categories. Saturn Ion, Chevrolet Malibu and Corvette and Cadillac XLR were among the top ranked. "GM does very well with people who buy (its brands), but it has a long way to go to win over people who end up buying an import after considering imports against GMs," Gorrell says.

• Saturn and Hyundai ranked higher than Honda for vehicles priced below $23,000.

• VW, Nissan and Chevrolet were the only brands to beat the industry average for vehicles priced $23,000 to $30,000, the heart of the industry.

• Fewer than one in three buyers reported any problem in the first 90 days. Chrysler scored worst, with 5% reporting serious problems. Just 2% of Honda and Toyota owners reported serious problems.


USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...rquality_x.htm