J.D. Power Releases 2008 APEAL Study Results

+1

yes please...prove everyone how good the LS is. I'd be much better off with a longer list of celebs than Wikipedia's. My buds always understate my cars.

LOL far more appeal to those that love large Camry and greater than Avalon styling. Come on... YES the LS is a nice vehicle that gets you from a to b in a manner of well marketed reliability.... but the drive is plain boring, period. I have driven both,and the S-Class is far more appealing to sit in and drive than the LS. Now I did not say more reliable, that is NOT what this survey is about, it is about the emotions, the APEAL as the say. MichaelTaylor I know you are entitled to your opinion, but some of these comments verge on idiocracy.

Well some people love the Camry styling than the Mercedes Smart S-Class styling and the BMW Mini Cooper 3-Series styling. And Lexus fans are not ashamed of Toyota Being the Partnership of their car, where as Mercedes S-Class Smart and Mini Cooper BMW 3-Series, they are ashamed.

Silver1 you are still missing the point, and BTW for the record, I have a BMW 3 series and every bit as proud to have MINI Cooper be related to my car. My point is this survey is about how cars and companies play on peoples emotions. Has nothing to do with reliability.

Who mention anything about reliability?

I have a weird feeling that the JD people are either biased, secretly sponsored, or inaccurate.

For example, they rate the quality of cars by the number of problems reported to the dealer. They forget that Lexus owners expect more from their cars and are more likely to have the dealer fix them (compare that w/ Buick, who tied w/ Lexus awhile back).
And unlike Porsche, a very low number of Lexus owners are car enthusiast who understand cars and minor flaws.

Does this relate to JD Power's increasing involvment in foreign countries?

each brand has many models. a brand can win a segment or two and still, on average, do worse than brands that haven't one any individual segments.

LMAO!! OMG people do you know what this survey even is???? I work in marketing and know all too well... This survey does not have secret sponsors (if it did don't you think Toyota would be higher??)it is based on the EMOTIONS one feels about the cars... I received a poll on this before and you tick off which brand appeals to you overall and in different categories.

J.D. Power and Associates Reports:
Fuel Price Concerns Lead to Decrease in Vehicle AppeaL

Very odd Scoring System. I have now to question JD Power Creditability since they have recently change the way they score they cars......

First off, The appeal is base on how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive,

Thus JD POWER also said "Manufacturers that deliver more fuel-efficient vehicles and integrate alternative fuel technology into their designs stand a better chance of delighting their customers and being successful.

Since when did Porsche, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes-Benz offer Fuel efficient cars. Even the Lexus IS,GS, RX and LS all offer Hybrids when no other car auto maker doesn't. So Lexus wins that race...

Secondly, JD Power also stated in this study "Technology that is overly complicated to operate runs the risk of disappointing the customers"
Since when did the I-Drive and the Mercedes become consumer-friendly and intuitive to use COMPARED TO LEXUS.... Lexus is easier to use by a long shot!
Lexus wins that race also....

Thirdly, JD Power also stated "Models that have been mildly “refreshed” achieve higher APEAL scores, on average, than all-new or redesigned models."

Mercedes has came out with several new models for 07-08, including the S-Class, C-lass, GLK.....BMW has release 1-series and the X5, and Lexus has release just the LS, the rest of just a refresher....So Lexus has won that race to just it only release 1 new redesign model the rest was a refresher which JD power stated the refresher scores higher......

J.D. Power Releases 2008 APEAL Study Results

1. Porsche
2. Jaguar
3. BMW
4. Mercedes-Benz
5. Lexus
6. Cadillac
7. Mini
8. Audi
9. Infiniti
10. Land Rover
11. Acura
12. Lincoln
13. Volkwagen
14. SAAB
15. Volvo
16. GMC
17. Hummer
18. Scion
19. Mazda
20. Buick
Below Insustry Average
21. Mitsubishi
22. Ford
23. Saturn
24. Honda
25. Nissan
26. Toyota
27. Chrysler
28. Chevrolet
29. Mercury
30. Dodge
31. Hyundai
32. Kia
33. Pontiac
34. Jeep
35. Subaru
36. Suzuki

Classic fanboy.
'Lexus didn't do as well as they normally do this year, I blame the scoring system, it's wrong. Lexus rules!'

How was lex above Audi??? they must be crazy.

Like I said, I challenge JD Power ratings now since they change the way they rate cars last year.....Toyota Honda, Subaru, all below Industry average? All 3 of these cars has among the best retention rates in the nation.

continued....So wouldn't they be more satisfying if customers keep coming back to them?

Land Rover Range Rover does Rock! Of course, the smart shopper will grab a Range Rover Sport for $20K less and ALL the same capability. We love our 2006 Range Rover Sport HSE. I highly recommend it. Nothing can compare at the $60K mark, most versatility and utility you can buy, bottomline.

I have a Discovery series 2 and I absolutely love it. Contrary to what I've been told, it has been reliable, and you can't stop it off road. I am one of the few owners that does use the vehicle for what it was intended for.

No idiot it's not about I own this. I am merely relating to the texlandrover. Not bragging on what I own. My discovery is an 02 model by the way. I don't go braggin on what I own. I am just relating because I can say from experience that land rover makes one hell of a 4wd off road machine.

texlandrover= spot on.
Not to mention the best looking SUV going aroung, the mighty Range Rover Vogue, go anywhere in class...

this whole ranking is rather pointless.

it's useless for comparing one vehicle to another. people but each of the brands on this list for very different reasons. so it's simply a gauge of how well a vehicle measures up to the reasons each person bought it.

Perfectly put. Not everyone wants the same thing in a car, thats why some choose a cadillac over a BMW, why some take a Toyota avalon over a chevy impala (okay, its obvious the avalon is light years ahead of the impala) Not everyone wants BMW performance. some want a car that feels like driving a laz-boy sofa. others want the best bang for your buck. some want smooth refinement, others want in your face detroit muscle with giant v8 engines.

Many commenters on here do not understand the APEAL poll. It is based on a company and how it overall appeals to a customer or potential customer. This survey plays on emotions and yes it is a rather stupid poll, but for the auto industry, it gauges how people feel about a brand and what a brand can do to better themselves to make them more "APEAL"ing to other consumers. Honda and Toyota are below industry average because they don't have the emotions tied to the brand as say the Porsche. Ask any Toyota or Honda driver if they would like a Porsche, and most would say yes! Because Porsche appeals to a lot of people, it plays on a lot of car emotions. Porsche is fun, fast, drivable and has plenty of appeal. For example, my friend's mother has a Toyota Camry. She loves it, but when you ask her if she would like a Mercedes and how she feels about one, she says they are wonderful and would love to have one if she could afford one. It APEALs to her. This survey has nothing to do with how the Mercedes may be in the shop 10 more times in a year than her Camry, has nothing to do with that... so I do not see why everyone is so mystified at this poll. Of course BMW or Mercedes is more appealing, hell even Lexus, because these are companies people like to aspire to because they seem to have emotion and great vehicles.
Now when you break it down yes individual cars will when in categories that do match the overall APEAL. This is because many of these companies have vehicles in some segments and not others. Porsche does not win in Best Minivan like Honda because they don;t offer a minivan (PRAY THEY NEVER DO!) but this is the reason for what may seem to be inconsistency in the individual categories when compared to the overall categories.

Atomicbri is on to something. All but two of the makes that scored 4 out of 5 or higher were more expensive than average. Only two mass-market makes - Mini and Volkswagen - were in this category.

Something else - only 4 makes - Pontiac, Jeep, Subaru, & Suzuki - out of 36 scored lower than average (2 out of 5 or lower).

Not exactly a "bell-curve" distribution, is it?

When I saw Jaguar that blew the study for me.Jaguar is so overrated,they have one last chance to make it in this market.

Jaguar are one of the best names in the business, they are making the best cars in their class...

The point you are all missing is that Jaguar accomplished this without the benefit of the XF being in the Survey. Watch out next year!

"Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study"

Not surprised to see BMW high on J.D's list, this must be the most "subjective", "unscientific" of all automotive studies... only thing the BMW owner wanted when walking into a dealership was the badge, and that's what they got when they drove one home - case closed, mark this one under the "satisfied" category.

On the contrary, Lexus don't sell cars based on the "magic feel" quotient, but on luxury, reliability, and build quality, true measure of the inherent value of vehicle.

good points. imo, jdp is the ultimate whore of the surveying biz.

they make their money, not off of car buyers seeking objective opinions, but AUTO COMPANIES who pay for their surveys.

just so certain makes don't get totally left out (as f'rinstance on reliability surveys), they INVENT surveys so every brand can have SOMETHING to brag about. even if the invented surveys are shallow to downright meaningless.

i recall an interview with ole JD himself.

reason he quit his old company and started his own: "They would torture the numbers until they confessed."

he may have STARTED with good intentions, but it now looks like he goes 'em one better: torturing SURVEY designs!