A German car company tops in quality in JD Power survey?

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Lexus, Porsche Top Automotive Quality List

Luxury automakers Lexus and Porsche topped this year's J.D. Power list of automotive quality as the auto industry in general, including American manufacturers, showed an impressive gain in building more dependable vehicles, according to the annual survey released today.

The study, which measures the problems reported by the owners of 2002 model year vehicles, found that long-term quality across all brands and makers rose 12% from last year's results, according to Westlake Village-based J.D. Power & Associates. The categories showing the most significant improvements in 2005 included ride, handling and braking; engine; and interior.

Eight General Motors models and five from Ford Motor Co. received the highest rankings in their categories, while the owners of South Korean-made Hyundai vehicles reported the largest reduction in problems, according to the survey, which is based on the responses from more than 50,000 vehicle owners.

"Even though there is still room for improvement, Hyundai is a great example of an automaker that is making strides toward improving vehicle quality by paying close attention to owner feedback and designing products with both short- and long-term quality in mind," said J.D. Powers research chief Chance Parker in a statement.

Despite industrywide improvements, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand continued to lead the quality rankings, taking first place for the eleventh consecutive year. The Lexus quality score improved 14% compared to last year to 139 reported problems for every 100 vehicles.

The quality score for Porsche, which placed second among nameplates, shot up 38% — the largest percentage increase in this year's survey — to 149 problems for every 100 vehicles.

Meanwhile, Kia Motors of South Korea came in at the bottom of the quality rankings, with 397 problems for every 100 vehicles.

J.D. Power Nameplate Ranking

(Problems per 100 vehicles)

Lexus 139

Porsche 149

Lincoln 151

Buick 163

Cadillac 175

Infiniti 178

Toyota 194

Mercury 195

Honda 201

Acura 203

BMW 225

Ford 231

Chevrolet 232

Chrysler 235

Industry Average 237

Homer008 - 6/30/2005 11:45:00 PM

+1 Boost

Lexus 139
Porsche 149
Lincoln 151
Buick 163
Cadillac 175
Infiniti 178
Toyota 194
Mercury 195
Honda 201
Acura 203
BMW 225
Ford 231
Chevrolet 232
Chrysler 235
Industry Average 237
Saturn 240
Oldsmobile 242
GMC 245
Pontiac 245
Mazda 252
Hyundai 260
Subaru 260
Volvo 266
Jaguar 268
Dodge 273
Nissan 275
Mitsubishi 278
Mercedes-Benz 283
Saab 286
Jeep 289
Suzuki 292
Audi 312
Daewoo 318
Isuzu 331
Volkswagen 335
MINI 383
Land Rover 395
Kia 397

Homer008 - 6/30/2005 11:45:00 PM

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Lexus 139
Porsche 149
Lincoln 151
Buick 163
Cadillac 175
Infiniti 178
Toyota 194
Mercury 195
Honda 201
Acura 203
BMW 225
Ford 231
Chevrolet 232
Chrysler 235
Industry Average 237
Saturn 240
Oldsmobile 242
GMC 245
Pontiac 245
Mazda 252
Hyundai 260
Subaru 260
Volvo 266
Jaguar 268
Dodge 273
Nissan 275
Mitsubishi 278
Mercedes-Benz 283
Saab 286
Jeep 289
Suzuki 292
Audi 312
Daewoo 318
Isuzu 331
Volkswagen 335
MINI 383
Land Rover 395
Kia 397

Homer008 - 6/30/2005 11:47:11 PM

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VW fined $1.1 million for delayed recall: largest fine in history
HARRY STOFFER | Automotive News
Posted Date: 6/17/05
WASHINGTON -- Volkswagen of America Inc. will pay a fine of $1.1 million for not promptly recalling cars with faulty emissions systems five years ago, the EPA said Wednesday.
The agency said the fine is the largest civil penalty it ever has assessed for such a violation.
The affected vehicles were 1999-2001 Golfs, Jettas and New Beetles with 2-liter gasoline engines, the EPA said.
VWoA got many warranty claims about malfunctioning exhaust system oxygen sensors in 1999 and 2000 but did not report the defect to the EPA until June 2001, the agency said. The EPA also had begun to detect the problem through regular compliance testing, agency officials said.
Volkswagen subsequently recalled 326,000 cars to reprogram engine control modules and replace faulty sensors.
The sensors were prone to cracking from "thermal shock" during engine startup in cool, damp environments, the EPA said. Vehicles with bad sensors may emit excessive amounts of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide pollution.
Hydrocarbons contribute to the formation of lung-damaging smog. Carbon monoxide impedes the blood's ability to carry oxygen.

Homer008 - 6/30/2005 11:47:11 PM

+1 Boost

VW fined $1.1 million for delayed recall: largest fine in history
HARRY STOFFER | Automotive News
Posted Date: 6/17/05
WASHINGTON -- Volkswagen of America Inc. will pay a fine of $1.1 million for not promptly recalling cars with faulty emissions systems five years ago, the EPA said Wednesday.
The agency said the fine is the largest civil penalty it ever has assessed for such a violation.
The affected vehicles were 1999-2001 Golfs, Jettas and New Beetles with 2-liter gasoline engines, the EPA said.
VWoA got many warranty claims about malfunctioning exhaust system oxygen sensors in 1999 and 2000 but did not report the defect to the EPA until June 2001, the agency said. The EPA also had begun to detect the problem through regular compliance testing, agency officials said.
Volkswagen subsequently recalled 326,000 cars to reprogram engine control modules and replace faulty sensors.
The sensors were prone to cracking from "thermal shock" during engine startup in cool, damp environments, the EPA said. Vehicles with bad sensors may emit excessive amounts of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide pollution.
Hydrocarbons contribute to the formation of lung-damaging smog. Carbon monoxide impedes the blood's ability to carry oxygen.

Homer008 - 6/30/2005 11:52:55 PM

+1 Boost

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - These 2002 model-year vehicles ranked first in their categories in the most recent J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study.


Compact car: 2002 Chevrolet Prizm
Entry midsize car: 2002 Chevrolet Malibu
Premium midsized car: 2002 Buick Century
Full-size car: 2002 Buick LeSabre
Entry luxury car: 2002 Ford Thunderbird
Mid luxury car: 2002 Lincoln Town Car
Premium luxury car: 2002 Lexus LS 430
Sporty car: 2002 Mazda Miata
Midsized pick-up: 2002 Chevrolet S-10
Light-duty full-sized pick-up: 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT Entry SUV: 2002 Honda CR-V
Midsized SUV: 2002 Toyota 4Runner
Full-sized SUV: 2002 GMC Yukon /Yukon XL Entry luxury SUV: 2002 Lexus RX 300
Premium luxury SUV: 2002 Lexus LX 470
Midsized van: 2002 Ford Windstar
Full-sized van: 2002 Ford E-series

Homer008 - 6/30/2005 11:52:55 PM

+1 Boost

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - These 2002 model-year vehicles ranked first in their categories in the most recent J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study.


Compact car: 2002 Chevrolet Prizm
Entry midsize car: 2002 Chevrolet Malibu
Premium midsized car: 2002 Buick Century
Full-size car: 2002 Buick LeSabre
Entry luxury car: 2002 Ford Thunderbird
Mid luxury car: 2002 Lincoln Town Car
Premium luxury car: 2002 Lexus LS 430
Sporty car: 2002 Mazda Miata
Midsized pick-up: 2002 Chevrolet S-10
Light-duty full-sized pick-up: 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT Entry SUV: 2002 Honda CR-V
Midsized SUV: 2002 Toyota 4Runner
Full-sized SUV: 2002 GMC Yukon /Yukon XL Entry luxury SUV: 2002 Lexus RX 300
Premium luxury SUV: 2002 Lexus LX 470
Midsized van: 2002 Ford Windstar
Full-sized van: 2002 Ford E-series

MercBasher - 7/1/2005 1:00:20 AM

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Yeah I noted that Mercedes came in way below average again. No surprises there.

TheRealJT - 7/1/2005 7:33:34 AM

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Hello Audi Fans? I'm sure this survey doesn't change your opinion that Audis are the best feats of engineering ever devised, and that Americans are just too stupid to realize it, right?

Time to get your heads out of the sand. Beautiful Interiors, (Formerly) Beautiful Exteriors, VW build quality.

DiamondJim - 7/1/2005 9:12:21 AM

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ya, where is 001Buster to put a positive spin on Audi's performance in JD..........

swizzle - 7/1/2005 6:58:20 PM

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It's kind of amusing to see the 26th Place finisher talking trash to the 30th Place finisher. As for BMW, at least they squeaked into the Top 10. By the way, what happened to Nissan? Didn't they used to build reliable cars?

Anim8or - 7/1/2005 7:13:19 PM

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The data reported here is for 2002 model year cars. Audi certainly did have reliability problems at that time.

JD Power's long term studies for the latest Audi models won't yield data until 2007 or 2008.

Audi dramatically increased its reliability scores this year as a result of a massive, billion dollar quality campaign that began in 2004.

Its effects are only now beginning to be seen as Audi is routinely surpassing BMW and especially Mercedes in all recent reliability studies. For example, two Audi models were in the top ten of Europe's most reliable cars in all classes (BMW and Mercedes had none).

According to the latest Auto industry and consumer advocacy data, Audi is forecasted fall enter the top ten for the majority of independent long term reliability tests by the end of the decade (about the time when Audi is forecasted to take over the #1 spot of German Lux cars).

This is excellent news, especially considering how low their models rated in just 2002.

And no, this isn't spin. This is intelligent, informed, and factually correct posting.

The next two years will see another avalanche of new Audi models. This will include the R9 supercar, the Q7 SUV, Q5 crossover, the brand new A4 sedan, the A5 coup and aluminum hard top cabriolet, the new all-aluminum TT, an A3 Cabriolet, plus a suite of new RS variants. Plus the across-the-board implementation of both DSG and FSI by 2008.

Good times for Audi indeed.

Homer008 - 7/1/2005 7:45:08 PM

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same ole story for 3 decades now.

Homer008 - 7/1/2005 7:45:08 PM

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same ole story for 3 decades now.

JUGNU - 7/2/2005 7:35:32 AM

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wow lexus, now see all u people who says that u will not get a lexus of 15 years old in the roads but only in scraps.

the answer is that 14-15 years back when lexus was newly invented and was unknown to people,so it was not sold well so only less cars can be seen (it's a fact if u think deeply) and also at that time there were also some good models from mercedes so luxury car buyers don't roam around for other manufacturers
so they buy mb only

but now when lexus is becoming familiar, people will see more and more lexus quality hidden inside it hich is poping out day by day

believe me it is the best car japan is offering for 2/3 of the price of mb and bmw and also it is better than mb and bmw.. ....... no doubt

JUGNU - 7/2/2005 7:35:32 AM

+1 Boost

wow lexus, now see all u people who says that u will not get a lexus of 15 years old in the roads but only in scraps.

the answer is that 14-15 years back when lexus was newly invented and was unknown to people,so it was not sold well so only less cars can be seen (it's a fact if u think deeply) and also at that time there were also some good models from mercedes so luxury car buyers don't roam around for other manufacturers
so they buy mb only

but now when lexus is becoming familiar, people will see more and more lexus quality hidden inside it hich is poping out day by day

believe me it is the best car japan is offering for 2/3 of the price of mb and bmw and also it is better than mb and bmw.. ....... no doubt

993Turbo - 7/5/2005 7:28:50 AM

+1 Boost

How come Jugnuts is crowing about Lexus but fails to compliment Porsche? Doesn't reliability have a place in the long range planning for "semi-exotics"?