Buick, Porsche, And Lexus Come Out On Top In 2018 JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study

No big surprises here really other than seeing Mazda and Acura so low

The usual suspects at the top. But BMW, KIA, Chevy and Hyundai beating Toyota? LoL!

Looking at this chart year after year, is it really a firm statement to say that reliability drives sales? I'm not so sure. It almost appears to me that reputation of reliability has no impact on sales.

On another note, what is the perception of reliability based on (I know we've had this discussion many times here). It appears that the more conservative brands that bring little innovation to the table are the ones that lead these results.

Exactly!

Subaru towards the bottom? WTH is going on?

1- JD POWER is now owned by a Chinese investment company (IE - the government in disuise) -
2 - They still do not reveal the actual questions now how they pick the people who will be questioned..

It is possible to design A verbal survey in such a way that the results are exactly what someone wants them to be. As a result - I simply do not trust any of these polls. They tend to favor higher priced cars because the people are the one who want to justify their expensive purchase so they minimize actual results - while people who spend that last cent for the less expensive car - complain about the littlest problem. For example - would you complain about FLOR MATS that do not fit very well?

Yes - The reputation for Reliability does indeed factor into many people's decision - otherwise - Toyota cars certainly would not have sold as well as they did for years. The problem - the actual reliability is often not as people believe - and is likely to be based on OLDER personal experience rather than current actual data.

My experience is those that care about quality and purchase based on reputation tend to be picky and find relatively minor issues. In contrast, I have been in brand new Ford's and GM's with glaring flaws which the owners seem to not notice or concerned. I myself once purchased a GM and let several flaws pass, later regretted not walking away at time of delivery.

I'm surprised that Mercedes is below average. Anecdotally, Audi's and BMW's seem to have more issues - speaking to real world friends and auto enthusiasts - than Mercedes.

Thoughts?

Friends I know in the auto business typically say Audi/VW and Mercedes are nightmares all day long. Stay away from BMW V8's and just go with a BMW 6 cylinder. They say BMW's issues have reduced a lot and Audi/VW have the exact same issues, over and over again. For example, any cold climate, most Audi/VW's have failing front wiper motors.
To any study like this, no car is ever perfect. My friend is a shop foreman for Honda and they either fall apart and have a ton of problems at 75k, or run to 200k. It s a 50/50 shot every time. Luck of the draw.