Quality, quality, quality. This should be the mantra repeated over and over inside every car company. Because if you want to win in the car business, you need to build cars that not only don’t break, but that also make life easier for owners. Cars that surprise and delight them.
Of course, this is easier said than done. Take Jaguar. Last year Jaguar landed in a tie with Buick atop J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS). Nice victory. Jaguar and Buick edged Toyota’s Lexus brand from first place for the first time in 14 years.
And it was nice while it lasted. In this year’s VDS, Jaguar plunged to 23rd place. Ruling the VDS world in 2010 is Porsche, the German sports car brand that is part of the giant Volkswagen Group. Porsche had 110 problems per 100 vehicles. Lincoln was second with 114 problems per 100 vehicles, followed by Buick and Lexus in a tie with 115 problems per 100 vehicles.
“The 911, the Boxster and the Cayman all performed well,” said Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J. D. Power, in releasing the results earlier this year. “The 911 is one of the better vehicles in the industry.” It also helps that the 911 represents 60 per cent of Porsche’s sales.
After Buick and Lexus came Mercury with 121 problems per 100, then Toyota with 128, Honda with 132, Ford with 141, Mercedes-Benz with 142, Acura with 143, Hyundai with 148, Cadillac with 150, Infiniti with 150 and Subaru with 155, which is the industry average. All other brands were below that industry average.
Car buyers as a group, of course, watch quality closely. According to Consumer Reports, quality is the No. 1 factor than can influence a new car buyer to change brands. CR asked respondents to rank 13 factors that could influence them to change car brands. Three quarters said quality, followed by better fuel economy (73 per cent), lower price (67 per cent), better safety record (65 per cent), more standard equipment (62 per cent) and better overall reputation (61 per cent).
“Overall, these survey respondents are attracted to the highest quality and most value for the money,” notes CR in reporting the research. “But it’s clear that car owners are being pragmatic in their approach to their next new car. The reigning influences are those that can save money up front, at the pump, and in the long run.”
If CR’s research holds, then Toyota should be concerned. Toyota suffered a dramatic drop in another closely watched automotive-quality study, J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS). In the 2010 study, Toyota was rated below average, falling to 21st place from seventh the year before. Toyota trailed several Detroit-based nameplates it has traditionally bested, including Ford, Cadillac, Chevrolet and Lincoln.
As almost everyone knows, the Toyota brand has been a perennial leader in the IQS, but the company’s reputation has been hurt this year by a massive global recall related to issues around sticky accelerator pedals, problematic floor mats and a number of other defects not related to cars that owners say accelerate on their own.
Meanwhile, Ford posted one of the top scores and was ranked fifth overall. Only four luxury brands ranked higher than Ford. Porsche ranked first in the survey, with only 83 complaints per 100 vehicles. It was followed by Honda Motor’s Acura brand, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Toyota’s Lexus division. Ford had 93 problems per 100 vehicles, a slight improvement over 2009, when it ranked eighth and owners found 102 problems in every 100 vehicles.
