| wmquan |
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos...ependable_x.htm
"German autos, despite high prices and celebrated engineering, don't always hold up very well, according to an authoritative study of 4- and 5-year-old vehicles."
"Perennially strong Japanese brands again dominated the Power VDI, announced Thursday. The top five scorers — that is, the five with fewest problems after four to five years on the road — are Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, Honda and Toyota."
"The 1998 models in the study were designed and developed before today's fierce pressure to slash costs, meaning current German cars and trucks could fare even worse several years from now if their makers' cost-cutting has slipped into corner- cutting."
Since the Vehicle Dependability Index survey is based on '98 model year vehicles, the MDX is not part of it. |
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| vicpai |
German vehicles were never reliable, whether it be now or in the past. Yes, they are very well engineered, but that has nothing to do with reliability and perfection in building the vehicle
As a matter of fact "RELIABILITY" and "DURABILITY" were practically invented by the Japanese with their perfectionist ways! |
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| miro |
| So, what else is new? |
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| donsev |
Just some additional information from todays Wall Street Journal:
Lexus Leads in Quality Survey,
As Mercedes's Ranking Tumbles
Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus luxury unit topped an industry ranking of long-term durability for the eighth year in a row, while DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes unit saw its ranking fall as a result of its M-Class sport-utility vehicle, which suffered numerous problems in its first year of production.
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Japanese Car Makers Lead
Quality and durability have become critical battlegrounds in the fiercely competitive auto market, but despite major efforts to improve, U.S. auto makers still trail many of their Japanese rivals. J.D. Power said its surveys show more than half of U.S. auto buyers cite expected durability as a major reason for why they chose the vehicle they did.
In the latest survey, which was based on responses from more than 30,000 consumers, Lexus had only 159 problems per hundred vehicles after four or five years on the road, followed by Infiniti, Acura and Honda Motor Co.'s Honda brand. Infiniti is the luxury unit of Nissan Motor Co., while Acura is Honda's premium unit.
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Mercedes Problems Rose
Mercedes's problem total increased 23% from a better-than-average result of 296 in the last survey to a below-average ranking this year. J.D. Power doesn't release scores for brands that fell below the average. But Brian Walters, director of product research, said the poor performance of the M-Class, a new model that went into production for 1998 at a new U.S. factory, accounted for all of the decline at Mercedes. He noted that J.D. Power's surveys of new-vehicle quality show the M-Class has improved substantially since then. "We expect to see Mercedes-Benz above the industry average very soon," he said.
Volkswagen AG's Audi luxury unit also fell below the average in the latest survey, with a 19% increase in problems from last year's score of 328. An Audi spokeswoman blamed the decline on problems with its 1998 model A6 cars, some of which were recalled, and said the auto maker is working to improve its quality performance.
A GM spokesman said the No. 1 auto maker focuses more on reliability rankings from Consumer Reports, which show several GM brands, including Chevrolet, its biggest, performing well. Chevrolet was ranked below average in the latest J.D. Power study, as was the Ford brand. |
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| JTM |
| Not a surprise news for me. |
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| maransm |
| How come they are not talking about BMW here? |
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| wmquan |
quote:
Originally posted by donsev
... But Brian Walters, director of product research, said the poor performance of the M-Class, a new model that went into production for 1998 at a new U.S. factory, accounted for all of the decline at Mercedes. He noted that J.D. Power's surveys of new-vehicle quality show the M-Class has improved substantially since then. "We expect to see Mercedes-Benz above the industry average very soon," he said. ...
The 2001 and 2000 M-Class is below average in JD Power's mid-term surveys (based on 1-3 years). And every year (up to 2002) has been below average in the initial quality survey (based just on 90 days). So while the M-Class has actually improved, it's still below average, but at least it won't drag down MB's scores as badly.
It's pretty sad to see a vehicle in its fifth model year still below industry average. By the time it hits average (if ever), the model run will be over! |
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| donsev |
quote:
Originally posted by maransm
How come they are not talking about BMW here?
Edited from original article for brevity:
"Behind those top four were seven auto makers whose scores were close enough that J.D. Power said they were essentially comparable: Toyota, Porsche AG, General Motors Corp.'s Buick and Cadillac, Ford Motor Co.'s Jaguar and Lincoln, and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG. Scores for those brands ranged from 276 to 282 problems per hundred." |
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| maransm |
Thanks donsev..
I didnt even look at the link. something wrong with me today.. immm.. guess its because of friday.. I am sure I need a break from this crazy working hours.. :o |
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| MDXLuvr |
| Can't really count porsche on that list. They produce less than 50,000 cars a yr. So, the # of replies on porsches is going to be lower, and that might bias the data. |
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| MDXtrous |
| Another pat on the back for the MDX purchase for everyone... |
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