With the Miss America pageant on the ropes, the J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality Study still commands attention. Maybe more than it should, since it's a beauty contest, too. In this survey of problems in the first 90 days of ownership, Porsche continues to lead, while Infiniti leaped to No. 2, elbowing aside Lexus. Mercedes-Benz and Toyota tied for fourth. IQS is something of a beauty contest because all new cars are pretty reliable, so much so that the survey also tracks design and usability "issues" as problems. The world's best plants average one defect per every two cars built. If there's one conclusion I'd draw from IQS, it's this: Vehicles with simpler technology fare better, especially if they're existing designs that the factories have been building for years. Introduce a lot of new cars and your ratings slip. Here are 10 other conclusions I draw from IQS:
1. Infotainment continues to be a problem. Power says audio-entertainment-navigation is the only breakout area that suffered a quality slip from 2007 to 2008, mostly owing to "design-related issues such as the controls being difficult to operate or understand." Check out the IQS drilldown on the J.D. Power site.
2. The winner, Porsche, has a complex engine and drivetrain, but it's pretty simple to master: Press the pedal on the right to go faster, the one on the middle to stop. Porsche's cockpit doesn't have as much tech as BMW, Audi, or Mercedes-Benz; repeat Porsche buyers find similarities in controls going back for decades; and the steering wheel controls are huge and easy to master.
3. Leopards can change their spots. Audi jumped to a tie for No. 10 from 26th last year, Mercedes-Benz went from 26th two years ago to No. 4 this year. BMW, the car company most identified with leading edge and bleeding edge technology, remains at No. 21 after being No. 3 three years ago. And over the course of several years, more U.S. brands have worked into the top 10 (four in 2008, including ties for No. 10).
4. Manufacturing quality leaders can still have IQS problems - or not. BMW's plant that builds the 3 Series has the fourth best ranking for fewest manufacturing defects, while BMW ranks No. 21 on IQS, suggesting that what ails BMW isn't the elves in the Black Forest (or South Carolina or eastern Europe) assembly lines. Porsche, on the other hand, is No. 1 on IQS and has the plant with the second fewest defects, behind only a Mercedes-Benz plant.
5. The myth of Japanese manufacturing superiority is just that - sort of. Asian nameplates won nine of the 18 category awards. But some are for vehicles built on U.S. soil, while U.S. automakers won seven. German automakers got the other two (both Mercedes-Benz). I'm not sure how meaningful this is statistically, but here's how the scores broke out by country, averaging the scores for all automakers:
Germany, 113 problems per 100 cars
Korea, 117 problems per 100 cars
U.S. average, 118 problems per 100 cars
Industry average, 118 problems per 100 cars
Japan, 124 problems per 100 cars
Sweden, 137 problems per 100 cars
England, 161 problems per 100 cars
6. Build the same design forever and it's likely to trouble-free. That's how Ford had the world's highest-quality plant last year in Wixom, Michigan, building the Lincoln Town Car, a design barely newer than Abe himself. (Which Ford closed the month it won the Power award.) On the other hand, the brand new Chevrolet Malibu is also the winner of the IQS Midsize Car segment this year. In other words, you don't always have to worry if you buy a car in the first year of its life.
7. Take the results with a grain of salt. Minor differences - 5 points, perhaps 10 points -- aren't meaningful, and Power's press releases now acknowledge, "Rankings are based on numerical scores, and not necessarily on statistical significance." While the differences shouldn't affect consumer buying behavior, the automakers love top rankings, and Power has a nice business consulting with the automakers on how to improve customer satisfaction in the coming year. Besides, a much smaller J.D. Power & Associates was virtually ignored by Detroit 25 years ago, which may be one reason GM is flirting with 20% market share when it had as much as 50% in the post World War II era.
8. Ford and GM are in good shape, but Chrysler? Ford had two brands in the top 10 and the third, Lincoln, was in the top 15 (but right at No. 15, falling from third last year. See what happens you close your best Town Car plant?) GM had three in the 10-16 range (above average). But of 36 brands, Chrysler nameplates ranked 28-29-36.
9. German build quality is impeccable. Of the top plants for quality, plants in Germany ranked 1-2-4. The premium German automakers on IQS ranked 1-4-10-21 out of 36 brands surveyed. If an owner, for instance, doesn't like iDrive, it's more likely because the owner thinks iDrive is screwed up, not that the control knob is screwed down wrong. British craftsmanship remains uncertain, or what statisticians call bimodal: Jaguar tied for eighth in IQS, but Land Rover and Mini ranked 34-35 out of the 36 brands.
10. Other surveys matter more. The J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study tracks problems over three years of a vehicle's life. That's more important than the 90-day tracking of IQS. See our analysis of the 2007 Vehicle Dependability Study. If it's pure emotions about cars - and that's a big reason buy cars with leather not cloth sets, or 20-inch rims - then see the results of the 2007 J.D. Power APEAL (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) survey.
Here are the Power IQS awards for the brands (nameplates), for models, and for manufacturing plants. The plant scores are better (lower numerically) because they're measuring only manufacturing issues.
J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality Study 2008
Rated in problems per 100 vehicles
1. Porsche, 87 PP100 (2007: 91 PP100 ( ranked 1))
2. Infiniti, 98 (2007: 117 (9))
3. Lexus, 99 (2007: 94 (2))
T4. Mercedes-Benz, 104 (2007: 111 (5))
T4. Toyota, 104 (2007: 112 (T6))
6. Mercury, 109 (2007: 113 (8))
7. Honda, 110 (2007: 108 (4))
T8. Ford, 112 (2007: 120 (10))
T8. Jaguar, 112 (2007: 112 (T6))
T10. Audi, 113 (2007: 136 (T26))
T10. Cadillac, 113 (2007: 135 (25))
T10. Chevrolet, 113 (2007: 129 (15))
T13. Hyundai, 114 (2007: 125 (12))
T13. Pontiac, 114 (2007: 133 (T21))
15. Lincoln, 115 (2007: 100 (3))
16. Buick, 118 (2007: 127 (14))
-- Industry Average, 118 (2007: 125)
T17. Acura, 119 (2007: 130 (17))
T17. Kia, 119 (2007: 125 (12))
T19. Nissan, 124 (2007: 132 (19))
T19. Volvo, 124 (2007: 129 (15))
21. BMW, 126 (2007: 133 (T21))
T23. GMC, 127 (2007: 131 (18))
T23. Mazda, 127 (2007: 163 (34))
24. Volkswagen, 128 (2007: 160 (31))
25. Hummer, 132 (2007: 162 (33))
26. Subaru, 133 (2007: 133 (T21))
27. Scion, 138 (2007: 123 (11))
28. Dodge, 141 (2007: 156 (30))
29. Chrysler, 142 (2007: 151 (T26))
T31. Mitsubishi, 149 (2007: 155 (29))
T31. Saab, 149 (2007: 133 (T21))
32. Suzuki, 152 (2007: 153 (28))
33. Saturn, 157 (2007: 132 (19))
34. Land Rover, 161 (2007: 170 (35))
35. Mini, 163 (2007: not rated)
36. Jeep, 167 (2007: 161 (32))
Problems per 100 cars in the first 90 days of ownership for 2008 and 2007.
IQS Top Three Models per Segment
Car Segments
Ranked in order.
Sub-Compact Car
Honda Fit
Kia Rio
Hyundai Accent
Compact Car
Honda Civic
Toyota Prius
Hyundai Elantra Sedan
Compact Sporty Car
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Subaru Impreza
Pontiac Solstice
Compact Premium Sporty Car
Highest Ranked:
Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
Porsche Cayman
Volvo C70
Entry Premium Vehicle
Infiniti EX-Series
Infiniti G-Series
Acura TSX (tie)
Volvo S40 (tie)
Midsize Premium Car
Highest Ranked:
Infiniti M-Series (tie 1st)
Mercedes-Benz E-Class (tie 1st)
Audi A6 (tie)
Lexus ES 350 (tie)
Large Premium Car
Lexus LS
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Cadillac DTS
Midsize Car
Chevrolet Malibu
Mitsubishi Galant
Ford Fusion
Large Car
Pontiac Grand Prix Sedan
Mercury Sable
Mercury Grand Marquis
Truck/Multi -Activity Vehicle (MAVD) Segments
Compact MAV
Honda CR-V
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Ford Escape
Midsize MAV
Dodge Durango
Hyundai Santa Fe
Toyota Highlander
Large MAV
Toyota Sequoia
Chevrolet Tahoe
GMC Yukon
Midsize Premium MAV
Lexus RX
Lexus GX 470
Porsche Cayenne
Large Premium MAV
Lincoln Navigator
Infinit QX56
Cadillac Escalade
Large Pickup
Chevrolet Silverado LD
Toyota Tundra
Chevrolet Avalanche
Midsize Pickup
Dodge Dakota
Ford Ranger
Toyota Tacoma
Van
Ford E-Series
Nissan Quest
Chevrolet Express
No 2008 awards for two premium sporty and midsize sporty models (fewer than four vehicles in segment).
2008 Assembly Plant Quality Awards
For vehicles for U.S. market delivery
Defects/malfunctions only (problems per 100 vehicles built)
Overall (Platinum)
Mercedes-Benz, Sindelfingen, Germany, 33 PP100 - Building CL-Class, CLS-Class, E-Class Sedan and Wagon and S-Class
North/South America
Gold, Toyota, Baja California, Mexico, 42 PP100 - Toyota Tacoma
Silver, Toyata, San Antonio, Texas, 43 PP100 - Toyota Tundra
Silver, General Motors Corporation, Fairfax II, Kansas, 44 PP100 -- Chevrolet Malibu and Saturn Aura
Asia Pacific
Gold, Toyota, Fujimatsu, Japan, 38 PP100 - Toyota Prius
Silver, Nissan Motor Company, Tochigi, Japan, 43 PP100 -- Infiniti EX Series, G35 Sedan, G37 Coupe, M35, M45; Nissan 350Z Coupe and Roadster
Bronze, Toyota Motor Corporation--Tahara, Japan, 44 PP100 -- Lexus GS 350/GS 460/GS 450h, GX 470, IS 250/IS 350/IS-F, LS 460/LS 600h; Toyota 4Runner, Land Cruiser, and RAV4
Europe
Gold, Mercedes-Benz, Sindelfingen, Germany, 33 PP100 - Building CL-Class, CLS-Class, E-Class Sedan and Wagon and S-Class
Silver, Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany, 37 PP100 - Porsche 911 Cabriolet and Coupe
Bronze, BMW, Regensburg, Germany, 39 PP100 - BMW 3 Series Convertible, Coupe, and Sedan
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