Our Truck of the Year Gets Good JD Power Scores

DETROIT – Ford is pretty proud of its latest JD Power and Associates Initial Quality Score (IQS) results, released Monday. The Ford F-150 scored just 88 problems per 100 vehicles, tying the Toyota Tundra in its segment for best pickup truck score. The industry average for all cars and trucks that JD Power measured averages 108 problems per 100 vehicles. This year marks the first time the F-150 had led its segment since 1996, which also coincided with an all-new model.

So with the new F-150’s scores, Ford is disproving the old rule that you should avoid the first model year of a new model if you want good quality.

High quality was designed in to the manufacturing process, says Bernie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president for global quality. That means the design makes it hard for line workers to make mistakes in building the truck. The supply base also is part of that solution, Fowler says, and Ford will continue to improve the manufacturing process to increase quality, he says.

The F-150 isn’t the only bright spot among all-new models. JD Power also singles out the Acura TL, Honda Pilot and Nissan 370 Z.

Good news for the domestic brands is that initial quality has improved 12 points in the last year. In 2008, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler averaged 124 problems per 100 vehicles. This year, it’s 112 problems per 100. That’s four points short of the average overall; 108 for the industry, down from 118 per 100 vehicles last year.

On the other hand, Jaguar suffered a drop in score, to 134 problems per 100 vehicles, from 112 per 100 in ’08. This year, it’s tied with Dodge. Jaguar says its number-one ranking in another JD Power survey this year, for three-year dependability, better reflects the “huge progress we’ve made.”

And here’s where the IQS results get tricky. Do they reflect real problems, the kind that mean you have to drop off your brand new car before work and pick it up a day or two later? How much nit picking occurs? This is the kind of variable that’s hard to measure, making it impossible to determine exactly how close Chevy or Ford quality is to Toyota or Honda quality, for example.

Jaguar says its drop this year is the result of minor problems with its new XF sedan. “Ninety percent of the score is from one model’s launch, the XF, in which minor launch glitches/issues impacting the score have since been resolved,” says Stuart Schorr, Jaguar Land Rover’s North American veep for communications and public affairs.

Which glitches? The touch-sensitive glovebox button, which looks cool in the XF but can open the glovebox on your date’s knees when it’s brushed by mistake. Or, it doesn’t open as easy as it should. Jaguar has abandoned the button for a conventional latch. Schorr also cites a fuel filler flap problem that also has been solved.

“The score was also impacted by customer questions on brake dust, a common issue,” he says.

There’s also the question of whether Jaguar owners, for example, demand more than Ford F-150 owners, for example. I don’t think that’s true anymore – the F-150 hasn’t been a simple, low-content model for some time. King Ranches and Platinum trim level models can easily breach the lower end of Jaguar’s price range.

The important question, as we report how rapidly GM’s and Ford’s quality (Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep all are still near the bottom of the list) catches Toyota’s and Honda’s, is, how close are they, really? Are Camry or Civic owners expecting more because of what they’ve had in the past, or are the domestics really as trouble-free as JD Power suggests?

Cadillac jumped from 13th to third this year, with a score of 91 PPH, just behind Porsche (90) and Lexus (84). At 102, Ford is just ahead of Chevy (103) and behind Toyota and Mercedes (101), Honda (99) and fourth-place Hyundai (95). On the other hand, some of the best-scored models are cars and trucks that their makers have been making so long, they had better be well built. Pontiac G6 tied with Chevy Malibu for second-best midsize car (Nissan Altima was first) and the best-rated large car was the Mercury Sable.

Source : blogs.motortrend.com/6524077/car-news/our-truck-of-the-year-gets-good-jd-power-scores/index.html

Porsche Reputation

Reputation

1953 Porsche 356 American Roadster

1992 Porsche 911 Turbo, Type 964.

In a May 2006 survey, Porsche was awarded the title of the most prestigious automobile brand by Luxury Institute, New York; it questioned more than 500 households with a gross annual income of at least US $200,000 and a net worth of at least US $720,000. The current Porsche lineup includes sports cars from the Boxster roadster to their most famous product, the 911. The Cayman is a hard top car similar to the Boxster in a slightly higher price range. The Cayenne is Porsche’s mid-size luxury SUV. The Carrera GT was phased out in May 2006. Future plans include a high performance luxury saloon/sedan, the Panamera.

Porsche was awarded the 2006 J.D. Power and Associates award for the highest-ranked nameplate in its Initial Quality Study (IQS) of automobile brands.

As a company, Porsche is known for weathering changing market conditions with great financial stability, while retaining most production in Germany during an age when most other German car manufacturers have moved at least parts of their production to Eastern Europe or overseas. The headquarters and main factory are still in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, but the Cayenne (and formerly the Carrera GT) is manufactured in Leipzig, Germany, the SUV also in Bratislava, Slovakia. Most Boxster and Cayman production is outsourced to Valmet Automotive in Finland. The company has been highly successful in recent times, and indeed claims to have the highest profit per unit sold of any car company in the world.

2005 Porsche 911 (997) Carrera S

Porsche has for many years offered consultancy services to various other car manufacturers. Audi, Studebaker, SEAT, Daewoo, Subaru and Yugo have consulted Porsche on engineering for their cars or engines. The Lada Samara was partly developed by Porsche in 1984. Porsche also helped Harley-Davidson design their new engine in their newer V-Rod motorcycle.

Toyota Outcomes

Toyota is now the world?s largest automaker in terms of net worth, revenue, and profits. According to Stephen Spier, Toyota has been an industry leader since the 1960s and has consistently been more productive than its competitors. The company has been widely recognized for the quality of its products and production systems:

? In 2001, Toyota continued to maintain industry leadership. Consumer Reports rated Toyota models first in four of ten product categories. In a separate 2001 study of initial quality, J.D. Power and Associates rated Toyota and Lexus products first in 7 of 16 product categories. Toyota?s Kyushu car plant was rated the best in the world, with Toyota?s Tahara car plant second in Asia and the Kyushu truck plant third. In North America, Toyota?s Cambridge Ontario plant was first, and the Georgetown Kentucky Camry plant tied for second. Despite industry-wide difficulties, Toyota?s market share and capitalization continued to grow. Worker involving, problem-solving processes at the NUMMI plant, specifically, a TPS-managed joint venture with General Motors, were a source of performance superiority.

Wikipedia