American automakers top JD Power's website rankings
J.D. Power & Associates, the biggest name in rating everything related to buying and owning cars, has released its rankings of automaker websites. The ratings, which J.D. Power releases twice a year, takes into account the feedback of more than 11,000 online new car shoppers over the course of two months, basing their scores on user-friendliness, content and overall appearance.
While you'd be forgiven for thinking that Japanese companies would have the best websites in the industry, this half's survey placed American automakers at the top of the list yet again. GM's HUMMER division retained its place at the top, just two points ahead of Lincoln. Kia came in third ahead of Honda and Mazda which tied for fourth, while Jeep, Acura, Lexus, Saab and Toyota rounded out the Top 10. We visit our fair share of automaker websites and have found some to be more intuitive than others. Your thoughts are welcome in the comments below.
[Source: JDPower.com via Winding Road]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
BEN 6:50PM (1/28/2008)
WAY TO GO LINCOLN
!!!!!
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Jim in Tampa 8:01PM (1/28/2008)
If you compare the Lincoln site to the Ford & Mercury websites, they're almost identical. I wonder why just Lincoln ranked so high?
Mondo 7:03PM (1/28/2008)
Just checked out Hummer's website (had no reason to go before now) and it really isn't anything special. Pretty standard GM website but much more simplified. I think Hummer's ranking at the top says more about people who cross-shop Hummers than anything else.
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Whitie 7:14PM (1/28/2008)
Just checked out the Hummer website for the first time as well. I like it - fast pull down menus and they throw pricing at you with lightening speed. I like GM, Ford and Toyota websites and I have no issues calling Hummer the best.
Anti-believer 7:21PM (1/28/2008)
BIG DEAL !
Doesn't mean nothing regarding quality of product that your researching. Most automobile websites are design very similar. They all offer the same thing (buld your own, info re: each car, comparison, etc.).
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cellularcoffee 8:04PM (1/28/2008)
What about MINIUSA.com? It's way better and more innovative than most if not all of the other companies listed.
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Cornholio 8:25PM (1/28/2008)
Shouldn't we worry more about the quality of the cars advertised on those websites than the sites themselves?
Is JD Power getting desparate for something else to rank?
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Will Design for Food 8:43PM (1/28/2008)
Where is BMW's website? I think it's much easier to find info on their than any of the other sites...
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Seoultrain 9:04PM (1/28/2008)
really? Mazda??
I'm sorry, I love their cars, but their website is crap.
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psarhjinian 10:02PM (1/28/2008)
Have a look at Toyota Canada. Best I've seen yet.
The WebObjects Price Your Toyota function is by far it's the best I've seen; unlike many others, they're quite upfront about adding tax, freight and PDI when pricing and it lays out pricing, both lease and finance, throughout the configuration process. No guessing, no recalculation. How Toyota USA's site can be such a bear is beyond me.
Brilliant, simple and effective.
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rpm773 7:12AM (1/29/2008)
Excellent, useful survey. Next week I suspect JD Power will rank the cleanliness of dealer showroom restrooms.
/phht.
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vwboyaf1 11:15PM (1/28/2008)
www.dodge.com is the worst. It is broke and has been broke for about a year. You have to refresh everytime you try to use a pull down menu. I wonder if they even realise this, and if it affects sales. Has anybody else had this problem?
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sitruc 11:55PM (1/28/2008)
I just visited the site and didn't have that problem. Was there a particular menu you had a problem with? You could have a problem with your browser.
Typesbad 1:05AM (1/29/2008)
J.D. Power's website testing is an absolute joke, and everyone in the industry knows it. Sites with minimal changes leap from the top to the bottom and back to the top again, and so on. If you design specifically to their methodology, you can be relatively assured of a decent score, but not a site that is interesting or enjoyable to use or reflects the brand.
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Used Cars 5:11AM (1/29/2008)
Wow! how did you do that?
good job Lincoln . . .
http://cars.ozfreeonline.com
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Rick 11:06AM (1/29/2008)
Funny the top sites sell the fewest cars. So that means all 35 hummer owners were happier than the other 200,000+ average consumer base per car company's web site.
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Randy 11:40AM (1/29/2008)
The one thing that bugs me about Ford, Lincoln, Mercury sites is that when you're looking for current deals, they are so vague! It's a pain in the rear to see a something like lease prices in a fashion like "$299 a month with $1700 down". They always show "Lease Deal: $3000 Off" Well what the heck does that mean? Ya know? I think it's a crucial mistake on the websites (I'm a web guy so I have insight here).
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RLQ 7:00PM (1/29/2008)
J.D. Power and Consumer Reports are such a joke.
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