Autoblog

Automakers want top-notch quality in their vehicles because a good reputation for quality sell more cars. The pleasant side effect of high quality is spending less to repair your own vehicles. Millions of dollars can be saved per one percentage point improvement in warranty costs. Cerberus was quick to crack down on quality woes when it took over Chrysler, and the early fruit of its labor is hundreds of millions of dollars in warranty costs avoided. Chrysler cars and trucks are hitting the dealer less for repairs than before, which has resulted in a 29% drop in warranty claims for the automaker. That's good news for the cash-strapped automaker, and a big reason the privately owned company has earned $1.1 billion since the company's sale. The positive swing in warranty claims means Chrysler can appropriate less money for warranty claims in the future, giving it more money to spend on R&D, engineering, and, hopefully, interiors.

If you're asking yourself, "Aren't Chrysler products close to last in J.D. Power initial quality studies every year?" you're not alone. Chrysler does tend to fare poorly in those surveys, but they concentrate more on things like cup holders, fit and finish, and general interior quality, all of which don't necessarily cost a lot to fix. The Pentastar is going to de-emphasize J.D. Power results going forward, and instead focus on the arguably more influential Consumer Reports rankings. Unfortunately, the Chrysler vehicles haven't fared very well there either, but that can always change. Thanks for the tip, Mike!

[Source: Detroit Free Press, Photo by Scott Olson/Getty]

J.D. Power and Associates have lowered their U.S. sales light-vehicle forecast for 2008 to just 14.2 million units. This is the third time the global information services company have updated their numbers. In March, they announced that sales would not hit their initial 15.7 million estimate, instead they would come in at about 14.95 million units. Now, the company is estimating sales at 14.2 million units (the industry sold 16.2 million units in 2007). J.D. Power is citing the prolonged credit crisis, deteriorating economic conditions, and the high cost of fuel as reasons consumers are holding off on purchasing new vehicles. Not helping the matter, fleet sales (a common way for the automakers to boost sales in the past) are also down 21 percent from last year.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

J.D. Power and Associates has polled owners of factory-nav equipped vehicles, and Infiniti's zippy-performing setup gets the nod for top honors from end users. Part of the win might be chalked up to the hard drive that the Infiniti system comes with, making it more responsive than a DVD based navigation system. Infiniti owners also tend to be more tech savvy than owners of other navigation-equipped vehicles, further contributing to the win. The study's results show that even after coming up with a few extra thousand dollars to get the fancy LCD in the dash, most drivers hardly scratch the surface of what the systems can do for them. Apparently, watching a little triangle follow an animated route is all many owners ever use their nav systems for, preferring to be even more helpless and use live operators to talk them in.

Ignorance leads to negative comments about maps that are out of date (easily rectified via updates), while actual technology gets in the way when it comes to wonky voice activation and real time traffic updates that have limited coverage in some areas. Despite the complaints, most owners declined to go back to the dealer for any kind of solution. Some owners apparently purchase navigation systems because they like the fancy cachet, while others actually use the systems. Those that use their nav more than twice a week tended to be more satisfied, pretty much proving that navigation systems are complex and take time to learn how to fully utilize before they're more than an expensive electronic bauble. Having used the Infiniti navigation system, we can say that it is among the best when it comes to ease of use and accuracy, but unfortunately, we're not junketing enough to far flung locales to actually need it.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

The J. D. Power Escaped Shopper Study examines why customers look at one model of car, but ultimately buy another. The result: when it came to choosing a domestic or an import vehicle, shoppers chose one or the other for different reasons.

According to J.D. Power, almost 80% of new-vehicle buyers limit their considerations to only domestic or only imported cars. (A recent Wall Street Journal piece on Detroit's perception gap said 54% of buyers are "import intenders," who only consider foreign cars.) Buyers who chose American generally did so because they simply didn't want to buy an import, with price -- the lack of incentives, say -- being a secondary consideration. Import buyers cited issues with interiors, reliabibility, gas mileage, and resale value as reasons for not buying domestic.

[Source: J. D. Power]

"Import intenders" is the term used for car buyers who don't even consider domestic vehicles when planning their next purchase. And according to J.D. Power, they make up 54-percent of car buyers. In spite of Detroit's efforts, and in spite of improving testing scores, the Big Three have been unable to sway those buyers to their brands.

When Ford's ad agency put on a promotion called Swap My Ride, ordinary folks who drove Ford vehicles for a week raved about them. Buick just joined Lexus at the top of the J.D. Power long-term reliability survey. Yet when market research firm CNW holds focus groups with cars that have all of their branding removed, if people think the car is American their opinion of it automatically drops -- even if they're talking about a Toyota Camry. Having driven the new Cadillac CTS, which is a very good car, the biggest hurdle the brand will face when trying to lure BMW buyers is not the quality of the CTS -- it's the word "Cadillac."

There are a host of potential reasons for the reflex judgment of American cars = lesser quality. Detroit is building better cars than the ones that created the perception in the first place, but Ford, GM, and Chrysler aren't having much luck changing it. They are sure they can get more people to change their minds if they can just get them in the cars -- but they have to get them to even consider getting in the car. A solution is not just around the corner, but the first step will be to keep building good cars .

[Source: Wall Street Journal via Edmunds]

We've managed to get some sense of a normal schedule back for the podcasts, and here's number 74. Within, we discuss Ford Sync's newly announced price tag, whether it's worth it and what type of "Easter egg" features may be lurking. In other news, JD Power recently announced that Buick had tied Lexus for the top spot in the 2007 dependability ratings. It looks like a 3 year old Buick is a better investment than ever - also filling out the top 5 were Cadillac and Mercury.

Setting aside our pride over the domestic US manufacturers seeing actual results, we turn our attention to a beleaguered Brit - Jaguar. The XF was snagged without camo, and the rear view the shots afforded was encouraging, and answered some questions. It also raised a few more, and our most nagging question is what's underneath. Moving on, and staying foreign, we touch on VW's tasteful product placement in the Bourne Ultimatum, and the rumors surrounding a Toyota/Fuji lash-up for a revival of an AE-86 style car. Coming home again, if in brand alone, we wrap up with the Chevy Aveo 5 and its extra-full plate of hideous. The 'cast will only take up 40 minutes of your time, so come back next week for seconds!

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A creative Buick dealer is celebrating the brand's performance in J.D. Power's 2007 Vehicle Dependability Study that was released yesterday, in which it tied Lexus for the top spot, by putting together an amusing little viral that stars the Buick Lucerne CST SEMA concept from 2006. The car was prepared by Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. of Clarence, NY, and was one of many Lucernes GM sent to the show last year. You can see the full inventory of upgrades along with the aforementioned video created by Alfred Matthews Motorsports after the jump. Believe us, it's worth it, beyotch!

UPDATE: The video's been yanked. Lame.

[Source: YouTube]

You would expect Lexus to be No. 1 in vehicle dependability, just like it has been in J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for the past 11 years. It is No. 1 again for 2007, but for the first time, Lexus has tied with another automaker for the top spot, and you'll never guess who it is – Buick.

Three-year old (2004) Lexus and Buick vehicles each scored 145 problems per 100 vehicles, the lowest scores of all automakers in the study. The results kind of make you wonder when we're going to cut our own domestic automakers some slack and begin admitting they're turning things around, building better, longer-lasting vehicles. Also consider that Cadillac (162) took the third spot, and Mercury (168) the fourth. Honda (169), meanwhile, earned the fifth spot.

Though Buick ranked highest among nameplates, none of its vehicles managed to earn the highest ranking in their respective segments. (Whoops, one did. The Buick Century was highest ranked Midsize Car.) Lexus vehicles, however, led five categories, the most for any nameplate. Its parent company, Toyota, also added an additional four vehicles that led their segment, while Ford, Honda and... what?... Oldsmobile each had two vehicles that led their segments. Remember, this study focuses on 2004 model year vehicles, which means Oldsmobile was still operating when these cars were built. The Bravada and Silhouette each led their segments in dependability, which likely means those workers building Oldsmobiles near the end took pride in their work.

Feel free to check out all the rankings as posted by J.D. Power in our gallery below.

[Source: J.D. Power]

Hot on the heels of the 2007 Strategic Vision Total Quality Awards, J.D. Power and Associates has released its 2007 Initial Quality Study. You'll no doubt be hearing about how well Ford has done in this year's IQS, as J.D. Power reports the Blue Oval has garnered five top model segment awards, more than any other automaker. Those models include the Ford Mustang, Lincoln Mark LT, Lincoln MKZ, Mercury Milan and the Mazda MX-5.

Indeed, Ford did very well this year, with the Lincoln brand improving from 12th place to 3rd, Mercury from 17th to 8th and Ford jumping from 16th to 10th. We take umbrage, however, with J.D. Power choosing to include the Mazda MX-5 in Ford's list of segment leaders. Ford owns a controlling 33% stake in Mazda, but doesn't include the Japanese brand's sales among its own at the end of the month, and neither does the Japanese-built MX-5 share its plaform with any other Ford models. And, while rattling off how well each Ford brand ranked, J.D. Power doesn't mention that Mazda ranked 35th, second to last ahead of Land Rover, another Ford brand. Still, even without including the MX-5, Ford's four segment leaders is still more than any other automaker. Mercedes-Benz and Toyota each had three.

J.D. Power also gives out Assembly Plant Awards, and in a surprising twist of fate, Ford's Wixom assembly plant that shut its doors forever this past week became the first North American assembly plant to earn the Platinum Plant Quality award for producing vehicles with the fewest defects. We suppose that means 2007 Lincoln Town Car owners are in for some trouble-free times with their cars.

You can check out the complete rankings in the gallery below and read the official press release from J.D. Power and Associates after the jump.

[Source: J.D. Power & Associates]

Buying a new car or truck can be a very expensive endeavor. Style, safety, and reliability are usually at the top of shopper's lists, but the one area that will get you in the end is the all-important resale value.

Some vehicles, like the Honda Odyssey, hold their value extremely well, even after five years. Owners of the Dodge Caravan aren't nearly as lucky, with resale values after half a decade of ownership at a paltry 24-percent of the sticker. As Forbes' Dan Leinert points out, however, the Caravan actually scores quite well in JD Powers studies, so the horrendous resale value can be accounted for when considering the large incentives that are used to move hundreds of thousands of Dodge minivans off dealer lots.

Most of the other vehicles on the list have either gone a really long time without an update, like the Crown Victoria, or are just plain lousy vehicles, like the Kia Amanti. Either way, if your vehicle appears on the "Losing Value List," we'd suggest you hold onto it -- for a while.

You can see the list of the biggest losers after the jump.

[Source: Forbes]