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Never mind the problems, car buyers still happier with hands-free tech

Jeff Sabatini — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 08:59:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Technology, Infotainment

You've seen the opening to Annie Hall, right? Where Woody Allen tells the classic joke about two women grumbling about their dinner? The one complains that the food is terrible, while the other, agreeing, says the portions are too small. That's the automotive infotainment business in a nutshell.

JD Power spells this out in a new analysis of its 2012 APEAL survey. To put it simply, having some infotainment system is better than none, even if the technology occasionally makes you want to push your car into a deep lake.

Power says infotainment, which it calls "audio/entertainment/navigation (AEN) systems" and includes hands-free technology, had the highest average problem count in its 2012 Initial Quality Study. But those owners who had systems of this sort that included hands-free communication were some 12-percent more likely to recommend their vehicles to others. These owners were also "slightly more likely" to repurchase the same vehicle brand, according to Power.

Scroll down to watch the aforementioned clip from the 1978 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture.

Continue reading Never mind the problems, car buyers still happier with hands-free tech

Never mind the problems, car buyers still happier with hands-free tech originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevy earns most nods in 2012 J.D. Power APEAL study... sort of

Jeff Sabatini — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:29:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Marketing/Advertising

On first glance, General Motors seems to have a lot to crow about in the latest JD Power APEAL rankings. After all, its Chevrolet brand claimed three segment awards - the most of any single brand - and Cadillac finished tied for eighth place overall in the 2012 edition of the study. But upon closer inspection, the results may not be quite so rosy for The General.

The APEAL study ranks new vehicles for how "gratifying" they are, based on owner evaluations of some 80 attributes. Yes, this is something of an automotive popularity contest. And the problem for GM is that, overall, its customers just don't like its products as much as those who buy from other carmakers.

Buick, Chevrolet and GMC all scored below the industry average in the 2012 APEAL study. Despite Cadillac's top ten ranking, the only luxury brands it managed to beat were Acura, Lincoln and Volvo, luxury bottom-feeders all. To be fair, we should note that Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Nissan also failed to finish above the industry average, though both Ford and Chrysler did, but barely.

The Chevrolet vehicles that claimed segment awards sent something of a mixed message. While the Sonic finishing first among subcompacts has to be seen as a huge win for GM, the other segment awards went to the Volt and Avalanche, in the compact and large pickup categories, respectively. The Volt is a great car, but it isn't a volume product and the Avalanche is a dead truck walking, slated to go out of production after the 2013 model year. The only other GM vehicle to make the top three in any segment was the Cadillac Escalade in the mostly moribund Large Premium Crossover/SUV. Nary a Buick or GMC is to be found on the list in any position.

Meanwhile, down I-94 in Dearborn, Ford has six vehicles in the top three in their respective segments, including winners in Large Crossover/SUV (Expedition) and Midsize Crossover/SUV (Flex). Even Chrysler managed to snag two segment awards (Dodge Challenger and Charger) and land three other vehicles in the top three in their segments.

If we really wanted to crown an APEAL winner, that title might just go to Audi, whose A8 had the highest score of any model and also won a segment award for the A6, while placing third overall. Porsche, however, could rightly lay the best claim to the 2012 APEAL championship, considering it had the highest brand score and won two segments, for the 911 and Cayenne.

Scroll down to read the full press release.

Continue reading Chevy earns most nods in 2012 J.D. Power APEAL study... sort of

Chevy earns most nods in 2012 J.D. Power APEAL study... sort of originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Car and Driver calls out J.D. Power IQS

Jeff Sabatini — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:31:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Technology, Ford, Design/Style

Ford has taken it on the chin from J.D. Power since the carmaker rolled out its new MyFord Touch system in the 2011 Explorer. Ford's ranking in the influential Initial Quality Survey dropped from fifth last year all the way down to 23rd, in large measure because of customer dissatisfaction with the new technology and its voice recognition interface, but also because of refinement complaints about the PowerShift dual-clutch transmission in the Fiesta. But unlike, say, the Houston Cougars, who plummeted in the Bowl Championship Series rankings after getting blown out in the Conference USA title game this weekend, Ford can make a pretty good case that it's getting jobbed.

The traditional definition of quality when it comes to new cars and trucks has been based on those vehicles being free of defects. But in the last few years, the tide has been turning, in large measure because J.D. Power is increasingly weighing customer complaints related to design and, in particular, new electronic technology. Car and Driver paints the complaints that have dogged Ford among the latter, suggesting that these are less valid quality metrics than something like a poorly assembled door panel.

The venerable buff book doesn't stop at defending Ford, however, cautioning against what it sees as a trend "toward the lowest-common-denominator solutions to reduce design 'problems.'" Citing examples like BMW moving its cruise control from a separate stalk to buttons on the steering wheel to appease whining customers and Porsche getting dinged on IQS for using brake pads that generate too much dust, C/D doesn't say it outright, but certainly implies that J.D. Power is no longer pushing automakers in the right direction.

Car and Driver calls out J.D. Power IQS originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Domestics surpass imports as a whole in 2010 J.D. Power APEAL study

Michael Harley — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki, Volkswagen

Click above for gallery of the graphics from J.D. Power and Associates

Porsche once again grabs the top spot (for the sixth time in a row) in the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) Study. This year's study asked 76,000 owners 90 days after purchasing their 2010 model-year cars "how gratifying their new vehicle is to own and drive." The answer, for the first time since 1997, was that the domestic brands were more "appealing" as a whole than the imports (the domestics earned a score of 787 on a 1,000-point scale - 13 points greater than the imports).

When it comes down to specific awards (as shown in the segment-level graphics), Ford leads with five. The automaker earned one each for the Expedition, Explorer Sport Trac, Flex, Fusion and Taurus. Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen each garner two awards. The Ford Taurus and Chevrolet Avalanche, both segment leaders, are the only two models that ranked highest in the 2010 APEAL study and in the 2010 Initial Quality Study (IQS) announced in June. Suzuki is credited with the greatest improvement this year, while Jeep drops one slot from last year's 2009 APEAL Study and falls to the bottom of the list for 2010. Check out the gallery for the graphics, and read the full press release after the break.

Gallery: J.D. Power 2010 APEAL Awards

[Source: JDPower.com]

Continue reading Domestics surpass imports as a whole in 2010 J.D. Power APEAL study

Domestics surpass imports as a whole in 2010 J.D. Power APEAL study originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyundai trumps BMW and Jaguar in J.D. Power 2009 APEAL study

Michael Harley — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Marketing/Advertising, BMW, Dodge, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Volkswagen, Luxury

Click above for a gallery of the graphics from J.D. Power and Associates

Porsche grabs the top spot for the fifth year in a row in the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) Study. For this year's study, the team at JDPA gathered information from more than 80,900 purchasers and lessees of new 2009 model-year cars and questioned them on more than 90 vehicle attributes. Their studies examined "how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive," based on those evaluations.

While the APEAL nameplate ranking is significant (Porsche, Jaguar, and Cadillac round out the top-three), the segment winners offer more insight into what today's buyers are seeking. This year, it appears to be the newly launched models including the Volkswagen CC, Nissan Maxima, Dodge Challenger, and Ford Flex... each took top honors in their respective category. This year's biggest upset comes in the "Midsize Premium Car" segment as the all-new Hyundai Genesis (sedan) knocks the BMW 5 Series from the podium. Check out the gallery for the graphics, and read the full press release after the break.

Gallery: 2009 J.D. Power APEAL Results

[Source: JDPower.com]

Continue reading Hyundai trumps BMW and Jaguar in J.D. Power 2009 APEAL study

Hyundai trumps BMW and Jaguar in J.D. Power 2009 APEAL study originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda has APEAL: wins most segments in JD Power's rankings

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 07:58:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., BMW, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz

Honda took four categories in the latest J.D. Power's 2007 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study. APEAL measures how happy an owner is with the design, content, layout, and performance of their car within 90 days of purchase. When the votes were tallied from the 91,000 respondents, Honda won with the Fit (Sub-compact), CR-V (MAV), Ridgeline (Mid-size pickup), and Odyssey (Van), beating Mercedes and BMW who both took three categories each.

Among the domestics, Ford was the only winner, with the Mustang and the Edge. According to J.D. Power, new or redesigned vehicles tend to score the best, and that cars that score well in the APEAL Study need lower incentives to lure buyers. And in case you were wondering, closely following another study that took the same measure of owner happiness, the Jaguar S-Type did not make the list this time.

[Source: J. D. Powers]

Honda has APEAL: wins most segments in JD Power's rankings originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Jul 2007 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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