Autoblog

J.D. Power and Associates, the influential industry tracking firm, warned that the global auto market may "outright collapse" due to the lack of available credit and the general global economic conditions in 2009. According to the company, credit market restructuring, fewer leasing options, and declining owner equity are adding additional stress to an already burdened market. Don't turn to the automotive markets in China, Europe, or India either -- they are expected to slow next year as well. Much of the domestic sales decline is attributed to consumers delaying vehicle purchases (their studies indicate people are keeping their vehicles four months longer in 2008, compared to 2007). Other contributing factors are the drop in leasing activity, and the loss of fleet sales (down to 2.8 million from 3.3 million last year). While the automotive sales decline over the summer made this a buyer's market, willing consumers who venture into showrooms today are finding dealerships eager to sell, but banks aversive about lending.

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

Click above for results 2008 J.D. Power Dependability Study

J.D. Power and Associates has just released its 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study that attempts to measure vehicle quality throughout the first three years of owning a vehicle, and for the 14th year in a row Lexus leads all manufacturers with a rating of just 120 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). This year's runner up, surprisingly, is Mercury, though it's a distant second at 151 PP100. Cadillac (155 PP100), Toyota (159 PP100) and Acura (160 PP100) round out the top five spots for brands. Lexus also had the most segment leaders with six vehicles leading their respective category, while Toyota tacked on another five. The study also says that long-term vehicle quality has also improved 5% across the industry in 2008, with the industry average dropping 10 PP100 down to 206 this year.

The Vehicle Dependability Study is based on surveys taken of 52,000 original owners of 2005 model year vehicles. Take whatever stock you will in it, as some argue that subjectivity can skew the results. For instance, Lexus owners may tend to report that their vehicles are running just fine out of pride and loyalty to their brand. Nevertheless, J.D. Power's complete press release and results for the industry and each segment category can be found after the jump and in the gallery below.


[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]

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]

We really didn't expect good news... J.D. Power and Associates, the global information services company who seem to have highly regarded insight within the industry, is predicting auto sales this year to hit short of their original estimates. According to the firm, declining consumer confidence, lower spending, and turbulent financial and economic market conditions will contribute to an anticipated drop in new light-vehicle sales in 2008 that will put total sales at their lowest level since 1994.

U.S. light-vehicle automotive sales as recently as 2000 and 2001 topped 17 million units and retail sales last year were a more disappointing 16.2 million units. It was originally assumed that sales in 2008 would even lower, at 15.7 million units. Now, weak retail and fleet sales have driven that number down to J.D. Power's estimate of 14.95 million units.

Press Release after the jump.

[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]

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]

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]

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The J.D. Power and Associates Alternative Powertrain Study has found that hybrid consideration among new car buyers is slipping, albeit only slightly. At the same time, the willingness to consider a clean diesel is growing. Overall, 7% fewer buyers are adding a hybrid to their list of potentials, but in the 16-25 age group the drop is actually 13%. For some reason, the hybrid message is getting lost on the people just entering the car buying market. One possible reason could be that, according to the study, buyers wanted to pay no more than $2,396 extra for a hybrid over a traditional competitor, but get 18.5 mpg more. As those shoppers have discovered that hybrids can't provide that cost/benefit ratio yet, they are perhaps staying with the standard option. It's not much different in the diesel category, with folks willing to pay $1,491 and expecting 15 mpg better. However, the perceived benefit of diesels is opposite that of hybrids -- hybrids could be coming down off the pedestal, while more people are realizing that diesels are fuel efficient and, finally, clean.

[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]

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]

J.D. Power and Associates released its 2006 Customer Retention Study today, and to no one's surprise Toyota tops the list. The Japanese automaker averages a 63.9 percent customer retention rate, which means that of people who purchase a Toyota vehicle, about 64 percent purchase another one as their next vehicle. Toyota actually beat out its own brethren this year, narrowly replacing Lexus (63.2%) at the top of the list. This news isn't surprising, merely because Toyota's image of quality and customer service has been gaining momentum along with its sales. It is just an image, though, as the reality of Toyota's quality and customer service at the moment is arguably much different than its rosy reputation suggests. Nevertheless, Toyota has somehow managed to sear a positive image of itself on the collective consciousness of consumers, which we believe artificially boosts its performance a bit in the marketplace, as well as in studies like this one.

Overall J.D. Power and Associates reports that customer retention is declining across the auto industry, having fallen from 49.6 percent in 2003 to 47.9 percent this year. This makes perfect sense when you consider that the market for great vehicles has never been more competitive and new model classes, like the CUV, are pulling customers away from their trusted brands to try out new offerings.

You can follow the jump for a look at J.D. Power's press release and see a graph that shows see how each brand ranked.

[Source: J.D. Power]

Those looking for a glimpse into the future of light-duty diesel reliability may be interested in a new study by J.D. Power on customer satisfaction with modern heavy truck powertrains. The 2006 Heavy Duty Truck Engine/Transmission Study ranked engines from the 2004 model year by quality, performance, cost of ownership, and warranty, and revealed what one would reasonably expect from new technology.

An average of 74 problems per 100 vehicles was reported, which represents a 60% increase in trouble over the prior year. This was attributed directly to the emission control systems that were phased in during 2003 and 2004. Fuel economy also declined from 6.04 MPG in the 2004 study to 5.72 MPG - a drop of over 5%. Ranked highest in the study was Caterpillar, and the company's ACERT technology allowed the C12 and C15 (pictured above) to lead the ratings of individual engines. Unfortunately, unless you hold a CDL, it's highly unlikely that either one of them will find their way into your personal fleet.

So, what does this mean for consumers of passenger vehicles? Just as we've experienced the evolution of emission controls on gasoline engines, problems can be expected as manufacturers roll out clean diesel technology. How long it will take to sort out these issues is not yet clear, but we're guessing that things get sorted out rather quickly, and indeed some of the problems that are currently affecting heavy trucks may very well be eliminated before it trickles down to smaller oilburners.

[Source: J.D. Power; the complete press release is posted below the jump]