J.D. Power loves to know what you think about new cars and the companies that make them. One of their annual reports is called the APEAL study, which looks at automotive performance, execution and layout, and this analytic look at makes and models is tallied up within a 1,000-point scale. The average score for the entire industry currently sits at 781, which is an improvement over last year's average of 778.
The calendar has kicked over to summer, and that means J.D. Power has just updated its Initial Quality report. The 2011 edition of the IQS is a bit surprising, mostly because the quality of new model launches has been trending upward since 2007 for the entire industry on average. The tune has changed for 2011, as J.D. Power notes the first quality decline in four years, though it notes that carryover models performed better than ever - it's t
Ford has had its share of quality issues with its fledgling MyFord Touch technology, and watchdogs like Consumer Reports and J.D. Power have taken notice. Bloomberg reports that Ford CEO Alan Mulally is all too aware of the automaker's latest technology glitches, saying, "We've had ju
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J.D. Power and Associates has released its annual Vehicle Dependability Study for 2011, and there are a few surprises in store for those who religiously keep track of who outperforms who on the automotive reliability front. For the first time ever, Lincoln, with 101 problems per 100 vehicles, leads the chart, followed by Lexus with a score of 109.
J.D. Power and Associates has just released the results of its latest customer service survey. Lexus managed to take home the luxury crown for greatest customer satisfaction in the service department while Mini snagged top honors among mass-market brands. According to J.D. Power, one of the biggest factors that can influence how buyers feel about their service experience is whether or not their dea
Customer loyalty is incredibly important to automakers and something earned by providing both good products and service. J.D. Power has just put out its 2010 Customer Retention Study to show how well each automaker is doing at keeping existing car buyers coming back for more. Leading the way are Ford and Honda who tie each othe
Economists and talking heads argue endlessly about our economy on a daily basis. "It's back!," "It's almost back!" and "It's never coming back!" seem to be the leaders among the varied viewpoints we hear and read about. One sector that has apparently begun to rebound is the car rental business. Not necessarily in financial terms, but from the standpoint of customer satisfaction, America's rental car companies are returning to to a
As per usual whenever there's great change afoot, finding the shelter of reality among competing storms of He Said/She Said isn't easy – it will probably take us another ten years to find out what's really true right now. J.D. Power and Associates has added more data to the mix with its report, "Drive Green 2020: More Hope than Reality." The one-sentence summary is that, according to J.D. Power's research, there might be more hype than substance to hybrid and battery demand, but that China
Each automaker has its own green car predictions about what we'll be driving in 2020, but an authoritative independent voice puts a bit of a damper on the most rosy. J.D. Power and Associates released the results of a report called "Drive Green 2020: More Hope than Reality" today, and, as you may be able to guess from the name, it doesn't look all that good for green cars.
Click above for gallery of the graphics from J.D. Power and Associates
Click above for a gallery of graphtastic images from J.D. Power and Associates
2010 J.D. Power CSI Study - Click above for charts
After gathering real-time transaction data from 8,900 automotive franchisees across the U.S., J.D. Power and Associates predicts new-vehicle retail sales will have declined for January 2010 compared to one year ago. January's new-vehicle sales are expected to come in at 500,900 units, which represents a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 7.9 million units. In January of 2009, the SAAR was 8.8 million units. December 2009 was a particularly strong sales month – thanks to heavy ma
When wheels are covered with brake dust, the entire car looks dirty and in many cases, a basic wash will do little to rectify the problem. Most associate brake dust as a mere nuisance, but others actually see the sight of pad particles as a fundamental problem with the functionality of a vehicle's brakes. That may sound a bit strange to some, but J.D. Power seems to agree that brake dust is indeed a quality problem.
Smaller, cheaper electronics have been a boon for the auto industry, as car technology has boomed over the past few years. J.D. Power has been studying the tech trend, surveying over 19,000 potential car buyers to gauge interest in new tech like nav systems and infotainment systems. The powerful research company found that customers are now far more tech-savvy than they were in the past, and they're also very interested in adding new features to their next car purchase. That's great news for aut
Dutch Mandel from AutoWeek, Terry Rhadigan from GM, John Neff from Autoblog and David Thomas from Kicking Tires (l-r)
