74 Articles
J.D. Power warns global auto market may "outright collapse" in 2009

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

Fuel mileage makes buying a new car not all it's cracked up to be

Could the American love affair tied in to the purchase of a new car be losing some of its luster? Perhaps, it seems, as ever-increasing gas prices impact U.S. driver's pocketbooks, J.D. Power and Associates is reporting a decline in new car owner satisfaction for the first time in five years. Despite the fact that consumers have been reporting mileage numbers in line with the EPA's newly-revised ratings, the cost of filling up the tank is doing nothing but increasing. Interestingly, though, it i

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.

J.D. Power: Hybrids losing popularity to diesels

It looks like consumers are starting to come to the realization that although hybrid vehicles have the potential to provide big increases in fuel efficiency, that improvement is not universal especially if you're not prepared to modify your driving habits. By their nature parallel hybrids are most useful in applications that involve a lot of starting and stopping. This allows the system to recapture kinetic energy during braking and store it in the battery. Applications that get predominantly co

The forgetfulness is real: large pickup and SUV sales numbers increase

That upswing we saw just over a week ago in customer interest in large pickups and SUVs is real. While last week the numbers came from the types of cars people were searching for online, news out yesterday from J.D. Power and Associates finds that sales of large pickups and SUVs has increased. The increase (J.D. doesn't say how much of an increase, but the Big Three must be thrille

New standards for heavy-duty diesels means more problems

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.

U.S. Light Duty diesel sales expected to rise significantly

While the headline for this J.D. Power survey highlights the significant rise in global demand for diesel engines in light-duty vehicles, the article points out that the increase will be seen outside of Western Europe, which has been the driver for growth of diesel vehicle demand in the last 10 years. The diesel share for the U.S. is expected to grow significantly, while other countries like Japan are still skeptical about oil burners. Even though Japan remains hesitant, Toyota is predicted to b

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