Recently, J.D. Power and Associates (a research firm) declared latest car ratings in which Toyota Motor Corporation outperformed other firms to top the dependability rankings. J.D. Power, which has been researching for over a decade now, conducted the 2012 vehicle dependability study and came to the conclusion that automobile manufacturing firms across the globe have become more reliable. Every year, J.D. Power visits customers who own cars and ask them about problems they faced with their vehicles in the last 12 months.
According to the data collected by J.D. Power, in the year 2009, the ratio stood at 132 problems per 100 vehicles, which was 151 problems per 100 vehicles in 2008. As per the report, out of 32 global brands, Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation, scored highest and stood at mere 82 problems for 100 vehicles.
In 2012, Toyota Motor Corporation managed to outperform every other automobile brand and scored highest in eight different market segment awards. The Lexus ES 350 (Toyota) along with the Lincoln MKZ (Ford) won the award for entry-level luxury sedans.
Toyota’s Lexus RX 350 was declared the winner of luxury crossover segment whereas its Scion tC and Scion xB won awards for sporty compacts and multipurpose vehicles respectively. Other Toyota models that were declared winners were Toyota Sienna (for Minivans), Yaris (for subcompacts), Tundra (for large pickup trucks) and Prius (for small sedan).
Apart from Lincoln MKZ, two other Ford models were declared winners, namely Ford Fusion for best passenger sedan and Ford Explorer tied with Nissan Murano to win the top SUV award. Buick Lucerne (General Motors) was declared winner for the large car category. The best among the small crossovers and SUVs was Chevrolet Equinox. The Nissan Frontier by Nissan Motor Corporation was declared as the best midsize pickup truck. The Hyundai Genesis achieved highest points for the best midsize luxury car.
The above mentioned study and research is based on responses given by over 31,000 owners of 2009 model-year automobiles. As far as failures are concerned, automobiles from Chrysler Group made it to the bottom of the dependability rankings. With a score of around 192 problems per 100 vehicles, the Chrysler Group’s eponymous brand was the worst performer. Dodge at 183 took the second last position and Jeep and Ram were other Chrysler brand at bottom of the list that scored 179 and 174 respectively. Jaguar, Tata owned British automobile brand, completed the bottom 5 list of the J.D. Power dependability rankings.
Though Chrysler made it to the bottom this year, the level of reliability achieved by the company in the year 2009 during the recession was a remarkable feat as every automobile company in 2009 was struggling to uplift the car sales graph. According to David Sargent, Vice President of global automotive, J.D. Power, “Despite facing immense challenges in 2009, automakers placed a keen focus on delivering outstanding levels of quality, which they understood would be essential to their long-term success.”
He further added, “This is good news both for owners - who are holding onto their vehicles for longer than ever - and manufacturers, since perception of quality and dependability is a critical factor in vehicle purchase decisions.”
As per the reports revealed by the research firm R.L. Polk & Co. (provider of automobile information and marketing solutions) the average age of automobiles in America has reached 11 years.
David Sargent stated that though dependability measures have improved, the automobile customers are not sure about those brands that did not perform well in the past. He commented, “During the past four years, models from Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai and Lincoln have achieved consistently strong levels of dependability, but still have relatively high proportions of new-vehicle buyers expressing reliability concerns. Negative quality perceptions are notoriously difficult to change.”
