J.D. Power Study...

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J.D. Power's latest survey finds that folks who shop for non-luxury new vehicles like European brands the best - and those who shop for luxury cars and trucks like the Japanese. The 2003 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) StudySM, which measures satisfaction with interior and exterior styling and various levels of performance, discovered that non-luxury Eurobrands lead in exterior styling and ride, handling, and braking. Luxury Japanese brands pleased the same group of people when it came to interior styling, sound systems, and seats. And as new vehicles replace older ones, the survey found that many of them - including the Mazda6, Land Rover Range Rover, and the Toyota Sienna - far exceed the customer's expectations based on the models they replaced. Toyota placed four models at the top of their segments; Porsche was the top-ranked brand in the survey of 102,975 new-vehicle owners.

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Owners' survey released
Reuters / October 08, 2003

DETROIT (Reuters) -- Proving that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, many of the cars and trucks rated the most appealing in an annual owners' survey released on Tuesday have been sales failures.

The Ford Excursion SUV, the Mercury Marauder and the Subaru Baja compact pickup truck all won their categories in J.D. Power and Associates' annual study on appealing cars and trucks. But all have been sales laggards, failing to broaden their appeal from a core group of buyers.

"The Subaru Baja is probably an example of that," said Joe Ivers, a partner and executive director of quality and customer satisfaction with J.D. Powers, told Reuters. "They may not be getting the volume that they intended out of that vehicle, and yet those who buy them are probably very enthusiastic about them."

The APEAL award, an acronym for automotive performance, execution and layout, is based on responses from 102,975 new-vehicle buyers during the first 90 days of ownership. The study measures the likes and dislikes of owners of their vehicle's performance and design, including styling, engine and transmission performance, handling, comfort, sound system and interior.

Two years ago, the Pontiac Aztek won the award for entry-level SUVs, despite a box-on-wheels styling that made it a running joke in Detroit.

"It was a vehicle that won its award despite its styling," Ivers said. "For people who got into the interior of the vehicle and drove, it actually was a very sound and credible vehicle."

The major Japanese and European automakers again topped the eight annual appeal awards, with Porsche taking the top spot, followed by BMW, Volkswagen, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp.

Ford Motor Co., General Motors and DaimlerChrysler all placed below average, as did the smaller Korean and Japanese automakers.

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Posted 10/7/2003 4:16 PM

Study: Redesigned models well-received
DETROIT (AP) — Several all-new or redesigned automobiles have achieved higher customer-satisfaction ratings than the previous versions or models they replaced, according to a study released Tuesday by J.D. Power and Associates.


The study gathered responses during the first 90 days of ownership from 102,975 new vehicle owners on their likes and dislikes.

They were asked to judge attributes such as exterior styling, engine and transmission performance, comfort and convenience and braking.

The Mazda6, introduced a year ago, stood out as the most improved redesign, jumping 8% in its rating over the Mazda 626 it replaced, the survey showed.

"The opportunity to move the appeal needle in a positive direction happens when manufacturers introduce all-new designs or the redesign of existing models," said Joe Ivers, executive director of quality/customer satisfaction at J.D. Power and Associates.

"Many of this year's launches took advantage of that opportunity and produced home runs," Ivers said.

Mazda spokesman Jeremy Barnes said the Mazda6 has done better in sales than the 626. Through September, Mazda had sold nearly 45,000 of the new cars, some 10,000 more than the 626 for the comparable period last year.

Other successful redesigns include the new Land Rover Range Rover, Toyota Sienna and Nissan Maxima, all of which scored higher in customer satisfaction than their predecessors, J.D. Power said.

Several all-new models vaulted to the top of their respective vehicle segments. They include the Mercury Marauder (full-size car), Acura TSX (entry luxury car), BMW Z4 (premium sports car), Subaru Baja (compact pickup), Honda Element (entry sport-utility vehicle) and Nissan Murano (midsize SUV.)

Toyota, including its luxury Lexus brand, had four models ranking highest in their respective segments — the most of any brand.

The top five nameplates for appeal were Lexus, Porsche, BMW, Infiniti and Cadillac, according to the rankings. The bottom five were Subaru, Jeep, Kia, Oldsmobile and Suzuki.