GM and Ford models top 3 year dependability study

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GM and Ford models top most segments:
"Eight different models from General Motors earned the top score in their individual categories, while Lexus earned the top brand ranking in the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS).

The Vehicle Dependability Study measures problem symptoms experienced by original owners of three-year-old vehicles (2002 models). The vehicles are scored based on the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100)."

I was skeptical of J.D. Power's 90 day Initial Quality Survey for powertrains in this post; this three year survey carries much more significance in my opinion.
 
Consumer reports runs surveys of their readers, they are top rate to see what the reliability of cars and trucks are. I had an 1988 model car and all the trouble I had was spot on.
 
J.D. Powers and Associates IMO is a joke. I get tired of hearing silly stuff like, "most appealing entry midsize sedan". When the chinese start to sell matchbox cars here in a few years, if the hung dynesty pays JD enough money, they will rate the Chickonshank automobile the best to hit american roads in appeal, reliability, looks.. ... .
 
Top Vehicles By Category

Compact Car
Chevrolet Prizm

Entry Midsize Car
Chevrolet Malibu

Premium Midsize Car
Buick Century

Full-Size Car
Buick LeSabre

Entry Luxury
Ford Thunderbird

Mid Luxury Car
Lincoln Town Car

Premium Luxury Car
Lexus LS 430

Sporty Car
Mazda Miata

Premium Sports Car
Porsche 911

Midsize Pickup
Chevrolet S-10 Pickup

Light Duty Full-Size Pickup
Cadillac Escalade EXT

Heavy Duty Full-Size Pickup
Chevrolet Silverado HD

Entry SUV
Honda CR-V

Midsize SUV
Toyota 4Runner

Full-Size SUV
GMC Yukon/GMC Yukon XL

Entry Luxury SUV
Lexus RX 300

Premium Luxury SUV
Lexus LX 470


The funy thing is that GM #1 vechile the Prism is not made by them and was not designed by either!! It is a Toyota Carolla rebadged for GM. The S-10 is no longer in production. The Lexus LX 470 is basicly a Toyota Land Cruiser with an upscale interior and different badgeing!!Makes you wounder what happened to the Toyota Carolla to match up against the Prism and the Toyota LandCruiser??

I think it is great that GM and Ford are improveing!! I have been telling people for a while that Toyota's Quality has been slipping for a while!! What is really amazeing is how much Hyundai was able to improve! GM has been clawing away like a hunger tiger for years for a 10 point improvement here adn their. Then comes a Korean car company that most people laughed at for a while and bam a 110 point reduction!!! That is like a 100 meter sprinter shaveing a 1 second off their time!!!
 
I think a lot of it has to do with growing pains. I think that as they build more and more plants in the country of intended purchase their quality will continue down. I think that they can train them and manage them how they like but they can not transplant their native culture! I also think that as they use more and more domestic suppliers this is multipled over and over again. At some point their reduction in quality and their competitions increase will eventualy come close to leveling out. Now true longterm like 10 years after the car is produced is a different story. I think the higher quality material and design will prove it self but not in a mere 3 year!

Now the real question is how long is it going to take for GM to build a car they can sell with out huge discounts and incentives??????
 
quote:

Originally posted by Steve S:
Consumer reports runs surveys of their readers, they are top rate to see what the reliability of cars and trucks are. I had an 1988 model car and all the trouble I had was spot on.

Meaning that your 1988 car had several "pattern failures", all of which the consumer reports information predicted?

I could be full of it, but I think pattern failures are actually indicative of good quality control--each unit is exactly like the others to such a degree that they're all failing the same way, after about the same mileage. These types of problems cannot be addressed by quality control--they need to be addressed at the engineering level.
 
I agree the 3 year period is more important to the consumer than the 90 day. However, I think most people talk more about their car right after they buy it. What people hear most from me when I first bought my 02 Cavalier was the stupid theft Deterrent system that sounded the horn when you unlocked the car with the key and the electric window switches on the console, convenient for the dog.

Notice how some dismiss the validity of anything where GM or other American cars come out well.
 
There's no reason the American companies shouldn't be able to make vehicles as reliable as anyone else. Now they just need to make vehicles that people actually want to buy and will buy at a price that allows the companies to make money.

I can only think of 3 vehicles made by the US companies I'd consider owning. And one of those is ugly so it's out.
 
quote:

Originally posted by JohnBrowning:
Top Vehicles By Category

Compact Car
Chevrolet Prizm

Entry Midsize Car
Chevrolet Malibu

Premium Midsize Car
Buick Century

Full-Size Car
Buick LeSabre

Entry Luxury
Ford Thunderbird

Mid Luxury Car
Lincoln Town Car

Premium Luxury Car
Lexus LS 430

Sporty Car
Mazda Miata

Premium Sports Car
Porsche 911

Midsize Pickup
Chevrolet S-10 Pickup

Light Duty Full-Size Pickup
Cadillac Escalade EXT

Heavy Duty Full-Size Pickup
Chevrolet Silverado HD

Entry SUV
Honda CR-V

Midsize SUV
Toyota 4Runner

Full-Size SUV
GMC Yukon/GMC Yukon XL

Entry Luxury SUV
Lexus RX 300

Premium Luxury SUV
Lexus LX 470


===============================================

My Colorado... which replaced the S-10, came out in 2004. So J.D.Powers just awarded a 2003 S-10 the 2005 Mid-Size Pickup Award?
 
I think that a lot of it has to do with the type of person that often buys the cars listed as well, dare I say an "older" clientele? Perhaps a bit more careful with driving habits and maintenance? I read somewhere that the MEDIAN age of a Buick owner was 58...
 
quote:

Originally posted by brianl703:
Old people love to complain about things, however...so that might make up for it.

This is why I wonder what these surveys really mean.

I agree, I think older people are generally more picky. OTOH, younger people might tend to run a vehicle hard with marginal maintenance.

So can we directly compare what we see in the surveys? I'm not sure we can...
 
If the Chrysler Pacifica isn't on this list in a few years, something is wrong. Our Pacifica has only been to the dealer for oil changes and tire rotations.
 
I don't think the American brands are lacking in quality or reliability to the Japanese brands at all.

I think the big three have a serious "image" problem.

If the big three could somehow dispel the myth that asian brands are more reliable they would once again dominate the market.
 
quote:

Originally posted by vicmackey:
I don't think the American brands are lacking in quality or reliability to the Japanese brands at all.

I think the big three have a serious "image" problem.

If the big three could somehow dispel the myth that asian brands are more reliable they would once again dominate the market.


I can not agree more. I currently own a Saturn, Ford , Toyota and a KIA. The Saturn and Ford have been on par with the Toyota in terms of quality. The KIA has had its quirks but has been a solid performer and I think the Korean brands have come along way from the early days in the mid 80s when they hit our shores. I have always felt the people who buy Asian (Japanese) cars for the most part have a higher sense of maintenance awareness and take better care of said cars on average.

Hootbro
 
quote:

Originally posted by vicmackey:
I think the big three have a serious "image" problem.

I see it on other forums--"The big three make nothing but big trucks and are destroying the enviroment".

Same forum, someone claimed that manual transmissions fell out of favor because "the big three made really crappy manual transmissions"..hmm, no, I thought something called "traffic congestion" had more to do with it..
 
An observation without any scientific validation based upon visual peering at the sides of local motorways.......

I don't see as many broken down autos and trucks as I did 20 and more years ago.

The Omaha Nebraska area is not one of those areas intolerant of broken vehicles. Unless the car/truck is posing an actual hazard the authorities let the critter site for a few days, giving people time to come back and fix it, borrow a vehicle to pull it or have it towed.

I haven't noticed any particular make or model rusting in peace alongside the road. Obviously, most are older vehicles.

It just seems to me that autos in general are more reliable than in the past.

Lions and tigers and Vegas and Yugos, oh my!!!!
 
quote:

Originally posted by vicmackey:
I don't think the American brands are lacking in quality or reliability to the Japanese brands at all.

I think the big three have a serious "image" problem.

If the big three could somehow dispel the myth that asian brands are more reliable they would once again dominate the market.


The perseption time lag from poorer quality to world class is the penality a company has to pay for screwing up in the first place. The big 3 "could" have built cars equal to or better than the asian cars but they decided not to. Now there is a "bill" to be paid.
 
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