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AUTOS: Domestic Brands Rise In Satisfaction Survey
Detroit 3 overall average beats out import brands for first time since 1997 in J.D. Power rankings.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted July 15, 2010   Detroit, MI
The new Ford Taurus beat other sedans in its class in the J.D. Power APEAL survey. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
Domestic brands outshone their import rivals in positive feelings from their owners after 90 days from purchase, according to a newly released survey from J.D. Power and Associates.

For the first time since 1997, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler averaged higher gains than the overseas brands, with new or significantly redesigned models from Ford and GM rising the most in the 2010 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout study.

The APEAL survey asks more than 76,000 consumers to rate their vehicles with about 80 questions, and the scores are added up on a 1,000-point scale. The industry average of 33 brands was 778, and the Detroit 3 averaged out to 787, up from 776 last year.

That's 13 points better than the collective results for the import brands. U.S. brands have been gaining annually since the 2008 survey.

Ram was Chrysler Group's highest-ranked division for 2010, reaching 780. (Photo: Chrysler)
The top rankings were populated by premium European brands, however, with Porsche leading the rankings for the sixth year in a row with an 877-point average for its models, followed by Jaguar, 854; BMW, 846; Mercedes-Benz, 842; and Land Rover, 836.

Lincoln was the highest-rated domestic brand, at 820, with Cadillac coming next at 818.

Ford’s overall ranking moved to 794 from 785 last year, while Chevrolet hit 789 after a 764 score last year. Chrysler’s results were below average, although its revamped Ram pickup truck received a solid 780 ranking. Overall, Chrysler was third to last at 748, Dodge did a bit better at 761, and Jeep was dead last at 727.

In separate model segments, Ford was tops with five of its cars and SUVs – Taurus, Fusion, Flex, Explorer Sport Trak and Expedition – the most for any brand.

Toyota showed a steep decline, dropping to 745 from 756 to become the second-lowest brand in the survey, possibly as a result of bad publicity due to quality issues. Honda didn’t do much better, slipping to 766 from 778. The brands’ luxury divisions were more successful, with Lexus finishing at 827 and Acura reaching 822.

Mazda ranked 774, Nissan was 763, Hyundai hit 760 and Subaru, despite having banner sales years while the rest of the industry suffered, ranked at just 755.

Volkswagen did better than average at 797, with its Audi luxury division at 832, and Volvo reached 795.

The J.D. Power measure of owner satisfaction after 90 days differs as a subjective ranking compared with the company’s Initial Quality Survey, which tabulates quality and reliability problems that owners experience in the first 90 days.

To read the complete J.D. Power report, see APEAL Study.

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