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Showing posts with label Ranking Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ranking Cars. Show all posts
I prefer customer satisfaction surveys as they cover a broader field than just a reliability one. If customers feel satisfied with the car they bought, they will more likely return to the brand next time.
The J.D. Power & Associates/What Car? 2012 UK Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study according to the jdpower.com website "is based on owner evaluations of their vehicle and dealer across 67 attributes grouped in four measures of satisfaction. In order of importance: vehicle appeal, which includes performance, design, comfort and features; ownership costs, including fuel consumption, insurance and costs of service/repair; vehicle quality and reliability; and dealer service satisfaction".
I'm sorry I couldn't get it clearer. I wrote out the data in case you cannot see it well on your screen.
Jaguar 828
Lexus 801 Skoda 801
Honda 797
Mercedes 794
Toyota 793
Audi 786
VW 781
Volvo 779
BMW 778
Land Rover 774 Average 770
Kia 769
Seat 769
MINI 768
Ford 765
Mazda 763
Peugeot 763
Alfa Romeo 762
Citroen 760
Hyundai 760
Mitsubishi 757
Renault 756
Suzuki 753
Fiat 748
Vauxhall 747
Chevrolet 713
The results show Jaguar was an easy winner. Respondents felt Jaguar "performs particularly well in the service satisfaction, vehicle appeal, and vehicle quality and reliability measures". That seems to cover most bases.
At the other end, Chevrolet from Korea were well off the pace. With Vauxhall just above, not a good result for GM. French and Italian brands were disappointing also. Hyundai was well below par, which is interesting.

Customer Satisfaction Survey UK: 2012

I'm not a huge fan of reliability surveys. Some failures are minor, others major. Some not really an issue, others really frustrating or annoying. These surveys don't seem to differentiate. Also, really poor reliability does go against a brand, but generally people don't get put off. Customer satisfaction is much broader than this sort of survey. Are they useless? No, otherwise I wouldn't bother mentioning them. Accept them for what they are and it may confirm of change your opinion of certain marques. For those who just want a reliable car over all other concerns, you will love this JD Power Survey.
According to JD Power "Overall initial quality for the industry improves by 5 problems per 100 vehicles to average 102 in 2012-an improvement of 5% from 2011. There are gains in most areas with one notable exception--audio, entertainment, and navigation problems have increased by 8%. This continues a recent trend, as problems in this category have increased by 45% percent since 2006 while other categories have improved by 24% percent, on average".

Lexus 73
Jaguar 75
Porsche 75
Cadillac 80
Honda 83
Acura 84
Infiniti 84
Toyota 88
Mercedes 96
BMW 97 Mazda 97
GMC 99
Nissan 99
Ram 99
Chevrolet 100
Average 102
Audi 105
Buick 106
Hyundai 107
Kia 107
Lincoln 107 Volvo 108
Subaru 109
Jeep 110
Suzuki 115
Chrysler 116
Scion 117
Ford 118
Land Rover 119
Dodge 124
Mitsubishi 124
Volkswagen 124
MINI 139
Fiat 151
smart 151

One thing I notice when reading comments on websites is how some people still thing a car's reliability twenty or thirty years ago will be the same now. For such ones, read the list and learn. Jaguar was an unreliable brand many decades ago, now it is at the top of most lists. JAGUARS ARE NOW VERY RELIABLE. More so than Merc, BMW and Audi. Audi is below average and VW is virtually last. Fiat hasn't changed over the years it seems. Smart surprises, as does MINI. The last three all sell small premium cars!
So take what you will from it. Such surveys have their place, but they only tell part of the story. How happy customers are tells you the rest.
Read more at: http://autos.jdpower.com/ratings/quality-press-release.htm

JD Power Reliabilty Survey USA: 2012


I love car design. When other boys wanted to be firemen or policemen, I wanted to be a car designer. I don't know if I would have succeeded had I taken that career path, but I do know what I like in the styling of a car. The World Car Design award only started in 2006. Recent winners were in 2011 the Aston Martin Rapide and for 2012 the Range Rover Evoque.

Now for the 2013 winner. There were 43 candidates apparently. The runners up in 2013 were the Mazda 6 and the Aston martin Vanquish, but both were beaten by the Jaguar F-Type. The marque has a history of very good two-seater sports cars. So for Jaguar to return to that segment is well over due, as it is over 50 years since the E-Type.

So what is it about the F-Type? To me it has simple, clean lines; almost a classical Italian style to it. It doesn't try too hard to look good. However, rather than me waffling about it, the pictures below say it so much better....



Pictures from: netcarshow.com Please click here.

World Car Design Of The Year: 2013


We expect things to work. With technological advances, why wouldn't they? Humans are pretty clever designing things to work and work when we need them....well maybe not.

Anyone familiar with this site will know that I am totally underwhelmed by Google. This was once a simple blog with limited features, but it worked 100%. Then it was upgraded with features that would enhance the experience for the blog owner and you the user. The problem is it is now so seemingly overloaded with amazing features that barely works at all from my end! It now offers less than the simpler, reliable blog did.

This reminds me of cars. I bought a new car eight years ago now. It was simple in design but user friendly. It didn't have all the bells and whistles of other models but I don't want them anyway. It has has never broken down once. This is what I want and expect.

Unfortunately when cars get more technical, they seem to break down more often, much like Google. I was at the Car Reliability Index website and noted the ten least reliable cars listed:

1) Audi RS62) BMW M5
3) Mercedes V Class
4) Porsche 911 996
5) Mercedes CL
6) Mercedes SL
7) Audi Q7
8) Bentley Continental GT
9) Audi A6 Allroad
10) Mercedes R Class

I looked at that list and thought nine German brands, and all ten German owned. All premium quality and all at the forefront of vehicle technology. All these marques are respected and very popular. Yet do car buyers really want features over dependability? Can't these car makers make sure that things work before releasing them on the public? Lexus can.

The more complex things are, the more likely to breakdown. This is because not enough testing is done these days to sort the issues out before they are released. Everything has to be better to impress. However, I am not impressed with undependable products and frankly human technology. Compared to design in nature - which works splendidly and is superbly executed - it isn't very clever. Often it doesn't even work very well at all.

PS. If you want to know what I drive,  it's at the top of this list.

Dependability In Cars


The previous blog showed that some cars are consistently more reliable than others. However, providing the car isn't always in the workshop, then reliability isn't a deciding factor. Why? I have come up with a few reasons:

1) When buying new, the warranty covers the repair cost anyway. Therefore, that assurance is enough reason for some no doubt.

2) It's desirability is what entices the purchaser. They like the car and want to own it.

3) A love of a particular brand and and even becoming a loyal supporter of it.

4) Image. The car they buy has prestige and they want to be seen driving such a car.

5) A problem with a car brings contact with the dealer. If they handle the problem well, it reassures the customer that the local dealer of this marque looks after you. You then trust them and even build a rapport with the dealership.

6) Even when you see some cars more reliable on lists, the truth is even the lowest ranked brands are not breaking down that much anyway. Not enough to question whether to buy one.

In Summary: Of course, those who value reliability above all else will choose on that basis. Unfortunately, the cars that seem to go and go are also the dull ones to drive. So what do you want? Driving pleasure or total reliability? It seems you can't have both!

Why Car Reliability Doesn't Seem To Matter That Much


Dodge Dart was the most appealing Compact Car
The APEAL survey shows how happy people are with their car, scoring in 77 categories. I like this kind of insight more than reliability ones, which never seem to differentiate between minor and major faults. It also is about what a car company wants, happy customers who more likely to come back when they want to buy again.

The top 12 marques are all premium, which shows that if you buy a more expensive car, you will enjoy owning it more. I am surprised the Fiat 500 wasn't more enjoyed by its owners.

The average score was 794.


1Porsche: 88216Buick: 792

2Jaguar: 86217Chevrolet: 791

3Audi: 85818GMC: 791

4Land Rover: 85319Kia: 791

5BMW: 84920Dodge: 790

6Lexus: 84421Mazda: 790

7Mercedes: 84222Ford: 789

8Lincoln: 83523Nissan: 786

9Cadillac: 82624Chrysler: 783

10Infiniti: 82625Honda: 783

11Acura: 81426Toyota: 783

12Volvo: 81227Scion: 779

13Hyundai: 80428Fiat: 786

14Ram: 80029Subaru: 766

15Volkswagen: 79630Jeep: 762
The most appealing Large Premium SUV in the survey

JD Power APEAL Survey 2014

The residual value of a car is very important. It represents how much someone is prepared to pay for a second hand vehicle. The closer the price gets to its new price equals a higher residual value. If people don't want the car second hand, they sit in the lot and the price falls. Eventually someone feels the lower price reflects its worth and buys it. That then is reflected in the trade in price you will get. So for the new car buyer, higher used prices means a better trade in price.
Buying a pre-loved car is not the same as purchasing new. New buyers get full warranty cover, choice of features and the new car ownership experience. The next owner picks from what has been discarded, so chooses from what is available from that. So what brands and models did US used car buyers want?
Regular brand winner: The brand with the highest residual value for mainstream makes was Toyota. I pick it's bullet proof reliability record and feeling of assurance that brings would be the main reason. Of the 26 categories, Toyota win six of them. The models were the Prius V, Highlander, 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra and Land Cruiser. SUVs and Trucks were the reason for the win.

The Toyota Tundra is as American as apple pie. 

Premium marque winner: The top premium brand was Land Rover. The vehicles are very desirable to own and people want them. LR is struggling to make enough of them, which always helps the used value. Oversupply flooding the market is a sure way to deflate what a used car can fetch. LR got one model in the 26, the Range Rover Sport. All the other vehicles must hold their price well also.

A very desirable vehicle that doesn't mind the rough stuff

Other notable successes: Honda and Subaru got three category winners each, while MINI, Porsche and Lexus got two a piece. A brand with limited models like MINI did extremely well.

I wish we had access in New Zealand to residual used prices and I have asked around, but to no avail. Depreciation of a new vehicle is a huge part of the cost of vehicle ownership. A model or brand that minimises that is well worth factoring into the decision on what to buy.

Picture source: NetCarShow

US ALG Residual Value Awards 2014

Who wouldn't want to have the best of both world's. I hear you ask "In what sense?" Having reliable and exciting motoring in the same car. It seems hard to achieve, but maybe it is getting closer.
In Europe, driving dynamics seem to be the most important thing. In most other places how a car drives is not as important as solid, reliable engineering. It has been elusive to do both as mentioned, but cars are more dependable and they all drive pretty well. So how is the industry shaping up in these matters?
European brands: Stylish, handle well but still a little way to go with dependability. My take: I don't drive like Ayrton Senna so I am not tempted.
Japanese brands: Reputation built on safe motoring, but conservative in looks and driving. My take: Where I would look for a new car.

Can we have it more exciting too, Mr Toyoda?

Chinese brands: By now they could have been giving the car world a shake up, but instead have no impact outside of their home market and some developing nations. Styling has come a long way but substance has been neglected. It takes time and patience, something Chinese car makers need to learn. My take: For now avoid totally.

US brands: They are often not available globally, but those that are have a unique 'in your face' styling that appeals to many. Much better built and can be driven drive around corners now. My take: They still lack some refinement but built to a price.

Korean brands: They have tried to emulate Japan for build quality and use Europe as a standard for styling. Not quite there in either area but overall a good compromise. My take: Now that value for money isn't there anymore, they stand on merit. I personally would look elsewhere, but not by much.

Now what are some stand out brands on various points?

Brand I would like to own: Nissan make good cars with some interesting styling. I've never owned one but it could be the next point of call. My tip: Nissan Qashqai if they are sold where you live.
Nissan nailed it with the Qasqhai. The best all round car IMO

 Upcoming brand: Renault was a brand going nowhere for years, but seems to getting things right now. Perhaps their tie-up with Nissan has done wonders, but it was a brand I would have run from but now would look at. My tip: Not quite there yet but getting close.

Should be doing better: Honda has a strong base to build cars people want. In many regions, it is achieving that. In Europe it is failing, badly. It scarcely has any presence there now. It could make better driving cars, but this is corporate conservatism at it's worst. My tip: Buy one if you like safe, sensible cars.
Most over rated brand: The one part of the the next world number one car group, Volkswagen. They are rated as driver's cars and have some good features but they are pretty boring on the styling front and have questionable reliability. My tip: The Passat is an embarrassingly dull car. Buy a Mondeo.
Avoid, avoid, avoid: Anything with a Chinese logo. My tip: They may be cheap and some look OK, but avoid the lot.
In summary: Cars today are generally reliable and nice to drive. They are over complicated too, which is causing some issues with recalls. Having all the bells and whistles reduces dependability. Perhaps a simpler entry level models is a better buy as it will still be a nice place to be, without all the features we may not need anyway breaking down. Save money too. Happy motoring and by doing it as simple as possible hopefully you can enjoy that cake.

Having Your Cake & Eating It Too : Mainstream Cars

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