Here's a new poll from a different company than JD Powers. It just goes to show you that everything has two sides

Thursday, June 5, 2003
Cadillac, BMW top satisfaction survey; Mini and Hummer owners report good experience

AutoWeek.com


Cadillac's parade of new designs, including the CTS sedan and Escalade SUVs, has helped the General Motors division win a greater emotional response from buyers, according to the latest quality survey from Strategic Vision Inc. That same survey ranked Hummer and Mini near the top of all automakers in total quality, just weeks after both scored dismal results in a similar survey by another firm.

Strateic Vision, a San Diego-based research firm, calculates its Total Quality Index based on a buyer’s first 90 days of ownership. The firm queried 30,000 new car buyers, all of whom made their purchase between October and November of 2002. This is the survey’s ninth year.

Last month, J.D. Power and Associates unleashed its annual Initial Quality Survey, ranking two of the market’s hottest brands—Hummer and Mini—within the bottom sector of auto brands in overall quality. The Strategic Vision survey completely reversed a perceived negative quality trend, plotting both brands within the top four of cars sold in the United States. Hummer and Mini were not officially ranked because both are considered “low volume” makers.

Import brands continue to dominate the top of the survey's overall brand ranking, with BMW claiming the top spot for the second year in a row with a score of 906 out of a possible 1,000 points. But Cadillac vaulted to second place in the 2003 survey, with a score of 903, from No. 9 a year ago. It now outscores Mercedes-Benz and perennial J.D. Power and Associates darling Lexus in Strategic Vision’s survey. Caddy's ranking lends credence to the company's claim that it is steadfastly positioning itself against the market's prime foreign luxury players.

Lincoln and Saturn were other domestic brands that made significant gains. Lincoln ranked in a tie for sixth place with Land Rover with a score of 887, up from a 13th ranking last year. Saturn jumped to the 12th place this year with a score of 865, up from the 24th spot in the 2002 survey.

"Domestics are showing signs of a comeback, particularly with Cadillac and Saturn," says Daniel Gorrell, vice president of Strategic Vision. "Cadillac is worth watching. Their product is good, but do they know how to build a brand?"

Gorrell said the survey "gives consumers a sense of how the new product fared, a sense of emotionality."

Questions range from rating value for money to smoothness at idle. Things gone wrong is only a piece of the whole picture, the firm believes. Specific questions include: “How would you rate your overall satisfaction with new vehicle;” “How long do you expect to keep your new vehicle;” “Everything considered, how likely are you in the future to purchase or lease another vehicle made by the same manufacturer.” The survey also asks buyers to rate satisfaction on categories such as comfort, design, performance, quality, value and dealership. In all, there are 179 vehicle-related questions.

When ranked as full-line corporations, Volkswagen finished first for the second year in a row, with a score of 882. It was followed by Honda at 872, Nissan at 868 and Toyota at 859.

The Big 3 finished below the industry average score of 858, with GM at 857, Ford Motor Co. (excluding Jaguar, Aston Martin, Volvo and Land Rover) at 849 and the Chrysler group at 845. Consumers' perceptions of Korean importers Hyundai and Kia is improving as the automakers overhaul their product portfolios.

The Kia Sorento sport wagon's score was within 2 points of the Toyota 4Runner, which Strategic Vision considers a tie for top place in the mid-sized SUV segment, while the Hyundai Santa Fe took the top spot in the small SUV category.

"Hyundai and Kia are showing up well in experience," Gorrell says. "They're not at Toyota levels yet, but the difference is not that great."

The strength of Japanese and European imports, Gorrell says, combined with the improvement by Korean automakers, is squeezing the Big 3 in the middle.

AutoWeek's John D. Stoll contributed to this report

 

Sometimes it's all in how you phrase the question.

 

I think both survey's are 100% accurate. With my car they are, anyway.

Build quality, flaky electronics, minor faults, rattles, buzzes, engine management (hiccups and yo-yo's), quality of materials. I give them 3 out of 5. I think JD had them at 2 out of 5.

Would I buy the car again: yes. Would I recommend the car: yes. Do I enjoy driving the car: yes. Would I sell the car: Are you crazy?? :smile:

Just imagine what a wonderful world it would be if the JD Powers results had been 5 out of 5 or even 4 out of 5. Our MINI love would be even stronger.

Just the other day MINI Division called and surveyed me. I said the same thing to them. 3 out of 5 on build quality. 5 overall satisfaction. The car's handling and style go a long, long way.

See ya,
JS