Honda and Porsche: Best initial quality

JD Power’s Best Initial Quality rankings

I just recently stumbled upon the most recent JD Power rankings of vehicle quality. Honda and Porsche were the big winners this year. Here are a few excerpts from the article…

Porsche was the top brand in J.D. Power’s annual ranking of initial vehicle quality, which measures both mechanical and design problems in the first 90 days of ownership. Others in the top five were Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus and Toyota brands.

In rankings by vehicle segments, Honda was the only brand with three winners — the Fit subcompact, Civic small car and CR-V crossover. Toyota, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. had three winners each across all their brands. Overall, 26 of the 36 nameplates in the rankings improved from last year.

Chrysler LLC’s Jeep was the worst performing brand, with 167 problems per 100 vehicles. Other brands in the bottom five were BMW AG’s MINI, Land Rover, GM’s Saturn, and Suzuki.

David Sargent, vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power, said the most improved vehicle this year was the Volkswagen Passat. He also cited the Chevrolet Malibu and Infiniti EX-Series, saying both vehicles had strong launches with relatively few problems, which is rare for all-new vehicles.

The rankings were based on questionnaires from 81,500 people who bought or leased new 2008 vehicles between November and January. The questionnaires ask 228 questions on issues from handling, braking and engine trouble to seat comfort and stereo systems. Sargent said consumers reported that quality was up in every category except audio, entertainment and navigation systems.

Personally, I was happy to see that the Fit was mentioned. If you recall we have been debating selling our 2 year old Fit, because we could probably get what we paid for it. I think part of the reason the demand is so high on these cars is the great reviews they have gotten. The great gas mileage probably factors into it a bit as well.
My wife and I have both wanted Jeeps for a while, so I was bummed to see that they were at the bottom of the list. Win some, lose some I guess.

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