Mercedes tanks in the J.D. Power ratings ... again.
06-29-2004, 04:29 PM
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'08 AM Vantage V8 - '03 E500
Mercedes tanks in the J.D. Power ratings ... again.
Mercedes-Benz has again finished near the bottom in the 2004 J.D. Powers and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study. The German brand even came in lower than DCX' domestic brands, Chrysler and Dodge. Read 'em and weep:
http://www.jdpower.com/pdf/2004055.pdf
The good news: we beat out Hyundai, KIA, Suzuki, Isuzu and Daewoo by big margins.
http://www.jdpower.com/pdf/2004055.pdf
The good news: we beat out Hyundai, KIA, Suzuki, Isuzu and Daewoo by big margins.
06-29-2004, 04:41 PM
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2004 Lexus ES 330 NAV/ML
Since 1998...executives at Daimler have boasted...
I LOVE IT!
"Since their 1998 linkup with Chrysler, executives at Daimler have boasted about how Mercedes-Benz would show its poor American cousin how to build more dependable and desirable vehicles. But Chrysler and its Dodge, Jeep and now-defunct Plymouth brands all out-ranked Mercedes, which had 327 problems per 100 vehicles, up from 318 problems in last year's survey."
Toyota nets quality award -- again
J.D. Power says Detroit's big three made impressive gains; VW, Land Rover struggle.
June 29, 2004: 3:37 PM EDT
DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. was the highest-ranking automaker in an annual vehicle quality survey released on Tuesday, with its Lexus luxury brand winning top honors for the 10th consecutive year.
The closely watched J.D. Power and Associates survey of long-term vehicle dependability is based on responses from 48,000 owners of three-year-old vehicles in the United States when questioned about scores of specific problems ranging from wind or brake noise to uneven tire wear and stalling engines.
The survey is key to the auto industry because 52 percent of new car buyers say long-term quality is one of the most important factors in their choice of brands, according to J.D. Power. It is also important to automakers because of warranty costs.
Toyota's Lexus unit topped the brand rankings with 162 problems per 100 vehicles. But Japan's largest automaker also led manufacturers overall, with 207 problems per 100 vehicles, followed closely by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. with 210 problems.
Porsche AG, with 240 problems, General Motors Corp. with 262, and BMW AG with 264, rounded out the top five.
"The two (Toyota and Honda) are head and shoulders above everybody else and the factor there is that they were the first in the industry to recognize that building vehicles that last is really the most important thing," said Joe Ivers, J.D. Power's executive director of quality and customer satisfaction research.
"Building vehicles that last tends to produce a whole lot of benefits that aren't immediately obvious. One of course is that it satisfies more customers, it gets you more customers," Ivers told Reuters.
For the second straight year, GM was alone among Detroit's traditional Big Three automakers in ranking above the industry average of 269 problems per 100 vehicles. Its Buick brand placed No. 2 behind Lexus and its Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Saab and Saturn nameplates all scored above the industry average as well.
Ivers said Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler unit of DaimlerChrysler also made impressive gains.
"The domestics have been touting for a couple of years now the commitments they've been making to long-term quality, and we just had not seen, until now, consistent evidence of that. Now we're really seeing that," Ivers said.
Preception lags reality
Despite improvements, Ivers, who noted that GM was neck-and-neck with Toyota in the number of highly ranked vehicles, cautioned that Detroit has an image problem stemming from some of its poorly built vehicles of the past, however.
"It takes a long time for a reputation to get healed ... The perception tends to lag the reality sometimes by as much as 10 years," Ivers told reporters on a conference call.
"There's a large cross-section of customers out there who just will not consider a domestically produced vehicle and in many cases the (past) quality is the barrier," he said.
Volkswagen AG and its Audi unit both improved over last year's results. But VW was still near the bottom of the survey and Ivers said virtually all European automakers were struggling with quality problems.
Land Rover, which Ivers described as a perennial loser, finished last among individual nameplates. "They're highly desirable vehicles but they tend to have a tough time getting customers to buy more than one," he said.
Since their 1998 linkup with Chrysler, executives at Daimler have boasted about how Mercedes-Benz would show its poor American cousin how to build more dependable and desirable vehicles.
But Chrysler and its Dodge, Jeep and now-defunct Plymouth brands all out-ranked Mercedes, which had 327 problems per 100 vehicles, up from 318 problems in last year's survey.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2004 Reuters All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/29/pf/a...reut/index.htm
"Since their 1998 linkup with Chrysler, executives at Daimler have boasted about how Mercedes-Benz would show its poor American cousin how to build more dependable and desirable vehicles. But Chrysler and its Dodge, Jeep and now-defunct Plymouth brands all out-ranked Mercedes, which had 327 problems per 100 vehicles, up from 318 problems in last year's survey."
Toyota nets quality award -- again
J.D. Power says Detroit's big three made impressive gains; VW, Land Rover struggle.
June 29, 2004: 3:37 PM EDT
DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. was the highest-ranking automaker in an annual vehicle quality survey released on Tuesday, with its Lexus luxury brand winning top honors for the 10th consecutive year.
The closely watched J.D. Power and Associates survey of long-term vehicle dependability is based on responses from 48,000 owners of three-year-old vehicles in the United States when questioned about scores of specific problems ranging from wind or brake noise to uneven tire wear and stalling engines.
The survey is key to the auto industry because 52 percent of new car buyers say long-term quality is one of the most important factors in their choice of brands, according to J.D. Power. It is also important to automakers because of warranty costs.
Toyota's Lexus unit topped the brand rankings with 162 problems per 100 vehicles. But Japan's largest automaker also led manufacturers overall, with 207 problems per 100 vehicles, followed closely by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. with 210 problems.
Porsche AG, with 240 problems, General Motors Corp. with 262, and BMW AG with 264, rounded out the top five.
"The two (Toyota and Honda) are head and shoulders above everybody else and the factor there is that they were the first in the industry to recognize that building vehicles that last is really the most important thing," said Joe Ivers, J.D. Power's executive director of quality and customer satisfaction research.
"Building vehicles that last tends to produce a whole lot of benefits that aren't immediately obvious. One of course is that it satisfies more customers, it gets you more customers," Ivers told Reuters.
For the second straight year, GM was alone among Detroit's traditional Big Three automakers in ranking above the industry average of 269 problems per 100 vehicles. Its Buick brand placed No. 2 behind Lexus and its Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Saab and Saturn nameplates all scored above the industry average as well.
Ivers said Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler unit of DaimlerChrysler also made impressive gains.
"The domestics have been touting for a couple of years now the commitments they've been making to long-term quality, and we just had not seen, until now, consistent evidence of that. Now we're really seeing that," Ivers said.
Preception lags reality
Despite improvements, Ivers, who noted that GM was neck-and-neck with Toyota in the number of highly ranked vehicles, cautioned that Detroit has an image problem stemming from some of its poorly built vehicles of the past, however.
"It takes a long time for a reputation to get healed ... The perception tends to lag the reality sometimes by as much as 10 years," Ivers told reporters on a conference call.
"There's a large cross-section of customers out there who just will not consider a domestically produced vehicle and in many cases the (past) quality is the barrier," he said.
Volkswagen AG and its Audi unit both improved over last year's results. But VW was still near the bottom of the survey and Ivers said virtually all European automakers were struggling with quality problems.
Land Rover, which Ivers described as a perennial loser, finished last among individual nameplates. "They're highly desirable vehicles but they tend to have a tough time getting customers to buy more than one," he said.
Since their 1998 linkup with Chrysler, executives at Daimler have boasted about how Mercedes-Benz would show its poor American cousin how to build more dependable and desirable vehicles.
But Chrysler and its Dodge, Jeep and now-defunct Plymouth brands all out-ranked Mercedes, which had 327 problems per 100 vehicles, up from 318 problems in last year's survey.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2004 Reuters All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/29/pf/a...reut/index.htm
06-29-2004, 10:43 PM
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2004 E500
As a systems analyst, I'm always careful about anecdotal evidence and too small samples, but FWIW, I have owned four Toyotas and still own two of them. One is my winter car, 11 years old with 167,000+ miles and I have never had to do anything except routine maintenance. You can't beat a Toyota for reliability, comfort, and economy. But, it simply has no soul. However, I am about to turn in a four year old Boxster which has an abundance of soul, <40,000 miles, never a significant problem, and excellent dealer support on the only minor item I have ever brought it in for other than the annual service -- a couple of light bulb changes which were covered by the warranty. So, maybe statistics don't lie after all. On the other hand, when new, the Porsche cost about three times as much as our 4 year old Toyota Solara. I have only had the E for a month and it is without question the best car I have ever had - with as much soul as any of the four Porsches and the one BMW that I've owned but of a different nature. At 1500 miles there have been no problems, only joy. If it comes even close to a Toyota in reliability, I will be a very happy man. - as I knock on the birdseye maple.
06-29-2004, 11:54 PM
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'08 AM Vantage V8 - '03 E500
Speaking of anecdotal evidence, our '03 E500 has been almost trouble-free over the 10 months we have had it. The only problem of any significance has been the common problem of the audio system "rebooting" every few minutes, which was (a) noncritical and (b) fixed by the dealer with a software update. Our '03 is an early build, too - 9/02. If the J.D. Power Mercedes sample was limited to our car, Mercedes would have a reliability rating higher than Lexus. Regrettably, we seem to be a deviation from the norm, or something like that (I'm a lawyer, not a statistician).
06-30-2004, 08:58 AM
#7
No surpirse that the US is among the leaders, always will be in everything. You get these ignorant f'ers on this forum who beleive MB is superior to all American made cars, and its just so false. People such as myself will buy the car for the driving experience, or the name; and thats it. Reliability in the past few years has slipped tremendously, and forget about bulid quality, its just not there anymore. I'd get another MB because I'm a fan, but I fully expect all the quirks and frequent dealer trips that will follow. MB has a long way to go to catch the Japanese, or the Americans for that matter. These reports come as no real surprise to any MB owner and will only raise the ire and offend the fool who will blindly defend the MB brand based on their false pretense of elevated stature that arises as a result of ownership. 
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06-30-2004, 01:19 PM
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1993 190E 2.6
This really really sucks. I was a Mercedes fan for the longest time because of their "over-engineering" in the late 80's. But this, these last few years, terrible.
Good going, Mercedes Jackass!
btw, I own a 22 year old Toyota Tercel, and it has 201,000 miles, and it's never had any major repairs. Go Toyota!
Good going, Mercedes Jackass!
btw, I own a 22 year old Toyota Tercel, and it has 201,000 miles, and it's never had any major repairs. Go Toyota!
