San Diego – For the second straight year, General Motors scored the most wins on Strategic Vision’s Total Quality Index™ (TQI), leading in five segments out of the eight won by domestics. The San-Diego-based research firm today announced 2006 results, based on the ratings of new vehicle owners.

No one corporation dominated, with Toyota leading four segments, BMW and American Honda three each and Chrysler Group two. BMW repeated as the top scoring brand, the seventh time in eight years, and Volkswagen of America reemerged as the best full-line corporation. Ford’s only win was significant, as its much-heralded Fusion took top honors.

“We’re seeing many new or redesigned vehicles at the top of their segments, “ says Strategic Vision CEO Darrel Edwards, Ph.D. “These vehicles typically deliver more tangible and intangible emotional elements which are relevant to buyers. That measured importance should be part of any quality measurement today though it is often missing. When importance is included in the calculation, BMW does not suffer from innovation. Actually, the BMW 7-Series receives the highest scores from its owners compared to any other model.”

Of the 20 vehicle award segments, the domestics captured 8, or 40 percent. Japanese firms won the same number, with European marques taking the remaining 4, or 20 percent. Though scoring well in TQI, Korean companies were shut out of top spots this year. Perennial winner Honda Odyssey (five years in a row), and small specialty leaders Mini Cooper (three out of four years) and Chevrolet Corvette (three years in a row) were again at the top of their class.

The Total Quality Index™ is the premier measure of new vehicle owner satisfaction. It asks buyers to rate all aspects of the ownership experience, from buying and owning to driving. This is how buyers gauge quality, including attributes and the emotional response to vehicle.

Buyers rated the following vehicles tops in their segments:

Segment Winner(s) TQI Score
Small Car Honda Civic 871

Small Multi-Function Chevrolet HHR -865

Medium Car Ford Fusion -884

Large Car Dodge Charger -906

Near Luxury Car Lexus IS 250/350 -919

Luxury Car BMW 7-Series Sedan -928

Small Specialty Under $25,000 Mini Cooper -909

Small Specialty Over $25,000 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe* -908

Convertibles Under $30,000 Mini Cooper Convertible* -896

Convertibles Over $30,000 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible -912

Minivan Honda Odyssey* -876

Small SUV Saturn VUE -870

Medium Crossover Dodge Magnum -880

Medium SUV Toyota 4Runner -878

Large SUV Nissan Armada* -907

Near Luxury SUV Lexus RX 330/400H -904

Luxury SUV Land Rover Range Rover Sport -910

Compact Pickup Toyota Tacoma* -849

Full-Size Pickup Honda Ridgeline -885

Heavy Duty Pickup Chevrolet Silverado 2500/3500 -870





*2005 Total Quality Award™ winner

“Overall the results show good news and bad news for the domestics, “says Daniel Gorrell, Strategic Vision vice president. “On the one hand, their efforts to beef up their car offerings is paying off, especially with bread-and-butter products like the Ford Fusion and Dodge Charger. On the other hand, the Japanese continue making inroads into the truck categories that the domestics used to own, winning six of the ten slots, vs. three for the domestics.”

Responses from more than 29,000 buyers who bought 2006 models in October and November of 2005 were used to calculate the Total Quality Index™. Strategic Vision has calculated TQI annually since 1995. In addition, the firm releases a Customer Delight Index™ followed by a Total Value Index™ that focuses on different aspects of new vehicle owners’ experiences.

Since its incorporation in 1989, the research-based consultancy that was founded in 1972 has studied consumer and constituent decision-making for a wide variety of clients, including most auto manufacturers, Coca-Cola, American Airlines, and Procter and Gamble, among many worldwide. Its unique expertise is identifying consumers’ motivational hierarchies, including the values and emotions that drive perceptions and behavior.

Luxury Car Segment
Rank Vehicle TQI Score
1 BMW 7-Series Sedan -928
2 Infiniti M35/M45 -908
2 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class Sedan -908
4 Jaguar XJ -905
5 BMW 5-Series Sedan -904
6 Lexus LS 430 -903
6 Lexus GS 300/400 -903
Segment Average: -901
8 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan -900
9 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedan -897
10 Audi A6 Sedan -893

Near Luxury Car Segment
Rank Vehicle TQI Score
1 Lexus IS 250/350 -919
2 BMW 3-Series Sedan -910
3 Chrysler 300 -904
4 Acura TL -903
Segment Average: -895
5 Audi A4/S4 Sedan -893
6 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sedan -891
6 Cadillac DTS -891
6 Lincoln Zephyr -891
9 Toyota Avalon -889
10 Volvo S40 -888
11 Infiniti G35 Sedan -885
12 Lincoln Town Car -877
12 Lexus ES 330 -877
14 Saab 9-3 Sedan -866
15 Volvo S60 Sedan -861

Total Quality Awards

 

why are they calling it quality when it has nothing to do with quality.

"It asks buyers to rate all aspects of the ownership experience, from buying and owning to driving. This is how buyers gauge quality, including attributes and the emotional response to vehicle."

Is there someone that regards quality as driving experience or cars styling? I dont get it.

 

I agree with spwolf. This list is nothing but a popularity contest and how well corporate marketers can woo people with a bunch of smooth double-talk. It has little or nothing to do with real vehicle quality or performance but measure's people's attitudes more than anything else.

No offense, Iron Cobra. I know you meant well, and please don't think we're being rude, but reports from Strategic Vision have been posted on CL before and many of us have come to the same conclusions before about this company....that it is more of an emotional rather than a vehicular barometer. It DOES make for some entertaining reading at times, though.

Now, if you really want to see some good stuff, look at the way Consumer Reports does it. They have a category for how well the vehicle actually performs in their tests, one for customer satisfaction ( more or less like the Strategic Vision one but primarily determing if the owner would buy another one ), extensive reliability charts, and one for depreciation.

 

I'll take a win for the IS any way I can get it!

 

The IS is indeed a reliable car....but it is hard to see the BMW 3-series in second-place, quality-wise. The 3-series is a very satisfying car to DRIVE, but not necessarily to OWN.

 

Both are pretty fun to drive I thought, I could have flipped a coin but went with the IS because I liked the interior better, overall looks, and of course reliability. The dynamics are definately closer to BMW than Toyota.

 

I agree with mmarshall. Most of us know how dependable and reliable Toyota/Lexus is. In the luxury car segment MNW 7 series was the first with 928 points. It should be 928 problems with the car. Anyway I would put my money on Toyota/Lexus any day...

 

Since when is the 3-series unreliable? Seriously, I get that Lexus makes rock solid cars, but the un-reliability of other manufacturers is so over-stated here on CL sometimes. It's the same as when someone says a Lexus drives like a Buick; there may be a small morsel of truth to that, but it doesn't mean it's not a pretty big exaggeration.

 

I view this report as not really quality of the hardware but kind of like quality of life. The BMW 3 series is definately a satisfying car to own. I myself have bashed my old E36 for its problems, but that is one of the cars I miss the most and makes me want to get another BMW. Also, the BMW had never once left me stranded. It had irritating electrical gliches where the OBC would report problems when there were none, or I keept blowing brake light fuses every so often, but other than that the car never fell apart and the engine was rock solid. Believe it or not my SC400 left me straded with an engine that would not start more than once. Yes, it was the easy fuel pump ECU fix, but like picus mentioned the BMW being unrealible is just to accurate. It is less reliable in general than the Lexus, but its not like BMWs are broken down on the side of the read everywhere.

 

I completely agree.. I don't really care for the way they do their rating system. I just thought it would make for a good debate and conversation.