MashinA

iTrader: (20)

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...-are-the-best/ thought this was kinda interesting and lexus rates pretty high up there above bmw and mercedes. suprised infiniti didnt even make it on the list...

The Toyota Corolla is the bestselling car in the United States. The Ford F-Series pickup has been the bestselling truck for 34 years straight. But does that mean Americans consider them the best?


"The perception of the quality of the mainstream is certainly a cut below the luxury brands," says Eric Lyman, the director of residual values for the automotive analysis firm ALG. "People expect that a luxury good has higher quality—that's why it's considered a luxury good."



Volkswagen is the only non-luxury nameplate to make our list of the car brands consumers like best. Taking top honors: Porsche.



Behind the Numbers
To arrive at our list, we selected the top eight luxury brands and the top eight non-luxury brands on a recent quality perception survey from ALG, and the same from a J.D. Power and Associates study that rates customer satisfaction with dealer performance during the first three years of ownership. We also selected the top eight brands in J.D. Power's latest APEAL study, which surveyed purchasers and lessees as to how they rated their 2010 model-year cars after the first 90 days of ownership. The brands that placed the highest on two of the three reports qualified for our list.



It's important to consider all those factors, experts say. Popularity isn't just about which brand is the prettiest—or even the safest.



"When new-vehicle buyers go through the shopping process, vehicle appeal, along with price and perceptions of quality, is of major importance," says David Sargent, the vice president of vehicle research for J.D. Power.



Vehicles from brands that are perceived well also generate faster sales, higher profit margins and less need for cash incentives. In fact, 97% of highly satisfied owners recommend their vehicle to friends; among the least-satisfied owners, only 8% do the same, according to J.D. Power.



Foreign Vs. Domestic
While Porsche dominated our list with top honors in the appeal category, Lexus, considered a "premium" brand, took the No. 2 spot. It excelled on all three surveys, with scores all well above industry averages. That's no surprise—Lexus parent company Toyota is part of a high-quality, high-satisfaction winners bracket that Asian automakers continue to dominate.



"Typically we always see the top-tier Japanese brands along with Volkswagen as the top brands," Lyman says.



Indeed, Lexus was virtually unharmed during parent company Toyota's recall troubles last year, and Toyota itself ultimately suffered only slightly in dependability, appeal and quality perception ratings.



But the gap in consumer approval between foreign and domestic automakers is slowly shrinking. This year the Ford marque Lincoln beat Porsche as the most dependable car brand on the market, and GM's Cadillac took the No. 2 spot on J.D. Power's consumer satisfaction index survey. What's more, the domestic brands have been improving steadily in vehicle appeal and durability ratings during the past four years, with the greatest improvement occurring between 2008 and 2010. All are signs of a possible sea change in the foreign vs. domestic landscape.



"It's reasonable to expect that the gap will if not close completely will certainly narrow in the next few years," Sargent says. He attributes the change to a concerted effort on the part of Detroit to focus on quality. Ford has done especially well.



"They realized that they were getting a reputation along with other domestics of having quality that wasn't up to par with the imports, and they figured, 'We need to do something about this,'" Sargent says.



If consumer preference has anything to do with it, it'll most certainly pay off.



The Cars Americans Think Are The Best


Volkswagen
Volkswagen has always been strong in the quality sector, says Eric Lyman, the director of residual values for automotive analysis firm ALG. Lately, however, it has faced some tough competition: "Typically we always saw the top tier Japanese brands, along with Volkswagen, as the top brands in perceived quality," Lyman says. "Now we're seeing some of the domestic brands, particularly Ford, in the mix there with some of those top Japanese brands. In fact they have now overtaken VW."



J.D. Power CSI Score: 779/1,000



J.D. Power APEAL Score: 797/1,000



ALG Score: 68.2/100



Average: 548



Audi
Audi's all-new A8 sedan, available in a V8 or W12 long wheelbase form, earned high marks from Consumer Reports' test driver: "It's the one we'd personally choose when comparing the A8 to competing high-end cars - such as the BMW 7 Series, Jaguar XJ, and Mercedes-Benz S-Class," reviewer Mike Quincy wrote.



J.D. Power CSI Score: 794/1,000



J.D. Power APEAL Score: 832/1,000



ALG Score: 72.7/100



Average: 566.2



Acura
Along with Porsche, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz, Acura received the highest possible overall score for initial quality in J.D. Power and Associates' 2010 quality report. Second in total points only behind Porsche, it moved up from the 14th rank position it held in 2009. The Acura RDX scored particularly well in initial quality tests, according to J.D. Power.



J.D. Power CSI Score: 828/1,000



J.D. Power APEAL Score: 822/1,000



ALG Score: 78.1/100



Average: 576



BMW
BMW's "ultimate driving machine" tagline hints at what the German company aims to make—cars built by and for drivers. That attention to driver-oriented engineering and performance has paid off: Last year BMW scored among the highest brands in J.D. Power's APEAL study, which asks consumers to rate their new vehicle's performance, execution, layout and design.



J.D. Power CSI Score: 814/1,000



J.D. Power APEAL Score: 846/1,000



ALG Score: 80.2/100



Average: 580



Lexus
Lexus posted some of the highest numbers for our list, beating all other brands with its high customer satisfaction score and the second-highest score on ALG's quality perception survey. It has long been recognized as one of the strongest luxury brands on the market.



J.D. Power CSI Score: 846/1,000



J.D. Power APEAL Score: 827/1,000



ALG Score: 83/100



Average: 585.3

mmarshall

Although I generally give Consumer Reports more merit than J.D. Power, these Power figures verify part of what I've said for years. Honda/Acura (and some Lexus) products lead in build-quality (at least initially, in the condition that they are delivered from the factory), and BMW is the classic Drivers' car, at least in sedans/coupes/SUVs....though Porsche might be the Drivers' classic for true sports-cars.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

How is Acura constantly topping the reliability and build quality charts? Werent most of their cars infected with crappy automatic transmissions that would break down about 5 times before the car hit 100k? Is that an issue they solved already? I think it was mostly the TL, MDX, Accord 4cyl/6cyl, and I might be missing a few models...but to me that's a HUGE turnoff. I wouldn't even think about buying a car that had a potential problem such as transmission failure which I bet is no joke when you see the repair bill.

RXSF

also airbag problems seem to plague Honda cars...lol

mmarshall

The tranny problem only affected 1999-2002 models (mostly Accords, TLs, and their derivitives). Most Acura products are virtually bulletproof. Consumer Reports rates Honda/Acura products, overall, as more reliable than those of any other automaker in the U.S. market.

Also, back then, Hondas had only a 3/36 warranty that covered everything. Since then, Honda has upped the drivetrain part to 5/60 to make the warranty competitive with the other mainstrean Japanese manufacturers....Toyota, Subaru, and Nissan.

Acura, of course, has 6/70 and 4/50 warranties to equal that of Lexus and Infiniti.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

The problems existed in the late 90s, early 2000 Honda, particularly the V6 Automatic model. These models surfaced at least 12 years ago. The transmission from 03 and on are good transmissions.

grabber2

Is it really the Japanese's quality went down or the american went up.......due to the fact that alot of Toyota/Honda model built in USA......their built quality tended to be inferior then those built in Japan. Last year's Toyota scandal was BS. The US goverment stand behind GM/Ford & to recover the lost market. Afterall, the US government invest billions on GM/Ford and losing is not an option. Being no.1, Toyota naturally become the victims. They attacked Toyota with every problems they found. 3 out of millions??? That's more like a problem from the owner, not the manufracture. And now they conclude that Toyota was safe? and the issue doesn't exist.............

I conclude that most problem they found from Japanese car was due to "made-in-USA".
If you happen to purchase a Sony product, you will notice a big different in quality bettwen Made-in-Japan & Made-in-USA.

mmarshall

Consumer Reports, in general, has not found any appreciable difference in reliability between Japanese-brand vehicles built either in American or Japanese plants. Neither have I, in most of my reviews, though, of course, in my reviews, I can only judge the condition of the cars brand-new...not with a lot of miles on them. My 6-year ownership experience with my own Subaru Outback, though, which was built in Lafayette, IN, has been superb. It, and the previous IS300 I owned for 5 years (which was built in a Japanese plant) have been, hands-down, the two most reliable cars I have yet owned....and I've been driving more than 40 years.

IS-SV

[I]New recommendations for hyperbolic marketing slogans for the future[/I].,not that it has much to do with OP's topic

Note: Porsche has successfully entered the high performance premium sedan and SUV business.

mmarshall

I know. I reviewed a N/A Panamera sedan last year. But it is not typical of Porsche products.

IS-SV

"Typical" for Porsche today has them expanding product offerings in last several years, expect more to come including more SUVs and sedans. Offering only sports cars would severely limit growth/revenue/profitability and they figured that out years ago.

grabber2

Yes, they are still reliable. Same for many American car. They tend to have problem with some models. Yet, those models caused damage to the overall brand. Ex, My Uncle have a Ford E-series van that only have a waterpump replaced for 7 years her owned beside the wear & tear.

However, my point is that Made-in-Japan does seem to have better built-quality. They must had enforced a higher quality control/standard. My father's 2005 Toyota Sienna (made-in-USA) seem to have few problem. Frist, the whole driver side front-door repleaced due to manufracturing deflect(recall), the hydralic support on the rear hatch door give-up after 3 year (warranty). Moreover, vibration on the passsenger sliding door woindow when its opened 1/3 or more & at speed above 45mph. These problems above does not cause safety issue, but it does delivery a message: reliable but low quality.

lexusls430

I believe new honda/acura transmissions are much better. But even 2001-2003 cl/tl had major transmission issues.

mmarshall

Toyota has been using some cheaper, lighter-weight parts on a number of its vehicles in the last 5-6 years or so, regardless of where they were assembled. I have noted this in some of my reviews, and so has a number of other sources. The new Highlander and Avalon, fortunately, though, have shown some improvement.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

2010 Top selling cars in the US as of 1/4/11

3. Toyota Camry 327,804
4. Honda Accord 311,381
5. Toyota Corolla 266,082