http://biz.yahoo.com/bwml/060119/195459.html?.v=1

 

Press Release Source: The Luxury Institute

Luxury Institute Survey: Wealthy Rate Lexus #1 in Customer Experience
Thursday January 19, 10:30 am ET

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 19, 2006--Lexus trounced the competition as the luxury automobile brand that delivers "the best customer experience" in a new Luxury Customer Experience Index survey (LCEI) from New York- based Luxury Institute (www.luxuryinstitute.com). Porsche came in second, Acura was a close third. Notably absent from the top four were Mercedes and BMW, previously ranked in the top three in the Luxury Institute's Brand Status Index surveys.

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Wealthy customers rated the top 11 luxury automobile brands based on their direct individual experiences. These included: Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes, Porsche and Volvo.

The Luxury Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of some 2,100 households with a minimum of $200,000 gross annual income and net worth of $750,000+ (including home equity).

"Lexus won by a wide margin, achieving a rating of 88 vs. 83 for Porsche and 82 for Acura, said Milton Pedraza, CEO, Luxury Institute. "Lexus customers rated it most worthy of a price premium by a five point margin. Lexus also posted the highest ratings in the critical Customer Retention and Customer Referral indexes."

Lexus won every category of Customer Experience Drivers, including brand effectiveness, brand attitude, and top scores in "most enthusiastic, most polite and most trustworthy representatives." Lexus overwhelmed the competition on brand environment (dealerships). Acura had the lowest incidence of reported problems although its problem resolution scores were below most competitors.

"Alarms should be going off in Germany," said Pedraza. "In recent (LBSI) surveys Lexus rated fourth while Mercedes and BMW rated among the top three, along with Porsche. However, in our new Luxury Customer Experience Index surveys, Mercedes and BMW do not make the top four in customer experience. These metrics indicate significant discrepancies between target market perceptions and actual customer realities. Interestingly, in our brand reputation surveys Lexus rated by far the up-and-comer, and with its run-away customer experience rating among the wealthy, Lexus has arrived."

The Luxury Institute

The Luxury Institute, the research institution focused solely on the top 10 percent of America's wealthy, provides proprietary publications and research. Publications include the monthly Wealth Report, Luxury Brand Status Index surveys, Luxury Best Practices surveys and the Luxury Consumer Experience Index surveys.
Contact:

The Luxury Institute
Martin Swanson
Office: 914-909-6350
Cell: 914-715-3357
mswanson@luxuryinstitute.com

 

This is absurd. You don't have to be Bill Gates or Donald Trump to own (or lease) a new Lexus. Entry-level models start for little more than the price of a Toyota Camry XLE or Avalon.

 

Why ? That's the income level criteria THEY choose to survey that's all, & they're not doing the survey just for Lexus . . .

Good job Lexus

 

Of course it's good job, Lexus. I understand that, but if they are trying to get an accurate cross-section of Lexus owner experience, IMO that's not the way to do it. Otherwise you're just getting a sample of the rich and pampered.

 

I think THAT's the purpose of their survey, & as I said, this is NOT a survey just for Lexus, but for high end luxury car buyers in general

 

yeah i mean, they define their "luxury", and having 200k, while not a dime a dozen, but it's not all that uncommon as well. a lot of people make that number, and sometimes i think those are the people who really afford real luxury.

maybe in their eyes, ES and IS, they aren't really that luxury?