Lincoln, Buick top ACSI satisfaction study for first time ever
08-18-10, 12:48 PM
#1
Lincoln, Buick top ACSI satisfaction study for first time ever
Lincoln, Buick top ACSI satisfaction study for first time ever
The annual American Consumer Satisfaction Index is out, and while the auto industry as a whole slipped this year, Lincoln-Mercury and Buick moved to the top of the heap for the first time ever. Each of the domestic brands was rated on a scale of 100, with Ford Motor Company's LM outpost scoring an 89 (up one point from last year) and General Motors' Buick holding steady at 88 points. Mercury capturing part of the top spot is somewhat bittersweet, of course, as the Blue Oval announced in June that it will shutter its mid-level brand.
On the Japanese side of the street, Lexus took a hit from the string of recalls that has haunted Toyota this year. Almost every recent Lexus model was affected by at least one recall, while a smaller percentage of Toyota brand vehicles were covered. Lexus was down five points for the year to 85 with Toyota down two points to 84.
Nissan took the biggest jump of all 19 brands, rising five points to 82, while at the same time, Chrysler dropped a similar amount to 80. Dodge and Jeep brought up the tail of the group with 78 and 77 points, respectively. The auto industry as a whole averaged 82 points – well ahead of the average of 75.9 for the entire U.S. economy.
ACSI: Detroit Tops Auto Industry for the First Time Ever
Ford and General Motors Claim Top Two Spots Amid Weakening Customer Satisfaction; Domestic Autos Overtake Japan and Korea for the First Time in a Decade
ANN ARBOR, Mich., [August 17, 2010]-Customer satisfaction with domestic automobiles has shown resilience despite an overall decline for the industry, according to a report released today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Automobile satisfaction dips 2.4% from an all-time industry high to a score of 82 on ACSI's 0-100 scale, but Ford and General Motors are holding steady and their Lincoln- Mercury and Buick nameplates take the lead for the first time ever. Chrysler, however, continues to underperform, with two of its three divisions at the bottom.
"It was not long ago when Detroit's products were clustered at the bottom of the industry. Although very few automakers improved this year, the domestic ones are either steady or have lost less in customer satisfaction compared to international competition," said Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI and author of The Satisfied Customer: Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference. "In this sense, the near future looks good for Ford and General Motors. Satisfied customers tend to do more repeat business, generate good word-of-mouth and don't require greater price incentives to come back."
Even though satisfaction with most domestic and foreign automakers declines in 2010, U.S. brands show the smallest drop, while Japanese and Korean brands fall the most, putting the U.S. slightly ahead of the Japanese and Koreans for the first time since 2000, although both continue to trail European automakers.
The news for the U.S. economy as a whole is not as positive. The national ACSI is unchanged from the first quarter of 2010, but it has dropped slightly from a year ago. Following steep increases just before the economy began to recover, customer satisfaction is now stalling. The overall ACSI score is 75.9, compared with 76.1 in the second quarter of 2009.
"Although the near future looks promising for General Motors and Ford, at least in a competitive sense, the near term for the economy does not look bright," said Fornell. Labor markets show no sign of improvement, financial markets are edgy and consumers are cautious at a time when more household spending would be desirable. Even though ACSI is at a high level, the trend is not upward. Increasing customer satisfaction, rising disposable income and greater consumer confidence would probably be necessary to bring about more spending."
Among the individual auto nameplates, Ford's Lincoln-Mercury division leads, up 1% to an ACSI score of 89, its highest ever, followed closely by GM's Buick, unchanged at 88. Behind Lincoln and Buick are BMW (−1%), Mercedes-Benz (unchanged) and Cadillac (−3%), all tied at 86, followed by Toyota's recall-plagued Lexus division, down 5% to 85. At the other end of the spectrum, Chrysler's brands drop below the industry average, with the Chrysler division down 5% to 80, Dodge down 4% to 78 and Jeep at the bottom, falling 3% to 77.
A year ago amid the global recession, both discounting and the government's "Cash for Clunkers" program helped many brands reach their highest satisfaction levels ever as a smaller customer base saw an increase in value for money, but this has not been sustainable across the industry. Several automakers retreat from all-time highs set in 2009: Honda (−5% to 84), Hyundai (−4% to 82), Volkswagen (−6% to 81) and Chevrolet (−4% to 80) all drop sharply this year. The same goes for Cadillac, Lexus, Chrysler and Dodge-all declining from record-high scores last year.
Overall, 14 of the 19 largest auto nameplates show some deterioration in customer satisfaction over the past year. Of the few nameplates holding steady or improving, Nissan makes the biggest gain, up 5% to match the industry average at 82 and rebounding from a similar drop a year ago. GMC shows a smaller improvement, up 2% to 84.
Toyota's recalls have had a bigger effect on Lexus than on the Toyota brand. The Toyota brand recalls were more visible, affecting millions of Toyota vehicles, but the Lexus recalls impacted a greater proportion of recent Lexus owners, sweeping across nearly the entire Lexus lineup for problems ranging from fuel leaks and engine stalls to rollover risks. While Lexus drops sharply, Toyota declines only half as much, falling 2% to 84.
Ford and General Motors Claim Top Two Spots Amid Weakening Customer Satisfaction; Domestic Autos Overtake Japan and Korea for the First Time in a Decade
ANN ARBOR, Mich., [August 17, 2010]-Customer satisfaction with domestic automobiles has shown resilience despite an overall decline for the industry, according to a report released today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Automobile satisfaction dips 2.4% from an all-time industry high to a score of 82 on ACSI's 0-100 scale, but Ford and General Motors are holding steady and their Lincoln- Mercury and Buick nameplates take the lead for the first time ever. Chrysler, however, continues to underperform, with two of its three divisions at the bottom.
"It was not long ago when Detroit's products were clustered at the bottom of the industry. Although very few automakers improved this year, the domestic ones are either steady or have lost less in customer satisfaction compared to international competition," said Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI and author of The Satisfied Customer: Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference. "In this sense, the near future looks good for Ford and General Motors. Satisfied customers tend to do more repeat business, generate good word-of-mouth and don't require greater price incentives to come back."
Even though satisfaction with most domestic and foreign automakers declines in 2010, U.S. brands show the smallest drop, while Japanese and Korean brands fall the most, putting the U.S. slightly ahead of the Japanese and Koreans for the first time since 2000, although both continue to trail European automakers.
The news for the U.S. economy as a whole is not as positive. The national ACSI is unchanged from the first quarter of 2010, but it has dropped slightly from a year ago. Following steep increases just before the economy began to recover, customer satisfaction is now stalling. The overall ACSI score is 75.9, compared with 76.1 in the second quarter of 2009.
"Although the near future looks promising for General Motors and Ford, at least in a competitive sense, the near term for the economy does not look bright," said Fornell. Labor markets show no sign of improvement, financial markets are edgy and consumers are cautious at a time when more household spending would be desirable. Even though ACSI is at a high level, the trend is not upward. Increasing customer satisfaction, rising disposable income and greater consumer confidence would probably be necessary to bring about more spending."
Among the individual auto nameplates, Ford's Lincoln-Mercury division leads, up 1% to an ACSI score of 89, its highest ever, followed closely by GM's Buick, unchanged at 88. Behind Lincoln and Buick are BMW (−1%), Mercedes-Benz (unchanged) and Cadillac (−3%), all tied at 86, followed by Toyota's recall-plagued Lexus division, down 5% to 85. At the other end of the spectrum, Chrysler's brands drop below the industry average, with the Chrysler division down 5% to 80, Dodge down 4% to 78 and Jeep at the bottom, falling 3% to 77.
A year ago amid the global recession, both discounting and the government's "Cash for Clunkers" program helped many brands reach their highest satisfaction levels ever as a smaller customer base saw an increase in value for money, but this has not been sustainable across the industry. Several automakers retreat from all-time highs set in 2009: Honda (−5% to 84), Hyundai (−4% to 82), Volkswagen (−6% to 81) and Chevrolet (−4% to 80) all drop sharply this year. The same goes for Cadillac, Lexus, Chrysler and Dodge-all declining from record-high scores last year.
Overall, 14 of the 19 largest auto nameplates show some deterioration in customer satisfaction over the past year. Of the few nameplates holding steady or improving, Nissan makes the biggest gain, up 5% to match the industry average at 82 and rebounding from a similar drop a year ago. GMC shows a smaller improvement, up 2% to 84.
Toyota's recalls have had a bigger effect on Lexus than on the Toyota brand. The Toyota brand recalls were more visible, affecting millions of Toyota vehicles, but the Lexus recalls impacted a greater proportion of recent Lexus owners, sweeping across nearly the entire Lexus lineup for problems ranging from fuel leaks and engine stalls to rollover risks. While Lexus drops sharply, Toyota declines only half as much, falling 2% to 84.
08-18-10, 05:23 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Anybody can fall in love with a shiny new car, even cheap entry-level models (it was love at first sight with my brother and the Kia Soul, for example). Studies have shown that the average love affair of the average American auto buyer/leaser, with the average car, is about two years. The real test comes after the new-car smell has gone away, the body is no longer pristine with a couple of dings or scratches in it (that's where the SCRATCH-OUT liquid I recommend can help), and the novelty of having a new car in the driveway has gone away. That's where the real test lies. The best cars keep satisfying their owners for years.
(BTW, that's why I make my auto reviews so detailed. I try to give a thorough description of the car from stem to stern, what you get for your money, and what it will probably be like to live with, day in and day out).
(BTW, that's why I make my auto reviews so detailed. I try to give a thorough description of the car from stem to stern, what you get for your money, and what it will probably be like to live with, day in and day out).
Last edited by mmarshall; 08-18-10 at 05:39 PM.
08-18-10, 05:57 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
I place limited value on the ACSI satisfaction study, even if I find the trends reported to be noteworthy.
I do enjoy the feedback from our many CL members, many who have owned desirable cars for several months and years/thousands of miles and report in detail their findings and observations from a knowledgeable enthusiasts perspective.
I do enjoy the feedback from our many CL members, many who have owned desirable cars for several months and years/thousands of miles and report in detail their findings and observations from a knowledgeable enthusiasts perspective.
08-18-10, 06:57 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Overall, 14 of the 19 largest auto nameplates show some deterioration in customer satisfaction over the past year.
Of the few nameplates holding steady or improving, Nissan makes the biggest gain, up 5%
08-16-11, 07:54 AM
#5
2011
U.S. customer satisfaction with vehicles industrywide has increased slightly, fueled by gains among Asian and European automakers, according to an annual report released by the American Customer Satisfaction Index on Tuesday.
Overall satisfaction with the auto industry climbed 1.2%from 2010 to 83. The index is scored on a 0-100 scale.
The University of Michigan study aims to measure customer satisfaction with the quality of goods and services in several industries throughout the United States. The American Customer Satisfaction Index has been measuring consumer satisfaction with the auto industry since 1994.
Cadillac, Lexus and Toyota tied for the top spot among brands in the 2011 rankings with scores of 87. Hampered by vehicle recalls last year, Toyota and Lexus saw their scores fall in 2010, but they rebounded this year as Toyota gained 3.6% and Lexus increased 2.4%.
Despite Cadillac's 1.2% increase, which propelled it to the top of the rankings, the Detroit 3 fared poorly compared with foreign competition as Lincoln, Buick, GMC and Chrysler were among 6 brands industrywide that lost ground. The others were Mazda and BMW.
Lincoln and Buick, which ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in last year's rankings, both fell 3.4%. Buick fell to 85 and Lincoln to 86, down from a record high in 2010 when Ford's luxury brand was still paired with Mercury as a single entity in the study.
The Chrysler brand, meanwhile, brought up the rear with a score of 76, a 5% loss from 2010. Dodge and Jeep were also near the bottom of the list, with scores of 79. Mazda, which fell 1.3%, also got 79.
Claes Fornell, creator of the American Customer Satisfaction Index and author of The Satisfied Customer: Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference, said in a statement that the Detroit 3's low levels of customer satisfaction represent a squandered opportunity for the automakers to increase their market share.
"Production challenges for Japanese automakers provided an opportunity for Detroit to increase both market share and earnings, but declining customer satisfaction will make it difficult to sustain these gains as the Japanese companies begin to recover," Fornell said.
Among the 7 Asian brands in the index, all but Mazda saw their scores increase. Honda, with a score of 85, and Hyundai, with 83, both rose 1.2%. Nissan rose 2.4% to a score of 84, and Kia earned 81 points--a 1.3% gain.
Customer satisfaction with Mercedes-Benz was flat at 86. Of the ranked brands, Volkswagen had the largest percentage increase, jumping 3.7% to 84.
BMW was given an 83 ranking, a 3.5% loss from its 2010 score.
08-27-11, 08:25 AM
#6
Out of Warranty
It all goes back to perception, and both Ford and GM have had their problems, none worse in my opinion than Chrysler. Over the past twenty years, Chrysler's gotten a bad rap (which they earned, BTW) for manufacturing some real automotive trash, but in recent years they've begun to make a lot of slow improvements. I've been fortunate enough buying a couple of minivans with around 80K miles on them that all the big problems got weeded out long before they reached that milestone. Like a 90-day warranty on your TV, if it's going to fail, a car or truck going to fail early. A quick review of repair records on a used vehicle will usually tell you where any potential problems lie.
As far as reputations are concerned, Ford still suffers from a bad reputation earned before WWII . . . "Fix Or Repair Daily", or "Found On Road, Dead" were common memes for the reliability of the brand. But Ford began to turn it around with their "Quality is Job One" campaign in the early eighties, and has emerged as a quality product, although still bearing some of the stigma of its early failures. "Government Motors" is going to face a lot of expectations, but so far they haven't shown a lot of focus, simultaneously trying to lead the "green" revolution, develop separate brand images, and manufacture a quality product. Mopar is going through the same cycle and I don't look for much image enhancement whatever Fiat tries to do with it.
But don't think that bad reputations apply only to domestic automobiles. Anyone who has been around long enough to remember Honda, Toyota, Fiat, Renault, and even BMW's earliest appearances on American roads will recall their products as truly miserable exercises in engineering and manufacturing - at least for their American applications. In this country our population is sprawled over vast stretches of the landscape, meaning we drive MILES to work, to the grocery, dry cleaner, hardware store. We drive more miles for trips to the discount malls, for weekend trips, and entertainment, and we do it on broad ribbons of concrete at speeds that would terrify our great-grandparents, and we do it daily.
Compare that to tiddling down to the village square a mile or so just beyond bicycle range. Urban trips were consigned to mass transit. That's how it was done in Europe and Japan in the '50's and they assumed we did the same. For us, the automobile is an appliance to take us maybe fifty or even a hundred miles a day, and do so quickly, with a minimum of fuss, whatever the weather. Applying that model of use to a typical "furrin" car of the '50's or '60's would result in blowing the contents of the crankcase through the tailpipe within a few months, both oil and assorted engine parts. You could tell if a year old car was manufactured outside the US - whether it was a Mercedes or a Midget, there was a big black oil smudge on the rear end, just above the exhaust . . . piston rings? what's that?.
American cars had dealt with abuse ever since the Model T, but to European and Asian manufacturers such treatment of a fine machine was heresy. We designed cars to take benign neglect, and even abuse. They were built to absorb punishment from constant speeds on rough roads. No wonder they were heavy, wallow-y, and unsophisticated, so's a tank. Exposed to our roadgoing environment, Fiat and Renault, who built perfectly fine cars for the European motor culture, eventually succumbed to our way of driving, ran up the white flag and departed our shores. Seventy mph for an hour at a stretch was a full-throttle redline thrash in top gear leaping over the frost heaves and potholes of the American road . . . and they just weren't up to the challenge.
Volvos were made of sterner stuff but suffered for never becoming mainstream products - probably to their advantage. VW's were just about idiot proof - well, until we bred a superior form of idiot in the guise of hot-rodders who decided to "improve" on that tiny air-cooled powerplant and successfully converted it into scrap iron. VW had an excellent run in the US market, but like Henry Ford, they discovered too late that you can't keep building the same car for twenty or thirty years and keep the market from running away from you. Bridging the technological gap that followed would take years.
The earliest Asian manufacturers in our market learned the lesson taught by most of the European makes, that to be successful in the US, they had to deal with our roads and car culture. What set them back until the early '90's was that they stubbornly built what they insisted we needed, not what we wanted. You can go broke that way very quickly, insisting that your customer SHOULD have a product, rather than providing what they will buy.
As long as we are buying large cars, the smart automakers will continue to build them. Americans may only need small, efficient four-seaters, that are simple to maintain and consume a minimal amount of fuel, but we BUY giant SUV's. By trying to put sense ahead of demand, they could only compete on price. That's when they started to produce larger cars . . . and the price went up. Ever notice that today's Civic is WAY larger (and better finished) than the Accord of the mid '90's? The Tercel got crowded out of the market by being squeezed upward toward the Corrola, and the Camry and Avalon are now the size of a domestic. If the trend continues, look for a six-passenger Yaris one day.
If we resolve the issues of standard sizes and engineering for a global market remains to be seen - however quality issues should not be compromised, whether in a Fiat Cinquecento or a Bentley Mulsanne, there are standards of manufacture and assembly that define the success of the marque, and falling below those standards risks more than warranty work, it risks future sales.
As far as reputations are concerned, Ford still suffers from a bad reputation earned before WWII . . . "Fix Or Repair Daily", or "Found On Road, Dead" were common memes for the reliability of the brand. But Ford began to turn it around with their "Quality is Job One" campaign in the early eighties, and has emerged as a quality product, although still bearing some of the stigma of its early failures. "Government Motors" is going to face a lot of expectations, but so far they haven't shown a lot of focus, simultaneously trying to lead the "green" revolution, develop separate brand images, and manufacture a quality product. Mopar is going through the same cycle and I don't look for much image enhancement whatever Fiat tries to do with it.
But don't think that bad reputations apply only to domestic automobiles. Anyone who has been around long enough to remember Honda, Toyota, Fiat, Renault, and even BMW's earliest appearances on American roads will recall their products as truly miserable exercises in engineering and manufacturing - at least for their American applications. In this country our population is sprawled over vast stretches of the landscape, meaning we drive MILES to work, to the grocery, dry cleaner, hardware store. We drive more miles for trips to the discount malls, for weekend trips, and entertainment, and we do it on broad ribbons of concrete at speeds that would terrify our great-grandparents, and we do it daily.
Compare that to tiddling down to the village square a mile or so just beyond bicycle range. Urban trips were consigned to mass transit. That's how it was done in Europe and Japan in the '50's and they assumed we did the same. For us, the automobile is an appliance to take us maybe fifty or even a hundred miles a day, and do so quickly, with a minimum of fuss, whatever the weather. Applying that model of use to a typical "furrin" car of the '50's or '60's would result in blowing the contents of the crankcase through the tailpipe within a few months, both oil and assorted engine parts. You could tell if a year old car was manufactured outside the US - whether it was a Mercedes or a Midget, there was a big black oil smudge on the rear end, just above the exhaust . . . piston rings? what's that?.
American cars had dealt with abuse ever since the Model T, but to European and Asian manufacturers such treatment of a fine machine was heresy. We designed cars to take benign neglect, and even abuse. They were built to absorb punishment from constant speeds on rough roads. No wonder they were heavy, wallow-y, and unsophisticated, so's a tank. Exposed to our roadgoing environment, Fiat and Renault, who built perfectly fine cars for the European motor culture, eventually succumbed to our way of driving, ran up the white flag and departed our shores. Seventy mph for an hour at a stretch was a full-throttle redline thrash in top gear leaping over the frost heaves and potholes of the American road . . . and they just weren't up to the challenge.
Volvos were made of sterner stuff but suffered for never becoming mainstream products - probably to their advantage. VW's were just about idiot proof - well, until we bred a superior form of idiot in the guise of hot-rodders who decided to "improve" on that tiny air-cooled powerplant and successfully converted it into scrap iron. VW had an excellent run in the US market, but like Henry Ford, they discovered too late that you can't keep building the same car for twenty or thirty years and keep the market from running away from you. Bridging the technological gap that followed would take years.
The earliest Asian manufacturers in our market learned the lesson taught by most of the European makes, that to be successful in the US, they had to deal with our roads and car culture. What set them back until the early '90's was that they stubbornly built what they insisted we needed, not what we wanted. You can go broke that way very quickly, insisting that your customer SHOULD have a product, rather than providing what they will buy.
As long as we are buying large cars, the smart automakers will continue to build them. Americans may only need small, efficient four-seaters, that are simple to maintain and consume a minimal amount of fuel, but we BUY giant SUV's. By trying to put sense ahead of demand, they could only compete on price. That's when they started to produce larger cars . . . and the price went up. Ever notice that today's Civic is WAY larger (and better finished) than the Accord of the mid '90's? The Tercel got crowded out of the market by being squeezed upward toward the Corrola, and the Camry and Avalon are now the size of a domestic. If the trend continues, look for a six-passenger Yaris one day.
If we resolve the issues of standard sizes and engineering for a global market remains to be seen - however quality issues should not be compromised, whether in a Fiat Cinquecento or a Bentley Mulsanne, there are standards of manufacture and assembly that define the success of the marque, and falling below those standards risks more than warranty work, it risks future sales.
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