J.D. Power and Associates just released its 2005 Initial Quality Survey report. The survey, based on feedback from over 62,000 customers on the experience of the first 90 days of ownership, measures number of problems per 100 vehicles by each brand. The industry average for the year is 118 problems per 100 vehicle, only marginally lower than last year's reading of 119.
The top performers barely changed since I reported last year's survey results.
Lexus (81)
Jaguar (88)
BMW (95)
Buick (100)
Cadillac (104)
Mercedes-Benz (104)
Toyota (105)
Audi (106)
Infiniti (109)
HUMMER (110)
But noteably, BMW and HUMMER made huge improvements this year. The rating of the former improved from 109 to 95, and HUMMER dig itself out of the bottom-of-the-pack 2004 reading of 173 to 110. J.D.
The least reliable brands of 2005:
Suzuki (151)
Mazda (149)
Land Rover (149)
Volkswagon (147)
Porsche (147)
Volvo (140)
Kia (140)
Subaru (138)
Saturn (136)
Saab (136)
The announcement also includes top quality models of each segment. Toyota and GM dominated the entire board: