J.D. Power and Associates 1998 Initial Quality Study 2(SM):
3 June 1998
J.D. Power and Associates 1998 Initial Quality Study 2(SM):
Chrysler Receives First-Ever Quality Awards, Lexus Remains the Quality
Benchmark
AGOURA HILLS, Calif., -- The results of J.D. Power and
Associates completely redesigned annual Initial Quality Study (IQS2) were
unveiled today, and contain an intriguing mix of consistency and surprise.
Noteworthy results include the first IQS awards Chrysler has ever received,
more quality benchmark performances from Lexus, and three top-ranking models
for Honda -- more than any other individual make.
Chrysler's all-new Concorde debuts with the best quality score of any
premium midsize car. While all-new models typically launch with quality
"teething" problems, Chrysler Seems to have avoided them with the Concorde.
The Concorde's performance is especially noteworthy given the Concorde's
development process, which relied heavily on virtual design and very little on
clay modeling and physical prototypes. The Chrysler Cirrus also posts a best-
in-segment performance in the Entry Midsize Car category, giving Chrysler a
clean sweep in the important Midsize Car segments.
Toyota's Lexus Division continues its consistent excellence in vehicle
quality as the LS400 again earns the best score of any vehicle in the study,
receiving the Best Premium Luxury Car award. This is the fifth year out of
the last six that the LS400 has earned this distinction. The ES300 tops the
Entry Luxury Car category, providing Lexus with a sweep of its own in the
Luxury Car segments.
Honda, another make with a strong quality pedigree, distinguishes itself
again in 1998 with three top-ranking models. The Prelude earns the best score
of any Sporty Car, the CR-V tops all Compact SUVs, and the Odyssey receives
the Compact Van award in the last year of it's current generation model.
The Initial Quality Study has been redesigned for 1998 for the first time
since its inception in 1987. In the decade since its launch, both the
vehicles and the consumers who drive them have changed.
"The redesign of this annual quality benchmark is intended to keep pace
with industry changes. IQS2 gives consumers the opportunity to more fully
describe any problems they may have experienced through the addition of more
diagnostic questions. The study also addresses
technologies and features that are becoming commonplace in today's vehicles,"
commented Chance Parker, director of product research at J.D. Power and
Associates. "Features like ABS, airbags, remote keyless entry, traction
control, and yes, even cupholders are issues for today's consumer and have
been added to the survey. All in all, IQS2 simply provides vehicle
manufacturers with a better understanding of how they compare to their
competition, and why," Mr. Parker concluded.
Due to the increased product and diagnostic coverage of IQS2, it is only
natural that the number of problems reported by consumers would go up compared
to 1997 results. That is, in fact, the case as the industry average problems
per 100 in IQS2 stands at 176. This is double the industry average reported
in the 1997 IQS study, but does not mean that quality has deteriorated in the
past year. In fact, behind-the-scenes research using last year's survey with
owners of 1998 model-year vehicles shows that, overall, the industry has
managed to maintain last year's best-ever-recorded levels of quality. The
IQS2 problems per 100 number is higher simply because the new survey is more
sensitive to consumer problems and provides more problems to report.
Conducted annually, the J.D. Power and Associates IQS2 study monitors the
number of problems new-vehicle owners experience in the first three months of
ownership. The study is the industry quality standard in ranking current-year
models based on problems per 100 vehicles covering 135 specific problem areas
over nine vehicle sections. The 1998 study reports responses from more than
58,000 owners of 1998 model-year vehicles.
J.D. Power and Associates is an international firm best known for its
marketing information services in key business sectors including market
research, forecasting and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and
satisfaction measurements are based on actual customer responses from over one
million consumers annually. With its headquarters in Agoura Hills,
California, the firm also has U.S. offices in Torrance, California; Michigan;
and Connecticut. Its international locations include Japan, Korea, England,
Canada and Brazil.
J.D. Power and Associates can be accessed through the World Wide Web at
http://www.jdpower.com. Media email contact: john.pepitone@jdpower.com.
This press release is provided for editorial use only. No advertising or
other promotional use can be made of the information in this release or J.D.
Power and Associates survey results without the express prior written consent
of J.D. Power and Associates.
J.D. Power and Associates 1998 Initial Quality Study 2SM
Top Three Vehicles Per Segment In Initial Quality
Car Segments Truck Segments
Compact Car Compact Pickup
Best: Ford Escort Best: Nissan Frontier
Mercury Tracer Toyota Tacoma
Honda Civic (tie) Mazda B-Series
Saturn SL Sedan (tie)
Entry Midsize Car Full-Size Pickup
Best: Chrysler Cirrus Best: Toyota T100
Nissan Altima Ford F-Series
Ford Contour Chevrolet C/K
Premium Midsize Car Compact Van
Best: Chrysler Concorde Best: Honda Odyssey
Chevrolet Lumina Dodge Caravan
Mercury Sable Toyota Sienna
Sporty Car Compact Sport Utility
Best: Honda Prelude Vehicle
Acura Integra Best: Honda CR-V
BMW 318Ti Nissan Pathfinder
Toyota 4Runner
Entry Luxury Car Full-Size Sport Utility
Best: Lexus ES300 Vehicle
BMW 3-Series Best: Ford Expedition
Acura TL Chevrolet Suburban
GMC Yukon
Premium Luxury Car Luxury Sport Utility
Best: Lexus LS400 Vehicle
Acura RL Best: Infiniti QX4 (tie)
BMW 5-Series Best: Lincoln Navigator
(tie)
Land Rover Range Rover
Sports Car
Best: Mercedes-Benz SLK
Porsche Boxster (tie)
Porsche 911 (tie)
Note: Full-Size Van segment not included due to insufficient sample.
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release must be accompanied by
a statement identifying J.D. Power and Associates as the publisher, and the
J.D. Power and Associates 1998 Initial Quality Study 2SM as the source. No
advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this
release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express prior
written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.