Big Gains for the Big Three!

JD Power reports impressive quality gains for domestic manufacturers
_{Steve Erich}

More good news came out this week about the state of the American automobile industry. GM and Ford grabbed 7 of the 18 top spots in the JD Power and Associates initial quality surveys. GM also swept the North/South America plant quality awards. This shows exceptional work by the American manufacturers in a climate of intense competition over initial quality. In the past 5 years the entire auto industry has shown a remarkable 25% increase in initial quality from 154 problems per 100 vehicles in 2000 to 118 problems per 100 vehicles in 2005. To underscore how much better quality is across the board, every manufacturer and every nameplate this year was better than the industry average 5 years ago. The results of the long-term vehicle study were also released, with more good news! The Vehicle Dependability Study follows 3-year-old vehicles as opposed to the 90-day window for the Initial Quality Study. The industry as a whole showed impressive gains here as well with a 12% improvement over last year. Ford, Chevy and Chrysler did very well in this survey, with all three nameplates beating the industry average. In fact, both Ford and GM had more vehicles at the top of their respective segments than Toyota! Chevy winners include the Prizm, Malibu, S-10, and Silverado HD. Ford winners include the Thunderbird, Windstar and E-Series Vans. This will come as welcome news to owners of American vehicles as it is estimated that being better than the industry average can help resale value by as much as $1,000. For the average consumer, there have never been more choices, quality has never been higher, and manufacturers and dealers are offering better service than ever in order to provide a leg up on the competition. There has never been a better time to look at a newer car, and it has become very hard to make a poor choice based on quality, reliability, and service. This means that you can get back to making your decision about the things that really matter: will it do everything you need it to do, is it in your budget, and most importantly, do you like it?