Lexus has taken the top spot in the auto industry's benchmark vehicle quality study, but several American brands have made significant strides in quality despite brutal market conditions.
JD Power and Associates has released the results of its 2009 Initial Quality Study, which examines defects found during the first 90 days of new car ownership. Autoblog notes, "Lexus has taken the top spot away from Porsche, the initial quality leader for the past three years," with Cadillac, Hyundai and Honda rounding out the top five. The study looked at about 80,000 new cars, and tracked the number of problems per 100 vehicles.
Buyers might want to think twice about a Mini, however. That brand showed the most problems per 100 vehicles in the survey's results. Land Rover, Smart, Saab and Jeep make up the rest of the bottom five.
The New York Times notes, "Consumers who are considering buying a Chrysler or General Motors vehicle but are hesitating because of the impact bankruptcy might have on quality can take some comfort" from the study's results.
In a press release announcing the results, Power explains, "One trend that has emerged in the 2009 Initial Quality Study is that new vehicles sold by Chrysler, Ford and GM's domestic brands have improved in initial quality by an average of 10 percent, compared with 2008, surpassing the 8-percent rate of improvement by the industry overall."
The results also challenge an old piece of conventional wisdom - the idea that you're in for a lot of headaches if you buy a redesigned car in its first year on the market. JD Power explains, "Historically, all-new models have typically launched with below-average levels of initial quality. However, several all-new models in 2009, including the Hyundai Genesis, Kia Borrego, Toyota Venza and Volkswagen CC, perform considerably better than their respective segment averages. Many redesigned models in 2009 also show notable improvement from the previous generation-particularly the Acura TL, Ford F-150, Honda Pilot and Nissan Z."
If you're in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars as well as this month's best car deals.
