Quality of Detroit cars improves, won’t make a bit of difference
Posted by: admin in Industry NewsFiled under: Products and services, Industry, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)
The annual JD Power Initial Quality Survey is always a huge deal. The research looks at how buyers view problems with their cars during the first 90 days they own them. The results get picked up in nearly every newspaper, internet news outlet and Television station in the US.
In this year’s poll, GM (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) picked up ground. Toyota (NYSE: TM) and Honda (NYSE: HMC) lost a little. But according to The Wall Street Journal, “It can take a while for improved scores to change consumer perceptions. Despite improvements in vehicle-quality ratings in recent years, the U.S. auto makers continue struggling to overcome the assumption among many American buyers that foreign companies produce better products.”
Unfortunately for Detroit, the results may do little or nothing for the U.S. car companies. That is not just because they’re losing money from relying too heavily in the past on pick-ups and SUVs, which use too much gas.
The fact of the matter is that it’s because most brands are superior at building automobiles, all get relatively good scores. Mercedes, No.4 in the survey, had 104 complaints per 100 automobiles. Cadillac, in spot No. 10 had 113 complaints based on the same measurement.
As quality becomes a given, style, handling and features, like navigation systems, are more important. When no one has a large edge, incentives, which cost the automobile companies hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars are critical in making buying decisions. That cost all of the companies money.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
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