Japan’s Luxury Cars Rate High : Autos: Infiniti, Lexus and Acura models took four of the top five spots in a survey ranking new cars with the fewest problems.
Japanese luxury cars facing a pricey tariff in this country dominated the top of J.D. Power & Associates’ rankings of new cars with the fewest problems.
Infiniti, Lexus and Acura models took four of the top five spots in the Agoura Hills marketing firm’s annual study released Wednesday. The company tracked problems reported by buyers of 1995 cars during the first three months of ownership.
Tied at the top were the Infiniti J30, made by Nissan, and the Honda Prelude. Both models had 48 reported problems per 100 cars in the survey of 50,000 people who bought new 1995 cars in November and December.
Those were followed by Lexus SC 300-SC 400 (made by Toyota), Acura Legend (Honda) and Lexus LS 400. This is the first year since 1990 that the Lexus LS 400 was not No. 1 on the Power list.
Infiniti was the best overall car line, with 55 problems per 100 cars across all models. Rankings of other car lines were not released.
The Infiniti, Lexus and Acura models in the top five are among the 13 Japanese luxury cars faced with punitive 100% tariffs. The Clinton Administration has targeted the cars in its battle to force Japan to open its domestic market to U.S. cars and car parts. If the tax is imposed next month, it could boost the showroom price of the cars 65% or more.
The Power survey shows continuing increases in car quality throughout the industry. The overall average number of problems per 100 cars was down seven from 1994, to 103. Since Power began its initial quality studies in 1987, problem levels have declined nearly 40%.
J.D. Power does not release information or rankings on vehicles that are below the industry average. As a group, vehicles built by Asian companies averaged 88 problems per 100. Domestic and European auto makers’ averages were below that of the industry.
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Happy Motoring
The following are rankings for the J.D. Power & Associates 1995 New Car Initial Quality Study. The annual survey gauges problems experienced by new-vehicle owners in the first three months of ownership. It is based on responses from 50,000 motorists. The ranking is by number of problems per 100 cars.
CARS
Model Rank Honda Prelude 48 Infiniti J30 48 Lexus SC 300/400 49 Acura Legend 50 Lexus LS 400 51 Geo Prizm 56 Infiniti G20 62 Volvo 940 62 Honda Accord 63 Cadillac Deville/Concours 64
LIGHT TRUCKS
Category Model Rank Compact pickup Toyota Pickup 78 Compact sport utility Toyota 4Runner 67 Compact van Toyota Previa 71 Fullsize pickup Toyota T100 82 Fullsize van Ford Van 117
