Lexus Tops Survey of Motorists : Automobiles: Infiniti and Saturn rank second and third in J.D. Power performance gauge.
For the third straight year, Lexus, Infiniti and Saturn took the top three rankings in the 1995 J.D. Power & Associates’ annual survey of driver’s satisfaction. Acura, a unit of Honda Motor Co., and Sweden’s AB Volvo tied for the fourth spot.
The influential Agoura Hills-based marketing firm said Tuesday that the car business as a whole improved its performance three points on Power’s Customer Satisfaction Index, scoring 138 of a possible 202. The average for Asian makes was 143 and, for the first time, the European car makers matched the Asian score.
Overall, domestic auto makers ranked below the industry average at 134.
“One thing to keep in mind is that they are the most improved of the three over the 10 years we’ve been doing this index,” Bill Wallis, a Power senior account executive and author of the study, said of domestic auto makers. “Since 1986, they’ve improved 43%, whereas the Europeans improved 35% and the Asians 20%.”
The index score for Lexus, Toyota’s luxury line, was 173. Infiniti had 172 and Saturn 159.
Power surveyed 32,000 car and light truck owners who registered new vehicles in February, March and April of 1994. The surveys measured how owners felt, after a year in their cars, about they way they were treated by their dealerships, and the repair and reliability records of the vehicles.
Power’s light truck Customer Satisfaction Index had Toyota at the top with 172 of a possible 242, 18 points ahead of No. 2 Honda. The industry average for trucks was 142. Also scoring at that level or above were Oldsmobile, Ford, Geo, Mazda, Plymouth, Nissan and Mitsubishi.
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Car Owner Satisfaction Index
The following is the J.D. Power & Associates’ 1995 car satisfaction index, measuring owner satisfaction after one year. Vehicles listed by nameplate performance.
CARS
1. Lexus
2. Infiniti
3. Saturn
4. Acura, Volvo (tied)
5. Audi
6. Cadillac
7. Honda, Mercedes-Benz (tied)
8. Toyota
9. Buick
10. Lincoln
LIGHT TRUCKS*
1. Toyota
2. Honda
3. Oldsmobile
4. Ford
5. Geo
6. Mazda, Plymouth (tied)
7. Nissan
8. Mitsubishi
* Includes minivans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks
