Jaguar, Kia at 2 Ends of Buyer Poll

New Jaguar cars had the fewest defects and 1999 Kia cars the most, according to a private report to auto makers by J.D. Power & Associates.

The company’s annual Initial Quality Study is a widely followed measure of vehicle quality. J.D. Power publicly released limited data from the report on Wednesday, but not the full report.

The Agoura-based company said it based the results on 41,004 owners of 1999-model vehicles. They were asked about problems found in the first 90 days of ownership.

The Associated Press on Monday obtained results from a confidential executive summary of the study that showed Jaguar had the fewest defects per 100 new vehicles: 110.

Buick was second at 114, followed by Infiniti (118), Acura (124), BMW (125), Lexus (131), Toyota (135), Honda (137), Cadillac (139) and Chrysler (148).

The average for all vehicles was 167 defects per 100 vehicles.

At the bottom, Kia had the most defects at 333 per 100 vehicles. Suzuki had 299, Isuzu 242, Jeep 234, Volkswagen 223, Daewoo 216, Land Rover 200, Mitsubishi 199, GMC 199 and Hyundai 194, according to the executive summary.

Ford vehicles had a defect rate of 169, Saturn 171, Oldsmobile 174, Dodge 175, Mercury and Pontiac 185, and Chevrolet 192.

Separately Monday, Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler boosted prices on their 1999 cars and trucks to take advantage of record U.S. sales. Ford raised base prices an average of $34 for each 1999 vehicle as DaimlerChrysler added $35. The increases were steepest for light trucks.