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Ford takes most honors in JDPowers Initial Quality Survey 2007


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http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/06/06/jdpa_quality/index.html

 

Ford Grabs Most Awards in 2007 Vehicle Quality Rankings

 

DETROIT (AP) -- Ford supplanted Toyota as the leader of the pack in initial quality rankings, taking the top spot in five of 19 segments in the 2007 survey by J.D. Power and Associates, released Wednesday.

 

Porsche again dominated the overall ranking of brands, averaging 91 problems per 100 vehicles as it had last year. That compared with a 2007 industry average of 125 problems per 100 vehicles. Last year it was 124.

 

Ford Motor Co. earned segment awards for the Ford Mustang, Lincoln Mark LT, Lincoln MKZ, Mercury Milan and Mazda MX-5 Miata. Mazda is 33.4 percent owned by Ford.

 

Toyota Motor Corp., which grabbed the top spot in 11 segments last year, captured only three this year, as did Mercedes-Benz. Toyota's 2007 awards were for the 4Runner, Sequoia and Tacoma.

 

MORE AT LINK

 

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http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=26146

 

FORD MOTOR COMPANY VEHICLE QUALITY SOARS

IN 2007 J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES CUSTOMER SURVEY

 

* Ford Motor Company wins 14 vehicle honors, more than any other automaker.

* Five vehicles are top segment performers.

* Ford’s recently launched vehicles are among industry’s best performers.

* Four brands – Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar – place in top 10, all significantly above industry average.

 

Ford Motor Company received 14 total vehicle honors, more than any other automaker. In the research firm’s 2007 Initial Quality Study (IQS), Ford Mustang, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ, Lincoln Mark LT and Mazda MX-5 Miata swept their vehicle segments for top honors.

 

Second-place winners:

 

* Ford F-150 LD: Large pickup

* Lincoln MKX: Midsize premium MAV

* Lincoln Navigator: Large premium MAV

 

Third-place winners:

 

* Ford Fusion: Midsize car

* Ford Econoline: Van

* Ford Five Hundred: Large car

* Mercury Montego: Large car (tied with Five Hundred)

* Mercury Mountaineer: Midsize MAV

* Volvo S80: Midsize premium car

 

Igor

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Dammit, why can't people read what threads already exist before making new ones? I already responded in the other one. :banghead:

 

Anyway, what I said in that one was:

 

WOW!!! Ford finally surpassed the "Industry Average" in the IQS!!! Looks like a very good showing for Ford's quality. Jaguar slipped a few notches, though still near the top with Lincoln. :woot:

 

Holy crap, Batman! Wixom won the PLATINUM Award for assembly quality. That's the first time I remember Ford winning that one. Why are they closing that place again??? :headscratch:

 

VERY surprised to see GM with ZERO brands above average. Last year, Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet were above the average, if I recall correctly.

 

Scion improved remarkably from last year. Land Rover is still in the PITS!!!! WTF!!

 

LINK TO RANKING LIST: JD POWER 2007 IQS

 

Side note: When did the Mark LT become an SUV? :hysterical:

 

Now let's see which thread gets more traction. I'm betting this one, cuz it has pretty pictures and graphics that so many USA Today readers love.

 

BTW - Anyone notice the conspicuous absence of MINI from this year's list? They've always done horribly on this thing. Isuzu I can understand, but MINI has always made the list before. Hmmm...

Edited by NickF1011
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The Ford result doesn't surprise me at all. In TrueDelta's vehicle reliability survey results, the change from 2005 to 2006 for the Five Hundred and Freestyle has been so large that I've wondered if it was a fluke. Guess not, seeing that those models also did well on the IQS.

 

Big surprise here is Mazda next to last. I've been seeing high repair rates for the Mazda5 and the CX-7, though the sample for the former has been very small and that for the latter way too small to base anything on--until the August results at least. Now I'm thinking that my small sample sizes might not be the reason for the high repair rates I've been seeing for these models.

 

TrueDelta Vehicle Reliability Survey results

 

The big question: are good reliability numbers enough to get Ford back on track?

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Interesting quote I found:

 

"Porsche again dominated the overall ranking of brands, averaging 91 problems per 100 vehicles as it had last year. That compared with a 2007 industry average of 125 problems per 100 vehicles. Last year it was 124."

 

This may be the FIRST time that the average number of problems per vehicle has actually INCREASED. Hmmm. Could it be the industry is actually maxing out on quality?

Edited by NickF1011
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JD could have tweaked the survey again, I need to look into the details.

 

Last year they started putting more emphasis on "design defects" like BMW's iDrive. These are annoyances that cannot be repaired, and have nothing to do with "reliability." Note this measures "quality," a much looser term.

 

I talked about this here:

 

Critique of J.D. Power's IQS

 

With controls continuing to get more complex as manufacturers add more and more high tech features, the "design defects" part of the IQS score is likely to increase.

 

Without the design defects included, the scores would all be much lower. It's important to note if manufacturing defects also increased.

 

Due to rounding, the change could also be so small as to be insignificant. Not that the difference between 124 and 125 is meaningful.

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:reading: Uuuuuu pretty pictures. I'm sorry Nick did you say something? lol Hey seriously though, this is good news. I think I'll run a paste up of it over to the GM Sales thread so good old eddie who thinks the media never says anything good about domestics can read it.

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Hardly. But a little good press for a change is certainly something to build on.

 

What it will help is Ford's perception problem. Granted, a single survey cannot change mass perception of poor quality, but it can help blunt its impact.

 

Basically, there are two components to the perception: owner experience and word of mouth. Well, Ford can't change the owner experience group because they would have to experience a first Ford if they have loyalty to Toyota, for example, or another Ford vehicle if they've had a bad Ford experience.

 

But the word of mouth group is going to look at these and be not necessarily less convinced of Toyota or Honda's quality, but certainly their dominance in quality - which ultimately translates into brand perception and price considerations - at which point Ford might start winning some battles.

 

What is CRITICALLY important for Ford is that 1) their 2008 results are even better and 2) that there quality of service ratings improve, because if their vehicle quality is equal to Toyota but their service ratings are terrible, consumers will still use price to differentiate and buy into better customer service.

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What is CRITICALLY important for Ford is that 1) their 2008 results are even better and 2) that there quality of service ratings improve, because if their vehicle quality is equal to Toyota but their service ratings are terrible, consumers will still use price to differentiate and buy into better customer service.

 

Eh, according to a lot of surveys, Ford's service is already no worse than Toyota's.

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I can't wait to see Jill Wagner posing with the new trophy. :):wub:

 

(AP) In another BOLDMOVE<tm>, Ford Motor Company announced a slight tweaking of the Mercury advertising campaign featuring Jill Wagner.

 

In honor of the Milan's and Mercury's stellar showing in the 2007 J.D. Power IQS results, the previous "You've got to put Mercury on your list" mantra is being replaced with a more urgent and commanding "You're GOING TO Put Mercury On YOUR List, Or I'm Coming Over And Whacking Your Mother%$#@!&* A&%"

 

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B)

 

 

In any case, congrats are in order for the people at the real Blue Oval. I hope somewhere down the road these numbers can be looked back at as the point when the public became aware of Ford's turn around the corner.

 

 

-Ovaltine

Edited by Ovaltine
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And let's give credit where credit is due. This is the result of the heavily criticized turnaround that Bill Ford launched in 2002.

 

Anyone who thinks that Ford's first turnaround accomplished nothing worthwhile needs to take a look at these figures.

 

Jim Padilla's insistence on quality seems to have paid off. Ford has finally made quality Job 1.

 

Now JUST DON'T GET COMPLACENT. The initial quality of these products is due to the inspection methods in place. If Ford sticks with these inspection methods, they will continue to achieve quality numbers like this.

 

Quality is NOT an accident.

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Ford did pretty well!

 

* Lincoln was the only one above average industry-wise last year. This time, it and Mercury and Ford got a big boost.

 

* Land Rover's still last, but it improved massively from the unprecedented 204 problems last year

 

For other brands:

 

* For some reason, Hyundai jumped down, Kia jumped up, and they both met in the middle. :headscratch:

* Like others said, I'm shocked by the poor performance by GM's luxury brands. Buick had a big drop last year, but I thought that was a fluke.

* Mercedes-Benz...welcome back!

* Having Scion's number improve can only make it a stronger product in the eyes of the people.

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Finally! FANTASTIC news for Ford! :shades:

 

A lot of people turn to J.D. Powers when they are researching cars. Hopefully this will help a lot.

 

But as everyone said, Ford's marketing department should be in overdrive now to really advertise the heck out of this!

 

I will also be sure to share this with my BMW snob friends - that most of the Ford divisions spanked the supposed superior quality of their precious Beemers.

Edited by 96 Pony
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Let's hope that someone in Ford's marketing department gets the bright idea to actually use this information. See where smooth launches get you.

LOL, Mercury cam in third place last year for the dependability study beating out everyother non luxury brand and Ford sat on the info like complete idiots.

 

They should shout it from the roof tops but they put out a another generic dumb commercial for mercury.

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Well, be honest, DCK. How do you make hay out of "We're number 3--1st among non-luxury brands"?

Well, I would put it more as "more dependable than Honda and Toyota."

 

 

Mercury achieved a great thing last year and Ford should of rolled with it.

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Well, I would put it more as "more dependable than Honda and Toyota."

Mercury achieved a great thing last year and Ford should of rolled with it.

Actually, that was the vehicle dependability (long term reliability) study, not this study.

 

As it is, Ford is not quite there on IQS, but they are dang close. Both Honda & Toyota outscored Ford & Mercury. But not by much.

 

Another factor is that Ford, last year, was still firmly in the 'we don't mention our competitors' mode. That has changed. If/when Mercury repeats this year, it may well make it into the marketing spots.

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Memo from Ford's Mulally

 

June 6, 2007

 

Following is a statement released by Ford Motor Company President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally:

 

J.D. Power and Associates, the leading consumer research company for product quality and customer satisfaction, announced today that our brands are outpacing the competition when it comes to initial quality. A news release detailing our performance is below, but here are the highlights: Ford Motor Company vehicles won more honors than any other automaker. Ford, Lincoln, Mazda, and Mercury all have segment winners. Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Jaguar brands are in the top ten nameplates. The Wixom Assembly Plant received a Platinum award for world's best quality performance. Volvo's S80 had a top three showing in the midsize premium car category. One of the most exciting results is that our recently launched vehicles are among the industry's best performers. That is fantastic!!

 

As you know, we told the world we would focus on four priorities to transform the Ford Motor Company. The second priority is to accelerate the development of new products our customer really want and prefer. We know that people who get in our vehicles and drive them love them. Now, J.D. Power has concluded the same thing.

 

Thank you to everyone. Your focus on the customer and determination to deliver the plan is our key to success. In one of my first communications to you, I discussed how exhilarating the ride back up would feel. Today we get a preview of how good it will feel to know we have successfully delivered our plan. Let's keep it going!!

 

One plan. One team. One Ford Motor Company.

 

Alan

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If I read somewhere else here, Ford was dead last in time in hours to build (35ish?). Now, since Ford is all big on quality, I can assume the choice of slow build time to no problems later is a good thing.

 

As for a max in quality, that is possible yet I feel the trend is people are more picky with their purchase. This is compounded by less drivers work on their vehicles due to time, complexity and warrenty issues. So any little thing could be brought back to the shop for maybe nothing. Again, quality is a issue.

 

As for Wixom, congratulations but correct me; if you build the same car in the same plant after an extended period of time. You'd think you'd get it right?

 

Ms. Wagner is very fine. Even with a toy Glock. HK rules!

Edited by Hugh
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