Porsche SE's namesake brand led J.D. Power & Associates' annual study of vehicle dependability, while Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln topped General Motors Co.'s Buick, last year's leader, and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus.
U.S. owners of 2007-model Porsche luxury cars reported 110 problems per 100 vehicles, the Westlake Village, California- based research firm said in a statement today. Porsche rose from 10th place in 2009 and Lincoln improved from seventh. Four vehicles from Toyota, stung by record recalls, led in the 19 individual categories, the most of any brand.
Continued improvement by Ford and GM in benchmark quality surveys by J.D. Power and Consumer Reports may help them lure buyers as U.S. sales recover from last year's 21 percent plunge. Their vehicles are more reliable than consumers realize, said David Sargent, J.D. Power's vice president of auto research.
"Producing vehicles with world-class quality is just part of the battle for automakers," Sargent said in the statement. "Convincing consumers to believe in their quality is equally as important."
The U.S. automakers may also gain as Toyota works to repair its reputation after recalling 8.5 million autos globally for flaws linked to braking and unintended acceleration.
Ford's Mercury was fifth in the study, followed by the Toyota brand, Honda Motor Co.'s Honda, Ford, Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, Honda's Acura and Hyundai Motor Co.
Dependability industrywide improved 7.2 percent to an average of 155 problems per 100 vehicles from 167 problems last year, J.D. Power said. This year's study is based on a survey between October and December 2009 of more than 52,000 owners of 2007-model vehicles.
Below Average
Chrysler Group LLC's three brands -- Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge -- were below average in the study. Doug Betts, the automaker's quality chief, has said its vehicle warranty issues have declined since a sharp increase in 2007 when the company was being sold by the former DaimlerChrysler AG to Cerberus Capital Management LP.
Tata Motors Ltd.'s Land Rover had 255 problems per 100 vehicles, the worst score in the study. Land Rover was followed by Suzuki Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG's namesake brand.
