Lexus remained the top auto brand in a customer satisfaction survey joined by BMW while Buick and Cadillac and Lincoln Mercury fell. Lexus again scored 87 of 100 points in the study released today by the University of Michigan's National Quality Research Center. BMW's 1-point gain from a year ago tied it with Toyota's luxury division. Toyota's main brand and Honda Motor Co.'s Honda were next, as both rose 2 points to 86 in the survey of buyers who've owned their vehicles between 6 months and 3 years.
``For GM, Ford and Chrysler the uphill struggle becomes more uphill,'' said Claes Fornell, who oversees the American Customer Satisfaction Index for the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based university. The slip for U.S. brands was partly the result of higher gasoline prices, he said in an interview yesterday.
2008 American Customer Satisfaction Index
Rank Make 2008 2007
1 Lexus 87 87
1 BMW 87 86
2 Toyota 86 84
2 Honda 86 84
3 Buick 85 86
3 Cadillac 85 86
3 Saturn 85 81
4 Lincoln-Mercury 83 86
4 Hyundai 83 83
4 GMC 83 82
5 Mercedes-Benz 82 83
5 Nissan 82 80
6 Volkswagen 81 80
7 Pontiac 80 80
7 Ford 80 80
7 Chrysler 80 79
7 Mazda 80 78
7 Kia 80 78
8 Chevrolet 79 82
9 Dodge 78 80
10 Jeep 76 75
Industry average 82 82
Source: University of Michigan's National Quality Research Center
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