Lexus Tops JD Powers Customer Service Ratings. Full list of brands.

change to point (a.)
(a.) GM's doing something right, its brands are above average. It has 5 out of the top 8. While other big selling brands such as Dodge, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen are below average.

— MercBasher (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 12:15:54 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

another change to point (a.)!!
(a.) GM's doing something right, its brands are above average. It has 4 out of the top 8. Ford has 3 of the top 8. While other brands such as Dodge, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen are below average.

— MercBasher (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 12:23:12 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I say again, this surveys are just that surveys of some people. You shouldn't rely on them to buy you next car. They can easily be manipulated, also, your particular desires aren't represented by the survey.

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 12:23:25 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Absolutely correct. The survey is only as good as the knowledge of the people who completed it. If you know more about cars than the average owner, then you should rely on that knowledge rather than the perhaps uninformed opinions of others. These surveys are for readers who see automobiles as mere appliances and for whom features are sometimes seen as defects. Make up your own mind based on what you want out of a car.

— maxxm (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 12:34:08 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

The only way to know truly is buy the car. Otherwise you'll keep on going off of other people's opinion. Each person is different. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

— kart1 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 2:55:15 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

JD Power survey are quite suspect. There is truth in there somewhere but the way they judge on the surveys is purposely cloudy. To them the more unclear the better.

— PlanoA4 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 8:38:07 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Props to Lexus, I took a good look at the CSI and while this is pretty much a survey of how good you felt the marquee treated you in all aspects. It still amazes me that Lexus can still manage to be at the top. The top of any ranking list is a precarious place. We can all bash Lexus for what it is, however they know their core clientele and target them dead on. With that said, don’t think you Lexus guy will be spared any grief from me in the future.

— PlanoA4 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 8:46:44 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

The only grief I have from Lexus is that I have to wait another two years before I can buy the LF-A Supercar. Come on already, timesawastin!

I just cannot help but droooool over the thought of a car with the quality and customer service of Lexus that has a 500 hp F1 derived engine and a chassis to match!

— shiftright (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 11:02:13 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

The JD Power surveys are mostly about "customer/dealership interactions". What does this have to do with the quality/condition of the vehicle. When I purchased my car, I was purchasing the vehicle that I wanted, it had little to do with how much coffee they offered me.

Personally the JD Power survey doesn't me much to me, show me real surveys, not just some meaningless award.

— courtstone (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 11:08:57 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

shiftright - Wipe your chin man, you are drooling all over my screen

— PlanoA4 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 1:14:48 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Oooops, sorry Plano,........., it's done man. I'll try not to think too much about the LF-A..... well hell, here it comes again......:-)

— shiftright (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 1:35:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

shiftright

The engine won't be derived from an F1 engine. It won't be even close to resembling an F1 engine. Also, I wouldn't want a Toyota F1 engine, they SUCK. They have been prone to blow up.

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 3:57:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Good old Audi King of The Germans Again
BMW4Ever or what ever your new name is come back to the fold

— IamEvilHomer (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 4:43:01 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Chewy,
Toyota had initially thought about using a F1 V10 engine. However, since the F1 is moving to V8 from V10, Toyota is indeed going to have that F1 derived V8 in their ultra sports car. The chassis as well is derived from their F1 car.

Given a choice between a Honda V10 and a Toyota V8, both F1 derived, I would go with the Honda every time. I am a Honda person as I own everything Honda from push lawnmower, Honda riding Lawn Mower, Honda S2000, Honda Odyssey (wife) and Honda NSX. But it appears that Honda's NSX replacement is more of a GT in the classic sense of the word and is going to compete with the Aston's of the world. I am more of a true sports car guy and if Honda indeed goes with a GT, I will have to go with the LF-A which from all evidence is going to be an all out sports car.

But we will see.

As far as the Toyota engines blowing up, I guess that could happen to any F1 engine. I do know however that the last generation Toyota Supra had an absolutely awesome and bulletproof inline 6.

The New Supra that is to arrive in the next couple of years should be another one to watch, especially the uber version with the V8 and the fixed top.

And the Nissan GT-R !!

These are indeed good times for the car enthusiast ;-)

— shiftright (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 5:57:11 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v137/time2time/DSCN1334.jpg

Here's more info on the LF-A from the August Automobile mag.

— shiftright (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 6:08:11 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

These surveys tend to be way off for a simple reason... expectations.

I am speaking in generalities of course, and being on top of the list is certainly not a bad place to be, but is is VERY decpetive.

Lexus buyers tend to not be "car people". They are looking for smooth, easy rides that have the trappings of "luxury". Whether it is true luxury or not really does not matter. So Lexus delivers just what these people are looking for, they have excellent dealers and they score very high on these surveys. A clientele of not very demanding buyers is very happy with the service and product they recieve. Likewise for brands such as Buik, Caddilac and Lincoln. The buyers of these brands in general are not car enthusiasts. They are not going to pick apart every aspect of the vehicle and they are not demanding high levels of performace. They want easy, smooth driving with leather seats.

Now brands such as BMW and Porsche attract many more buyers who are extrenmely into cars and consider themselves enthusiasts. In other words MUCH more picky people who are apt to have much higher expectations of the cars they buy. It is extremely likely that if all those Buick buyers magically had BMWs appear in the garage that they would be every bit as happy with the BMWs as they are with the Buicks. Conversely if all the BMW drivers suddenly were handed Buicks they likely would be very unhappy. it is more about the people buying the cars then the cars themselves.

High expectations from enthusiasts (who tend to go fro brands liek BMW) swing these surveys, those peopel are MUCH harder to please than Lexus or Buick buyers.

Then you get brands that have unrealistically high buyer expectations... brands like Mercedes and Toyota. They may not be in the same price range but they both have VERY high expectations from buyers. So when ANYTHING goes wrong these people are very disapointed. "I bought a Mercedes and the battery only lasted 6 years!" or "I thought Toyotas ran forever but mine only lasted 150,000 miles before I needed to spend some real money on it!" are typical responses from these buyers. Again, not so much about the car as the buyer.

It is true that Lexus buyers probably fall into the Toyota and Mercedes camp in having demands not of performance but of reliablity so kudos to Lexus for coming out on top.

So while it may be true that some brands like Land Rover have real problems with reliability that effect ratings a lot of it comes down to perception and expectations. There is no way on earth that you average Saturn delivers a better driving or owners experience than your average Audi or Infiniti or BMW or Mercedes all things being equal. But on surveys like this all things are NOT equal. Saturn buyers are not looking for or expecting the same thing Mercedes buyers are.

— TVT01 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 6:27:38 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

TVT01: intersting theories you have but how would you explain how Mercedes went from "Engineered like no other car in the world" and # 1 in JD Power rankings all the way down to a below average ranking for the past 6-8 years? The buyers did not become "picky" overnight....they have always been demanding as they should be when purchasing a car that promises excellence.

— SixxFive (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 7:29:18 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

SixxFive:

In your particular example it is quite possible that Mercedes quality HAS gone down, that the user experience HAS deteriorated. I am not saying that surveys liek this hold no water, simply that often the end results are grossly distorted based on the expectations of those taking the survey.

Put it this way, if I go to McDonald's I have VER low expectations. Now lets say I try a new chicken sandwich they have and I think it is pretty good, much better than I was expecting based on my past poor experiences at McDonald's. On a survey I rate them very high for they have exceeded my low expectations. Now lets say you go to a very high end gourmet reataurant, it is a world class establishment and you have read lots about it, it gets 5 stars from all the critics. You eat your meal and while it is outstanding it simply cannot live up to the hype. You certainly enjoyed it but if you rated it on a survey you are going to say that it was a let down, not as good as you were hoping.

Now, who had the better meal? I am willing to bet that YOU did even though my own survey says how impressed I was with McDonald's.

Pontiac buyers are not expecting the sun and the stars, if they get a reliable car and fair treatment they are very happy and report that. Mercedes buyers ARE expecting the world, maybe unrealisticly so... in many cases NO CAR could live up to the hype.

Then again there is always the realistic possibility that Mercedes has gone down in quality which means that the picky buyers are especially unhappy with the cars...

— TVT01 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/21/2006 7:41:15 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

BMW DESIGNS ARE THE BEST: STRIKING, FUTURISTIC, FASHIONABLE, YOUNG MINDED, SPORTY!

You know, all you people who are complaining about BMW's recent design is just jealous of them! BMW is the no.1 luxury car brand in the world and the 3, 5, 7 sold the most cars in its market segment in 2005 worldwide, beating Merc and Audi BY FAR!

So this simply says it, BMW's design is the way the people want it, togather with reliable first class innovation, quality and character, it can be nothing but the choice of sensible and educated buyers! The new 3 Series design is a work of art, look at the sharp front and muscular side, what car in the world can match that??? It is something potent, first and striking. It stands out from the normal cars like Merc and Audi!

That's why BMW's 3 is World car of the year and top 3 for World car design of the year! If you want to moan, why not try the ugly CLS, look what Sh1t it looks like: ugly headlights with an overcurved shoulderline (looks like it has been crashed from front and rear), ugly rear lights, too! Shame, what a piece of TRASH! The other one is the new S class - headlights so dull and fogged, can't they ever come up with something orginal and exciting?

I suppose because they appeal to the almost dead old population, who still think that Merc is a respected brand! I don't even want to get to the snoek fish degin of the Audi grille and the crying taillights of the A4, the sales show! By the way, why did Merc copy the iDrive, bootlid and interior design of the 7 if it was so ugly to some antiBMW people? Bangle is King and he should stay! BMW is not BMW without his works of art! Too bad for those who do not like it, you must then close your eyes, but the majority of thsi world loves it and that's what matters. We cannot help it that you lack taste!

— LWKH (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2006 8:54:17 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0