Every year, J.D. Power and Associates released their Vehicle
Dependability Study or VDS(SM) surveys that showcase problems
that owners of three-year-old vehicles experienced a year before
the survey. The 2007 VDS was based on the responses gathered
from 53,000 verified vehicle owners. The vehicles chosen were
awarded basing on the consumers' feedback in 19 vehicle segments.
The results of the 2007 Vehicle Dependability Study has been
quite amazing especially for the Buick brand the maker of
title="Buick catalytic converter">Buick catalytic converter
which has been able to tie with Toyota's Lexus as the most
dependable nameplate. The other winners were Cadillac, Mercury,
and Honda which round up the top five rank positions
respectively.
Comparing to last year's result this year's study has showed
Hummer as the most improved nameplate in the 2007 Vehicle
Dependability Study. The other brand that has shown significant
improvement includes Audi, Jeep, Volvo, Subaru, and Land Rover.
Unfortunately for Land Rover despite its improvement it is still
the lowest ranked brand in the study.
Sad news also for Ford's Japanese subsidiary Mazda, its
dependability performance this year has declined more than any
other brand attributed to the countless consumer-reported
problems with the RX-8 sports car and Mazda3 compact.
The Audi A6 of Volkswagen's luxury division is the most improved
model in this year's study.
With regards to new car sales, it is still the Japanese
carmakers that dominate this department. However in terms of
dependability, General Motors and Ford has obtained the highest
rankings in both midsize and large car segments where the Crown
Victoria and Buick Century have received awards. The study also
shows that Scion and Honda build the highest-ranked small cars.
Not all of the categories in the study were dominated by
Japanese automakers, it is interesting to note that the new
truck sales category was dominated by Detroit's Big 3 but in
terms of dependability more consumers say that its Toyota that
is better in building highest-ranked pickups and multi-activity
vehicles with the exception of the midsize MAV segment in which
the Oldsmobile Bravada is the top ranking.
Basing on the study consumer gives dependability in the areas of
engines, features and controls the highest consideration to
which they based their satisfaction. Also this year's study
shows that satisfaction with interiors has also declined.
According to J.D. Power and Associates the 2004 Initial Quality
Study is reflected three years later in the 2007 Vehicle
Dependability Study and has become an important gauge on how a
vehicle will perform in terms of long-term quality.
Category
Sub-Compact Car: Scion xA Compact Car: Honda Civic Compact
Sporty Car: Mazda Miata Midsize Sporty Car: Chevy SSR/Ford
Mustang (tie) Midsize Car: Buick Century Large Car: Ford Crown
Victoria Compact Premium Sporty Car: Honda S2000 Entry Premium
Car: Infiniti I35 Midsize Premium Car: Lexus LS 430 Premium
Sporty Car: Lexus SC 430 Compact SUV: Toyota RAV4 Midsize SUV:
Oldsmobile Bravada Large SUV: Toyota Sequoia Large Pickup:
Toyota Tundra Midsize Pickup: Toyota Tacoma Van: Oldsmobile
Silhouette Midsize Premium SUV: Lexus GX 470 Large Premium SUV:
Lexus LX 470
About the author:
Evander Klum is a Business Administration graduate who hails
from Alabama. He enjoys extreme sports and he is also a car
racing fanatic. At present, he works as a marketing manager at
an advertising agency in Cleveland.
