Breaking Automotive News: Nissan, Hummer vault up in quality study

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May 18, 2005

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EMAIL ALERT

Nissan, Hummer vault up in quality study
Dale Jewett
CLICK HERE FOR TABLES, AND PREVIOUS J.D. POWER QUALITY REPORTS
DETROIT -- Nissan and Hummer roared back from dismal performances a year ago to post double-digit gains on the closely watched Initial Quality Study from J.D. Power and Associates.
Lexus maintained its spot at the top of the ranking of quality after 90 days of ownership with a score of 81 problems per 100 vehicles, a 6.9-percent gain from last year. BMW and Audi vaulted into the top 10 this year, displacing Honda and Mercury.
The industry average of 118 problems per 100 vehicles was a slight gain from last year's average of 119 problems per 100 vehicles, according to the study released Wednesday.
Toyota Motor Corp. continued its dominance of the study, having the top-rated vehicle in 10 of 18 segments. The Lexus SC 430 was the highest-rated vehicle in the study at 54 problems per 100 vehicles. Its plant in Tahara, Japan, which builds the Lexus GS 300/430 and LS 430, repeated as the top-rated factory for quality.
General Motors' vehicles claimed top honors in five vehicle segments.
"The industry performance this year remains pretty flat, but that kind of stuff is not uncommon," said Neal Oddes, senior director of research for J.D. Power and Associates in Westlake Village, Calif. "It's happened twice before in the (19-year) history of the study. Both times before, we saw a dramatic improvement the next year."
Hummer climbs the mountain
Hummer, which finished last in the 2004 study with a score of 173 problems per 100 vehicles, vaulted into a tie for 10th place on the 2005 study. Hummer's 2005 score of 110 problems per 100 vehicles equaled that of Korean automaker Hyundai, which was the surprise performer last year.
Toyota's youth-oriented Scion brand also posted a gain, scoring at 134 problems per 100 vehicles this year vs. 158 problems per 100 last year.
The study asks owners to rate vehicle quality on 135 attributes. Last year, Hummer officials complained that their vehicles were downgraded on factors such as fuel-economy, which they argued was not a quality measure.
Oddes noted that Hummer's scores improved this year on 76 of the 135 attributes, but its score on fuel economy was unchanged.
"Hummer made big improvements on moldings and wind noise," Oddes said. "The study hasn't changed since 1998. That kind of increase can't be just on fuel consumption."
Crisis fixes quality
Nissan's crisis mentality in the wake of last year's rating of 154 problems per 100 vehicles paid off. The automaker rushed 200 engineers from Japan to its new assembly plant in Canton, Miss., to fix problems with the Quest minivan, Titan pickup and Armada SUV.
The result: Nissan rated at 120 problems per 100 vehicles on the new study, just under the industry average of 118 problems per 100 vehicles and tied with Jeep and Mercury. The 2005 Quest improved its rating by 104 problems per 100 vehicles, J.D. Power said. The company does not release the scores of any individual model.
Oddes said he was impressed that automakers are improving vehicle quality at launches. He noted that two new vehicles, the Hyundai Tucson sport wagon and Ford Mustang coupe, ranked among the top three vehicles in their segments even though they were new models in their first year of production.
GM swept J.D. Power and Associates' ranking of plant quality for North and South America, with its Oshawa, Canada, No. 1 and No. 2 plants and the plant in Hamtramck, Mich. The ranking displaced GM's Grand River plant in Lansing, Mich., as the top rated plant, and Ford Motor Co.'s Wixom, Mich., plant as third ranked.
You may e-mail Dale Jewett at djewett@crain.com Initial Quality by nameplate, 2005 vs. 2004
Measured in problems per 100 vehicles

2004 Hummer 173

2005 Hummer 110

[TxDoc]

May 18, 2005

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EMAIL ALERT

Nissan, Hummer vault up in quality study
Dale Jewett
CLICK HERE FOR TABLES, AND PREVIOUS J.D. POWER QUALITY REPORTS
DETROIT -- Nissan and Hummer roared back from dismal performances a year ago to post double-digit gains on the closely watched Initial Quality Study from J.D. Power and Associates.
Lexus maintained its spot at the top of the ranking of quality after 90 days of ownership with a score of 81 problems per 100 vehicles, a 6.9-percent gain from last year. BMW and Audi vaulted into the top 10 this year, displacing Honda and Mercury.
The industry average of 118 problems per 100 vehicles was a slight gain from last year's average of 119 problems per 100 vehicles, according to the study released Wednesday.
Toyota Motor Corp. continued its dominance of the study, having the top-rated vehicle in 10 of 18 segments. The Lexus SC 430 was the highest-rated vehicle in the study at 54 problems per 100 vehicles. Its plant in Tahara, Japan, which builds the Lexus GS 300/430 and LS 430, repeated as the top-rated factory for quality.
General Motors' vehicles claimed top honors in five vehicle segments.
"The industry performance this year remains pretty flat, but that kind of stuff is not uncommon," said Neal Oddes, senior director of research for J.D. Power and Associates in Westlake Village, Calif. "It's happened twice before in the (19-year) history of the study. Both times before, we saw a dramatic improvement the next year."
Hummer climbs the mountain
Hummer, which finished last in the 2004 study with a score of 173 problems per 100 vehicles, vaulted into a tie for 10th place on the 2005 study. Hummer's 2005 score of 110 problems per 100 vehicles equaled that of Korean automaker Hyundai, which was the surprise performer last year.
Toyota's youth-oriented Scion brand also posted a gain, scoring at 134 problems per 100 vehicles this year vs. 158 problems per 100 last year.
The study asks owners to rate vehicle quality on 135 attributes. Last year, Hummer officials complained that their vehicles were downgraded on factors such as fuel-economy, which they argued was not a quality measure.
Oddes noted that Hummer's scores improved this year on 76 of the 135 attributes, but its score on fuel economy was unchanged.
"Hummer made big improvements on moldings and wind noise," Oddes said. "The study hasn't changed since 1998. That kind of increase can't be just on fuel consumption."
Crisis fixes quality
Nissan's crisis mentality in the wake of last year's rating of 154 problems per 100 vehicles paid off. The automaker rushed 200 engineers from Japan to its new assembly plant in Canton, Miss., to fix problems with the Quest minivan, Titan pickup and Armada SUV.
The result: Nissan rated at 120 problems per 100 vehicles on the new study, just under the industry average of 118 problems per 100 vehicles and tied with Jeep and Mercury. The 2005 Quest improved its rating by 104 problems per 100 vehicles, J.D. Power said. The company does not release the scores of any individual model.
Oddes said he was impressed that automakers are improving vehicle quality at launches. He noted that two new vehicles, the Hyundai Tucson sport wagon and Ford Mustang coupe, ranked among the top three vehicles in their segments even though they were new models in their first year of production.
GM swept J.D. Power and Associates' ranking of plant quality for North and South America, with its Oshawa, Canada, No. 1 and No. 2 plants and the plant in Hamtramck, Mich. The ranking displaced GM's Grand River plant in Lansing, Mich., as the top rated plant, and Ford Motor Co.'s Wixom, Mich., plant as third ranked.
You may e-mail Dale Jewett at djewett@crain.com Initial Quality by nameplate, 2005 vs. 2004
Measured in problems per 100 vehicles

2004 Hummer 173

2005 Hummer 110

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Another press release:

GM Leads Five Segments, Takes Top Three North/South America Plant Awards in 2005 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study
Wednesday May 18, 2:29 pm ET
* Buick, Cadillac Continue to Perform Strongly
* Best-Ever Five Segment Awards for GM
* Top Three Premium Midsize Cars
* Buick LaCrosse Highest-Ranked All-New Redesigned Launch Vehicle; Buick Century Highest in Initial Quality among Vehicles Built in North/South America
* HUMMER is Most-Improved Brand


DETROIT, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- General Motors manufacturing facilities led a successful list of award recipients in the 2005 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS). In addition to taking the top three spots for manufacturing plants in North/South America, GM's brands such as Buick, Cadillac and HUMMER performed extremely well.
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"We are pleased with our J.D. Power results this year, particularly our manufacturing facilities and certainly with the strong performance of our Buick, Cadillac and HUMMER brands," said Kevin Williams, GM North America vice president -- quality. "The J.D. Power results come on the heels of the Strategic Vision Total Quality Study in which we were also called out as an industry leader. In terms of quality, this has been a great week for GM's employees, suppliers, dealers, and customers."

Superior Plant Performance

GM's Oshawa 2 plant in Canada -- which produces the Buick Century, LaCrosse and Pontiac Grand Prix -- was recognized as the highest ranked in initial quality of any plant in North/South America.

GM's Oshawa 1, also in Canada, took second place, building the Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo.

Detroit Hamtramck, which produced the Buick LeSabre, Cadillac DeVille and Pontiac Bonneville during the survey window, placed third. Hamtramck is gearing up production of the 2006 Buick Lucerne and 2006 Cadillac DTS.

For the fourth consecutive year, GM earned at least the top two plant awards in North/South America. This year, overall, GM plants took six of the top ten spots.

Five Segment Awards

GM's strong plant performance is complemented by five segment awards. Buick Century (Premium Midsize Car), Buick LeSabre (Full-Size Car), Chevrolet Malibu/Malibu Maxx (Entry Midsize Car), Chevrolet Suburban (Full-Size SUV), and GMC Sierra (Heavy-Duty Full-Size Pickup) all led their respective segments. The five awards represent GM's best-ever performance in number of awards received. In total, GM placed 12 vehicles in the top three of their segments.

GM Sweeps Highly-Competitive Premium Midsize Car Segment; Buick Century on Top

In what Williams called the "the industry's most-competitive segment," GM took the top three spots in the premium midsize car category. Finishing first overall was the Buick Century, followed by the Chevrolet Impala and Pontiac Grand Prix in a tie.

Overall, the all-new Buick LaCrosse (Oshawa 2) was the highest-ranked all- new redesigned launch vehicle. Buick Century was the highest ranked vehicle built in North/South America (Oshawa 2).

Buick General Manager Steve Shannon said Buick's ranking allows his team to continue to challenge people to think differently about Buick and its quality story. "Oshawa 2 -- which is building the all-new Buick LaCrosse right now -- has been a strong plant for years and has kept Buick at the top of a number of quality rankings," he said. "This J.D. Power recognition for the plant, the Buick brand and its models is another proof point of Buick's world-class quality and the momentum we've been building for years."

HUMMER Most-Improved and Top 10

In addition to being the most-improved brand, HUMMER moved into J.D. Power's top ten brands overall with a 36 percent improvement over the previous year.

The newest HUMMER, the H3, has started production in Shreveport, LA. Initial units were shipped to dealers this week.