Japanese Vehicles Dominate J.D. Power’s Quality Survey

While the entire auto industry continues to make strides in quality, an annual ranking released Tuesday shows Japanese makes still have the fewest problems in the first three months of ownership.

Japanese makes took five of the six top spots by category in the J.D. Power and Associates survey of buyers of 1996 cars. They also won top honors in three of the five categories of light trucks.

Models made by Toyota scored the most top rankings, led by the Lexus SC300-400 with 45 reported problems per 100 cars and the Lexus ES300 with 54. They were followed by the Subaru Impreza and the Toyota Paseo.

The only American make that got a top car ranking was General Motors’ Oldsmobile 88 in the premium midsize category, at 70 problems per 100 cars.

J.D. Power changed the format of the survey results this year. Last year, it listed the top 24 cars and trucks and their scores without regard to category, and the top cars by price range.

This year it released the top three cars and trucks in each of 11 categories, and the scores only for the top model in each category. It also declined to release the corporate averages, making comparisons by manufacturer impossible.

Chance Parker, director of product research for the Agoura, Calif., marketing firm, said the change was made to give consumers more model rankings in all categories.

Among the top three vehicles in each category of cars, Japanese nameplates were represented 16 times, compared with two U.S. brands and no European makes. A few of the top Japanese makes, such as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, are made in the United States.

Among pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles, Toyota took three of the top spots, while GM’s Chevrolet and Ford each took one. J.D. Power noted a growing gap, however, between the quality of light trucks and cars.

“Clearly, we see minivans and sport utilities being marketed and being accepted as alternatives to cars,” Parker said. “The bottom line, however, is they are not yet delivering carlike levels of quality.”

The top-ranked sport utility was the pricey Toyota Landcruiser, with 70 problems per 100 vehicles, while Toyota’s Previa minivan and its Tacoma pickup followed in the light truck segments with scores of 76.

Though Japanese automakers lead the pack, J.D. Power said improvements were seen across the board.

The industry average for the first time was 100 problems per 100 cars, down from 103 last year and 110 in 1994. This year, 24 brands had at least one model with less than one problem per vehicle; only 11 brands met that standard in 1992.

“We fully expect further improvements to reduce that number by another 30 percent in the next five years,” Parker said. “Overall, almost everybody continues to improve.”

“Consumers don’t have to worry about buying a vehicle with defects,” said Rex Franson, vice president of quality for Chrysler Corp. “They’re all essentially the same.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Top-ranked vehicles Top two 1996 cars and trucks by category in J.D. Power and Associates’ survey in the first three months of ownership. Compact Cars 1. Subaru Impreza 2. Mazda Protege Entry Midsize Car (under $20,000) 1. Nissan Altima 2. Honda Accord Premium Luxury Car (over $35,000) 1. Lexus SC300-400 2. Lexus LS400 Compact Pickup 1. Toyota Tacoma 2. Ford Ranger Minivan 1. Toyota Previa 2. Mercury Villager Compact Sport Utility Vehicle 1. Ford Explorer 2. Geo Tracker