GM Breaks Initial Quality Record
By Trevor Hofmann

It's not too often that a 3rd place contender grabs the leading headlines, but in this case it is the annual J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Survey and for the first time in its history a U.S. automaker with multiple brands cracked the top-three positions. General Motors stole the 'show' away from Nissan, which slipped from 3rd to 6th place this year, due to new product launches.

The J.D. Power study, released Thursday, May 30th, is derived of data gathered from approximately 65,000 new 2002 model car and light truck buyers and lessees who evaluated their vehicles after 90 days of ownership. The study showed that GM had 130 problems per 100 vehicles, an 11 % improvement over last year, when its rating was 146.

As reported in Automotive News, GM North America president Gary Cowger said, "All the competition continues to improve, which means we have to double our efforts to improve quality." He went on stating, "If we want to increase market share and net income, we need to make sure we are delivering quality products."

Overall, BMW placed 3rd with 116 problems per 100 vehicles while Porsche placed 4th with 122, moving GM to 5th place. Some might argue that BMW is a multi-line producer, but the acquisition of Rolls-Royce will take place in January of 2003 and the recent launch of Mini is hardly 90 days old, not enough to qualify for this year's survey.

Of note, GM Canada's Oshawa plant received the highest rating for North American manufacturing plants, a Gold Plant Quality Award. Other GM plants received awards too. Toyota took top worldwide honors, winning the Platinum Plant Quality Award. BMW of North America won the European Gold Plant Quality Award with their Rosslyn, South Africa plant.

While this is a significant achievement for GM, other manufacturers deserve some of the limelight. DaimlerChrysler moved up into 4th place with 141 problems while Ford gained ground from last year's 7th place to 5th, with 143 problems per 100 vehicles compared with 2001's 162.

Overall, Toyota's Lexus brand led the survey, with Honda's Acura brand and Nissan's Infiniti brand tied for second place. The industry averaged 133 problems per 100 vehicles.

The following is a list of the winners in their respective categories:

Compact Car: 1) Toyota Corolla, Toyota Prius (TIE) 2) Chevrolet Prizm

Entry Mid-Size Car: 1) Chevrolet Malibu 2) Oldsmobile Alero 3) Pontiac Grand Am

Premium Midsize Car: 1) Buick Century 2) Chevrolet Monte Carlo 3) Honda Accord

Full-Size Car: 1) Buick Le Sabre 2) Ford Crown Victoria 3) Mercury Grand Marquie, Pontiac Bonneville (TIE)

Entry Luxury Car: 1) Ford Thunderbird 2) Acura TL, Lexus ES300 (TIE)

Midsize Luxury Car: 1) Lexus GS 300/430 2) Volvo S80 3) Lincoln Town Car

Premium Luxury Car: 1) Lexus LS 430 2) Lexus SC 430 3) Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Sporty Car: 1) Mazda Miata 2) Toyota MR2 Spyder 3) Toyota Celica

Premium Sports Car: 1) Chevrolet Corvette 2) Porsche 911 3) Honda S2000

Compact Pick-Up: 1) Toyota Tacoma 2) Chevy S-10, Ford Ranger (TIE)

Full-Size Pick-Up: 1) Toyota Tundra 2) Chevy Silverado LD 3) Ford F-150 LD

Entry SUV: 1) Toyota RAV4 2) Honda CR-V 3) Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Forester (TIE)

Midsize SUV: 1) Toyota Highlander 2) Nissan Pathfinder 3) Toyota 4Runner

Full-Size SUV: 1) Ford Expedition 2) Chevy Tahoe 3) Toyota Sequoia

Luxury SUV: 1) Lexus LX 470 2) Lexus RX 300 3) Infiniti QX4
Compact Van: 1) Toyota Sienna 2) Dodge Caravan, Mercury
Villager (TIE)


Notice that an AUTHORITY on quality used FACTS and listed the Corvette #1 in initially quality. And look who was #3, OMG it was a Honda, GASP!