Buick & Jaguar Detrone Lexus on Dependability

Perceptions is one of the most difficult behaviors to change in people. Today, I am speaking about perceptions of automobile quality. Many people here in the United States think that American brands are inferior in dependability versus the Japanese brands. That was generally a true statement backin the 1980's and the 1990's.

This post is about the J.D. Powers vehicle dependability study which rates automobile reliability after three years of ownership. Generally, this study determines the long term reliability of vehicles by make and brand.

Lexus has dominated the J.D. Powers vehicle dependability study since 1986. So this is shocking news that Jaguar and Buick have tied for the top spot and surpassed Lexus on the quality front. J. D. Powers dependability study surveyed owners of 2006 model year vehicles. Jaguar moved up from tenth place, meanwhile Buick moved up from sixth position from last year. Owners opinions of a cars reliability after three years can be an impact on their opinion to repurchase that auto brand again.

Auto makers watch the J. D. Powers reports closely since a positive report can increase or decrease sales. Shown below is the Jaguar XF, which is a new model for 2009 replacing the S-type.Cars have improved materially since 1986 and Lexus and Toyota have set the pace. In the J. D. Power report Lexus was in third place followed by Toyota. Mercury, Infinity and Acura take the fifth, sixth and seventh places in the survey. The worst performing brand was Suzuki, which is a Japanese brand.

The Buick LaCrosse, which was the highest ranked mid-size car, has basically been a sleeper in the automotive scene. It is a conservatively styled and designed car. It competes well against the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. Buick has been chosen as the GM division to compete against Lexus. Accordingly, the Buick LaCrosse will be totally redone for 2010 and looks quite impressive. Please see the June 3rd post on the 2010 LaCrosse.

This report basically shows that a number of brands are now competing with the Japanese on the long term quality of their vehicles. Ford has been on the upswing for the last couple of years...note the placement of the Mercury division. Credit does belong to Ford implementing the quality programs at Jaguar that developed this acclaim.

General Motors is increasing their quality at the same time.....the Buick division has been increasing reliability for the last five years. Many people have the perception that the American and British brands are inferior to the Japanese in quality. That may have been the case ten years ago but times are changing!

This story is based on an article written by Dan Strump the Associated Press news story.

2010 Buick LaCrosse

The car above is the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse...this is one of the cars that will bring GM back from the depths of bankruptcy. GM has decided to have their Buick brand compete against Lexus....so, the LaCrosse is aimed squarely at the Lexus ES350.

It appears that Buick has done an exceptional job on the interior of the car....it is a far cry from Buick's of the past. The is blue ambient lighting that emanates from a number of different points....the dash has plenty of wood and there is hand stitching on the dash and seats.

There are three trim levels for the 2010 LaCrosse. The base CX a front wheel drive automobile powered by a 255-hp, 3.0-liter direct-injection V-6....with a six-speed automatic. The next level up offer the same powertrain but has available all-wheel drive. The top of the line LaCrosse CXS is equipped with a 3.6-liter direct-injection V-6 with 280 hp. Fuel economy will be about 18 mpg city/27 highway for the 3.0-liter, according to GM.

An interesting feature of the car will be a head-up display for the gauges. Actually, GM developed the head-up display back in the 1980's. They did deploy them on a few early 1990's cars...the head-up display did not attract much consumer attention and it was shelved.

A head-up display was a technology originally developed for the the military in fighter jets. The system has a projector that displays the images on the windshield. That way the pilot had his head-up during difficult maneuvers. In the automobile world, it is virtually the same technology but with a few key gauges...ie speedometer, tachometer, gas gauge etc.

The LaCrosse has available options of a rearview camera, rear sunshade, adaptive, steering directed headlamps. It does have blue tooth connectivity, USB input jacks and navigation. This is a video from Car and Driver video.

Buick's reliability has been exceptional based on the J. D. Powers rankings. So, this should be a very reliable car.

Pricing is attractive for CX in USD at $27,835, CXL at $30,395 and the top of the line CXS at $33,765. A comparable Lexus starts at $35,145 and can reach $45,000 with options.

Summary:

The Buick LaCrosse is one of the best efforts that GM has put forth lately. They finally decided to compete against Lexus one on one. They have added Lexus like options which were not available before.

It appears that they have decided to market the Cadillac brand against BMW, Mercedes and Audi. It is an interesting marketing strategy!

Buick should have made the exterior styling more attractive to distinguish Buick from Lexus....the interior is the strong suit for the LaCrosse.

Buick has priced the LaCrosse to be a bargain!

Jaguar and Buick Overtake Lexus On Quality

This Associated Press news story written by Dan Strumph came across the wires today . Lexus has dominated the J.D. Powers vehicle dependability study since 1986. So this is shocking news that Jaguar and Buick have tied for the top spot and surpassed Lexus on the quality front. J. D. Powers dependability study surveyed owners of 2006 model year vehicles. Jaguar moved up from tenth place, meanwhile Buick moved up from sixth position from last year.

Owners opinions of a cars reliability after three years can be an impact on their opinion to repurchase that auto brand again. Auto makers watch the J. D. Powers reports closely since a positive report can increase or decrease sales.

Shown below is the Jaguar XF, which is a new model for 2009 replacing the S-type.


Cars have improved materially since 1986 and Lexus and Toyota have set the pace. In the J. D. Power report Lexus was in third place followed by Toyota. Mercury, Infinity and Acura take the fifth, sixth and seventh places in the survey. The worst performing brand was Suzuki, which is a Japanese brand.

The Buick LaCrosse, which was the highest ranked mid-size car, has basically been a sleeper in the automotive scene. It is a conservatively styled and designed car. It competes well against the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. Buick has been chosen as the GM division to compete against Lexus. Accordingly, the Buick LaCrosse will be totally redone for 2010 and looks quite impressive. A future post will cover the 2010 LaCrosse. Shown below is a 2008 LaCrosse.

This report basically shows that a number of brands are now competing with the Japanese on the long term quality of their vehicles. Ford has been on the upswing for the last couple of years. Credit does belong to Ford implementing the quality programs at Jaguar that developed this acclaim.

General Motors is increasing their quality at the same time. Many people have the perception that the American and British brands are inferior to the Japanese in quality. That may have been the case ten years ago but times are changing!