Car Quality Soars, But Technology Frustrates

DETROIT -- (WWJ) The quality of cars and trucks has never been better, but car-buyers have found some brand new frustrations. That's the take-away from the latest Initial Quality Study from J.D. Power and Associates.

"The biggest story is the industry as a whole has improved this year," says David Sargent, Power's vice president of global automotive.

INTERVIEW: David Sargent, VP Automotive, JD Power and Associates
LINK: JD Power Initial Quality Study

The overall index was up five points, the biggest improvement in four years. Twenty-six of the surveyed brands saw their quality scores rise, five declined, and one stayed the same.

But, amidst all the good news, technology is driving new car owners crazy.

"Trying to operate this technology when you're driving fast, with a lot of other people doing the same thing, is a real challenge," said Sargent, who outlined the study findings in front of the Automotive Press Association.

While customers used to use the J.D. Power survey to complain about fit and finish, and noise, the top gripe now is about what the industry calls "infotainment" systems, which often combine several functions on one screen.

Sixteen percent of new car buyers, complained about their vehicles technology.

"The study found that consumers had the biggest problems with hi-tech infotainment features, but maybe that shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Edmunds.com data show that the age of vehicle trade-ins is older than ever before, which means that new car buyers are now being exposed to in-cabin technology that's far more advanced than what they used in their previous vehicles. So, there's a natural learning curve for these drivers to get adjusted to these new features as they quickly emerge as standard technology in the marketplace."

This started last year when customers complained about the new "My Ford Touch" system. While Ford says a software fix has been well received by customers, that fix came too late for this year's study. So, Ford's quality scores suffered again as a result.

But, Sargent says it's more than just Ford. Customers are complaining about systems at most automakers.

"Everybody's introducing somewhat similar technology, not exactly the same, but the general principal is the same," he said. "Consumers are finding this technology a little new, a little different, somewhat hard to operate."

Younger customers complained more than older customers. Sargent said that's most likely because they are more experienced with personal technology and have higher expectations.

While quality as a whole is up, the overall rankings saw little change. Lexus remained at the top. Cadillac had the best showing among domestic brands. That lifted GM's overall performance.

"It's GM's best performance in the 26 year history of the study," said Sargent. "It's really a good performance by GM. We're seeing some very good systematic improvement across the board."

General Motors executives say that was the result of a lot of hard work.

"Our biggest motivation is the recognition of quality from people who buy our cars and trucks," said Alicia Boler-Davis, vice president Global Quality and U.S. vice president of Customer Experience. "We are listening to them and know we have more work to do to improve across our entire vehicle portfolio to provide the best overall ownership experience."

Mini, Fiat and Smart finished at the bottom of the survey. Sargent says small cars generally don't do well, and often cars that are designed for one market—in this case Europe—get a lot of complaints in other markets. This happens as buyers who purchase a vehicle for its cute styling, are annoyed when they have to live with interiors that differ from what they are used to.

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