GM makes big move up in J.D. Power quality survey

Chris Woodyard and Fred Meier | USA TODAY

Four years out of bankruptcy reorganization, General Motors has risen dramatically up the ranks in one of the auto industry's most respected measures of new vehicle quality.

The company's GMC truck brand jumped to No. 2 among all brands -- just behind Porsche -- for fewest new vehicle problems in the 2013 J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study. GM's Chevrolet brand rose to fifth in the annual ranking, and its other two brands, Cadillac and Buick, both beat the industry average.

The Chevy brand also took five of the 26 top awards for individual models with best quality vs. other vehicles in the same car or truck market segment based on size, type and price (full ranking of brands and listing of category winners below).

"GM has the best quality of any corporation in industry," says Dave Sargent, J.D. Power's vice president of global automotive. It shows how fast a company with a flawed quality reputation can turn things around. "People were alleging their quality was so bad they deserved to go out of business."

The survey, conducted from February through May, tracks owner complaints about problems in manufacture or design in the first 90 days of ownership and rates brands and models by average problems per 100 vehicles.

GMC marketing head Tony DiSalle was proud of his brand's rise: "Perfecting the customer experience is everything to the GMC brand, from the first visit to the dealership, or drive home, or 10 years down the road. This study demonstrates that the brand is following through on its commitment to quality."

The No. 1 Porsche brand, of course, was proud to beat everyone. "Porsche stands for sportiness and performance," said Matthias Müller, CEO of Porsche AG. "We are pleased to see that our equally high levels of quality in design, development and production have also been confirmed with these awards."

While edged for the top spot by Porsche, GMC even beat Toyota's luxury brand Lexus, a perennial top dog in the quality rankings that ranked third. Toyota's namesake brand, meanwhile, placed a respectable seventh, but in one of the stunners in this year's survey, Toyota's youth-oriented Scion brand sank to dead last.

For the survey's 27th year, J.D. Power has shaken up its process to put emphasis on design problems, not just manufacturing goofs. The ratings company says two thirds of complaints about cars in the first 90 days of ownership are related to design. As a result, only 9% of those problems are presented to dealers for solutions, compared to 28% who take back their cars for a repair.

J.D. Power's new system, which now uses online responses to get more detailed and immediate information, in recent years also has tended to tar automakers on high-tech issues where buyers find complicated systems, such infotainment or navigation, hard to figure out or cumbersome to use Sergeant says.

Toyota spokesman Mike Michels says Lexus' high rank showed the brand has avoided the issues with fancy electronics that dogged some others. He says Lexus has a technology specialist and a delivery specialist at every dealership. The former troubleshoots technology issue, such as phone pairing, while the latter explains to buyers all the high-tech features of their new car.

Michels says Scion fall from grace was driven by out-of-the-gate problems on the new FR-S sports car (sibling to Subaru's BRZ). He says owners complained about engine stalling and condensation in the taillights, issues that since have been solved. Also the car doesn't have a lot of storage space or cupholders, he says.

Owner problems with high technology, continue to dog the Ford brand, which has taken a beating in the rankings in the past three years in large part due to dissatisfaction with its high-tech MyFord Touch infotainment systems. The Ford brand is in the bottom third this year, although its premium Lincoln brand was slightly above the industry average.Ford fired a preemptive strike against the survey results on Monday by announcing that it will add low-tech knobs to its systems' confusing electronic touch controls.

Technology could be helping automakers such as GM, which has emphasized ease-of-use in deploying advanced touchscreen infotainment systems, while punishing others, such as Ford, which have rushed to roll out gee-whiz technology across their lines.

Notably, GMC's second-place finish includes its last-generation 2013 model pickup trucks -- for which GM has had years to work any quality kinks -- but they are being replaced now by an all-new 2014 model. That could threaten its ranking next year.

Sargent, however, says the GM has had a wholesale change in philosophy and no longer rolls out new models with initial quirks it knows will need fixing. Now , he says, GM is building in quality from the start.

While GMC was GM's top brand overall, its mainstream Chevy badge the clear winner this year in model segment wins or ties with its Avalanche, Camaro, Impala, Silverado HD and Tahoe. Next highest in model wins came Honda, Kia, Mazda and Porsche, each with two. Here are the full brand and model segment results:

BRAND RANKING

Average problems per 100 vehicles of whole line:

Porsche 80

GMC 90

Lexus 94

Infiniti 95

Chevrolet 97

Acura 102

Toyota 102

Honda 103

Jaguar 104

Hyundai 106

Kia 106

Mercedes-Benz 106

Audi 108

Cadillac 108

Buick 109

Chrysler 109

Lincoln 113

INDUSTRY AVERAGE 113

BMW 114

Volvo 114

Smart 115

Land Rover 116

Jeep 118

Volkswagen 120

Mazda 125

Subaru 128

Dodge 130

Ford 131

Ram 132

Mini 135

Nissan 142

Mitsubishi 148

Fiat 154

Scion 161

TOP 3 CARS BY TYPE

In order by fewest problems per 100 vehicles (fewer than three means no others beat the segment average):

City Car: Smart Fortwo, Chevrolet Spark

Subcompact car: Mazda2, Hyundai Accent, Honda Fit

Compact car: Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Honda Insight

Compact Sporty Car: Mazda MX-5 Miata, Volkswagen Eos, VW GTI

Compact Premium Car: Acura TL, Infiniti G, Cadillac CTS

Compact Premium Sporty Car: Porsche Boxster, Nissan Z, BMW Z4

Midsize car: Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata, Buick Regal

Midsize Sporty Car: Chevrolet Camaro (tie), Ford Mustang (tie)

Midsize Premium Car: Hyundai Genesis sedan, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Jaguar XF (tie), Lexus GS (tie)

Midsize Premium Sporty Car: Porsche 911

Large Car: Chevrolet Impala, Hyundai Azera, Chrysler 300

Large Premium Car: Lexus LS, Audi A8, Porsche Panamera

TOP 3 CROSSOVERS (CUV), VANS, TRUCKS BY TYPE