Another day, another study, yet again Ford and General Motors continue to top the non-luxury brand consumer satisfaction surveys, while German luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW continue to take the top luxury brands as well.
The latest study finds its roots at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, a study known as the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which first began tracking the automotive industry in the summer of 1994.
2010 results are in
For 2010, the ACSI placed Ford ’s joint efforts by Lincoln -Mercury as the top non-luxury brand with an 89 on a 100 point scale, up one point compared to 2009 and the highest ever by the brands.
General Motors’ Buick brand was just one point behind at 88, the same score it recorded in 2009. Cadillac closely followed Buick with an 86 – tied with BMW and Mercedes-Benz for the third highest score in 2010. Lexus – Toyota ’s luxury division – found itself slipping four points to 85, one point behind the leading luxury marquees.
The rest of the top volume automakers enjoyed a relatively close spread, with GMC , Honda and Toyota scoring 84, followed by Ford, Hyundai and Nissan at 82.
Biggest improvements
It is worth pointing out that of all the brands mentioned thus far, ratings either dropped or stayed the same compared to 2009 – aside from GMC and Nissan. GMC reported a jump from 82 in 2009 to 84 in 2010, but even more impressive was the massive step forward by Nissan which reported the largest percentage-based gain out of any automaker by jumping from 78 in 2009 to 82 in 2010.
Poor showings
Although Ford and GM’s brands performed well in the study, cross-town rival Chrysler and its brands didn’t fare as well, with Dodge and Jeep taking the bottom two slots in the survey with scores of just 78 and 77, respectively. The Chrysler brand itself suffered a sizable drop from 84 to 80.
Overall, the 2010 results show an industry average of 82, down from an all-time high of 84 just last year.
