Bookmarking Auto on Info pagesSupporting Auto on InfoHome or Site Layout or Site Map or Site Index or Quick Jumps or Search Engine Directory or The MartAuto News, Analysis and Editorial J.D. Power Reports "Initial Quality" Results, AutoOnInfo.net Gleans Value

	AutoOnInfo.net  June 2008 J.D. Power Reports "Initial Quality" Results, AutoOnInfo.net Gleans Value By James B. Bleeker J.D. Power and Associates released the results of its annual "initial quality" study, a study that focuses on the first 3 months of ownership. To glean a little value from J.D. Power's efforts, we again apply the Rule of Intersection, selecting those brands that are common to the top 10 brands of this study, the top 10 brands of its 2007 "dependability" study (which focuses on the first 3 years of ownership), the top 10 brands of its 2007 "initial quality" study, and the top 10 brands of its 2006 "dependability" study. The resulting list appears below, with the best (the brand with the fewest complaints) on top. The Top Brands by the Rule of Intersection Applied to J.D. Power and Associates' 4 Most Recent Automobile Complaint Studies Rank Brand 1 Lexus 2 Mercury 3 Toyota 4 Honda Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus and Toyota brands are perennial leaders by nearly every meaningful quality measure, if not every meaningful quality measure. However, here it appears, by J.D. Power's 4 most recent automobile complaint studies, that for a consumer who plans to buy new and to own the vehicle for 3 years or less, a Mercury product might be acceptable. At the very least, it seems safe to say that such a consumer making such a purchase is neither a complete idiot nor an unmitigated nincompoop. However, for those who plan to buy used or to own their new vehicle more than 3 years, see "Toyota and Honda Account for All of Consumer Reports' 2007 Long-Run Good Bets," AutoOnInfo.net, September 2007,  "The Best and Worst 2008 Automobiles by CR's Reliability-Verdict History: Toyota Models Dominate Best and Account for All Perfect Reliability-Verdict Histories of 6 or More Years; GM Models Dominate Worst," AutoOnInfo.net, November 2007, "Toyota's Dominance on Durability Measure Holds," AutoOnInfo.net, January 2008, "Toyota Increases Dominance of Consumer Reports' Good Bets List a Tad, Honda Drops a Bit, Toyota's Best Widen Quality Gap Again," AutoOnInfo.net, January 2008, and "The 2008 Reliability-Durability Updates: The Best and Worst Automobiles by Engine Reliability: Toyota Dominates Best Engines and GM Dominates Worst Engines," AutoOnInfo.net, April 2008. There is evidence that the dubious value of the J.D. Power complaint studies is hitting the historical press sources. A sentence in an Associate Press article reads, "The [J.D. Power] rankings are closely watched by automakers and are frequently used in advertising despite persistent questions about whether they show any real statistical difference between automakers."1 However, to the best of site manager's knowledge, AutoOnInfo.net is still the only media outlet that employs a rule of intersection to gather a little value from J.D. Power's wheel spinning.  Source for J.D. Power "initial quality" rankings: http://www.automotive.com 1 "J.D. Power: Vehicle Quality Improves Industrywide," Dee-Ann Durbin, the Associate Press, June 4, 2008, available at Yahoo! News   Mini-Menu of Related Onsite Web Pages Roster of 300,000-Mile Vehicles with Statistical Summary Table and Chart Summary of the 2008 Reliability and Durability Updates Table and Chart Summary of the 2007 Reliability and Durability Updates Graphical Mini-Menu of Related Articles Article on CR's Long-Run Good-Bets List September 2007: Toyota and Honda Account for All of Consumer Reports' 2007 Long-Run Good Bets Article on Auto on Info's High-Mileage List January 2008: Toyota's Dominance on Durability Measure Holds Article on CR's 2008 Good-Bets List of Used Cars January 2008: Toyota Increases Dominance of Consumer Reports' Good Bets List a Tad, Honda Drops a Bit, Toyota's Best Widen Quality Gap Again Article on the Best of 2008 November 2007: The Best and Worst 2008 Automobiles by CR's Reliability-Verdict History: Toyota Models Dominate Best and Account for All Perfect Reliability-Verdict Histories of 6 or More Years; GM Models Dominate Worst Article on the Automobiles with the Best Engine Reliability by Consumer Reports' Engine-Reliability-Verdict History for Vehicles 6-to-10 Years Old April 2008: The 2008 Reliability-Durability Updates: The Best and Worst Automobiles by Engine Reliability: Toyota Dominates Best Engines and GM Dominates Worst Engines Article on the Automobiles with the Best Transmission Reliability by Consumer Reports' Transmission-Reliability-Verdict History for Vehicles 6-to-10 Years Old April 2008: The 2008 Reliability-Durability Updates: The Best and Worst Automobiles by Transmission Reliability: Toyota Dominates Best Transmissions, GM and Chrysler Dominate Worst Transmissions Article on CR's Worst-of-the-Worst List March 2008: Into the Depths: General Motors Obtains Record Share of Consumer Reports' 'Worst of the Worst' Articles on CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List March 2008: GM Expands Lead on CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List, Sets Record Share for Recent Years March 2008: Chevrolet Upholds and Expands a Tradition in Infamy: GM's Chevrolet Line Worst by CR's 2008 Used Cars to Avoid   Mini Menu of Related Articles August 2007: Gleaning Value from J.D. Power Studies: An Index of Total Cluelessness? June 2007: The J.D. Power Surveys: Gleaning Values from Things That May Be Worth, Individually, Something Close to Nothing: GM in the Dumps Again January 2008: The 2008 U.S. Auto Market Share Predictions: What Will Be the Pace of the U.S. Consumer Race to Quality? March 2008: GM Expands Lead on CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List, Sets Record Share for Recent Years March 2008: Into the Depths: General Motors Obtains Record Share of Consumer Reports' 'Worst of the Worst' January 2008: Toyota Increases Dominance of Consumer Reports' Good Bets List a Tad, Honda Drops a Bit, Toyota's Best Widen Quality Gap Again January 2008: By CR's 10-Year Reliability-Verdict History, Hyundai Clobbers GM Once Again: Is General Motors in Overdrive to Become the World's Worst Automobile Manufacturer? January 2008: Toyota's Dominance on Durability Measure Holds December 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: Plunging Toward the Depths of Junk? Has Toyota Intentionally Degraded the Durability of Its Pickups to Only 4 Times That of GM Pickups? December 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: Honda Age-Equivalent Estimates: Estimates of When a Typical 1999 Model of Honda Motor Company Will Be as Troublesome as Typical 1999 Models of General Motors Corporation and Its Several Marques Were Circa 3 Years, 4 Years, ..., and 7 Years of Age November 2007: The Best and Worst 2008 Automobiles by CR's Reliability-Verdict History: Toyota Models Dominate Best and Account for All Perfect Reliability-Verdict Histories of 6 or More Years; GM Models Dominate Worst November 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: Toyota Age-Equivalent Estimates: Estimates of When a Typical 1999 Model of Toyota Motor Corporation Will Be as Troublesome as Typical 1999 Models of General Motors Corporation and Its Several Marques Were Circa 3 Years, 4 Years, ..., and 7 Years of Age October 2007: By CR's Predicted Short-Term Reliability Scores for Model Year 2008, Toyota and Honda Marques Gather 5 of 6 Best, GM Marques Gather 3 of 7 Worst, 5 of 9 Worst and 7 of 13 Worst: Is GM on a Quest to Be Junk's Absolute Monarch? September 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 of the 5 Most Durable Vehicle Lines; General Motors - 5 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical 1999 Toyota or Honda Model Be More Trouble Free at about 20 Years of Age Than a Typical 1999 GM Model at 3? September 2007: Toyota and Honda Account for All of Consumer Reports' 2007 Long-Run Good Bets August 2007: Gleaning Value from J.D. Power Studies: An Index of Total Cluelessness? August 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 2-to-3 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 14 of 16 Best, GM - 18 of 57 Worst August 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 2-to-4 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 14 of 19 Best, GM - 22 of 62 Worst August 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 3-to-5 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 18 of 19 Best, GM - 24 of 61 Worst July 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 4-to-6 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 17 of 17 Best, GM - 24 of 56 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota at 13 Years of Age Be as Troublesome as a Typical GM at 3 Years of Age? July 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 5-to-7 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 12 of 13 Best, GM - 19 of 48 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota at 21 Years of Age Be as Troublesome as a Typical GM at 3 Years of Age? July 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 6-to-8 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 13 of 13 Best, GM - 18 of 43 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota at 19 Years of Age Be as Troublesome as a Typical GM at 3 Years of Age? July 2007: The 2007 Reliability-Durability Updates: For Vehicles 7-to-9 Years Old, Toyota and Honda Account for 11 of 12 Best, GM - 22 of 41 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota at 30 Years of Age Be as Troublesome as a Typical GM at 3 Years of Age? May 2007: Does GM Mean Junk and Ford Too? Toyota and Honda Shine Again. March 2007: GM Maintains Leadership in Much-Worse-Than-Average: A Guide to Making Sales Challenging March 2007: Toyota and Honda Increase Dominance of Consumer Reports' Good Bets List: Toyota's Best Widen Quality Gap February 2007: Does GM Mean Junk of the 7th Level of Abomination? November 2006: True Value Estimates of GM's 2007 Vehicles   To Share Your Experiences and Opinions and to View Those of Other Visitors, Visit AutoOnInfo.net's Mini-Surveys Hyundai vs. General Motors: Which the Better and by How Much? A Toyota Owner Survey with Enquiries into Reliability Importance A Honda Owner Survey with Enquiries into Reliability Importance A Toyota Owner Satisfaction Poll with Enquiries into Toyota Durability A Lexus Owner Satisfaction Poll with Enquiries into Lexus Durability An Infiniti Owner Satisfaction Poll with Enquiries into Infiniti Durability The True Value of a Big Three Big Three Bin Readiness General Motors Travails and Prospects Is the Ownership of a General Motors Vehicle a Useful Index of 21st-Century Cognitive Uselessness?	Links to Amazon.com Visitor support makes this site possible. Please shop often via Auto on Info. Thank you. 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Graphical Menus: The 2008 Reliability and Durability Updates - The 2007 Reliability and Durability Updates

Reliability-Percentrank and Reliability-Grade Tables and Charts
To view tables of Reliability Percentranks and Reliability Grades by vehicle type, click the applicable type.
Small Cars	Sports Cars, Sporty Cars and Coupes	Family Cars and Large Cars	Upscale and Luxury Cars	SUVs	Minivans	Pickups	Manufacturer Averages	All Autos
To view tables of Reliability Percentranks and Reliability Grades by vehicle line, click the applicable line.
Acura	Audi	BMW	Buick	Cadillac	Chevrolet	Chrysler	Dodge	Eagle
Ford	GMC	Honda	Hyundai	Infiniti	Isuzu	Jaguar	Jeep	Kia
Land Rover	Lexus	Lincoln	Mazda	Mercedes-Benz	Mercury	Mini Cooper	Mitsubishi	Nissan
Oldsmobile	Plymouth	Pontiac	Porsche	Saab	Saturn	Scion	Subaru	Suzuki
Toyota	Volkswagen	Volvo
Beginning with the 2007 updates, the Reliability Grades and Reliability Percentranks of motor vehicle lines and types will appear on the same page. This should quicken comparisons.
To view charts of Reliability Percentrank averages and Percentranks and extrapolations, click the applicable line.
Acura	Audi	BMW	Buick	Cadillac	Chevrolet	Chrysler	Dodge	Eagle
Ford	GMC	Honda	Hyundai	Infiniti	Isuzu	Jaguar	Jeep	Kia1
Land Rover	Lexus	Lincoln	Mazda	Mercedes-Benz	Mercury	Mini Cooper1	Mitsubishi1	Nissan
Oldsmobile	Plymouth	Pontiac	Porsche1	Saab	Saturn	Scion1	Subaru	Suzuki1
Toyota	Volkswagen	Volvo
1Current data are insufficient to warrant charts.
To view tables of the Best and Worst motor vehicle models, click the applicable year.
Best and Worst of 1988	Best and Worst of 1989	Best and Worst of 1990	Best and Worst of 1991	Best and Worst of 1992	Best and Worst of 1993	Best and Worst of 1994	Best and Worst of 1995	Best and Worst of 1996
Best and Worst of 1997	Best and Worst of 1998	Best and Worst of 1999	Best and Worst of 2000	Best and Worst of 2001	Best and Worst of 2002	Best and Worst of 2003	Best and Worst of 2004	Summary
Chart Summary of 2006 Updates	Chart and Table Summary of 2007 Updates	Chart and Table Summary of 2008 Updates
Charts of Gaps
Charts of the Great Gaps	Extrapolations of the Great Gaps
Durability Tables and Charts
Page 1 - Original Durability Page	Page 2 - Results of 2001 Survey	Page 3 - CCC's 15 Most Frequently Stolen	Page 4 - 2001 Summary of Rosters	Page 5 - Top 20 High Mileage	Page 6 - The 2006 Study of Model Year 1998	Page 7 - The 2006 Toyota Age Equivalents for Model Year 1998	Page 8 - The 2006 Honda Age Equivalents for Model Year 1998	Page 9 - The 2007 Dilapidation Rates for Model Years 1998 - 2002
Page 10 - The 2007 Study of Model Year 1999	Page 11 - The 2007 Toyota Age Equivalents for Model Year 1999	Page 12 - The 2007 Honda Age Equivalents for Model Year 1999	Page 13 - 2007 Pickup Durability Updates for Model Years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001	Roster of 300,000-Mile Vehicles with Statistical Summary	Mini-Survey No. 52: A Toyota Owner Satisfaction Poll with Enquiries into Toyota Durability

Search Engine Directory
This table is provided primarily to give the visitor quick access to those search engines that site manager has found to be more consistently useful for information acquisition. For descriptions, strengths, weaknesses, comments, and other names and formats by which the following search engines are known, go to Search Engine Directory Page.
Major Search and Metasearch Engines
Exalead	Yahoo!	Ask.com	Info.com	DMOZ	Google
Site manager estimates that the Exalead search engine is presently 30 to 35 times better than Google, but is only 8% as good as Google was prior to the advent of large expenditures on internet advertising by the major automobile manufacturers.	Site manager estimates that the Yahoo search engine is presently 15 to 20 times better than Google, but is only 7% as good as Google was prior to the advent of large expenditures on internet advertising by the major automobile manufacturers.	Site manager estimates that the Ask search engine is presently 5 to 10 times better than Google, but is only 6% as good as Google was prior to the advent of large expenditures on internet advertising by the major automobile manufacturers.	Info is a metasearch engine that scans 14 search engines for results. Metasearch engines are modestly successful in weeding out the junk within the first 10 entries of a search results page, but is, of course, of no help in inserting what is missing.	DMOZ is the product of thousands of volunteers who select out the better sites that the web has to offer; consequently, there is an assurance of greater quality than the mean of what a search engine offers within the first 10 results of a phrase search.	At Google, a web page of a dominant information provider may not appear in the first 1,000 entries, maybe the first 10,000 entries, of an applicable phrase search, at least since the advent of significant internet advertising.
The Ixquick Metasearch Engine
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