Monday, August 8, 2011
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Study: New, redesigned autos more appealing By Salvador Rodriguez Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Although the reliability of new and redesigned automobiles fell, consumers generally found them more appealing, according to an annual survey. New launches and revamped models paid off for carmakers across the board as they appealed more to consumers than carryover vehicles, the 2011 J. D. Power & Associates Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout study found. While kinks in the new launches hurt reliability ratings — many got lower scores in last month’s J.D. Power reliability study — the fresh looks of and new technologies in those same models were found to be highly appealing to consumers. The appeal survey measured what consumers liked and disliked most about their vehicles during their first three months of ownership. New technologies, such as Ford’s MyFord Touch touchscreen system, resulted in automakers getting poor reliability scores, but consumers were attracted by them. “People want the experience they have outside their car to be echoed inside their car,” said Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of auto information company Edmunds.com. “People want the functionality, but you shouldn’t make it work like a smartphone.” New model launches are “where a manufacturer really has an opportunity to redesign a vehicle or launch an all-new vehicle, something that resonates well, something that creates great buzz,” said Raffi Festekjian, director of automotive research for J.D. Power.
New technologies, such as Ford’s MyFord Touch touch-screen system, resulted in automakers getting poor reliability scores, but consumers were attracted by them. Leading the way in appeal were Dodge and BMW, each winning in three categories. It was a boost for Dodge, which was cited as the least reliable nameplate in last month’s J.D. Power quality study. The redesigned Durango and Charger models had the highest scores for appeal in their respective segments, while the Charger had the biggest improvement in its score. “We put a lot of effort into 16 new cars, and this is where we really get an opportunity to see how much the people who bought the new cars liked them,” said Doug Betts, Chrysler Group senior vice president of quality. Keeping pace with its performance in 2010, BMW, with its redesigned X3 and 5 Series, earned the third spot in overall nameplate appeal behind Porsche and Jaguar. Dodge finished 26th out of 32 brands. “Two of their redesigned models — you have the 5 Series and the X3 — pretty much hit their marks, and consumers are delighted with their vehicles,” Festekjian said. “BMW owners like several aspects of their vehicles.” Porsche also kept a streak going, being named the top nameplate for the seventh year
Chrysler
The 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 is one of four high-performance models Chrysler Group is reintroducing to establish its new stand-alone SRT brand. in a row. “Porsche across the board, with all of its vehicles, does really well, and a lot of that is due to exterior styling,” Festekjian said. In 2010, domestic vehicles beat out imports in appeal for the first time since 1997, but that was not the case in 2011. European and Asian manufacturers improved the appeal of their vehicles. But the industry as a whole reached new heights, earning its highest score in the history of the study: a 781 in a 1,000-point scale, up from 778 in 2010.
The 2011 BMW X3 xDrive35i is the unabashed sports car of the luxury compact SUV segment. Don Kelsen/ los Angeles Times