Reminder: 2015 J.D. Power IQS, VDS, and APEAL Rankings

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
04/18/2016 at 05:35 • Filed to: Survey Says

I thought it would be fun to remind everyone about J.D. Power’s survey results from last year. Below are the Initial Quality Study , Vehicle Dependability Study , and the Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout Study.

DISCUSSION (20)

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 05:39

I see Tony has got a lot of fixing to do, again.

Honeybunchesofgoats > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 05:48

I wonder why they're so dead set on refusing to do a dependability ranking that doesn't include infotainment complaints.

Berang > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 05:49

So Kia makes extremely well made, undependable cars.

Wobbles the Mind > Berang
04/18/2016 at 05:51

That are completely average in performance, layout, and execution!

TheOnelectronic > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 05:55

I looked at a brand new Fiat 500 Abarth recently.

The headliner was coming loose.

Wobbles the Mind > Honeybunchesofgoats
04/18/2016 at 06:00

Infotainment is a huge deal! Most new car buyers are most engaged with the Infotainment than the steering wheel. I always considered this study to only care about the 1st Owner. That’s about 1 to 6 years for a Premium Brand and 3 to 8 years for a Mainstream Brand of one time ownership since new. If people only average 15,000 miles a year, that means someone else is in the car by 120,000 miles. At that point, it’s hard to tell if the owner maintained the car correctly or if the automaker built something wrong.

So for most new car buyers, the infotainment will be (and is) the thing that gets them into the dealer service bay prematurely. I would agree that I’m more worried about electrical systems than mechanical ones in a new car. That’s just my own reasoning though. We all know the answer is buy a Lexus or Toyota if you want to know what car won’t grenade in 300,000 miles and 15 years of one time or 8 time ownership.

LongbowMkII > TheOnelectronic
04/18/2016 at 06:12

That’s just charm.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 06:17

The problem with that line of reasoning is that most new car buyers are older and kind of clueless. I would not want my parents reviewing infotainment offerings, considering how long it took to teach them how to use very simple electronics. If only you could have been a fly on the wall for the latest tablet support call...

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 06:19

When you have less appeal than Mitsubishi, you might as well give up. There's no hope.

Hot Takes Salesman > Honeybunchesofgoats
04/18/2016 at 07:11

If that was the case, Acura would be even more fucked

Honeybunchesofgoats > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 07:15

That’s completely true, but I just think it’s such a broad category that it becomes sort of useless. Also, given the nature of infotainment systems, it may not even be the automaker’s fault.

According to JD Power, 59% of people complaining about Bluetooth problems had difficulty pairing their phone. I put an Alpine head unit in one of my cars and about a month later Apple released a new update that completely destroyed Bluetooth functionality (to Alpine’s credit, they eventually released a firmware update that fixed it, which was pretty remarkable considering that it was already an older model). Assuming the same problem affected OEM units, then the automaker would be getting a black mark for something that wasn’t even within their control.

I do agree that it’s an important category to have, especially since cars are becoming more and more reliant on these systems for basic controls, but I’d still like to see a separate ranking that controlled for problems that are user error or ignorance. I mean, there’s a difference between an infotainment system freezing and crashing and someone who brings their car in to the dealer because they don’t know how to turn on Bluetooth on their phone.

GhostZ > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 07:15

I want to see this data in context of reported problems that pulled the car off the road while being fixed, how long they were fixed, and how much it would cost.

Average reported cost per vehicle, and average days per year being worked on would give people a much better idea than just vague dependability or reliability impressions.

Something that has a lot of niggling little issues like touch screens or audio or navigation probably has very little effect on repair/ownership cost and reliability for transportation.

At the end of the day, I think most people just want a straight answer on their chances of the car breaking down or having to see a mechanic.

buford-t-justice > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
04/18/2016 at 07:27

hike > Honeybunchesofgoats
04/18/2016 at 07:42

This is how I feel. There is so. Much variety with today's cell phones and so many updates, the automakers struggle to keep up. On the flip side, the automakers need to work closer with the big phone companies to try to stay more compatible.

Leon711 > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 09:29

So I should buy a Porsche?

Wobbles the Mind > Leon711
04/18/2016 at 10:14

Seriously, Porsche is unstoppable right now! 100% of their offerings, in every single trim level, are awesome. Porsche’s biggest competition are either in its own lineup or used Porsches at every single price point. They compete with every single luxury and exotic Carmaker excluding Bentley and Rolls. They’re reputation was untouched by diesel gate. People are equally excited for the gas, hybrid, or electric version of any of their vehicles. I really can’t think of a Brand in a better position than 2015 Porsche. I’m not sold on this turbo stuff yet...

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 10:25

Even though half of infotainment complaints are because the user is an idiot? For instance, their iPod cable has bare wires exposed but they continue to use it and every time they plug their phone it freezes the infotainment system until the key is cycled and phone disconnected. GET A NEW IPOD CABLE AND DON’T LET YOU DOG CHEW ON IT!

Leon711 > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 11:27

I’m not a fan of the aesthetics of the cayenne and panamera but the rest is golden. The new 718 boxster is awesomely fast.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > Wobbles the Mind
04/18/2016 at 11:34

Doesn’t the high end Panamera compete with Bentley and Rolls? I know the price does.

Wobbles the Mind > BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
04/18/2016 at 11:45

It’s more an Aston Martin Rapide S fighter at the extreme top end. The closest Bentley would be the V8 Continental GT variants. The rest of the Bentley and Roll Royce line-ups are touched more by the S-Class Sedan and Coupe.