Ford tops for Detroit brands

Porsche topped this year's J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction survey, with Jaguar and BMW coming in second and third.

But Ford Motor Co. posted the highest scores of any Detroit automaker, with its Ford brand outperforming Toyota and Honda and Lincoln scoring higher than any other domestic luxury brand.

That put all of Ford's brands above the industry average.

"The team has really been working quite diligently over the past five years to improve our quality — and it's a comprehensive view of quality," said Bennie Fowler, Ford's quality czar. "It's not just the defects. It's the fuel economy, it's the technology, it's the safety and it's the design."

David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power, said this is the way all automakers need to be thinking about quality today.

"There are two sides of the quality coin: things gone right and things gone wrong," he said. "Both are of critical importance, and models that perform well on both measures generate higher levels of recommendation and, ultimately, higher loyalty to the brand. In general, customers are also willing to pay more for vehicles that combine high appeal with high initial quality."

General Motors Co.'s Cadillac and Buick brands also scored above the industry average. All of Chrysler Group LLC's brands scored below that mark, with Jeep coming in third from the bottom ahead of Suzuki and Subaru.

However, Dodge won in three segments — midsize crossover or sport utility vehicle, large car and midsize sporty car for its Durango, Charger and Challenger. Only BMW scored as many wins.

"We've listened to our customers and made significant improvements across the product line, launching 16 all-new or extensively updated vehicles in the past year," said Doug Betts, vice president of quality at Chrysler Group said. "We worked very hard to make our vehicles truly competitive with the best vehicles in their respective segments. It's nice to see this effort being recognized by our customers."

Ford won in two categories with its Fiesta subcompact and F-150 light-duty pickup. Both of these vehicles led their segments in fuel economy, which was the one area where the industry as a whole suffered, reflecting growing consumer concern about gasoline prices.

The influential annual survey asks consumers to rate the performance, execution and layout of their new car or truck after three months of ownership.

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