If there were any doubts about reports that the American auto industry is on the mend, they were laid to rest today with the release of J.D. Power and Associates' 2010 Initial Quality Study (IQS). Domestic brands, as a whole, demonstrated higher initial quality than the imports for the first time in the study's 24-year history. And, not surprisingly, Ford Motor Co. led the reformation.
Even before the Big Three went to Washington with their hats in hand back in the fall of 2008, Ford had been making sound decisions about the direction of the business. One of the pivotal moves it made was hiring Alan Mulally, the automaker's current CEO, from Boeing. By focusing on the company's balance sheet and leveraging its assets, Mulally was able to cut costs, put money in the bank and avoid taking government bailout money, unlike the other two big American automakers. While this endeared the brand to a financially strapped American public, it also gave Mulally the money needed to aggressively restructure the company and, more importantly, develop better automobiles.
It was a gamble, for sure, but one that has paid off in spades, as the Blue Oval is now the highest-ranked mass-market automaker in initial quality. It also jumped into the list of top five brands in overall quality for the first time ever, and has 12 models that rank within the top three in their respective IQS segments — more than any other carmaker in the study — including capturing top honors in three segments with the Focus, Mustang and Taurus.
General Motors (often called "Government Motors" these days) also did well, with 10 models that rank within the top three in their segments. Chrysler didn't fare as well.
This is in sharp contrast to last year's results, when much of the discussion about automotive quality centered on the difficulties U.S. automakers were facing, and the perceptions that these problems were largely caused by poor product quality.
Article By Chuck Tannert of MSN Autos
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