Most dependable cars: Buick and Jaguar

J.D. Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study says that these are the highest ranked for 2008.

1. Buick and Jaguar (122 problems per 100 vehicles)
2. Lexus (126)
3. Toyota (129)
4. Mercury (134)
5. Infiniti (142)
6. Acura (146)
7. Lincoln (147)
8. Cadillac and Honda (148)
9. Porsche (150)
10. Audi and Ford (159)
11. Hyundai (161)
12. Subaru (162)
13. Chrysler (165)
14. BMW (166)

The industry average for problems per 100 vehicles is 170. Subaru had the lowest score at 263.

Notable sub-par results: Mercedes Benz (184), Volvo (186), Hummer (221) and VW (260).

Tags: Buick, Jaguar, Lexus, Toyota, Mercury, Infiniti, Acura, Lincoln, Cadillac, Honda, Porsche, Audi, Ford, Hyundai, Subaru, Chrysler, BMW, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry, J.D. Power

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Top auto brand images

The winners of Kelley Blue Book’s 2009 Brand Image awards have been announced:

• Best Value Brand: Toyota
• Coolest Brand: BMW
• Most Family Friendly Brand: Toyota
• Most Rugged Truck Brand: Ford
• Best Performance Brand: BMW
• Best Comfort Brand: Cadillac
• Best Exterior Design Brand — Luxury: BMW
• Best Exterior Design Brand — Non-Luxury: Nissan
• Best Interior Design Brand: Cadillac
• Best Prestige Brand: Mercedes-Benz

Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com had this to say, as reported by the Detroit Free Press:

"The winners of this year’s Brand Image Awards exemplify automotive brands that are on the right track, making a great impression with consumers not just on a specific model level, but across the entire brand lineup."

Tags: Toyota, BMW, Ford, Cadillac, Nissan, Mercedes Benz, Kelley Blue Book, brand image, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry

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Winners and losers in global market share: forecast

According to Global Insight, a leading American market intelligence specialist, these are the automakers that will grow the most in global market share over the next five years:

1. Tata (India): will grow 0.6 percent (current market share: 0.6 percent, 2013 forecast: 1.2 percent)
2. Chery (China): will grow 0.4 percent (0.6, 1.0 percent)
3. Renault (France): will grow 0.3 percent (3.1, 3.4 percent)

Other brands that will gain market share: Maruti (India), Nissan, BMW, Audi, Mitsubishi, Skoda and Wuling (China). All will increase 0.1 percent.

Brands that will stay the same: Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Dodge.

Carmakers that will lose global market share:

1. Ford: will lose 0.7 percent (current market share 7.1, 2013 forecast: 6.4 percent)
2. Peugeot: will lose 0.4 percent (2.9, 2.5 percent)
3. Daihatsu: will lose 0.3 percent (1.2, 0.9 percent)
4. Lada (Russia): will lose 0.2 percent (1.1, 0.9 percent)

Other automakers that will lose global market share: Toyota, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai, Fiat, Suzuki, Mazda and Opel.

Tags: auto industry

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2008 highest quality premium cars

J.D. Power’s 2008 Initial Quality Study is out, and these are the top cars in premium segment:

Entry premium cars

1. Infiniti EX-Series
2. Infiniti G-Series
3. Acura TSX and Volvo S40

Midsize premium cars

1. Infiniti M-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class
2. Audi A6
3. Lexus ES 350

Large premium cars

1. Lexus LS
2. Mercedes-Benz S-Class
3. Cadillac DTS

Tags: J.D. Power, Infiniti, Infiniti EX-Series, Infiniti G-Series, Acura TSX, Volvo S40, Volvo, Acura, Infiniti M-Series, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Audi, Audi A6, Lexus, Lexus ES 350, Lexus LS, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Cadillac, Cadillac DTS, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry

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2008 highest quality compact cars

J.D. Power’s 2008 Initial Quality Study is out, and these are the top cars in the sub-compact and compact segments:

Sub-compact cars

1. Honda Fit
2. Kia Rio
3. Hyundai Accent

Compact cars

1. Honda Civic
2. Toyota Prius
3. Hyundai Elantra Sedan

Compact sporty car

1. Mazda Mx-5 Miata
2. Subaru Impreza
3. Pontiac Solstice

Compact premium sporty car

1. Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
2. Porsche Cayman
3. Volvo C70

Tags: J.D. Power, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, Honda Civic, Toyota Prius, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda Mx-5 Miata, Subaru Impreza, Pontiac Solstice, Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class, Porsche Cayman, Volvo C70, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry

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2008 highest quality brands

J.D. Power’s 2008 Initial Quality Study is out, and this is their full quality ranking by brand, measured in problems per 100 vehicles or PP100. The industry average was 118 which is an improvement over last year.

1. Porsche, 87 PP100
2. Infiniti, 98
3. Lexus, 99
4. Mercedes-Benz , 104
5. Toyota, 104 (TIED)
6. Mercury, 109
7. Honda, 110
8. Ford, 112
9. Jaguar, 112 (TIED)
10. Audi, 113
11. Cadillac, 113 (TIED)
12. Chevrolet, 113 (TIED)
13. Hyundai, 114
14. Pontiac, 114 (TIED)
15. Lincoln, 115
16. Buick, 118
17. Acura, 119
18. Kia, 119 (TIED)
19. Nissan, 124
20. Volvo, 124 (TIED)
21. BMW, 126
22. GM, 127
23. Mazda, 127  (TIED)
24. Volkswagen, 128
25. Hummer, 132
26. Subaru, 133
27. Scion, 138
28. Dodge, 141
29. Chrysler, 142
30. Mitsubishi, 149
31. Saab, 149  (TIED)
32. Suzuki, 152
33. Saturn, 157
34. Land Rover, 161
35. Mini, 163
36. Jeep, 167

Special kudos to Toyota for being the highest ranked mass-market auto manufacturer.

Tags: J.D. Power, Porsche, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, automotive, auto industry, automotive industry, car quality

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2008 World Car of the Year: Mazda

The 2008 World Car of the Year is the Mazda2/Mazda Demio.

The Ford Mondeo placed second, with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class third.

To be eligible for a World Car award, the contender had to be in production, and sold, on at least two continents during 2008. The winner of the overall World Car of the Year Award must excel in a broad range of attributes.

The 2008 World Performance car of the Year is the Audi R8.

The BMW M3 came in second, and the Audi S5 Coupe third.

The World Performance Car award must demonstrate "a specific and overt sports/performance orientation while satisfying the same availability criteria as for the overall World Car of the Year award."

The World Car of the Year is a non-profit program. Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of forty-seven (47) top-level automotive journalists from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States. The award itself has no affiliation with any auto show, publication, automaker or other commercial enterprise.

Tags: automotive, auto industry, automotive industry, World Car of the Year, Ford, Ford Mondeo, Mazda, Mazda 2, Mazda Demio, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi, Audi R8, Audi S5, BMW, BMW M3

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