Photo: Fiat
The 2014 J.D. Power Initial Quality study polled 86,000 car buyers about any kind of issue experienced with their all-new vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. Surprisingly enough, Fiat was the worst performer of the bunch, scoring 206 issues per 100 new vehicles, 90 problems below the industry average of 116.
At the other end of the scale sits Porsche, which displays a smug Beetle-ish smile thanks to an a-okay score of 74 problems per 100 cars. The most worrying result we've learned from the latest Initial Quality study is that the average amount of problems experienced in the first 90 days of ownership has increased slightly over 2013.
Wonder why that happened? Well, the 86k car buyers polled blamed that all-new vehicles experience more problems than carryover automobiles, mostly because consumers aren't familiar to the suite of new or improved technological features. Specifically, drivers complained about the intricate infotainment systems, the 'complex' process of pairing your smartphone to the car via Bluetooth connectivity and knotty voice recognition systems. Mind you, many people speak like they have their mouths stuffed full of plums, while many motorists hop in their brand spanking new cars and expect to master everything without ever reading the owner's manual at least once. So 'Murica!
In the most strange of ways, General Motors took most individual nameplate wins despite the fact that over 20 million GM-built vehicles have been recalled since the beginning of the year for various safety and non-compliance issues. Nevertheless, the Chevrolet Malibu, Suburban, Silverado Heavy-Duty pickup, as well as the GMC Terrain and Yukon all got the best initial quality score in their vehicle class.
General Motors is followed by Korean manufacturers Kia and Hyundai in terms of overall category wins thanks to models such as the Cadenza, Sportage, Genesis, Elantra and Accent. As for the bottom five constructors of the study, Fiat is joined by Jeep (146 problems per 100 vehicles), Mitsubishi (145), Scion (140) and Mazda (139). After Porsche, the top five best ranking carmakers are Jaguar (87), Lexus (92), Hyundai (94) and Toyota (105).
Wonder why that happened? Well, the 86k car buyers polled blamed that all-new vehicles experience more problems than carryover automobiles, mostly because consumers aren't familiar to the suite of new or improved technological features. Specifically, drivers complained about the intricate infotainment systems, the 'complex' process of pairing your smartphone to the car via Bluetooth connectivity and knotty voice recognition systems. Mind you, many people speak like they have their mouths stuffed full of plums, while many motorists hop in their brand spanking new cars and expect to master everything without ever reading the owner's manual at least once. So 'Murica!
In the most strange of ways, General Motors took most individual nameplate wins despite the fact that over 20 million GM-built vehicles have been recalled since the beginning of the year for various safety and non-compliance issues. Nevertheless, the Chevrolet Malibu, Suburban, Silverado Heavy-Duty pickup, as well as the GMC Terrain and Yukon all got the best initial quality score in their vehicle class.
General Motors is followed by Korean manufacturers Kia and Hyundai in terms of overall category wins thanks to models such as the Cadenza, Sportage, Genesis, Elantra and Accent. As for the bottom five constructors of the study, Fiat is joined by Jeep (146 problems per 100 vehicles), Mitsubishi (145), Scion (140) and Mazda (139). After Porsche, the top five best ranking carmakers are Jaguar (87), Lexus (92), Hyundai (94) and Toyota (105).
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