Fewer buyers are satisfied with Big 3

Fewer buyers are satisfied with Big 3
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080819/AUTO01/808190406/1148

Detroit's automakers lost ground this year to their Japanese and German
rivals in the latest customer satisfaction survey by the University of
Michigan, marking a reversal for U.S. manufacturers.

In recent years, the domestic automakers had been closing the gap with
their competitors in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which
asks owners to rate their satisfaction with the brand of vehicle they own.

"We've seen Detroit improving, though its foreign competitors improved
more," said professor Claes Fornell, who heads the study. "This year is
more ominous. The gap is extending. Detroit is falling. It's all foreign
at the top and all American at the bottom."

The results contrast with recent gains by General Motors Corp. and Ford
Motor Co. in other quality and consumer satisfaction studies. Fornell
attributed the drop to rising fuel prices, which he said have soured
consumers to the big trucks and sport utility vehicles that have until
recently been the focus of U.S. automakers.

The survey targets consumers who have purchased their vehicle between
six months and three years ago.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand was first, followed by Germany's BMW
AG. Toyota was third, followed by Honda Motor Co.

GM's Buick brand received the highest marks of any domestic marque, and
its Saturn brand was the most improved over last year, with its
satisfaction rating climbing nearly 5 percent. But GM's bread-and-butter
Chevrolet brand posted the biggest decline -- 3.7 percent -- falling
below South Korea's Kia Motors Corp.

Fornell noted that Saturn is GM's most fuel-efficient brand.

GM said it has not been able to review the survey, but said that other
recent studies have shown solid improvements in both quality and
customer satisfaction.

"We still say with a high level of confidence that the level of our
customer satisfaction is improving for most of our brands, based on
independent studies and internal data," GM spokeswoman Janine Fruehan said.

Analyst Erich Merkle of Crowe Chizek and Co. said the news was not good
for Detroit, but added that this survey is less closely watched than others.

"The average consumer pays more attention to J.D. Power and Consumer
Reports," he said. "At the end of the day, you still have to satisfy the
consumer. You still have to have the products that people want to buy."

The only brands worse than Chevy were Chrysler LLC's Dodge and Jeep.
Jeep improved over last year, but remained dead last. The Chrysler brand
also was below the industry average.

"If I were Chrysler, I would certainly be concerned," Fornell said,
noting that Chrysler has also done poorly in recent quality surveys.

Chrysler spokesman Ed Saenz said the company takes customer satisfaction
seriously, and has been working hard to improve it since being acquired
by Cerberus Capital Management LP last year.

"We have a renewed and intensified focus on satisfying our Chrysler,
Jeep and Dodge customers that has been under way for about a year," he
said. "The new management is committed to satisfying our customers at
every level. We are beginning to see, in internal numbers, improvements
that indicate we are on the right path."

Ford's Lincoln and Mercury brands were above average, but fell 3.5
percent from last year. The Blue Oval was flat, remaining two points
below the industry average.

Like GM, Ford said it has scored better in other recent rankings.

"This survey runs counter to the results of other recent surveys, in
which we've made great progress," Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer said.

Overall, the auto industry as a whole was flat year over year, and
Fornell offered some good news for the Big Three: "The good news is
that, overall, the satisfaction scores compared to many other industries
that we look at are high."

The university looks at a different group of industries each quarter.
This study also looked at personal computers and appliances, among others.

Apple Inc. soared 7.6 percent, widening its lead over No. 2-rated Dell
Inc., which also posted a modest gain. Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Compaq
brand was last amongst PC manufacturers.

Whirlpool Corp. was first among appliance manufacturers, though its
ratings dropped nearly 5 percent over last year. AB Electrolux was the
lowest-rated appliance brand in the survey.

The index is produced by the university's Ross School of Business, in
partnership with the American Society for Quality and CFI Group.