Lincoln, Buick Top Satisfaction Survey
DETROIT (
) -- A new survey shows that buyers of
Ford
(F) - Get Report
and
General Motors
products -- particularly Buick, whose 2010 Enclave CXL is pictured above -- are generally satisfied with their purchases despite an overall decline in auto buyer satisfaction.
The survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based indicator of customer product evaluations, showed that automobile satisfaction dipped 2.4% from its all-time high of 82 on a 0-100 scale, based on phone surveys of 5,000 consumers during the second quarter.
Among individual auto nameplates, Lincoln-Mercury leads, with a score of 89, up 1%. Buick stays at 88. Next, at 86, are
BMW
, down 1%, Ford, at
Mercedes-Benz
, unchanged, and Cadillac, down 3%. Lexus fell 5% to 85, while
Toyota
fell 2% to 84, reflecting the impact of massive recalls.
"It was not long ago when Detroit's products were clustered at the bottom of the industry," said Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI, in a prepared statement. "Although very few automakers improved this year, the domestic ones are either steady or have lost less in customer satisfaction compared to international competition."
At the bottom of the survey,
Chrysler
brands dipped below the industry average of 82, with Chrysler down 5% to 80, Dodge down 4% to 78 and Jeep at the bottom, down 3% to 77. Overall, 14 of the 19 largest auto nameplates showed some deterioration.
Nissan
made the biggest gain, up 5% to match the industry average of 82.
-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.
