What the @!#*&! is going on? Dodge, Chevy clobber Toyota in J.D. Power
Dodge has rocketed from its recent place near the bottom of the J.D. Power initial quality study to appear at the very top—very nearly tied with, of all brands, Kia. Chevrolet and Ram were also nearly tied for third and fourth place, with Genesis barely below them, rounding out the top five brands.
Source: J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Initial Quality Study™
The study looks at problems per 100 vehicles, as reported in the first 90 days of ownership, and may over-emphasize factory inspections and dealer prep. The three-year reliability study is generally considered a more valid measure of quality, but it takes three years to see the results.
American labels did well in the above-average region of the chart, with Dodge, Chevrolet, Ram, Buick, GMC, Jeep, and Cadillac all appearing; imports in the top half were Kia, Genesis, Mitsubishi, VW, Hyundai, Lexus, and Nissan.
Under the average were some familiar faces, such as Chrysler, Audi, and Ford; also some unusual ones, like Honda, Toyota, and Subaru.
The worst-rated brands were no surprise; Tesla made its first appearance in the study, with 250 problems per 100 cars, considerably worse than Land Rover’s 228 problems or Audi’s 225 problems. Other “more than two problems per car” brands were Mercedes and Volvo. While Land Rover is traditionally one of the worst brands (along with Fiat, which did not have enough sales to make the chart), Tesla has been reputed to be quite poor in quality control, and this study affirms its reputation.
Clark Westfield grew up fixing up and driving past-their-prime American cars, including various GM and Mopar V8s. He has ghostwritten auto news for the last few years, and lives in Farmingdale, New York.
I’m not surprised at all that Dodge is at the top of the list. I have been the owner of many Toyota’s including 3 Corolla’s, 1 Camry, and 1 Avalon. Although they were very good cars, they were also expensive over time, and the resale values were never as good as always claimed. Since then I’ve had three Dodge’s, 1 Avenger R/T AWD, a 2015 Charger Rally AWD, and now a 2018 Charger GT AWD. These cars have been every bit as good as the Toyota’s I’ve owned and have required little or no maintenance other than the typical scheduled oil changes and tire rotations. They are as nice or nicer driving cars than even the nicest Toyota’s I’ve had. The build quality is excellent and the cars are comfortable and a pleasure to drive. Fuel economy is great for a full size awd car at 22 just running around and as much as 32 when on an extended highway trip. Going back to the resale value, I traded my 2015 Charger on a 2018 after 3 1/2 years and got 63% of the original purchase price. They are holding their value very well. People just haven’t caught on yet because these cars have always been given a bad wrap by the consumer magazines. They’ve come a long long way. All in all I consider myself to be a fairly thrifty guy who is always looking for the best value for the buck. I’m very happy with the quality and the low cost of ownership that I have experienced with these cars. They’re nice looking and they’re a pleasure and even fun to drive. To me, what more do you want from a car?