J.D. Power just came out with an announcement that Japanese brands are now collectively below industry average for the first time in 29 years. The highest-rated Japanese brand is now Nissan's Infiniti in fifth place, up from below average last year.

PS Porsche came in first

Not to make excuses for anyone but it seems to me that automakers do bad on these when they release a bunch of new models. I don't think Inifniti release any new models/redesigns last year?

I also think that only having 2-3 different models can either make or break you. Mini, Fiat, and Range Rover always seem to do bad but Porsche has been near or at the top for a number of years. Very bad for Lexus whose selling point has always been about buying the best made cars in the world. Yes you gave up some excitement but you knew you were buying a solid car that would last forever. Now you may as well buy a Lincoln.

I'd like to see how Tesla would do.

The biggest surprise to me is the change in Korean cars over the last 10 years.

Its all about the new touchscreen. Consumer Reports dropped Infiniti out of the top 10 when the put the new touchscreen in the Q50. The number of problems people have reported with these have made the brand fall out of the reliable category. The same thing happened to Ford a few years ago when they put in that awful Microsoft MyTouch.

Best Individual Models By Type: Infiniti Q70 came in the top 3 for midsize premium car - BMW 5 series, Lincoln MKS, Infiniti Q70.

Keep in mind that the JD power rating is only for initial quality, it does not represent long term reliability. I traded a 2012 BMW 535i for the Q70. BMW is a nice car but I would not want to own it long term due to reliability issues, system complexity and high maintenance cost.

silberma wrote:Keep in mind that the JD power rating is only for initial quality, it does not represent long term reliability. I traded a 2012 BMW 535i for the Q70. BMW is a nice car but I would not want to own it long term due to reliability issues, system complexity and high maintenance cost.

Point well taken

silberma wrote:Keep in mind that the JD power rating is only for initial quality, it does not represent long term reliability. I traded a 2012 BMW 535i for the Q70. BMW is a nice car but I would not want to own it long term due to reliability issues, system complexity and high maintenance cost.

JD Power has both Initial Quality and Dependability studies.

IQ = first 6 months (3 months?).

Dependability = 3 year old cars.

A 2015 dependability JD Power study will come out and cover 2012 model years only. It's the more accurate metric.

silberma wrote:Keep in mind that the JD power rating is only for initial quality, it does not represent long term reliability. I traded a 2012 BMW 535i for the Q70. BMW is a nice car but I would not want to own it long term due to reliability issues, system complexity and high maintenance cost.

I traded in my 550i for my M37. I miss the torque, but I do not miss the mechanic.