Actually JD Power surveys have a big impact on companies: they actually do impact residuals, insurance rates and the prices that are charged for dealer servicing. End buyers do look at them and may give them some weight, but JD Power is, despite what many people may believe, quite influential "in the trade".

...unfortunately...

Yes they are and that is because of their very effective PR campaign. They have built their data analysis business into a consumer protection service and have applied it to any product they feel will benefit them in dealing with the producers to extract fees and support for their awards. The fact is though is that they are not experts in the products they rate, they are expert in gathering and manipulating data that fit their agenda which is to extent their position as "the" source of information regarding consumer products.

if there was any evidence of data manipulation, it would be grounds for suits in - at least - the hundreds of millions of dollars. JD Power is very transparent to those organizations who seek their detailed data: methodologies, sample sizes and other key factors are provided. Clearly, some very big companies who are well able to judge the validity of the data JD Power is presenting rate them highly, and I suspect with considerable justification.

In life there will always be something or someone who will put down what someone else sees as perfection. JD Power has never really been a respected source of information in my eyes. The fact that they praise lexus for it's so called quality when I see plastic and imitation leather in the interior discredits them in my book.

In the end it's all a matter of what people decide to buy, but considering the sales for the old S-class and the new one people don't seem to be "affected" by JD Power.

Wow...Bozzor is still around!

The part that really proves that these surveys are just for entertaining readins where the Lexus LS430 gets 5 stars for "style" and "performance". What a joke! The car is a ugly as all getout from the front and rear and dull as dishwater from the sides.

M

LMAO that just goes to show there is somthing majorly Fed up with the way the results are interpreted and presented.

Hey HoH, how have you been????

Well, as for use of plastic, anyone who has sat in a 2003 C class...I rest my case! Nothing wrong with plastic as long as it is good quality, long lasting and does not fall off.

Remember, the JD Power survey reflects owners opinions. If the owners are happy with it and rate it highly, then the opinion of a non-owner (unless they are a prospective buyer with an open mind) does not really matter to either Lexus or JD Power. The beauty of Lexus is that they give peopel what they want and owners keep comign back to the brand. At the end of the day, it is reflected in the bottom line. Lexus and Toyota make lots of money because people keep buying their cars.

One thing I would like to see is some analysis on conquest sales: peopel switching from the S class to the LS and vice versa, alongf with the 7 series and A8. It would be interesting to see how the numbers played out.

Not really anything wrong with the way the results are interpreted or presented, some buyers are just obviously blind in one eye and can't see out the other if they think a LS430 is "stylish". As far as performance goes those who haven't ever driven a MB/BMW/Audi would think a car that keels over like the LS430 does when asked to corner has "performance". When I think about it I really don't blame JDP, I think it is the consumer that is either ignorant about what these categories really mean or they're expecting a Benz to provide a not-from-this-world experience. All this talk about "they don't build them like they used to" has gone to absurd levels now. Hell that 300TE that Fifth Gear trashed had an I6, basically a truck engine by todays standards so of course it might be more durable than today's far more complex engines. It isn't as if anyone today builds a car that equals MB's "old standards". I think some of these people who live for filling out surveys are just clueless about cars in general, gulp(!) including some MB buyers. No way in hell the new S should get 3 out of 5 for something like build quality. That is nonsense.

M

Ageed.
Except that an I6 is not a truck engine.