DETROIT - Customer satisfaction with major automakers has returned to its highest point in the nearly 20 years of the widely tracked American Customer Satisfaction Index.
The industry achieved an overall ranking of 84 out of 100, tying 2009 for its best-ever mark.
This year is the industry's most impressive performance, said David VanAmburg, managing director of ACSI. In 2009, customers were happy because vehicle prices hit rock bottom when the U.S. government launched the cash-for-clunkers incentives in the summer of 2009.
ACSI measures three-year satisfaction among new-vehicle buyers. That is a much longer evaluation period than J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality and APEAL studies, which measure consumers' impressions only during the first 90 days.
Six of the nine U.S. auto brands improved from 2011 to 2012. The Jeep brand rose from a score of 79 to 83, while Dodge edged up from 79 to 81. The Chrysler brand went from 76 to 78, but still ranked at the bottom of the industry.
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Ford brand fell a point behind Chevrolet to 83. Nissan (83), Kia (82) and Mazda (82) all trailed the industry average.
Top brands, scores
1. Ford's Lincoln, 90
2. Toyota's Lexus, 89
3. GM's Buick, 87
3. Subaru, 87
4. BMW, 86
5. Cadillac, 86
6. Hyundai, 85
7. Mercedes-Benz, 85
8. Toyota, 85
9. Volkswagen, 85
10. Chevrolet, 84
Source: American Consumer Satisfaction Index.
