J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Ford ACD Has the Highest Quality Seats On North American-Built Vehicles
20 October 1997
J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Ford ACD Has the Highest Quality Seats On North American-Built VehiclesAGOURA HILLS, Calif., Oct. 20 -- Ford ACD moves to the top becoming the "highest quality seat supplier" among first tier seat suppliers to North American-built vehicles in J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Seat Quality Report(SM). This honor is awarded to the supplier with the fewest consumer-reported problems with the seats in their new 1997 model year vehicles after approximately three months of ownership. According to consumers, Ford ACD, part of Ford's component group Visteon, manufactures the highest quality seats in North American-built vehicles, with 11.3 problems per 100 vehicles. Magna is not far behind Ford ACD followed by SAS, a Johnson Controls-Summa joint venture. The J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Seat Quality Report identifies consumer satisfaction with their seats by reporting seat problems they have experienced or things gone wrong (TGW). The study also includes information on things gone right (TGR), measuring what consumers like and dislike about their seats, and providing insight into what it takes to excite and delight buyers with the seats in their new car or truck. In addition, the report identifies the seat system and seat restraint suppliers for all models sold in the US. "Eliminating vehicle problems has been a priority to OEMs and suppliers alike as product quality directly impacts customer satisfaction and customer loyalty," commented Melissa Ross, manager, supplier services at J.D. Power and Associates. "Understanding product quality has grown in importance for seat suppliers as they have assumed more and more responsibility from the OEMs. With this added responsibility has come an increase in accountability -- including recent instances where suppliers have shared warranty costs with vehicle manufacturers. As responsibility and accountability continue to shift down the supply chain, understanding seat quality from the consumer's perspective will be imperative for suppliers to strengthen and grow their OEM relationships," Ms. Ross said. The study also found that the abundance of new model launches this year created many challenges for suppliers and designers. The report points out that the majority of buyers of newly-launched models were pleased with the seats in their new vehicles, with over 60 percent of the models receiving a TGR score higher than the segment average. However, when looking at the TGW rankings nearly 60 percent of the new models experienced more problems than what is average for their segment. The J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Seat Quality Report is based on data from the firm's Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout survey (APEAL). The APEAL study surveyed over 29,000 new car and truck owners after approximately three months of ownership. The Seat Quality Report is the first of five 1997 J.D. Power and Associates component-focused reports to be published. Additional reports will focus on audio systems, vehicle interiors, HVAC systems and transmissions. J.D. Power and Associates is an international firm best known for its marketing information services in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on actual customer responses from over a million consumers annually. With its headquarters in Agoura Hills, California, the firm also has U.S. offices in Torrance, California; Michigan; and Connecticut. Its international locations include Japan, Korea, England, Canada and Brazil. J.D. Power and Associates can be accessed through the World Wide Web at http://www.jdpower.com. Email: info@jdpower.com. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release or J.D. Power and Associates survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. Top 3 Primary Seat Suppliers TGW Ranking by Origin North American-Built Vehicles Industry Average = 15.7 Problems per 100 Ford ACD: Ford, Lincoln, Mercury 11.3 Magna: Ford, Mercury, Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth 12.4 SAS: Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth 13.5 Source: J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Seat Quality Report Top 3 Primary Seat Suppliers TGR Ranking by Origin North American-Built Vehicles Industry Average = 664 Peregrine: Cadillac 749 SAVASA: General Motors 693 Trimmasters: Toyota 686 Source: J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Seat Quality Report SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates