New J. D. Power Survey Rates GM's TrailBlazer/Ascender SUV Clones near Top and Bottom
General Motors execs should have partied happily on New Year's Eve being that its Chevrolet division just topped J.D. Power and Associates' inaugural 2003 Customer Retention Study (CRS), ahead of Toyota, Honda and every premium brand.
 |
| Chevrolet, and their functional Avalanche SUT, topped J.D. Power and Associates' inaugural 2003 Customer Retention Study. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
The CRS documented that 60.8 percent of Chevrolet owners would continue with the brand the next time they purchased a new vehicle, due mostly to bowtie truck loyalists. The top Chevy was its functional Avalanche SUT (sport utility truck) with a 74.5 percent stated retention rate.
Other Chevrolet products to place well were the brand's TrailBlazer SUV, Impala midsize sedan and full-size Silverado pickup truck, with close to 70 percent retention rates.
 |
| Both Korean automakers, Hyundai (Santa Fe shown) and Kia, seem to be satisfying customers with 54.3 percent and 49.9 percent ratings respectively. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Chevrolet hopes to improve its car retention with new models this year including the Cobalt sedan and coupe introduced at the Los Angeles Auto Show last week.
Second on the list was Toyota at 59.3 percent, followed by Mercedes-Benz at 58.7 percent, Ford at 58.1 percent, and finally Honda at 57.1 percent. Also of note, both Korean automakers, Hyundai and Kia, the latter of which scored poorly in 2003's J. D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study, seem to be satisfying customers nonetheless with 54.3 percent and 49.9 percent ratings respectively.
As far as European brands go only Mercedes-Benz and BMW placed above average in the survey, joined by premium carmakers Lexus and Cadillac in what were twelve nameplates achieving above average ratings over 49.3 percent.