EMBATTLED U.S. AUTOMAKERS MAKE SUBSTANTIAL INITIAL QUALITY GAINS

摘要

New vehicles sold by Chrysler, Ford and* GM's domestic brands have improved in initial quality by an average of 10% compared with 2008, surpassing the 8% rate of improvement by the industry overall, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Initial Quality Study released in late June. Overall, the industry average for initial quality is 108 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2009, down from 118 PP100 in 2008. Initial quality for domestic brands has improved to an average of 112 PP100 in 2009 from 124 PP100 in 2008. Lower PP100 scores indicate a lower rate of problem incidences and higher quality.