U.S. Carmakers Top Imports in J.D. Power Survey

Domestic auto brands outscored imports in a new poll that shows U.S. automakers growing more competitive after retiring lackluster models and replacing them with appealing vehicles, The Detroit News reported.

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. both performed well in J.D. Power and Associates' 2010 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study, a survey released Thursday that focuses on how much owners like their vehicles.

Ford had more standout vehicles than any other manufacturer with five of the 20 models leading their segments.

GM also came out well with its four core brands -- Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac -- all exceeding the industry average.

As in previous studies, premium import brands led by Porsche dominated the top rankings. But the domestics held their own in the competition among mainstream brands, with Buick scoring the highest.

Overall, the domestics scored higher than the import brands for the first time since 1997. The U.S. brands attained an average score of 787 points on a 1,000-point scale, 13 points higher than the overall import-brand score. Detroit's automakers raised their scores by revamping their lineups during the crisis, shedding unappealing models and replacing them with attractive ones, said David Sargent, vice president for vehicle research at J.D. Power.

Sargent cited the GM's redesigned Chevrolet Equinox and Buick LaCrosse as examples.

"The new ones are fundamentally better than the previous ones," he said. "These aren't tweaks; they're all-new vehicles with the same name."

The difference between old and new scores for foreign nameplates wasn't as dramatic.

J.D. Power's APEAL study is the latest in a series of surveys showing that the domestic automakers are recovering their competitiveness after lagging import brands in many areas for years.

"Historically, vehicle models achieving high APEAL scores have been shown to generate faster sales, higher profit margins and less need for cash incentives," J.D. Power said.

The results suggest GM kept the right brands last year as it emerged from its restructuring. "I think they made some good choices," Sargent said.

Chrysler Group LLC's Ram truck brand, now broken out separately, scored higher than its Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep brands.

Ford quality chief Bennie Fowler said the results show the automaker's strategy is working.

"We know it's not enough to build defect-free cars and trucks," Fowler said. "We move to the next step by delivering an experience that exceeds our customers' expectations."