Fewer buyers are satisfied with Big 3
In recent years, the domestic automakers had been closing the gap with their competitors in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which asks owners to rate their satisfaction with the brand of vehicle they own.
"We've seen Detroit improving, though its foreign competitors improved more," said professor Claes Fornell, who heads the study. "This year is more ominous. The gap is extending. Detroit is falling. It's all foreign at the top and all American at the bottom."
The results contrast with recent gains by General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in other quality and consumer satisfaction studies. Fornell attributed the drop to rising fuel prices, which he said have soured consumers to the big trucks and sport utility vehicles that have until recently been the focus of U.S. automakers.
The survey targets consumers who have purchased their vehicle between six months and three years ago.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand was first, followed by Germany's BMW AG. Toyota was third, followed by Honda Motor Co.
GM's Buick brand received the highest marks of any domestic marque, and its Saturn brand was the most improved over last year, with its satisfaction rating climbing nearly 5 percent. But GM's bread-and-butter Chevrolet brand posted the biggest decline -- 3.7 percent -- falling below South Korea's Kia Motors Corp.
Fornell noted that Saturn is GM's most fuel-efficient brand.
GM said it has not been able to review the survey, but said that other recent studies have shown solid improvements in both quality and customer satisfaction.
"We still say with a high level of confidence that the level of our customer satisfaction is improving for most of our brands, based on independent studies and internal data," GM spokeswoman Janine Fruehan said.
Analyst Erich Merkle of Crowe Chizek and Co. said the news was not good for Detroit, but added that this survey is less closely watched than others.
"The average consumer pays more attention to J.D. Power and Consumer Reports," he said. "At the end of the day, you still have to satisfy the consumer. You still have to have the products that people want to buy."
The only brands worse than Chevy were Chrysler LLC's Dodge and Jeep. Jeep improved over last year, but remained dead last. The Chrysler brand also was below the industry average.
"If I were Chrysler, I would certainly be concerned," Fornell said, noting that Chrysler has also done poorly in recent quality surveys.
Chrysler spokesman Ed Saenz said the company takes customer satisfaction seriously, and has been working hard to improve it since being acquired by Cerberus Capital Management LP last year.
"We have a renewed and intensified focus on satisfying our Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge customers that has been under way for about a year," he said. "The new management is committed to satisfying our customers at every level. We are beginning to see, in internal numbers, improvements that indicate we are on the right path."
Ford's Lincoln and Mercury brands were above average, but fell 3.5 percent from last year. The Blue Oval was flat, remaining two points below the industry average.
Like GM, Ford said it has scored better in other recent rankings.
"This survey runs counter to the results of other recent surveys, in which we've made great progress," Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer said.
Overall, the auto industry as a whole was flat year over year, and Fornell offered some good news for the Big Three: "The good news is that, overall, the satisfaction scores compared to many other industries that we look at are high."
The university looks at a different group of industries each quarter. This study also looked at personal computers and appliances, among others.
Apple Inc. soared 7.6 percent, widening its lead over No. 2-rated Dell Inc., which also posted a modest gain. Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Compaq brand was last amongst PC manufacturers.
Whirlpool Corp. was first among appliance manufacturers, though its ratings dropped nearly 5 percent over last year. AB Electrolux was the lowest-rated appliance brand in the survey.
The index is produced by the university's Ross School of Business, in partnership with the American Society for Quality and CFI Group.