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This is a link from the J.D. Power site. Probably the same general info Cris saw.
I guess these ratings will always spur disputes among enthusiasts, especially when some (but certainly not all) enthusiast type cars don't fare too well. Are owners of some brands more likely to respond to these kinds of surveys than others? Probably. Are some owners of some brands more picky with the type and number of problems they report? Probably. Is everyone 100% truthful when they respond to a survey? Probably not. And can all these things have an impact on published ratings? Yeah, probably.
Indeed, SAAB, as well as Volvo and VW, were rated below the industry average, although their specific positions on the list are not shown on the link I found. And yes, BMW and Audi fared better. Evidently much better than SAAB. But.........all is not lost.
The Vehicle Dependibility Index is looking at vehicles whose owners had 4 to 5 years ownership experience with them at the time the surveys were completed. So, that means there are no SAAB 9-3 or 9-5 models included at all. The newest SAAB models included would be 1995 and 1996 models, the NG 900's and the 9000. Maybe there could have been some early 97's, but that would depend on when they were purchased (say, fall 1996), the dates surveys were completed and the the cut-off dates chosen by J.D. Power. But I'd bet the results were mostly 95 and 96 models.
It's pretty well known that the start-up of the NG 900 was problematic for SAAB and that the first two model years were troublesome. So those 1995 and 1996 NG 900's may have torpedoed SAAB's ratings in this survey.
So, while this survey is interesting to look over, it doesn't yet reflect the strides which SAAB has been trying to make in improving quality and reliability in its newest models. As others have pointed out, the 9-5 in particular, and also the 9-3, have received improved reliability comments from various sources. We should expect to see SAAB improve its position as the the newer models figure into the mix in future surveys of this type.
Quality is many different things. There's "build quality" or "fit and finish", which is a result of the assembly plant, the manufacturing process and the efforts of the workers, and the manufacturer's policy of what quality level they tolerate and/or expect at the plant. Then, there is reliability quality, which is a result of engineering and manufacturing design of their own components, and on the the quality of all the various components supplied by outside sources. Here again, the manufacturer decides on what quality level of inside and outside components to accept. If they settle on cheaper designs and components, long term reliability will suffer. If they require better standards, cost will rise but reliability and owner satisfaction will likely improve.
If SAAB doesn't improve in future surveys of this type, I'd be more concerned. But I'd like to think they will improve.
, Wed, 27 Dec 2000 19:22:03
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