Lincoln, Ford Motor Co.’s luxury brand, excelled at the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s annual survey of the auto industry, receiving a score of 90 on the 100-point index. The latest survey saw Lincoln surpassing last year’s co-leaders: Cadillac, Lexus and Toyota. The results are based on customers’ evaluations of the quality of their vehicles. Rounding up the top ten vehicle brands of the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s annual survey are Lexus with 89, Buick and Subaru with 87, BMW and Cadillac with 86 and Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen with 85. Customer satisfaction industry-wide equaled the index’s all-time high with an average of 84, up from 83 in 2011 and 82 in 2010.
According to the index’s analysis, although vehicles cost an average of over $30,000, better vehicle quality has improved satisfaction throughout the industry. David VanAmburg, managing director of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, said that in the short term, customers are getting something for a better price, making them a little happier.
VanAmburg warned that it would be pretty hard to sustain this condition. VanAmburg said that for the past years, there were very small gains that seem to be driven by enhancing the quality of the experience. He said that Lincoln’s customer satisfaction this year, which jumped 5 percent over 2011, was boosted by its small but loyal cadre of drivers. Lincoln posted a 2-percent drop in sales in the US for the first seven months of 2012.
