Among the product highlights are: Chrysler PT Cruiser (bottom), which tied for first place in the Compact Multi Activity Vehicle segment. Chrysler Sebring (top), which finished fourth in the very competitive Midsize Car segment that includes such competitors as Nissan Altima, Pontiac G6, Chevy Malibu, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

J.D. Power and Associates has announced the results of their 2009 Initial Quality Study (IQS), which measures new-vehicle quality at 90-days of ownership. There are several bright spots for Chrysler Group LLC within this study, which demonstrate that the improvements it has been implementing over the past year are starting to show for the company as a whole and within each of the brands.

The J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study, or IQS, serves as the industry benchmark for new-vehicle quality measured at 90 days of ownership. The study is used extensively by manufacturers worldwide to help them design and build better vehicles and by consumers to help them in their vehicle purchase decisions. Initial quality has been shown over the years to be an excellent predictor of long-term durability, which can significantly impact consumer purchase decisions. The J.D. Power and Associates study captures problems experienced by owners in two distinct categories: design-related problems, and defects and malfunctions. The 2009 Initial Quality Study provides information gathered from over 80,000 purchasers and lessees of 2009 model-year vehicles. Performance is measured using a “problems per 100 vehicles (PP100)” metric. A lower PP100 score indicates better performance and a higher PP100 score indicates worse performance. The 2009 study covers a total of 228 total problems, and organises them into the following eight categories: Exterior; The Driving Experience; Features, Controls and Displays; Audio, Entertainment and Navigation; Seats; HVAC, or Climate Controls; Interior; and, Engine and Transmission.

First, of the 10 most improved vehicles on the J.D. Power list, five of them were Chrysler Group vehicles, including the top three. The five most improved vehicles are the Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Grand Caravan, Dodge Avenger, Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Liberty. Second, the Chrysler Group improved 15 points on the survey, faster than the industry average of 10 points. The industry as a whole saw its greatest improvement since 2004. Despite this fact, Chrysler Group gained ground versus the competition. The Jeep brand improved by 30 points and moved up three rank positions. This jump is attributable primarily to a 47 point improvement for the Jeep Wrangler. Among the product highlights are: Chrysler PT Cruiser, which tied for first place in the Compact Multi Activity Vehicle segment. Chrysler Sebring (sedan and convertible), which finished fourth in the very competitive Midsize Car segment that includes such competitors as Nissan Altima, Pontiac G6, Chevy Malibu, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. In fact, when filtering out just the Chrysler Sebring sedan, it tied the Nissan Altima for first place in the segment with a score of 81 points. Dodge Grand Caravan, which improved by 60 points and now ranks third in the midsize van category.

"What the J.D. Power IQS shows us is that we have some forward momentum," says Doug Betts, Senior Vice President – Quality, Chrysler Group LLC. "We have figured out how to improve vehicles in production and have taken aggressive actions to continue that progress. During the course of 2008 and early 2009, Chrysler Group has made tremendous progress on quality, which we can see in our internal measures. The fact is that over last year, Chrysler has reduced its warranty claims by 30 percent. Our internal metrics confirm that we are currently operating with reliability that is better than it has ever been in company history. While the improvement is encouraging, we have by no means arrived at a resting place. With the implementation of Customer Satisfaction Teams (CSTs), Customer Promoter Score (CPS) and other initiatives, we are confident that we will continue to see improvements in our vehicle quality, which will exceed the pace of improvement in the industry as we did in the 2009 IQS."

The 2009 Initial Quality Study is based on responses from more than 80,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2009 model-year cars, trucks and multi-activity vehicles surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study is based on a 228-question battery designed to provide manufacturers with information to facilitate identifying problems and drive product improvement. The study was fielded between February and May of 2009.