# Asian Brands Dominate US Auto Dealer Survey



## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Asian brands dominate U.S. auto dealer survey *

DETROIT, July 31 (Reuters) - Asian automotive brands dominated a U.S. survey of dealer satisfaction, with Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. taking the top three spots led by its Lexus and Scion vehicle lines. 

The survey, conducted by the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) in January and February and made available to Reuters on Monday, asked franchise auto dealers to rate their satisfaction with the automakers they represent on a 100-point scale based. 

Toyota's luxury Lexus brand took the top spot with an average score of 96 followed by the Japanese automaker's youth-oriented Scion brand. 

Honda was No. 3 followed by its luxury nameplate Acura. 

Hyundai Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. rounded out the top five spots. 

Automakers rely on the strength of their dealer networks and track dealer profitability and satisfaction closely since both provide a reading on the immediate market value of their brands. 

NADA quoted member dealers as saying that sales performance strongly influenced satisfaction, a major reason for the higher rankings for the Japanese and Korean auto brands that continue to take share of the U.S. market. 

The survey was taken during a quarter in which financial markets and consumers had grown wary of GM's prospects and the world's largest automaker only saw two of its brands -- Hummer and Cadillac -- top the industry average of 71.2 

DaimlerChrysler AG's brands all trailed the industry average with Jeep at 71.2, Chrysler at 70.8, Mercedes-Benz at 70.5 and Dodge at 69. 

Ford was the lowest ranked volume manufacturer with a rating of 63.7, making it the fifth-lowest ranked brand overall. Ford's Lincoln-Mercury nameplate came in one rank higher at 63.8, according to the survey. 

Results of the survey were published by NADA for its members in the July issue of the dealer-focused trade magazine AutoExec.


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## I-275westcoastfl (Feb 15, 2005)

Well i still see more american cars on the road for now anyway i wish that Nissan was more dominant than Honda i mean Honda has some fugly cars and Toyotas cars are all average looking i really things its the whole gas mileage thing because that seems thats a top priority these days.


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## DrJoe (Sep 12, 2002)

Asian manufactorers have been running into trouble lately with these huge recalls. Much of their success has been built on the perception that they build higher quality vehicles, that may have been true 5 years ago but it isn't the case anymore.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

I hear a lot more recalls among American companies than the Japanese ones though.


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## I-275westcoastfl (Feb 15, 2005)

Actually you mostly hear recalls on american cars from a few years back but recalls on many asians cars you hear recalls on the newer ones.


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## desirous (Jun 10, 2006)

American cars' resale values are a travesty. That makes for a vicious cycle in declining sales.


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