There was a time when in-car technologies were only limited to luxury vehicles but all that has changed over the past decade. Now most of those cool features can be found on your not so expensive vehicle, be it’s a sedan, hatchback or SUV.
According to the 2012 U.S. Initial Quality Study(IQS) put out by J.D.Power Associates, there is a dissatisfaction regarding the latest technologies fitted, among customers despite the 5 percent increase in the initial quality from the previous year. Although brands like Lexus, Jaguar, Porsche, Cadillac and Honda have taken the top spots, an appreciable percentage of customers, nearly 8 percent are not happy with audio, entertainment and navigation systems.
J.D. Power, vice president of global automotive, David Sargent, says that while high-end technology offerings have traditionally been limited to luxury vehicles, “over the past few years it has rapidly found its way into the automotive mainstream.”
J.D. Power also states,
“For the first time in the 26-year history of the study, owners report more problems related to audio, entertainment, and navigation systems than in any other vehicle area. This is driven in part by a rapid increase in the fitment of new technology, such as voice recognition on mainstream models.”
Apparently the largest issue is related to Voice Technology, hands free technology in specific, and the current dissatisfaction has increased to 137 percent over the past four years. Actually its not the technology that troubles customers, it is the execution that brings the pain.
Ford, one of the most renowned carmaker has seen a significant drop in J.D. Power ranking and is now developing new technologies in partnership with Microsoft. Ford is working the hardest to bring the new technologies and we expect them to be more user friendly. It ranked 5th in 2010 which decreased to 23rd in 2011 and now 27th in 2012.
Not just Ford, other renowned manufacturers have also experienced noticeable rank drops. Mercedes-Benz has come down from position number four to number nine this year while brands like BMW and Audi going up from 13th to 10th and 18th to 16th respectively. I am sure manufacturers are taking this problem seriously and will soon do something about it.
Source – Wired
