The Most Finicky Critics
Agree- Jaguar Is Tops
In Quality
Jaguar
has been rewarded for
its’ focus on reliability
and quality by critics
such as J.D. Power &
Associates for quite
some time, but the newest
accolade comes from
a rather unexpected
and most rewarding source-
the German people. Germans
have been known the
world over for their
attention to detail,
obsessive focus on function
dictating form more
than art or beauty and
because of these characteristics,
they have been known
for the best engineering
in the world. Recently,
Jaguar took top honors
in a reader poll of
more than 30,000 Germans
to determine their choice
for manufacturer based
on quality, reliability
and customer service.
Now, this vote to #1
status can’t come as
a complete shock because
Jaguar was voted # 5
last year and has been
in the hunt going back
several years. What
is unusual is that Japanese
cars have fallen from
their perch on top after
several years of dominance.
In fact, more telling
is that of the top ten,
Porsche, Volvo, BMW
and Jaguar were the
only European brands
represented. No Mercedes?
That’s right. It has
been rumored in hushed
discussion for a while
now that Chrysler got
the best deal of the
Daimler-Chrysler merger
or take-over (depending
on who you ask) back
in 1999. It seems the
Chrysler product has
gotten the better of
quality while Mercedes
has been able to lower
its’ price points to
enter into other market
segments and sharpen
it’s competitive edge,
but at a cost of quality
and reliability.
Auto Zeitung magazine
has polled its’ readers
for years to determine
‘the people’s choice’
of cars, but this year
the results were surprising
and telling too. Jaguar
was listed as the #1
car of choice by some
of the most discriminating
car buyers in the world.
That is a point of pride
for a manufacturer who
has focused acutely
on quality for years
now, at the direction
of its’ parent company,
Ford.
Rumor has swirled around
Ford camps for quite
some time about a possible
sale of Jaguar, but
accolades like these
might hold such a sale
at bay. Ford has publicly
dangled Aston Martin
out there and even considered
Land Rover, but has
had nothing but praise
for Jaguar in its’ stable
of Premium brands. In
fact, sales figures
have supported the claim
that Jaguar is doing
well in the market sector
of Luxury brands and
this latest reward is
like icing on the cake.
Jaguar is a car worth
a look and probably
a good, long, twisty
drive from your local
dealer all the way home.
