Car quality slips at Ford; blame it on the gizmos

It's mainly about the telematics that operate entertainment and communications systems in the middle of your dash. The MyFord and MyLincoln systems were unintuitive and complex, according to the J.D. Power & Associates' Initial Quality study. Sometimes, they simply didn't work. As a result, Ford has fallen from fifth place in 2010 to 27th in 2012. Topping the list for the second straight year was Lexus followed somewhat surprisingly by Jaguar and Porsche. J.D. Power, which is based in Westlake Village, examines vehicles during the first 90 days of ownership. Here's the study. From the WSJ:

For GM, the GMC and Chevrolet brands both fell two places to 12th and 15th respectively. GMC owners reported 88 problems per 100 vehicles, and Chevrolet owners 100. "The technology problems are widespread among all the auto makers," [said J.D. Power analyst Dave Sargent]. "There has been a tendency to pack a lot into a small screen and there has been an excitement to get the technology to market although some of it wasn't ready for prime time." Widespread problems with technology among the auto makers, Mr. Sargent said, suggest many need to redouble their efforts to keep their multimedia, audio-entertainment and navigation offerings simple. "If you are going to introduce unfamiliar technology to consumers who are driving 70 miles per hour, it has to be simple," Mr. Sargent said. "These are not people who are sitting in their Barcaloungers and playing with their iPad."