Cadillac, Lexus topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index

The top brands named in American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual ranking of automakers are Cadillac from General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.'s namesake division and Lexus line. Toyota, Cadillac, and Lexus were tied at 87 on a scale of 100. Toyota is the only non-premium brand in the top five. Lincoln and Mercedes-Benz came in next, both getting scores of 86. Meanwhile, BMW dropped to No. 11, with a score of 83. BMW’s lowest mark was in 1997 with a score of 80.

Claes Fornell, the creator of the index, said that Toyota’s score is a “surprise,” considering that it builds a considerable volume of fairly low-priced cars. The scores come from about 70,000 interviews with customers regarding satisfaction with goods and services.

The annual auto rankings were based on data from 5,000 surveys gathered in the second quarter. The score of each company is based on a sample of 250 telephone interviews with consumers. The auto industry went up by 1 point to 83, its second- highest score ever. The Chrysler brand was the lowest-rated brand with a score of 76. All the seven Asian brands in the index increased, except for Mazda. Honda, scoring 85, and Hyundai, with 83, both achieved a 1.2% increase.[via - 4wheelsnews]

Photo : Cadillac