J.D. Power and Associates Announce the 2012 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS)

J.D. Power and Associates' 2012 Initial Quality Study was released Wednesday, and the big winners that sell pickup trucks, all finishing above the industry average of 102 problems reported per 100 vehicles, were Chevrolet (100), Ram (99), Nissan (99), GMC (99), Toyota (88) and Honda (83). The only other pickup truck makers, finishing well below the industry average, were Suzuki (115) and Ford (118).

J.D. Power noted that a good number of the issues this past year were related to new multimedia entertainment and navigation systems. Even though Ford invested a substantial amount of time and money in a MyFord Touch upgrade that makes the system much easier to use and understand, the automaker saw its score worsen by one point. Benny Fowler, Ford's group vice president for global quality, said he expects the scores to improve by the third quarter of this year as new buyers get more exposure and experience with the new MyFord Touch.

It's also worth noting that both the General Motor's pickup brands, Chevrolet and GMC, had their highest combined ratings in the study's 26-year history, both finishing above the industry average. 

The new J.D. Power study also names the top models from 21 different categories, including large and midsize pickup trucks. The winner of the Large Pickup category went to the GMC Sierra 1500, with the Chevy Silverado HD in second and the Chevy Avalanche and Nissan Titan tied for third (that essentially amounts to a sweep for GM trucks). In the Midsize category, the Nissan Frontier won, and the Honda Ridgeline was the only other pickup on the list. For a complete list of all the winners, click here. 

J.D. Power’s ratings are determined by the number of problems reported per 100 vehicles. The lower the score, the better the rating. The group polled 74,000 original owners of model-year 2012 vehicles and recorded problems they've experienced over 90 days of ownership.

Comments (52) in Awards, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Avalanche, Compact/Midsize, Ford, Full-Size, GMC, Heavy-Duty, Honda, Honda Ridgeline, Light-Duty