In an encouraging sign that Detroit automakers are making better cars, Cadillac, Buick and Lincoln Mercury matched Lexus and Honda -- and topped revered competitors such as Toyota and Mercedes-Benz -- in the most recent American Consumer Satisfaction Index.
The scores, based on a 0- to 100-point scale, ranged from 78 to 89. Cadillac and Lexus tied at the high end, followed by Honda, General Motors Co.'s Buick and Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln Mercury at 88 in second place. But the automotive brands registering the biggest improvement over the last year were Volkswagen, Lincoln Mercury, Chevrolet and Chrysler.
The ACSI is a national indicator of customer satisfaction based on quarterly surveys of people buying products and services from about 200 companies across 44 industries. This quarter's results were based on a survey of about 11,000 consumers.
So how do companies just out of bankruptcy translate shining report cards into higher sales and profits?
"They can become more innovative," said Claes Fornell, the University of Michigan professor who directs the ACSI research. "The car as we have known it is changing fundamentally. Whether Detroit will take the lead in that, I don't know."
Fornell challenges the conventional wisdom that a successful turnaround requires recapturing lost customers.
"The most dissatisfied customers have left. This notion of market share being a key to success is somewhat misplaced," he said. "It is much more profitable to retain a customer than to grab a new customer from someone else."