Cars and Drivers

Lincoln Tops Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Cadillac in JD Power Survey

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: February 24, 2016 12:15 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 12:46 pm

The Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) Lincoln luxury division may not sell many cars, but its image got a boost from the results of a new J.D. Power survey.

The J.D. Power 2016 Vehicle Dependability Study rated Lincoln 10th among all 32 brands listed. Lincoln had 132 problems per 100 vehicles, while the industry average was 152.

J.D. Power describes the period covered and the primary basis for methodology:

The study, now in its 27th year, examines problems experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of 2013 model-year vehicles. Overall dependability is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The study covers 177 specific problem symptoms grouped into eight major vehicle categories.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) luxury brand Lexus topped all those in the study, with 95 problems per 100 vehicles. Volkswagen luxury brand Audi fell behind Lincoln at 134, followed by Mercedes at 135, BMW at 142 and Cadillac at 145.

Lincoln sold only 7,177 cars and sport utility vehicles in January, up 8.4% from January 2015. That left it well behind Mercedes, which sold 26,563, up 1.7%. BMW sold 18,082, down 4.7%, and Audi sold 11,850 units in January, up 2.7%.

Many car industry experts believe Lincoln sales will never catch those from the German manufacturers, so any small edge helps.