Chrysler Suffers Beating in Important Auto Quality Study

By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Jan 11, 6:40PM EST · Published Aug 29, 6:45AM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Chrysler Suffers Beating in Important Auto Quality Study — © Courtesy of Chrysler

The ACSI Automobile Report 2018 measures the customer satisfaction of Americans who own major brands. The Chrysler brand, part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU), was at the bottom of a list that included 28 brands.

Chrysler received a grade of 79 on a scale of 1 to 100. The industry score was 82. It was part of a trend that showed that cars made by foreign manufacturers topped those of the United States.

American Customer Satisfaction Index researchers reported:

Eighty-six percent of the above-average nameplates in the ACSI are imports. European-made cars have the highest owner satisfaction, steady at 82, while Japanese and Korean automakers slip to 81. U.S. manufacturers come in last at 79, losing ground for a second consecutive year

Other Fiat Chrysler brands were near the bottom of the list. These included Fiat and Dodge. 24/7 Wall St. analyzed the results:

As auto sales hit their first slow period in years and margins are down, automakers must rely more on their reputations for quality and reliability to keep sales at current levels. According to the latest results of a highly regarded poll on auto industry customer satisfaction released Tuesday, some brands are better able to deliver a positive customer experience.

These findings come from the 2018 American Customer Satisfaction Index, which surveys car owners on their overall service and product experience with specific auto brands. Scores range from 1 to 100. According to the latest edition, the experience of owning an automobile has improved. The industry-wide score for 2018 is 82, up from 81 in 2017.

The best-rated brands this year are a make that held the spot last year and one that moved up several spots. At the other end of the list, one brand holds the unfortunate distinction of being by far the worst-rated in the ACSI. Notably, three of the five worst-ranked makes are Fiat Chrysler brands.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2018 ACSI rankings to determine the best and worst car brands of 2018.

See all the best and worst car brands of 2018.

[recirclink id=488174]

[wallst_email_signup]

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.