Special Report

America's Best and Worst New Cars

Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

Once again this year Korean car brands ranked the highest in terms of quality, according to the J.D. Power 2019 Initial Quality Study. The study also found that the gap in quality between these brands — Genesis, Kia, and Hyundai — and all others had widened.

J.D. Power measures brand quality by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership (PP100). A lower score means higher quality. The industry average was unchanged at 93 PP 100.

American brands scored above average, while all 10 European brands on the list ranked below average. Ford, Lincoln, and Chevrolet were among the top-performing American brands. Ford and Lincoln ranked fourth and fifth, respectively — the first time Ford Motor Company landed two brands in the top five. 

Land Rover was the most-improved brand, and Jaguar, Dodge, and Volvo all registered improvements. Despite its improvement, because of its hefty price tag among other factors, some Jaguar models are among the cars Americans don’t want to buy.  

The best individual model was the Porsche 911, the second straight year the car had the best score of any model in the study. The Porsche 911 is one of these longest-running car models of all time.

Click here to see America’s best and worst cars

genesis.com

1. Genesis
> Problems in first 3 months: 63
> 2018 unit sales: 9,940
> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Group

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2. Kia
> Problems in first 3 months: 70
> 2018 unit sales: 589,673
> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Group

hyundaiusa.com

3. Hyundai
> Problems in first 3 months: 71
> 2018 unit sales: 679,127
> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Group

Courtesy of Ford

4. Ford
> Problems in first 3 months:83
> 2018 unit sales: 2,386,588
> Parent company: Ford Motor Company

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lincoln.com

5. Lincoln
> Problems in first 3 months: 84
> 2018 unit sales: 103,587
> Parent company: Ford Motor Company

Courtesy of Chevrolet

6. Chevrolet
> Problems in first 3 months: 85
> 2018 unit sales: 2,017,205
> Parent company: General Motors Company

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nissanusa.com

7. Nissan
> Problems in first 3 months: 86
> 2018 unit sales: 1,344,597
> Parent company: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance

Courtesy of Dodge

8. Dodge
> Problems in first 3 months: 90
> 2018 unit sales: 459,324
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Courtesy of Lexus

9. Lexus
> Problems in first 3 months: 90
> 2018 unit sales: 298,302
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Company

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Courtesy of Toyota

10. Toyota
> Problems in first 3 months: 90
> 2018 unit sales: 2,224,156
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Company

buick.com

11. Buick
> Problems in first 3 months: 92
> 2018 unit sales: 207,223
> Parent company: General Motors Company

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Courtesy of GMC

12. GMC
> Problems in first 3 months: 94
> 2018 unit sales: 556,451
> Parent company: General Motors Company

mazdausa.com

13. Mazda
> Problems in first 3 months: 94
> 2018 unit sales: 300,325
> Parent company: Mazda Motor Corporation

Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

14. Mercedes-Benz
> Problems in first 3 months: 94
> 2018 unit sales: 349,084
> Parent company: Daimler AG

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Photo by Bryan Mitchell / Getty Images

15. Porsche
> Problems in first 3 months: 96
> 2018 unit sales: 59,116
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group

Courtesy of Honda

16. Honda
> Problems in first 3 months: 98
> 2018 unit sales: 1,445,627
> Parent company: Honda Motor Company

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cadillac.com

17. Cadillac
> Problems in first 3 months: 100
> 2018 unit sales: 153,863
> Parent company: General Motors Company

Courtesy of Jeep

18. Jeep
> Problems in first 3 months: 100
> 2018 unit sales: 973,227
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Courtesy of Infiniti

19. Infiniti
> Problems in first 3 months: 101
> 2018 unit sales: 149,280
> Parent company: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance

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Courtesy of BMW

20. BMW
> Problems in first 3 months: 102
> 2018 unit sales: 311,014
> Parent company: BMW Group

Courtesy of RAM

21. Ram
> Problems in first 3 months: 105
> 2018 unit sales: 597,368
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

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Courtesy of Audi

22. Audi
> Problems in first 3 months: 106
> 2018 unit sales: 223,068
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group

Courtesy of miniusa.com

23. Mini
> Problems in first 3 months: 107
> 2018 unit sales: 43,684
> Parent company: BMW Group

Courtesy of Acura

24. Acura
> Problems in first 3 months: 110
> 2018 unit sales: 158,934
> Parent company: Honda Motor Company

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chrysler.com

25. Chrysler
> Problems in first 3 months: 113
> 2018 unit sales: 165,964
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Courtesy of Subaru

26. Subaru
> Problems in first 3 months: 113
> 2018 unit sales: 680,135
> Parent company: Subaru Corporation

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vw.com

27. Volkswagen
> Problems in first 3 months: 113
> 2018 unit sales: 354,053
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group

Bryan Mitchell / Getty Images

28. Volvo
> Problems in first 3 months: 114
> 2018 unit sales: 98,786
> Parent company: Geely Holding Group

Robert Hradil / Getty Images

29. Alfa Romeo
> Problems in first 3 months: 118
> 2018 unit sales: 23,800
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

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Courtesy of Mitsubishi

30. Mitsubishi
> Problems in first 3 months: 121
> 2018 unit sales: 118,074
> Parent company: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance

Courtesy of landroverusa.com

31. Land Rover
> Problems in first 3 months: 123
> 2018 unit sales: 92,143
> Parent company: Tata Motors

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Hannes Magerstaedt / Getty Images

32. Jaguar
> Problems in first 3 months: 130
> 2018 unit sales: 30,254
> Parent company: Tata Motors

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