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Jaguar and Buick: Modern Marques of Dependability
By Turbonius J. Monkey | March 25, 2009
News flash: Buick and Jaguar Rated Most Dependable by J.D. Power. That many automakers have taken great strides to improve their reputations for elements such as quality, customer satisfaction and dependability has been no secret in recent years. For certain brands the achievement has been remarkable. For Jaguar in particular, given their reputation in the 1970s, this would seem nothing short of herculean. But is it really?
It would seem that for the last 10 years or so that it is nearly impossible to buy a bad car. In reality, the differences in reliability/dependability for the typical work-a-day car or truck are narrow enough to be darn near meaningless.
Automotive technology has matured quite nicely in the past 50 years. We’ve seen bias ply tires give way to radial, the advent of run-flat tires. Carburetion has given way to the far more reliable fuel injection. Seat belts, airbags and other passive restraints have significantly reduced fatalities. Meanwhile, anti-lock brakes, active handling technology, and other safety systems have helped to reduce the likelihood of getting into a crash to begin with.
Reminisce if you will over the cars of the past, but the simple fact is that the common car of today is nearly miraculous compared to those of the past. Some may argue that cars of the past were easier to work on, and while that may be true, it’s also true that those relics we hold so dear in our memories needed to be worked on rather frequently. Think about it, when was the last time you had a tire blowout? Heck, when was the last time you even heard of someone having a blowout? How about carburetor adjustments? Tune-ups… modern cars are typically owned, driven for years and sold before they ever need a tune-up.
So here we are, were you to be told in the 70s, 80s, or even the early 90s that Jaguar and Buick could someday share the throne for most dependable automakers would have been downright laughable. No one is laughing now, least of all the Folks at Lexus.
Topics: buick, jaguar | No Comments »