Satisfaction with US autos tops Asian brands for the first time in a decade

US consumers are more satisfied with American cars than Asian models for the first time in a decade, according to a report released August 17.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index, which measures how satisfied consumers are with their purchases, found that although customer satisfaction has declined across the board by 2.4 percent, Detroit's brands showed the smallest drop.

With Japanese and Korean automakers posting far larger declines, homegrown brands are now second only to European models, which have held the lead in terms of average satisfaction since 2008.

The figures suggested the highest satisfaction with Ford models domestically, followed by General Motors - both brands were trailed by Chrysler, which fell between 3 and 5 percent in terms of perception.

Overall, 14 of the 19 largest automakers show some deterioration in customer satisfaction over the past year, said ACSI.

Of the few that managed to hold or improve their position, Nissan made the biggest gain, up 5 percent to match the industry average at 82, while Ford brand GMC shows a smaller improvement, up 2 percent to 84.

Consumer Satisfaction - the top brands in the US

1. Lincoln-Mercury (Ford)
2. Buick (GM)
3. BMW / Mercedes-Benz / Cadillac (GM)
4. Lexus

http://www.theacsi.org