America’s Best Cars
November 9, 2018 by Douglas A. McIntyreThe market for sedans is dying as Americans favor SUVs, pickups, and crossovers. Some sedans have even been discontinued because of low sales. Ford has wiped out most of its vehicles in the segment. Ironically, most of the highest ranked vehicles for quality based on a new study by industry research leader J.D. Power fall into the sedan category.
Another notable takeaway from the survey is that 18 of the 20 vehicles that made the list are in the fading sedan category. Dave Sargent, vice president, Global Automotive at J.D. Power, pressed this point: “While consumer interest continues to shift towards crossovers, many cars are still proving extremely satisfying to own. The very best cars often score better for quality and appeal than crossovers at the same price point.”
It is interesting to note that many of these highest ranked vehicles are from brands that have struggled with sales in recent years. Among these are Lincoln, MINI, and Infiniti. These brands struggle despite the fact that they have done well in other J.D. Power surveys
Each car rated in the J.D. Power survey is the 2018 model, and all vehicles on the list have price points below $65,000. The J.D. Power rating uses an established research method. “The Compare Cars tool allows users to match three different models to simultaneously evaluate 100-point overall scores as well as other metrics including quality, dependability, performance and depreciation. To make research user-friendly, selected models remain saved within a digital tray as visitors browse from one page to another,” according to J.D. Power. 24/7 Wall St. added sales figures from each manufacturer and base price figures from each brand’s website.
10. Audi A5 Coupe
> JD score: 86
> 2018 unit sales: 23,005
> 2017 unit sales: 16,100
> Base price: $42,600
9. Infiniti Q60
> JD score: 87
> 2018 unit sales: 7,765
> 2017 unit sales: 9,065
> Base price: $39,950
8. Lincoln MKC
> JD score: 87
> 2018 unit sales: 21,204
> 2017 unit sales: 22,507
> Base price: $33,995
7. Lexus ES
> JD score: 87
> 2018 unit sales: 38,877
> 2017 unit sales: 42,440
> Base price: $39,600
6. Lexus IS
> JD score: 87
> 2018 unit sales: 18,904
> 2017 unit sales: 21,247
> Base price: $38,310
5. Mercedes-Benz GLC
> JD score: 89
> 2018 unit sales: 56,234
> 2017 unit sales: 37,134
> Base price: $40,700
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4. Lexus GS
> JD score: 90
> 2018 unit sales: 5,545
> 2017 unit sales: 6,118
> Base price: $46,610
3. Genesis G80
> JD score: 90
> 2018 unit sales: 7,141
> 2017 unit sales: 13,246
> Base price: $42,050
2. Lexus RX
> JD score: 91
> 2018 unit sales: 88,171
> 2017 unit sales: 84,254
> Base price: $43,470
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1. Lincoln Continental
> JD score: 92
> 2018 unit sales: 6,912
> 2017 unit sales: 9,873
> Base price: $45,160
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