(J.D. Power and Associates: Westlake Village, CA) -- Although reliability concerns for some brands have increased from 2009, many domestic and Korean brands—including Ford, GMC, Hyundai, Kia, and Ram—have been successful in improving customer perceptions of reliability this year, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ 2010 Avoider Study. Audi, Scion, and Smart also improved in avoidance rates due to reliability perceptions. This marks the second consecutive year that Ford and Audi have been among the brands that have shown the most improvement in reliability perception in the industry.

The study, now in its eighth year, examines the reasons consumers fail to consider—or avoid—particular models when shopping for a new vehicle.

“Perceptions about reliability are slow to change, and some brands have a negative consumer perception that is at odds with reality,” says Kerri Wise, director of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates. “However, brands are getting the word out about their actual reliability performance and are slowly but steadily changing perceptions.”

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