Lexus Wins Top Owner Satisfaction Award in Sweden & Norway

[krew]

krew

Lexus has placed first in the 2015 Auto Index survey, making it the top brand for owner satisfaction in Sweden and Norway.

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[Lexus Cohen]

I've convinced several persons to buy a Lexus, my ex-wife has an IS 350 FSPORT, her brother drives a Lexus, and my friend recently purchased an IS, all because of me. I've had several models, and not one issue with any of the cars. GS300, IS250 MT, GS FSPORT, IS F, and now the RC FSPORT.

 

[mmcartalk]

Lexus has placed first in the 2015 Auto Index survey, making it the top brand for owner satisfaction in Sweden and Norway

I'm sure that's true, and one cannot deny Lexus reliability, even though each new or redesigned Lexus, IMO, seems built with lighter and thinner materials than what preceded it. I've noticed a big difference in the last 8-10 years.

Also, given the attachment that people in Nordic countries once had for Saab and Volvo (particularly Volvo), it seems obvious to me that another big factor was how both brands went seriously downhill under the ownership of American corporations. Under GM ownership, Saab was stripped of most of the nice hatchbacks/wagons that Saab fans and traditionalists liked, turned into mostly sedans for their passenger-car line, and forced to sell both rebadged GM and Subaru products. Volvo, under Ford ownership, while escaping the rebadged-Ford trap, nevertheless lost much of their uniqueness, and, like Saab, lost many of their traditional owners. Then, to add injury to insult, both companies were dumped back to overseas firms to try and sort out the mess....after the mess had been created. Volvo generally fared better than Saab...but is still on some shaky ground. Swedes and Norweigians, in the meantime, turned to Lexus products instead....a least the ones that didn't go German.

 

[CIF]

Breaking an all-time record in Norway, wow, way to go Lexus!

I'm sure that's true, and one cannot deny Lexus reliability, even though each new or redesigned Lexus, IMO, seems built with lighter and thinner materials than what preceded it. I've noticed a big difference in the last 8-10 years.

Also, given the attachment that people in Nordic countries once had for Saab and Volvo (particularly Volvo), it seems obvious to me that another big factor was how both brands went seriously downhill under the ownership of American corporations. Under GM ownership, Saab was stripped of most of the nice hatchbacks/wagons that Saab fans and traditionalists liked, turned into mostly sedans for their passenger-car line, and forced to sell both rebadged GM and Subaru products. Volvo, under Ford ownership, while escaping the rebadged-Ford trap, nevertheless lost much of their uniqueness, and, like Saab, lost many of their traditional owners. Then, to add injury to insult, both companies were dumped back to overseas firms to try and sort out the mess....after the mess had been created. Volvo generally fared better than Saab...but is still on some shaky ground. Swedes and Norweigians, in the meantime, turned to Lexus products instead....a least the ones that didn't go German.

Just on the point of Volvo, they are actually on very solid ground now, since they were bought by the Chinese automaker Geely. Volvo is currently undergoing a massive, multi-billion dollar product revitalization, starting with the awesome new XC90. The other great thing is that Geely smartly is keeping Volvo fairly independent, and allowing them to stay quite Swedish, in terms of design and feel.

 

[mmcartalk]

Breaking an all-time record in Norway, wow, way to go Lexus!



Just on the point of Volvo, they are actually on very solid ground now, since they were bought by the Chinese automaker Geely. Volvo is currently undergoing a massive, multi-billion product revitalization, starting with the awesome new XC90. The other great thing is that Geely smartly is keeping Volvo fairly independent, and allowing them to stay quite Swedish, in terms of design and feel.

Yes...that's why I said, in my last post, that Volvo escaped at least some of the problems that Saab encountered. But they still lost enough of their former uniqueness that it affected their sales....especially in the U.S. Of course, if you go back just a couple of decades, they pretty much all looked like square shoe boxes, were all RWD, and drove like appliances....perhaps that is the way the Swedes liked them. Lexus, though, seems to have recently cut into some of their former market....the Swedes and Norwegians didn't give them the top-satisfaction award for nothing.