Lexus should scoot to the side and make room for the luxury American automaker Cadillac, because the GM-owned car brand tied Toyota’s luxury line in the most recent customer satisfaction survey that was done by the University of Michigan. The survey measures the level of customer satisfaction achieved by each brand and as far as this year is concerned, Cadillac, which placed second last year to Lexus, scored an 89 in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the same score given to the long-reigning champion.

Tying for third place were Buick and Lincoln-Mercury, two beleaguered brands that seemed to have made quite a recovery by posting an approval score of 88. Joining the two in third is Honda, which also scored 88. Overall, American brands improved their standings this year by scoring an overall mark of 83, although it was still lower than what the Asian automakers received a score of 84 and even further than what the European carmakers got an 88.

Nevertheless, this marked improvement in satisfaction was mostly caused – ironically – by slashing down on car prices as a result of the economic crisis. So despite the plummeting sales of American car brands in their own country, there is a silver lining that should come from all of this. Americans are becoming more and more satisfied with their own brands and as Cadillac has shown, it can compete with foreign heavyweights like Lexus and Toyota after all.

However those Japanese manufacturers have been relying on pure luxury, we shall see what happens when the new Lexus LF-L super car comes to the market. Currently Cadillac has a firm grasp on the go fast in style group with the supercharged CTS-V not to mention stylish CTS Coupe and high performance CTS-V wagon joining the lineup later on next year. Not to mention, that even with the best in American manufacturing behind it, can make for more satisfying ownership experience than some of the more delicate Ferraris and Lamborghinis on the market.

:bancha:

I am guessing this survey did not include Dealer satisfaction numbers?:yawn:

Personally I am happy with Cadillac as a brand but its dealer experience is another story.

Must be all those young buyers of CTS chiming in, glad to see Cadillac is holding its' own. Hope the trend continues with the new cars coming out.

The new 2009-2010 Cadillac models (CTS/V/Sport Wagon, SRX) are all awesome. If Cadillac applies this new found magic to all their models, they will be back on top of the luxury game.

I am guessing this survey did not include Dealer satisfaction numbers?:yawn:

Personally I am happy with Cadillac as a brand but its dealer experience is another story.
This is very good news. I'm glad to hear it.. As for "dealer satisfaction", we all have different stories. As you can probably imagine, I've driven Cadillac vehicles for most of my driving years.. I've never had a bad experience at any of the Cadillac dealerships I've been to. More often than not, I hear the same thing from people I know.. I think for the most part, Cadillac dealers treat their clients very well. However, it would not be realistic to assume that everyone gets treated well all of the time. And it's certainly possible for some people to have bad experiences quite often. Generally, however, Cadillac does a good job of treating their customers appropriately...

where's the chart?

Cadillac has a chance to really put a dent in the import ownership of the luxury market over the next couple years. The fact that they came out with the CTS while amidst of all the GM turmoil, shows theres some really good leadership there with good direction. The high customer satisfaction levels combined with well built and stylish cars will make them a winner.