GMC Truck ranks highest in dealer service satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2002 Medium-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study released Tuesday.

Peterbilt ranks highest among conventional medium-duty trucks in overall product satisfaction for the second year in a row, while Hino ranks highest among cab-over medium-duty trucks.
Dealer service satisfaction, a critical part of the ownership experience, is measured using seven key factors of the medium-duty truck service experience (in order of importance): dealer attitude; service delivery process; service quality; price of service; service facility; service initiation; and service advisor/write-up person.
GMC Truck dealers score higher than other truck dealers in dealer attitude, service initiation and service advisor/write-up person. Chevrolet, which scores highest in service delivery process, service quality and price of service, ranks second behind GMC Truck in the overall rankings. Ford also performs above industry average.
Medium-duty truck product satisfaction is based on six key factors of the medium-duty truck ownership experience (in order of importance): vehicle quality; vehicle engine; vehicle transmission; ride, handling and braking; vehicle cab interior; and exterior design and styling.
"Peterbilt has a long history of satisfied customers, ranking highest in satisfaction for three of the past four years," said Brian Etchells, manager of commercial vehicle research for J.D. Power and Associates. "They produce a truck that keeps their customers satisfied. Peterbilt scored highest in each of the six factors of satisfaction."
Peterbilt's strong performance in the 2002 study is driven by its 330 model, which accounts for 84% of its medium-duty truck models. Owners of the 330 model report the fewest incidences of downtime and very few days of downtime compared to all ranked conventional models included in the study. Only one-half of 330 model owners who experienced a problem had downtime.
Kenworth, Sterling, Chevrolet, GMC Truck, Ford and Freightliner also perform above industry average in overall satisfaction in the conventional medium-duty truck segment.
Hino ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction in the cab-over engine market segment, scoring highest in five of the six factors of satisfaction, with vehicle engine being the only exception. Hino's biggest competitive advantage is in vehicle cab interior, where it scores considerably higher than its nearest competitor in the segment. Hino owners also report the fewest occurrences of downtime and days of downtime among all ranked cab-over models included in the study.
UD Trucks and Mitsubishi Fuso also finish above industry average in the cab-over engine market segment.
The 2002 Medium-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study is based on interviews with 2,282 primary maintainers of two-year-old medium-duty trucks (Classes 5, 6 and 7). The study analyzes customer satisfaction across a number of important factors, including vehicle performance, product quality, interior and exterior design, dealer service, dealer parts and manufacturer images.
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001 registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually.