Nov. 19 – Freightliner returns to the top position as best conventional medium-duty truck in customer satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 1998 Medium-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study – but scored below average in dealer service.

International, for the second year in a row, is the best medium-duty truck for dealer service, and scored above average in customer satisfaction.
In customer satisfaction, the survey assesses three critical factors: vehicle performance, vehicle downtime and vehicle interior. In 1998, nearly all medium-duty conventionals earned higher scores in the most important factor: vehicle performance. Freightliner’s trucks continue to lead the conventional medium-duty truck segment in the vehicle interior factor. They also showed improvements in both vehicle downtime and vehicle performance. The only other medium-duty conventional to finish above the industry average was International.
In dealer service, the study assessed service attitude and quality, service capability and service timeliness. Respondents report a decline in their overall satisfaction with dealer service, especially in the dealership’s ability to service vehicles in a timely manner.
In addition to International, other manufacturers to finish at or above the industry average in dealer service were Chevrolet and GMC Truck.
The study, based on more than 2,200 principal maintainers of 2-year-old medium-duty trucks, analyzes customer responses regarding Class 5, 6 and 7 trucks to determine customer satisfaction. For more information, visit http://www.jdpower.com.