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"Nissan and General Motors scored high marks in a new survey of vehicle quality by Strategic Vision, a San Diego, California-based consumer research firm.   Nissan models led five segments (one a tie) on Strategic Vision&amp;#039;s 2005 Total Quality Index. General Motors products also led five segments (one a tie).   The study surveyed 40,793 buyers who bought 2005 models in October and November of 2004 and assesses the &amp;quot;complete ownership experience, from buying and owning to driving new vehicles,&amp;quot; according to a news release.   &amp;quot;We gather comprehensive data that reflects the breadth and depth of the ownership experience, including emotions,&amp;quot; says Strategic Vision president Dr. Darrel Edwards. &amp;quot;The information is used to calculate &amp;#039;Total Quality&amp;#039; indices. These integrated relationships between attributes and emotions mirror how people respond to their new vehicle. Those product and performance characteristics that deliver more desired emotions more strongly impact the perception of Total Quality.&amp;quot;   Several new GM products took top honors in their segments. medium sedan won out over Toyota and Honda entries, as did the Buick Rainier medium sport-utility vehicle (SUV).   No one corporation dominated, with Toyota leading four segments (2 ties), BMW three (1 tie), Ford three (2 ties), Hyundai two (1 tie), and Honda, Chrysler and one each. After a year out of the winner&amp;#039;s circle, BMW reemerged as the top-scoring brand. Nissan led as best full-line corporation.   Buyers rated the following vehicles tops in their segments (closely ranked scores, if the differences are not statistically significant, are considered ties) :   Small Car - Ford Focus/Hyundai Accent/Mazda3 (tie) 860/859/859 Small Multi-Function (MFV) (a) - Chrysler PT Cruiser/Scion xB (tie) 843/842 Medium Car - Pontiac G6 875 Large Car - Ford Five Hundred/Nissan Maxima (tie) 886/886 Small Specialty - (-$25,000) 915 Small Specialty - (+$25,000) Chevrolet Corvette(b) 905 Near-Luxury Car - BMW 3 Series 934 Luxury Car - BMW 5 Series/Lexus LS 430(b) (tie) 911/910 Convertible - (-$30,000) Mini Cooper Convertible 891 Convertible - (+$30,000) Lexus SC 430 920 Minivan - Honda Odyssey(b) 861 Small SUV - 879 Medium Crossover(a) - Nissan Murano(b) 880 Medium SUV - Buick Rainier 879 Large SUV - Nissan Armada 906 Near-Luxury SUV - Infiniti FX(b) 906 Luxury SUV - Range Rover/Hummer H2/Cadillac Escalade(b) (tie) 908/907/906 Compact Pickup - Toyota Tacoma 852 Large Pickup - 893 Heavy Duty Pickup - GMC Sierra 2500/3500 883   (a) New segment in 2005 (b) 2004 Total Quality Award winner   Source: Strategic Vision Inc. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a11188/nissan-and-gm-top-quality-survey/>