JD Power and Associates’ quest for initial quality

So I was watching bad television last night and I saw a commercial for the Nissan Altima. It was a pretty standard car ad complete with professional drivers on closed circuits, screeching tires and paid actors pretending to be engineers. The commercial reaches a head when the narrator uses all of his gravitas to tell us that the Altima was ranked by J.D. Power and Associates as the 2009 Highest Mid-Size Sedan in Initial Quality. To prove it, Nissan shows us the accompanying metal and glass plaque that was designed in the 90s.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know too much about J.D. Power and Associates. After a quick look on their website and Wikipedia, I now know they’ve been around since 1968 when they were founded by James David Power III (quite a name).  Being an avid SportsCenter viewer, I also know that I’ve been seeing ads featuring their awards forever. They clearly have quite the racket going. While I’m not an expert on automotive manufacturer awards, I do know a little bit about product naming. And at this point, I would like to kindly suggest to Mr. Power and his Associates, that it might be a good idea to change the name of this award.

Let’s start with the phrase “initial quality.” Apparently a car with high initial quality is supposed to be problem-free during  the first 90 days of ownership. While this is a worthwhile thing to test for, “initial quality” makes you wonder what happens when the “initial” time frame expires. Do the tires blow out? Does it steer itself into the nearest telephone pole? Without an explanation, most people would probably think the word “initial” refers  to a time period much shorter than 90 days. It makes me think of the used car salesmen you hear about who puts sawdust in the engine so the car makes it off the lot and falls apart ten miles out of town. Maybe “off-the-lot” quality, or “original quality” might make a little more sense.

The other issue is the word count. This award has a really long name. The J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Highest Mid-Size Sedan in Initial Quality. See if you can say it in one breath. (I know the guy with the gravelly voice in the commercial can, but he’s a pro). A shorter name would make it much easier to talk about and also take up less airtime. Everyone wins.

No matter what they call it, it’s pretty hard to believe that Ford won five of these things this year. At least Detroit has something to cheer about…