Total Quality Index Leaders: Accord Crosstour, Volkswagen Tiguan, Dodge Charger, Chevy Volt, Audi A4

Strategic Vision, a major consumer research company, has released it 2012 Total Quality Index of cars on the US market.

The Index is the result of surveys of 45,390 buyers who purchased 2012 models between September and December 2011. Its purpose is to measure how successfully vehicles match their buyers' expectations.

"With near universal acceptance that manufacturers are running the tightest 'quality race' ever, customers are increasingly defining 'quality' holistically and using Total Quality in their decisions," the report releasing the survey results said .

"This is really great news for all those corporations, but the key to success and sales will be products that satisfy the customer's increasingly insatiable need for innovation, and the complete picture of Quality," Strategic Vision's president, Alexander Edwards, said in a statement. "We point out Total Quality vs. 'Fewest Problems' for a reason. When measuring quality, the complete experience must be part of the calculation and include all the perceptions that influence how people make their decision. For instance, even when 'just' counting problems, perception is involved. One buyer may overlook what another may report. With Total Quality, we factor in all the perceptions that are proven to create the impression of Total Quality; this is ultimately how people think about vehicles and spend money." 

As an example of what Edwards means, Toyota Motors had the smallest number of buyers (17 percent) complain of problems, but was not the Total Quality winner. That distinction goes to Volkswagen Group (including Audi), with five segment leaders. Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Group (including Jeep and Fiat) tied for second place, with three segment leaders each.

The list of segments and their respective leaders is: