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2023 J.D. Power APEAL Study shows new-car customer satisfaction scores slip

J.D. Power survey results have been slightly up but mostly down for automakers this year, literally. In February, the 2023 Vehicle Dependability Study showed an overall decline compared the 2022 a month before the Customer Service Index Study did the same. The trend reversed in June with a better overall score on the 2023 U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration Study than in 2022, then declined again the same month on with a lower overall score on the 2023 Initial Quality Study. The declines continue with the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, overall satisfaction among the 84,555 respondents down two points overall compared to 2022, to 845 out of 1,000 points. Because last year's score dropped compared to 2021, this year marks the first consecutive decline in the study's 28-year history. The study tries to "[measure] owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement with new vehicle" after 90 days of ownership by asking new owners to rate 37 attributes in 10 areas around the vehicle, such as the feeling they get when they hit the accelerator. Satisfaction with nine of the attributes is down this year versus last, fuel economy the only segment to show better results with 15 points more satisfaction. Styling and infotainment are big drags on satisfaction. Responses to new car exterior looks tallied 888 points, down from 894 last year, the largest drop in this year's study. On the digital side, less than half of those surveyed this year said they prefer using a manufacturer's built-in infotainment. From 70% of respondents in 2020 preferring to use a manufacturer's in-house software to play audio instead of Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, that's 56% in 2023. Going all-in on Google appears to have the best effect. J.D. Power said that vehicles with both Google's Android Automotive Operating System (AAOS) and Google Automotive Services (GAS) "score higher in the infotainment category than those with no AAOS whatsoever. AAOS without GAS receives the lowest scores for infotainment of the three categories."  Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, said, "Despite the technology and design innovations that manufacturers put into new vehicles, owners are lukewarm about them. While innovations like charging pads, vehicle apps and advanced audio features should enhance an owner’s experience, this is not the case when problems are experienced.

2024 GMC Acadia to go big again for third generation

In July, spy shooters caught prototypes of the next-gen GMC Acadia wrapped up tight in camouflage. We couldn't make out any useful aspects but one: The coming third-gen Acadia is larger than the current second-gen. Remember, GMC debuted a smaller Acadia for the 2017 model year, lopping eight inches of length and three inches of width from the first-gen large mid-size SUV to create a smaller mid-size three-row SUV. The new prototypes appeared to show that decision would be reversed, now we have proof thanks to more comments unearthed from GM's recent Investor Day presentations in New York. Caught by GM Authority, automaker president Mark Reuss said, "Alongside the Traverse, we’ll move the GMC Acadia to a little bit different size standpoint. This comes in a little bigger than the old Acadia, so itÂ’s a big transformation for GMC and its part of the market." In a 2016 Automotive News piece about how GMC planned to increase sales volume, AN reported, "One potential avenue: venturing into Jeep's terrain. Industry sources believe GMC is drawing up plans for an SUV based on the same body-on-frame platform that serves as the bones of the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup. It's in the early stages — it doesn't appear to have been sourced to suppliers yet and the SUV's arrival isn't expected until 2020 or later." The first-gen 2016 GMC Acadia was 200.8 inches long, while a 2016 GMC Canyon Crew Cab with the roughly 5-foot bed was 212.8 inches long. It's thought that truncating the second-gen GMC Acadia to 193.4 inches long and 75.4 inches wide was intended to leave plenty of room for the planned SUV on the Canyon platform. However far that SUV project got, it was reportedly canned in 2018.   Hence an upsized Acadia returns. Reuss' comment about the Chevrolet Traverse could imply what's coming for the GMC, the Chevrolet being 205.9 inches long and 78.6 inches wide. A bigger Acadia could make a better sales proposition against the two-row Terrain, too. The Terrain costs almost $9,000 less than the Acadia and is 182.3 inches long and 72.4 inches wide. It's not clear when GMC plans to show the new Acadia, but the consensus is that it will go on sale for the 2024 model year. Expect an all-new cabin, Super Cruise capability and a front fascia reminiscent of the new Canyon. Powertrain options are a mystery.

Diesel details: Comparing Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Chevy Silverado Duramax, Ford F-150 Powerstroke

With specifications for the 2019 Ford F-150 Power Stroke diesel already out, and the details on the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and Chevy Silverado Duramax (and its GMC Sierra twin) trickling out, we felt it was a good time to start comparing the full-size trucks' light-duty diesels. Bear in mind, we've only driven one of these new diesel trucks, so we'll be sticking to numbers for now. Some numbers haven't been announced yet, either, but stay tuned, because we'll be updating this post with additional specifications as they become available. And if you want to compare any other versions of these trucks with other vehicles, be sure to check out our comparison tool. Now let's start comparing, starting with our big chart of numbers below. As we can plainly see, these trucks are quite closely matched. Each one has six cylinders, a displacement of 3.0 liters and a turbocharger to boost it. The output of each is somewhat close, too. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is the torque king at 480 pound-feet, 20 more than the GM trucks and 40 more than the Ford. The GM trucks win on power, though, with 277 ponies, 17 more than the Ram, and 27 more than the Ford. GM does report that you get their trucks' peak 460 pound-feet of torque from 1,500 rpm to 3,000 rpm, whereas the others only report peak torque at a particular point in the rev band, but all of these trucks should have wide, flat torque curves as you would expect from modern turbodiesels. 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel View 8 Photos Engine output is only one part of the truck performance equation. We also have towing and payload capacity, as well as fuel economy. With towing, the Ram 1500 is the current leader with a maximum capacity of 12,560 pounds. That tops the Ford F-150's 11,400-pound tow rating by well over 1,000 pounds. The F-150 can carry 2,020 pounds in its bed, but we don't know yet whether that's better or worse than the Ram or the GM trucks. We also don't have numbers for the GM trucks' towing capacities. View 9 Photos As for fuel economy, the Ford F-150 manages a thoroughly impressive 22 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway with two-wheel drive. Choosing four-wheel drive drops those numbers to 20 and 25 respectively. The fuel economy numbers for the Ram, Chevy and GMC haven't been revealed yet, but for some comparison, we can look at the old Ram EcoDiesel. That truck's best fuel economy was 20 in the city and 27 on the highway with two-wheel drive.