[Noah930]

I'm a bit surprised. I know Buick's been hovering near the top for quite a few years, now. But to actually be #1 is very surprising to me. I never knew how JD Power actually rated "satisfaction," so I always wondered if Buick's numbers were somehow propped up by their buyers' low expectations. But if they're going on actual numbers of defects/problems, I'm still surprised.

My in-laws are Buick people (they've got 3 of them--a '97, '02, & '04, IIRC), so I've had quite a bit of personal Buick experience the last couple years. Nothing fatal ever happened to any of them, but there were frequent, recurrent niggling things. Not crapmobiles, but certainly not as trouble-free as my wife's '05 Acura. The Rendezvoux had a constant battery drain, which was untraceable. Might be linked to the fact that you could never turn the stereo totally off (a barely perceptible but constant hiss came from the speakers, even when everything was turned off). Lumbar support knob that broke every couple months, but got stopped from being fixed after a couple times as it never worked, anyway. Very quickly wearinig suspension pieces.

Of course, the personal killer for me is the absolute garbage way in which these cars handle. If you like shepherding an overstuffed couch (which is still oddly uncomfortable) down the highway, then has Buick got a lineup of cars for you. Now I understand the term landyacht. Accelerator, brakes, and steering are all so isolated from the driver, that it truly is like signaling down instructions from bridge to boiler room.